The miR319-Targeted GhTCP4 Promotes the Transition from Cell Elongation to Wall Thickening in Cotton Fiber

Plant cell growth involves a complex interplay among cell-wall expansion, biosynthesis, and, in specific tissues, secondary cell wall (SCW) deposition, yet the coordination of these processes remains elusive. Cotton fiber cells are developmentally synchronous, highly elongated, and contain nearly pure cellulose when mature. Here, we report that the transcription factor GhTCP4 plays an important role in balancing cotton fiber cell elongation and wall synthesis. During fiber development the expression of miR319 declines while GhTCP4 transcript levels increase, with high levels of the latter promoting SCW deposition. GhTCP4 interacts with a homeobox-containing factor, GhHOX3, and repressing its transcriptional activity. GhTCP4 and GhHOX3 function antagonistically to regulate cell elongation, thereby establishing temporal control of fiber cell transition to the SCW stage. We found that overexpression of GhTCP4A upregulated and accelerated activation of the SCW biosynthetic pathway in fiber cells, as revealed by transcriptome and promoter activity analyses, resulting in shorter fibers with varied lengths and thicker walls. In contrast, GhTCP4 downregulation led to slightly longer fibers and thinner cell walls. The GhHOX3-GhTCP4 complex may represent a general mechanism of cellular development in plants since both are conserved factors in many species, thus providing us a potential molecular tool for the design of fiber traits.