Characterization of Converted Race Stocks of Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) For Seedling Root Morphology

摘要

The genetic diversity and genetic relationship among breeding material has an invaluable importance for crop breeders. A number of methods based on morphological data, agronomic performance data, biochemical data and molecular data have been used to analyze genetic diversity in germplasm accessions, breeding line and populations. In this study, 68 CRS accessions and 10 cotton genotypes were investigated to characterize the genotypes based on root morphological data and to identify a core set of Converted Race Stocks (CRS) accessions by using multivariate methods, including principal component and cluster analyses. Principal component and hierarchical cluster analysis grouped CRS accessions into 13 clusters and produced two different groups for cotton genotypes, representing different cotton production area in the USA. The first two principal components explained 75.10 and 90.45% of the total variation among 68 CRS accessions and cotton genotypes, respectively, with Total Root Dry Weight (TRDW) andLateral Root Dry Weight (LRDW) being the most important characters in the first principal component. The results of this study would be of practical value to cotton breeders to select robust rooted CRS accessions and cotton genotypes from different groupwithout duplicate parents for further investigation in cotton breeding for drought tolerance.