Registration of six upland cotton germplasm lines with improved fiber quality through ethyl methane sulfonate treatments and selection

Authors: Bechere, Efrem; AULD, DICK - Texas Tech University; SMITH, WAYNE - Texas A&M University; CANTRELL, ROY - Wheelertex Consulting Llc; HEQUET, ERIC - Texas Tech University; RITCHIE, GLEN - Texas Tech University; PABUAYON, IRISH L.B. - Texas Tech University; MISHRA, DEEPIKA - Arvegenix, Inc; HENDON, BRALIE - University Of Southwest; BROWN, NINO - University Of Georgia; KELLY, BRENDAN - Texas Tech University

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Registrations
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/31/2019
Publication Date: 3/20/2020
Citation: Bechere, E., Auld, D.L., Smith, W.C., Cantrell, R.G., Hequet, E.F., Ritchie, G.L., Pabuayon, I., Mishra, D., Hendon, B.R., Brown, N., Kelly, B.R. 2020. Registration of six upland cotton germplasm lines with improved fiber quality through ethyl methane sulfonate treatments and selection. Journal of Plant Registrations. https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20005.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20005

Interpretive Summary: Advances in spinning technologies require longer and stronger cotton fibers to manufacture high-quality textiles with minimal waste from short and immature fibers. Only modest gains in fiber quality have been reported over the last few decades of intensive plant breeding. This lack of improvement is probably due to the over-reliance on a relatively few genetically similar cultivars for use as parents in crosses. Cotton seeds were treated with chemicals to create changes in the genetic information in the plant, which are called mutations. Some of these mutations improved the cotton fiber. After several years of testing, six mutant lines of cotton that produce longer and stronger fibers than the original non-mutated lines were selected and are now available for cotton breeders to use. This selection strategy will help expand the genetic base for improved fiber quality traits which will make American cotton competitive in the international market.

Technical Abstract: Six mutant lines of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) with superior fiber quality were developed by the Department of Plant and Soil Science at Texas Tech University at Lubbock, TX and released in 2019. Additional testing and evaluation of these mutant lines were also conducted at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, and at the USDA-ARS, Crop Genetics Research Unit, Stoneville, MS. Three of the lines (TTU 1-817, TTU 1-1051, TTU 1-1283) were selected from a mutant population of Acala 1517-99 (Reg. no. CV-115, PI 612326) and another three lines (TTU 2-411, TTU 2-475, and TTU 2-1073) were selected from a mutant population derived from TAM 94L-25 (PI 631440). The imbibed seeds of the two mutant populations were treated with 3.0% v/v of Ethyl Methane Sulfonate (EMS) in 2002. In 2002 (M2), 2003 (M3), and 2004 (M4), generations of the mutant populations were advanced by harvesting a single boll from each plant and bulking the seeds to generate the next generation. In 2005, seed cotton samples were hand harvested from a total of 3,122 individual M2:5 plants and evaluated for fiber quality. Fiber grown at Lubbock, TX in 2006 (M5:6), 2008 (M5:7), 2009 (M5:8) and 2010 (M5:9) (hereafter M5) were screened with HVI analyses to ensure M5 lines were phenotypically stable. In 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, 33 of these M5 lines selected from the TAM 94-L25 mutant population and 30 M5 lines from the Acala 1517-99 mutant population were evaluated at Lubbock, TX, College Station, TX, and/or Stoneville, MS in separate trials. Six M5 lines were selected and released for their longer, stronger fibers, and lower micronaire than the parental lines. Because there had been limited selection on lint yield, the three M5 mutant lines selected from both mutant populations generally produced lint yields equivalent to the parental lines.