SEQUENCED BASED ANALYSIS OF GhqOil3 GENE IN INDIGENOUS UPLAND COTTON GERMPLASM FOR OIL CONTENT

Abstract

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) has long held economic significance in agriculture and the textile industry, earning the moniker "White gold" due to its vital role as a cash crop.Cottonseed oil extracted from it, has been a major contributor in farmer income as well as the GDP of Pakistan. The GhqOil3 gene has been identified in regulating the seed oil content of cotton. Previous studies had primarily focused on commercially available cotton varieties, without understanding the genetic diversity among native upland cotton cultivars. Thus, this research focused to fill this gap by developing a SNP-based marker for the GhqOil3 gene in upland cotton. Forty cotton lines were sown in fields using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications for morpho- physiological characterization. Genome sequencing, alignment, SNP-based primer designing, and dCAPs marker development were employed to unravel the genetic makeup of various cotton varieties. The research involved comparing their genetic sequences to a reference genome to identify genetic changes, particularly single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the GhqOil3 gene. The research elaborated the genetic basis of high oil content in indigenous upland cotton by identifying specific genotypes associated with oil-related traits such as boll weight and seed oil content. The research aimed to facilitate the identification of cotton cultivars with high oil content for utilization in future cotton breeding programs