Upper panel: fabric made from regular cotton. Fabric burnt within 10 seconds.
Lower panel: fabric made from fire retardant cotton. Fire extinguished with 10 seconds.
David Fang, the Research Leader of the CFBU Unit, is examining a cotton plant.
Lead Scientist Dr. Doug Hinchliffe (front center) oversees spun-laced nonwovens production with the assistance of Dr. Sunghyun Nam (right), Dr. Matt Hillyer (left) and Mr. Pablo Salame (back left).
Diversity of cotton flowers.
Regular wide type cotton (left) and short fiber mutant (right).
Cotton fruits from two different species.
Different fiber length was observed between two adjacent cotton bolls (left) and between different locules of the same boll (right). Scientists at the CFBU unit identified the molecular mechanism causing this phenomenon.
Dr. Hee Jin Kim works with experimental plants in a growth chamber.
Dr. Marina Naoumkina (left) and Mr Chris Florane (right) are preparing for cotton ovule dissection.
Diversity of natural cotton fiber colors. Some naturally-occurring color cottons possess fire retardant ability.
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.