Brown fiber cotton plays a key role in the textile industry, as it is environmentally friendly and does not require dyeing. However, its poor yield and quality threaten its marketability. Thus, researcher Zhongxu Lin from National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement in Huazhong Agricultural University and colleagues studied the genetic basis of fiber color and lint-related traits in brown fiber cotton through linkage and association mapping.

Using advanced genetic tools, the researchers fine-mapped Lc₁, the most studied genomic region for cotton brown fiber trait. They identified two main quantitative trait loci (QTLs), namely, qBF-A07-1 and qBF-A07-2 controlling color generation and color variation. These QTLs are also found to interact to negatively affect fiber yield and quality of brown cotton. Thus, they conclude that a balance between color and fiber quality and yield must be achieved to breed elite brown fiber cultivars that will have a good market value.

For more details, read the study in Plant Biotechnology Journal.