Plant-specific NAC transcription factors comprise a large family with diverse roles in plant development and stress regulation. In this study, 73 NAC genes from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) EST database were identified by bioinformatic approach. Analysis of conserved amino acid residues and phylogeny reconstruction using the NAC conserved domain suggested that the Arabidopsis classification into four major groups is applicable to cotton NAC family. Among them, seven NAC genes, named as GhNAC7-GhNAC13, were characterized to encode NAC proteins th...