The acquisition of transgenic materials relies on an efficient genetic transformation system, in which WUSCHEL-related homeobox genes play imperative roles in enhancing somatic embryogenesis potential. In our study, we isolated and characterized the cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L) homologues of Arabidopsis WOX11 and WOX12, namely GhWOX11_At, GhWOX11_Dt, GhWOX12_Dt and GhWOX12_At. Domain analysis indicated that the putative GhWOX11 and GhWOX12 proteins contain a highly conserved DNA-binding HOX domain or ACR domain. We have also demonstrated that callus initiation and adventitious root formation are simultaneously regulated by GhWOX11/12 genes. The asymmetric distribution of auxin leads to the differential expression of GhWOX11 and GhWOX12, which controls the formation of callus and presents a polar distribution at the ends of hypocotyl. Furthermore, overexpression of GhWOX11/12 significantly promotes the formation of callus and the fate transition from callus cell to pluripotent cell in G. hirsutum. On the other hand, expression of the chimeric GhWOX11/12 repressor in cotton callus inhibited embryogenic callus formation. Overexpression of GhWOX11 also promoted the formations of green callus, adventitious roots and adventitious shoots in Arabidopsis, corroborating its conserved functional role in inducing plant somatic embryogenesis and root development. Our results show that GhWOX11 and GhWOX12 genes play an important role in the process of cell fate transition in the early stage of somatic embryogenesis, providing a new perspective for the optimization of plant transformation systems.

转基因材料的获得依赖于有效的遗传转化系统，其中与 WUSCHEL 相关的同源盒基因在增强体细胞胚胎发生潜力方面发挥着重要作用。在我们的研究中，我们分离并鉴定了拟南芥WOX11和WOX12的棉花 ( Gossypium hirsutum L) 同源物，即GhWOX11_At、GhWOX11_Dt、GhWOX12_Dt和GhWOX12_At 。域分析表明推定的 GhWOX11 和 GhWOX12 蛋白含有高度保守的 DNA 结合 HOX 域或 ACR 域。我们还证明了愈伤组织的起始和不定根的形成同时受GhWOX11/12的调节。基因。生长素的不对称分布导致GhWOX11和GhWOX12的差异表达，从而控制愈伤组织的形成并在下胚轴末端呈现极性分布。此外，GhWOX11/12的过表达显着促进了陆地棉中愈伤组织的形成和从愈伤组织细胞向多能细胞的命运转变。另一方面，嵌合 GhWOX11/12 阻遏物在棉花愈伤组织中的表达抑制了胚性愈伤组织的形成。GhWOX11的过表达还促进了拟南芥中绿色愈伤组织、不定根和不定芽的形成，证实了其在诱导植物体细胞胚胎发生和根发育中的保守功能作用。我们的研究结果表明，GhWOX11和GhWOX12基因在体细胞胚胎发生早期的细胞命运转变过程中发挥着重要作用，为植物转化系统的优化提供了新的视角。