Related to ABA-Insensitive3(ABI3)/Viviparous1 and AtABI5 transcription factor co-expression in cotton enhances drought stress adaptation (cover article)

Drought tolerance is an important trait being pursued by the agbiotech industry. Abscisic acid (ABA) is a stress hormone that mediates a multitude of processes in growth and development, WUE, and gene expression during seed development and in response to environmental stresses. Arabidopsis B3-domain transcription factor Related to ABA-Insensitive3 (ABI3)/Viviparous1 (namely, RAV2) and basic leucine zipper (bZIPs) ABI5 or ABF3 transactivated ABA- inducible promoter: GUS reporter expression in a maize mesophyll protoplast transient assay and showed synergies in reporter transactivation when co-expressed. Transgenic cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) expressing AtRAV1/2 and/or ABI5 showed resistance to imposed drought stress under field and greenhouse conditions and exhibited improved photosynthetic and WUEs associated with absorption through larger root system and greater leaf area. We observed synergy for root biomass accumulation in the greenhouse, intrinsic WUE in the field, and drought