Genome-Wide Identification Analysis of the Rab11 Gene Family in Gossypium hirsutum and Its Expression Analysis in Verticillium dahliae

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: RAB11 (RABA) is a type of RAB GTPase. RAB GTPases are key components of membrane trafficking mechanisms, Rab11 is implicated in a variety of biological developmental processes and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Nevertheless, the role of Rab11 in the defense mechanisms of cotton against <i>V</i><i>erticillium dahliae</i> (<i>V. dahliae</i>) remains to be elucidated. <b>Methods</b>: In the present study, by analyzing the transcriptome data of <i>Gossypium hirsutum</i> (<i>G. hirsutum</i>) infected with <i>V. dahliae</i>, in combination with gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses, the research focused on endocytosis. Further, through bioinformatics approaches, the endocytosis-related gene <i>Rab11</i> was identified. We conducted a genome-wide identification and analysis of <i>Rab11</i> in <i>G. hirsutum</i>. In addition, by integrating transcription factor (TF) prediction, prediction of protein-protein interactions (PPI) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), the gene expression of <i>Rab11</i> at different infection periods of <i>V. dahliae</i> (0, 24 and 72 hpi) were analyzed and validated. <b>Results</b>: The analysis of transcriptome data revealed that the endocytosis pathway is implicated in the stress response of cotton to <i>V. dahliae</i>. Additionally, three <i>Rab11</i> genes were identified as being involved in this stress response. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the 65 genes in the <i>Rab11</i> family could be divided into four subgroups, each with similar gene structures and conserved motif patterns. <b>Conclusions</b>: The downregulation of <i>Rab11</i> in <i>G. hirsutum</i> is closely linked to its defense against <i>V. dahliae</i>. TF prediction coupled with PPI offers a roadmap for dissecting the signaling pathways, functional validation, and network construction of the three <i>GhRab11</i> genes.