Current and future approaches to germplasm improvement in cotton breeding

摘要

Germplasm improvement in cotton has been practiced since ancient spinners selected plants that produced fiber with improved properties for cloth production. Modern breeding concepts based on exploitation of the Gossypium germplasm pool and on the principle "breed globally, select locally" have led to the development of high-yielding, high-quality varieties. A re-orientation of breeding priorities, combined with creative hybridization and rigorous selection methods have led to the development of FiberMax~(R) varieties which effectively combine commercially acceptable yield with significantly improved fiber quality. High-resolution genetic maps and molecular markers will accelerate and refine the classical breeding techniques will aid in moving traitsfrom "exotic" cottons into commercial cotton. Ultimately, ge-nomics approaches will lead to breeding by design.