Flowers of different cotton species
Mixed fiber phenotypes (short and long) on the same branch
Wild Type (left) vs Immature Mutant (right)
a naked cotton mutant without fiber
David Fang is examining a cotton plant
Cotton Fiber Bioscience Researchers
Mission
The Cotton Fiber Bioscience and Utilization Research Units develops innovations in cotton fiber that will increase its value. The unit programs align with bioenergy priorities, as well as general agricultural sustainability needs to decrease our dependence on petroleum for production and maximum utilization of natural fiber products. Applied disciplines include genomics, biotechnology, molecular biology, plant physiology, chemistry and biochemistry. Specific research areas include better understanding of the biology of fiber development such as gene expression in the fiber, generating new genetic and genomic knowledge of value-added fiber traits, and developing breeding and selection tools and innovative methods to enable "value-capture" from improved cotton fiber traits or products.