Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Chemistry and Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #345849
Research Project: Cotton-based Nonwovens

Location: Cotton Chemistry and Utilization Research

Title: The GhTT2_A07 gene is linked to the brown color and natural flame retardancy phenotypes of Lc1 cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) fibers

Author
item Hinchliffe, Doug
item Condon, Brian
item Thyssen, Gregory
item Naoumkina, Marina
item Fang, David
item Delhom, Christopher
item McCarty, Jack

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/23/2017
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Some naturally-colored brown cotton fibers from accessions of Gossypium hirsutum L. can be used to make textiles with enhanced flame retardancy (FR). Several independent brown fiber loci have been identified and mapped to chromosomes, but the underlying genes have not yet been identified, and the mechanism of lint fiber FR is not yet fully understood. In this study, we show that both the brown color and enhanced FR of the Lc1 lint color locus are linked to a 1.4 Mb inversion on Chromosome A07 that is immediately upstream of a gene with similarity to Arabidopsis TRANSPARENT TESTA 2 (TT2). As a result of the alternative upstream sequence, the transcription factor GhTT2_A07 is highly up-regulated in developing fibers. In turn, genes in the phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway are activated, leading to biosynthesis of proanthocyanidins and accumulation of inorganic elements. We show that enhanced FR and anthocyanin precursors appear in developing brown fibers well before the brown color is detectible, demonstrating for the first time that the polymerized proanthocyanidins that constitute the brown color are not the source of enhanced FR. Identifying the particular, colorless metabolite that provides Lc1 cotton with enhanced FR could help minimize the use of synthetic chemical flame retardant additives in textiles.