Abstract
Cotton fibers are single-celled extensions of the seed epidermis. They can be isolated in pure form as they undergo staged differentiation including primary cell wall synthesis during elongation and nearly pure cellulose synthesis during secondary wall thickening. This combination of features supports clear interpretation of data about cell walls and cellulose synthesis in the context of high throughput modern experimental technologies. Prior contributions of cotton fiber to building fundamental knowledge about cell walls will be summarized and the dynamic changes in cell wall polymers throughout cotton fiber differentiation will be described. Recent successes in using stable cotton transformation to alter cotton fiber cell wall properties as well as cotton fiber quality will be discussed. Futurec prospects to perform experiments more rapidly through altering cotton fiberwall properties via virus-induced gene silencing will be evaluated.
Highlights
IMPORTANCE OF COTTON FIBER CELL WALLS Cotton fiber, a highly elongated and thickened single cell of the seed epidermis, is the world’s most important natural textile fiber
Over the ∼50 days the cotton fiber undergoes: (a) extreme elongation via primary wall synthesis; (b) transitional wall thickening and primary wall remodeling; and (c) secondary wall thickening via deposition of nearly pure cellulose
The amount of secondary wall cellulose versus fiber perimeter determines the desirable intermediary extent of secondary wall thickening, which is required for the fiber to collapse into the kidney bean shape that facilitates the spinning of cotton yarn
Summary
IMPORTANCE OF COTTON FIBER CELL WALLS Cotton fiber, a highly elongated and thickened single cell of the seed epidermis, is the world’s most important natural textile fiber. The expression of many genes in cotton fiber (Hovav et al, 2008) supports diverse cell wall-related developmental events.
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