Student/presenter: Avinash Shrestha, Ph.D student, Plant Breeding and Molecular genetics
Format: Poster presentation
Title: Utilization of the landrace Hopi to identify novel genes regulating reduced gland formation in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)
Avinash Shrestha1, Junghyun Shim1,2, Puneet Kaur Mangat1, Lakhvir Kaur Dhaliwal1, and Rosalyn B. Angeles-Shim1
1Texas Tech University, Department of Plant and Soil Science
2Olam International Limited, Rukubi, Doma, Nassarawa 962, Nigeria
Gland formation in upland cotton serves as a double-edged sword. Gossypol, the major product from the glands, provides resilience to plants against biotic stress but at the same time is toxic to monogastric animals. Emphasis on the improvement of fiber-related traits alone has narrowed down the genotypic and phenotypic variation for gland development in upland cotton. In this study, quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis for gossypol content using an F2 population derived from Hopi, a landrace with reduced gossypol content, and the commercial line TM1, was performed. Genotyping of F2 individuals using the CottonSNP63K array gave a total of 8,047 informative markers. A high-density genetic map generated using the informative markers for the array spanned 2,253.11 and 1932.21 cM for the A and D sub-genome, with an average marker interval of 1.14 cM for the overall genome. The genetic map showed a strong co-linearity with the physical map of cotton in terms of the order of markers. Seven QTLs with PVE ranging from 1.43 to 10.34% were identified for gland development. Two QTLs, qGL_IM_12A and qGL_IM_12D covered the paralogs for cotton gland formation 3 (CGF3) gene encoding for bHLH transcription factor. The functional annotation-based in silico analysis of the genes within the three novel QTLs identified a total of 14 candidate genes. The tissue-specific comparative gene expression of candidate genes showed reduced levels of expression of MYB2 and bHLH1 in leaf and MYB2 and ZF1 in seeds for Hopi. Exploiting the genetic variation for reduced gland formation in seeds of cotton will allow the utilization of cottonseed meal as a safe and rich source of protein for monogastric animals.