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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Fiber Bioscience and Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #429493
Research Project: Genomic Dissection and Molecular Characterization of Fiber Quality Traits for Cotton Variety Improvement

Location: Cotton Fiber Bioscience and Utilization Research

Title: Breaking the repulsive linkage between fiber strength and yield in a cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) MAGIC population suggests dampening starvation response genes can increase yield

Author
item Thyssen, Gregory
item Fang, David
item Zeng, Linghe
item Campbell, Benjamin
item JONES, DON - Cotton, Inc
item McCarty Jr, Jack
item Jenkins, Johnie

Submitted to: Industrial Crops and Products
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/5/2026
Publication Date: 3/1/2026
Citation: Thyssen, G.N., Fang, D.D., Zeng, L., Campbell, B.T., Jones, D., Mccarty Jr, J.C., Jenkins, J.N. 2026. Breaking the repulsive linkage between fiber strength and yield in a cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) MAGIC population suggests dampening starvation response genes can increase yield. Industrial Crops and Products. 241: Article 122857. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2026.122857.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2026.122857

Interpretive Summary: High yield is one of the most desirable traits in crops including cotton. A negative correlation between yield and other desirable traits in crops may be due to either pleiotropy or repulsive linkage. Multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) breeding populations create opportunities for novel combinations of genes from several parents to exist in one line. Here, we describe the breaking of the repulsive linkage between yield (YLD) and cotton fiber strength (STR) in a Gossypium hirsutum L. MAGIC population. The loss of a transcription factor-like gene (Ghi_A07G11906) in some of the MAGIC lines may dampen the starvation response. This may reduce the reallocation of resources to root growth at the expense of vegetative and reproductive growth and thus increase yield. One of the new lines (RIL025) has both high yield and high fiber strength due to a combination of genes that are close to each other on a chromosome. Because they are so close, breeders have not previously combined the desirable version of both genes in a single cotton plant line. Now we have.

Technical Abstract: High yield is one of the most desirable traits in crops. A negative correlation between yield and other desirable traits in crops may be due to either pleiotropy or repulsive linkage. Multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) populations create opportunities for novel combinations of alleles of genes from several parents to exist in one recombinant inbred line. Here, we describe the breaking of the repulsive linkage between yield (YLD) and cotton fiber strength (STR) at Chr. Ghi_A07:90Mb in a Gossypium hirsutum L. MAGIC population. The loss of a PHL3-like gene (Ghi_A07G11906) may dampen the phosphate (Pi) starvation response, and attenuate a reallocation of resources to root growth at the expense of vegetative and reproductive growth, and thus a reduction in yield. Targeted mutagenesis of transcription factors that modulate abiotic stress responses may be a generalizable strategy for yield improvement in farmed crops.