SSR marker-assisted improvement of fiber qualities in Gossypium hirsutum using G. barbadense introgression lines

Abstract

This study demonstrates the first practical use of CSILs for the transfer of fiber quality QTLs into Upland cotton cultivars using SSR markers without detrimentally affecting desirable agronomic characteristics. Gossypium hirsutum is characterized by its high lint production and medium fiber quality compared to extra-long staple cotton G. barbadense. Transferring valuable traits or genes from G. barbadense into G. hirsutum is a promising but challenging approach through a traditional interspecific introgression strategy. We developed one set of chromosome segment introgression lines (CSILs), where TM-1, the genetic standard in G. hirsutum, was used as the recipient parent and the long staple cotton G. barbadense cv. Hai7124 was used as the donor parent by molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS). Among them, four CSILs, IL040-A4-1, IL080-D6-1, IL088-A7-3 and IL019-A2-6, found to be associated with superior fiber qualities including fiber length, strength and fineness QTL in Xinjiang were selected and backcrossed, and transferred these QTLs into three commercial Upland cotton cultivars such as Xinluzao (XLZ) 26, 41 and 42 grown in Xinjiang. By backcrossing and self-pollinating twice, five improved lines (3262-4, 3389-2, 3326-3, 3380-4 and 3426-5) were developed by MAS of background and introgressed segments. In diverse field trials, these QTLs consistently and significantly offered additive effects on the target phenotype. Furthermore, we also pyramided two segments from different CSILs (IL080-D6-1 and IL019-A2-6) into cultivar 0768 to accelerate breeding process purposefully with MAS. The improved lines pyramided by these two introgressed segments showed significant additive epistatic effects in four separate field trials. No significant alteration in yield components was observed in these modified lines. In summary, we first report that these CSILs have great potential to improve fiber qualities in Upland cotton MAS breeding programs.

Mapping genomic loci for cotton plant architecture, yield components, and fiber properties in an interspecific (Gossypium hirsutum L. × G. barbadense L.) RIL population

“…Understanding the underlying genetic control of biological processes for favorable traits is relevant to a range of research objectives. Such understanding has potential applications for cotton crop improvement Cao et al 2014;Lacape et al 2013;Ning et al 2014;Rong et al 2007;Ulloa et al 2005Ulloa et al , 2013.…”

“…Molecular markers located in the cotton genome are used to address fundamental questions regarding the genetic factors for these traits (Lacape et al 2010(Lacape et al , 2013Mohan et al 1997). Markers can be used to improve elite cotton cultivar productivity, fiber and seed quality properties, and stress tolerance through marker-assisted selection (MAS) (Cao et al 2014;Said et al 2013). Using MAS, the breeding process can be accelerated, labor costs and time reduced, and selection effectiveness increased in identification of improved genotypes (Buckler et al 2009;Ulloa et al 2010Ulloa et al , 2011.…”

High-density linkage map construction and QTL analysis for earliness-related traits in Gossypium hirsutum L

“…Although a decrease in genetic diversity increases the difficulty of breeding by hybridization [7], marker-assisted selection (MAS) is a promising approach for cotton breeding because it shortens breeding cycles with more accuracy [8]. Following the publication of the first allotetraploid cotton genetic map in 1994 [1], a host of research programs have been dedicated to genetic map construction [9–15] and quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping [16–19].…”

Development of EST-SSR markers related to disease resistance and their application in genetic diversity and evolution analysis in Gossypium

“…gov/dbEST/). Additionally, extensive effort has been exerted to develop EST-SSRs (Lü et al, 2010;Buyyarapu et al, 2011;Wang et al, 2014a,b) for cotton, and these SSR markers have been widely applied in genetic diversity analysis, construction of linkage maps, quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, and marker-assisted breeding (Adawy et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2014 a,b;Cao et al, 2014;He et al, 2014).…”