Transcriptome analysis reveals crosstalk of responsive genes to multiple abiotic stresses in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Abiotic stress is a major environmental factor that limits cotton growth and yield, moreover, this problem has become more and more serious recently and multiple stresses often occur simultaneously due to the global climate change and environmental pollution. We used microarrays to analyze the crosstalk of responsive genes to multiple abiotic stresses including ABA, cold, drought, salinity and alkalinity in cotton. Cotton seedlings with different abiotic stress treatment were selected at 14-day after germination for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays. We sought to identify genes involved in diverse stresses including abscisic acid (A), cold (C), drought (M), salinity (N) and alkalinity (P) by comparative microarray analysis (3 biological replicates for each abiotic stress treatment).