Abstract
Zinc finger proteins are encoded by the genes chiefly involved in stress resistance hormone signal transduction of plants. In this study, a cDNA encoding a zinc finger transcription factor was isolated by the yeast one-hybrid system from
Gossypium arboreum
using the MYB-box element of the universal stress gene (GUSP1) promoter as bait. The corresponding protein (named GaZnF) can bind specifically to a 13 bp MYB-box region. The
GaZnF
cDNA is 1093 bp in length, including a 510 bp open reading frame. The predicted GaZnF protein contains ANI-A20 motifs and shares a high sequence similarity with zinc finger proteins from other plants. Spatial expression pattern of
GaZnF
was studied under drought, heavy metals and salt stresses through real-time PCR. The gene showed enhanced expression under each stress treatment with maximum transcript abundance in root tissues. The results support the hypothesis that
G. arboreum
zinc finger proteins are involved in plant response to drought, salt and heavy metal stresses.