Comparative analysis of transcriptome profiles of G. hirsutum L. acc. TM-1 and its immature fber mutant during fiber secondary cell wall development stages

To gain novel insights into the molecular mechanisms of fiber secondary cell wall development, fiber transcriptomes of the immature fiber mutant (im) with defective secondary cell wall development and its near-isogenic line, TM-1 (wild-type) were compared using cDNA microarray technology. The expression profiling was performed at 5 developmental time points: 13, 16, 19, 22, and 25dpa. Secondary cell wall development related genes were identified by differentially expressed gene analysis. And these genes could be used as potential candidate genes for manipulation to improve fiber quality. Cotton plants were grown under field condition. Flowers were tagged and cotton bolls were collected during Fiber development stages. Total RNA was isolated from fiber bearing ovules of wild-type, TM-1 and immature fiber mutant (im) collected at various (13, 16, 19, 22 and 25 dpa) fiber development stages. A total of 15 hybridizations with three biological replicates including a swap-dye experiment for each fiber developmental stage were employed.