TITLE:
The Cotton Cinnamyl Alcohol Dehydrogenase 6 Functions in Developing Cotton Fibers
AUTHORS:
Wenran Hu, Xuan Ding
KEYWORDS:
Cotton Fiber, Phenylpropanoid Metabolism, Cinnamyl Alcohol Dehydrogenase (CAD), Fiber Quality, Structural Composition
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.16 No.7,
July
3,
2025
ABSTRACT: Cotton fiber is the most important source used natural raw in the textile industry and its productions play a pivotal role in the global economy. Cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) plays crucial roles in the development of cotton fibers, but its functional mechanisms remain largely unknown. Research on improving fiber quality of cotton crop is important. Owing to a fiber-specific CAD gene, designated GhCAD6 from upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is expressed predominantly in fiber cells, especially at the secondary wall thickening stage of fiber development, we characterized the function of GhCAD6 in cotton fiber development. Through cloning GhCAD6 and analyze expression of GhCAD6 in cotton fiber development by real-time RT-PCR. GhCAD6 overexpression construct was introduced in upland cotton variety Xinluzao 36 using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. A number of GhCAD6 transgenic plants were obtained and a single copy of GhCAD6 was integrated into the recipient genome of cotton fiber. The expression of GhCAD6 in transgenic plants was higher with compared to that in the wild type and the GhCAD6 transgenic cottons resulted in changing the content of the fiber cell structural composition phenylpropanoid. Although these transgenic lines in cell wall composition was not obvious difference, except only the phenylpropanoid content in the mature fiber of transgenic plants being slightly lower, the mature cotton fiber cells of transgenic lines had a quite smooth, fine, and dense surface, which led to be changed in the fiber length, strength, uniformity and micronaire value and improved the fiber quality in transgenic lines. These results demonstrate that GhCAD6 is involved in regulating cotton fiber development and is a promising candidate gene to improve fiber quality in cotton through genetic manipulation.