Cotton fibers are specialized seed hairs (trichomes) that are virtually unrivaled in the plant kingdom as perhaps the longest plant cell - exhibiting growth rates and fiber lengths in excess of average cell types. We are interested in understanding trichome morphogenesis using developing cotton fibers as a unique model system to study fundamental biological and cellular processes in plant biology, including cell differentiation, cell expansion, and cell wall modifications. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that determine the fiber phenotype, and hence important agronomic traits, will pave the way for the genetic improvement of cotton using molecular approaches.

Novel approaches employed in our gene discovery project funded by NSF Plant Genome Project (DBI9876230) defined the genetic complexity of the cotton fiber transcriptome. A major effort currently underway in functional genomics focuses on expression profiling of the fiber transcriptome in response to developmental, physiological, and environmental stimuli to generate a developmental model. This work is complemented by reverse genetic and other cotemporary approaches to determine the functional role of cotton fiber genes via ectopic expression that encompasses recent innovations in cotton regeneration and transformation methodology developed by our group suited for high-throughput studies. The genes targeted by our group for functional analysis include transcription factors, with emphasis on the R2R3-MYB family, novel cotton fiber genes, and fiber genes involved in cell wall synthesis and modification. Genomic tools and resources developed by our group are made available through our Service Facility to the scientific community.