Drought response revealed by chromatin organization variation and transcriptional regulation in cotton

Cotton is a major world cash crop and an important source of natural fiber, oil, and protein. Drought stress is becoming a restrictive factor affecting cotton production. To facilitate the development of drought-tolerant cotton varieties, it is necessary to study the molecular mechanism of drought stress response by exploring key drought-resistant genes and related regulatory factors. In this study, two cotton varieties, ZY007 (drought-sensitive) and ZY168 (drought-tolerant), showing obvious phenotypic differences under drought stress, were selected. A total of 25,898 drought-induced genes were identified, exhibiting significant enrichment in pathways related to plant stress responses. Under drought induction, At subgenome expression bias was observed at the whole-genome level, which may be due to stronger inhibition of Dt subgenome expression. A gene co-expression module that was significantly associated with drought resistance was identified. About 90