Project Number: 6402-21000-031-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Apr 18, 2008
End Date: Apr 17, 2013

Objective:
Improve the value of cotton fiber for the grower by identifying key temporal and spatial cellular events which affect the development of ovule epidermal cells into fiber initials, and add value to seed cotton by modifying the amount and distribution of gossypol in the seed and vegetative plant parts.

Approach:
Identify pleiotropic effects associated with a reduction in the number of fibers initiated on the ovule and the number and morphology of leaf trichomes or root hairs in pilose x fuzzless or pilose x fiberless seed crosses; identify key genetic components (transcription factors/enzymes) and cellular events occurring during the development of an ovule epidermal cell into an elongating fiber; determine the genetic control of gossypol content and the proportion of plus/minus forms via transmission genetics and mapping with molecular markers; evaluate if selection in early generations, using a half seed method to test gossypol content, is as effective for identifying the desired genotypes as testing progeny in later generations.