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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Fiber Bioscience Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #323561
Title: Mapping by sequencing in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) line MD52ne identified candidate genes for fiber strength and its related quality attributes

Author
item Islam, Md
item Zeng, Linghe
item Thyssen, Gregory
item Delhom, Christopher
item Kim, Hee-Jin
item Li, Ping
item Fang, David

Submitted to: Theoretical and Applied Genetics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/23/2016
Publication Date: 5/12/2016
Citation: Islam, M.S., Zeng, L., Thyssen, G.N., Delhom, C.D., Kim, H.J., Li, P., Fang, D.D. 2016. Mapping by sequencing in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) line MD52ne identified candidate genes for fiber strength and its related quality attributes. Theoretical and Applied Genetics. 129:1071-1086.

Interpretive Summary: Cotton fiber quality consists of a suite of fiber physical properties including strength, length, maturity and fineness. The market value of cotton fibers and the quality of spun yarn are largely determined by fiber quality. Of them, fiber strength has been recognized as a critical quality attribute in the modern textile industry. Fine genetic mapping along with quantitative trait loci (QTL) validation and candidate gene prediction can uncover the genetic and molecular basis of fiber quality traits. Four previously-identified QTL (qFBS-c3, qSFI-c14, qUHML-c14 and qUHML-c24) related to fiber bundle strength, short fiber index and fiber length, respectively, were validated using an F3 population from a cross of MD90ne × MD52ne. A group of 27 new SNP markers developed through mapping-by-sequencing (MBS) were placed in the QTL regions to improve and validate earlier maps. We performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of 15 and 20 days post-anthesis fiber cells from MD52ne and MD90ne and aligned reads to the G. raimondii genome. The QTL regions contained 21 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the two near-isogenic parental lines. SNPs that result in non-synonymous substitutions to amino acid sequences of annotated genes were identified within these DEGs, and mapped. Transcriptome and amino acid mutation analysis indicate that receptor-like kinase pathway genes are likely candidates for superior fiber strength and length in MD52ne.

Technical Abstract: Fiber strength, length, maturity and fineness determine the market value of cotton fibers and the quality of spun yarn. Cotton fiber strength has been recognized as a critical quality attribute in the modern textile industry. Fine mapping along with quantitative trait loci (QTL) validation and candidate gene prediction can uncover the genetic and molecular basis of fiber quality traits. Four previously-identified QTL (qFBS-c3, qSFI-c14, qUHML-c14 and qUHML-c24) related to fiber bundle strength, short fiber index and fiber length, respectively, were validated using an F3 population from a cross of MD90ne × MD52ne. A group of 27 new SNP markers developed through mapping-by-sequencing (MBS) were placed in the QTL regions to improve and validate earlier maps. Our refined QTL regions spanned 4.4, 1.8 and 3.7 Mb of physical distance in the Gossypium raimondii reference genome. We performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of 15 and 20 days post-anthesis fiber cells from MD52ne and MD90ne and aligned reads to the G. raimondii genome. The QTL regions contained 21 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the two near-isogenic parental lines. SNPs that result in non-synonymous substitutions to amino acid sequences of annotated genes were identified within these DEGs, and mapped. Transcriptome and amino acid mutation analysis indicate that receptor-like kinase pathway genes are likely candidates for superior fiber strength and length in MD52ne. MBS along with RNA-seq demonstrated a powerful strategy to elucidate candidate genes for the QTL that control complex traits in a complex genome like tetraploid upland cotton.