| Summary: | Salt stress is a major abiotic stressor that can severely limit plant growth, distribution, and crop yield. DNA-binding with one finger (Dof) is a plant-specific transcription factor that plays a crucial role in plant growth, development, and stress response. In this study, the function of a Dof transcription factor, <i>GhDof1.7</i>, was investigated in upland cotton. The <i>GhDof1.7</i> gene has a coding sequence length of 759 base pairs, encoding 252 amino acids, and is mainly expressed in roots, stems, leaves, and inflorescences. Salt and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments significantly induced the expression of <i>GhDof1.7</i>. The presence of <i>GhDof1.7</i> in <i>Arabidopsis</i> may have resulted in potential improvements in salt tolerance, as suggested by a decrease in H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> content and an increase in catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities. The GhDof1.7 protein was found to interact with GhCAR4 (C2-domain ABA-related 4), and the silencing of either <i>GhDof1.7</i> or <i>GhCAR4</i> resulted in reduced salt tolerance in cotton plants. These findings demonstrate that <i>GhDof1.7</i> plays a crucial role in improving the salt tolerance of upland cotton and provide insight into the regulation of abiotic stress response by Dof transcription factors.
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