棉花是重要的经济作物。研究阐明棉纤维发育的调控机制，对于改良棉纤维品质具有重要意义。WRKY是植物特有的一类转录因子，参与植物发育和抗逆应答等过程，但其对棉纤维发育的调控，尚未见报道。我们在前期工作中鉴定了2个WRKY蛋白(GhWRKY12/16)，它们在棉花纤维细胞起始和伸长过程中均有较高的表达量，进一步研究表明它们在棉纤维发育过程中发挥调控作用。在前期工作的基础上，本项目拟采用多种技术方法(如：棉花转化和离体胚培养、电镜分析、酵母双杂交、pull down、BiFC、RNA-seq、EMSA、ChIP-PCR等)，系统探讨棉花WRKY12/16转录因子在纤维细胞发育中的生物学功能及其对纤维品质性状的影响，探讨它们对下游靶基因(蛋白)的调控方式，揭示WRKY介导的棉纤维发育的信号调控途径。本项目研究将有助于深入了解棉纤维发育的分子调控机制，也可为棉纤维品质改良提供理论依据和基因元件。

Cotton is an important economic crop in the world. It is significant for us to understand the molecular mechanism of cotton fiber development for improving fiber quality. WRKY proteins are plant specific transcription factors and play diverse roles in plant development and in response to stress. However, little is known on the function of WRKY transcription factors in cotton fiber development. Our previous study confirmed that GhWRKY12 and GhWRKY16 were expressed at high levels in fiber initiation and elongation, and they may be involved in fiber development of cotton. In this project, by employing some techniques (such as cotton genetic transformation and in vitro ovule culture, microscopy, yeast two-hybrid, BiFC, pull down, RNA-seq, EMSA and ChIP-PCR), we will study the role of WRKY12/16 in regulating fiber cell development and in affecting the quality characters of cotton fibers, and investigate how GhWRKY12/16 modulate the downstream target genes and proteins, so that we can understand WRKY-mediated signaling pathway in fiber development of cotton. This project will contribute to understanding the molecular mechanism of WRKY transcription factors regulating fiber development and provide theoretical basis for improving cotton fiber quality by genetic manipulation.