title: Spatiotemporal manipulation of auxin biosynthesis in cotton ovule epidermal cells enhances fiber yield and quality.
abstract: The capacity of conventional breeding to simultaneously improve the yield and quality of cotton fiber is limited. The accumulation of the plant hormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in cotton fiber initials prompted us to investigate the effects of genetically engineering increased IAA levels in the ovule epidermis. Targeted expression of the IAA biosynthetic gene iaaM, driven by the promoter of the petunia MADS box gene Floral Binding protein 7 (FBP7), increased IAA levels in the epidermis of cotton ovules at the fiber initiation stage. This substantially increased the number of lint fibers, an effect that was confirmed in a 4-year field trial. The lint percentage of the transgenic cotton, an important component of fiber yield, was consistently higher in our transgenic plants than in nontransgenic controls, resulting in a >15% increase in lint yield. Fiber fineness was also notably improved.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biotechnology and Crop Quality Improvement of Ministry of Agriculture, Biotechnology Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Mi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xuelian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Shuiqing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Qiwei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Demou
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Xianbi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Yuehua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Xiaoying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Jinfa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chengbin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pei
mesh_terms: D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D032561:Cotton Fiber; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D003368:Gossypium / Q000502:physiology*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D056771:Ovule / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000502:physiology; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C097416:floral-binding protein 11, Petunia; C030737:indoleacetic acid