Genome-wide analysis of the cotton G-coupled receptor proteins (GPCR) and functional analysis of GTOM1, a novel cotton GPCR gene under drought and cold stress

BACKGROUND: The efficient detection and initiation of appropriate response to abiotic stresses are important to plants survival. The plant G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are diverse membranous proteins that are responsible for signal transduction. RESULTS: In this research work, we identified a novel gene of the GPCR domain, transformed and carried out the functional analysis in Arabidopsis under drought and cold stresses. The transgenic lines exposed to drought and cold stress conditions showed higher germination rate, increased root length and higher fresh biomass accumulation. Besides, the levels of antioxidant enzymes, glutathione (GSH) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) exhibited continuously increasing trends, with approximately threefold higher than the control, implying that these ROS-scavenging enzymes were responsible for the detoxification of ROS induced by drought and cold stresses. Similarly, the transgenic lines exhibited stable cell membrane stability (CMS), reduced water loss rate in the detached leaves and significant values for the saturated leaves compared to the wild types. Highly stress-responsive miRNAs were found to be targeted by the novel gene and based on GO analysis; the protein encoded by the gene was responsible for maintaining an integral component of membrane. In cotton, the virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) plants exhibited a higher susceptibility to drought and cold stresses compared to the wild types. CONCLUSION: The novel GPCR gene enhanced drought and cold stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis plants by promoting root growth and induction of ROS scavenging enzymes. The outcome showed that the gene had a role in enhancing drought and cold stress tolerance, and can be further exploited in breeding for more stress-resilient and tolerant crops. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-019-5972-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.