Characterization of Jasmonate-ZIM domain family in response to abiotic stresses; functional insights for developing climate resilience cotton

Jasmonate-ZIM domain (JAZ) genes are essential for the regulation of physiological processes in plants and help plants to protect from various stresses. Given the increasing global food security concerns related to growing populations, climate change, and scarce arable land, understanding stress-resilient crops such as cotton ( Gossypium spp.) is essential. Cotton is a crucial crop for economic and agricultural sustainability, especially in conditions of increasing salinity, drought, and heat, made worse by climate change. Here, genome-wide analyses of the JAZ gene family in cotton is performed, and their functional response to salt, drought, and heat stimuli is examined. In this study, 91 JAZ genes in five cotton species that are found to be unequally distributed on all chromosomes throughout genomes have been identified. This study focuses on these genes' evolutionary preservation with land plants and functional differentiation potential. Comparative genomics and phylogenetic studies have revealed the JAZ gene family's evolutionary dynamics and functional diversity, emphasizing its role in stress response pathways including salinity, drought and heat. Multiple stress-responsive cis-acting regulatory elements (CARE) including MYB/ARE have been found in JAZ gene promoters which indicates a sophisticated regulatory network that allows cotton to change its physiological and defensive responses to abiotic stimuli accurately. Understanding these networks improves our understanding and might improve cotton and other crops for sustainable agriculture. We identified the enhanced expression of JAZ01 and its related genes under abiotic stresses in transcriptomes. Functional validation of JAZ01 and other stress-related genes confirm their upregulation in abiotic stresses, particularly heat stress. These results show that the JAZ01 gene is essential to cotton's adaptive responses. This study explains how the JAZ gene family is implicated in cotton's stress tolerance, improves our understanding of cotton's stress tolerance genetic mechanisms, and provides a foundation for developing genetically modified climate smart crops that can thrive under ever-changing environmental conditions.