Gene Expression of the Expansin Family in Silk Cotton under Water Stress

The work aimed was the characterization of gene expression of the expansins family in C. procera plants subjected to water stress. Plants at five months were subjected to drought stress for 30 days. Were collected leaves and roots, which were washed, frozen in liquid N2 and stored in a freezer at -80°C, until the conclusion of the analysis. Were performed RNA extraction, cDNA obtain and real-time quantitative PCR using specific primers for the expansins gene family CpEXPA1, CpEXPA2, CpEXPA3 and CpEXPA4. Seedlings of C. procera resist water stress by up to 30 days, with wilting and yellowing of the upper leaves and leaf fall lower. The quantification of RNA ranged from 482,6 ng/μL until 2553,8 ng/ μL. The conversion of the RNA into cDNA showed good quality ranging from 48,8 to 176,1 μL. The expression of the gene expansins family showed significant differences only when this expression was evaluated in the leaves. The roots showed no significant differences between treatments. The highest levels of expression were found in isoforms CpEXPA3 and CpEXPA4, where we observed an increase in expression of the same due to water stress.