| dc.description.abstract | Food security is one of the most important challenges that society will continue to face in a world with a rapidly expanding population coupled with a growing affluence. Cottonseed is an underutilized source of protein and oil which could play a key role in human and non-ruminant animal nutrition if the toxic polyphenol gossypol contained in lysigenous glands throughout the plant could be removed from the seed.
Gossypol is a terpenoid that protects cotton plants against insects and pests and if removed from the vegetative portion of the plant, the plant becomes highly susceptible to attacks. Scientists at Texas A&M University used RNAi technology to develop transgenic cotton plants, which have normal gossypol levels in vegetation but ultra-low levels in seed. The main objective of this study was to assess the traits function in multiple genetic backgrounds.
Transgenic lines were field tested in 2011 and 2012 near College Station, TX. Performance parameters such as yield, lint percent and crop maturity were measured as well HVI fiber properties. Also, recurrent parents were tested in a three-year field trial and several methods for screening for the ultra-low gossypol cottonseed (ULGCS) trait were evaluated.
Results from these studies suggest the ULGCS trait can be backcrossed into diverse upland cotton lines without interfering with the inherent performance of the recurrent parent. Moreover, during the backcross process, selections can be made to improve fiber quality and abiotic stress tolerance. Availability of a food product such as cottonseed can have numerous positive effects on local economies where cotton is grown and in the lives of millions of people who cannot fulfill one of the most important and basic rights of humanity: access to food. | en |
