QTLs for Fuzzless Trait in Cotton

Cotton is an important crop for textile industry as well as for feed and oil industries. Fuzzless seeds lacking fuzzes on almost whole surface of the seed except little fuzzes at micropylar or schalazal regions are especially important for a number of advantages such as avoiding delintation process and increase in the quality of feed rations. Therefore, developing varieties with high ginning turnout but without fuzzes on the seeds are priority in breeding programs. There are fuzzless mutant cotton genotypes which may have key role for extending our understanding of the key mechanisms in fuzz and fiber formation. In this study, in order to assess the DNA markers that are related to fuzzless character an F₂ genetic mapping population was generated from Stoneville 453 and PI 528429 crosses. A combination of 307 SSR and 72 AFLP markers were used in the study where a total of 186 F₂ plant and parents were screened. As a result, 27 linkage groups were obtained by using 17 SSR and 394 AFLP polymorphic bands. The average genetic distance between the markers was found to be 21.72 cm. Four QTLs (NAU2252, catata13, cataag17 and ctcaag12) were found to be significant associated with fuzzless trait. Also, mapping studies are being continued with different DNA marker systems for generating high resolution map of 26 haploid chromosomes. For this purpose RILs will be generated from current F₂ population.