Genome-wide identification of GhRLCK-VII subfamily genes in Gossypium hirsutum and investigation of their functions in resistance to Verticillium wilt

BACKGROUND: The receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases subfamily VII (RLCK-VII) is critical in regulating plant growth, development, and pattern-triggered immunity. However, a comprehensive exploration of these genes in the allotetraploid Gossypium hirsutum is still lacking. This study aimed to identify RLCK-VII genes in G. hirsutum and investigate their evolutionary history, structural features, expression patterns, and role in plant defense. RESULTS: Seventy-two RLCK-VII genes in the G. hirsutum genome were unveiled and classified into nine groups following their phylogenetic analysis with Arabidopsis thaliana. Group VII-1 was the largest, accounting for 28%, while Groups VII-2 and VII-3 had only one member each. The analysis using MCScanX revealed that these 72 genes formed 166 collinear gene pairs and were resided on 26 chromosomes of G. hirsutum, suggesting that they were derived from whole genome segmental duplication events. Their calculated Ka/Ks values were below one, implying the occurrence of purification selection during the evolution and inhibition of gene function differentiation/loss. All members of the RLCK-VII subfamily possessed two conserved domains, PKinase-Tyr and PKinase, and several conserved PBS1 kinase subdomains, individually included in one of the ten motifs identified using MEME. The RNA-Seq results showed that RLCK-VII genes exhibited different spatiotemporal expression, indicating their involvement in cotton growth, development, and defense responses to Verticillium dahliae. The transcription patterns of RLCK-VII genes found by RNA-Seq were further validated using qRT-PCR assays after inoculating “20B12” (cotton cultivar) with “V991” (V. dahliae). The virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) assays uncovered that two RLCK-VII genes (Gohir.A13G227248 and Gohir.A10G219900) were essential to G. hirsutum resistance to Verticillium wilt. CONCLUSIONS: These observations offer valuable insight into the attributes and roles of RLCK-VII genes in G. hirsutum, potentially enable the breeding of new cotton cultivars with enhanced resistance to Verticillium wilt. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12870-023-04435-0.