Cotton Fiber Cells Are Arrested at G1 Stage

Abstract

Abstract Regulation of cell-cycle genes during the very early stages of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) fiber development triggers specific epidermal cells in the ovule to stop cell division and then elongate into fiber cells. This characteristic is especially unique since the other ovule epidermal cells surrounding the cotton fiber cell undergo continuous division like all other cells in the plants as the ovule matures. Very little information is available on the controlling mechanism of cell-cycle phase in cotton fiber cells. The objective of this study was to identify the cell-cycle phase in which cotton fiber cells are arrested before beginning elongation and the different cellular mechanisms that may control the initial phases of fiber development. We exploited the recent discovery that fiber cells can divide to determine the cell-cycle stage at which fiber cell elongation occurs. If elongation begins when the cell is in the G1 phase of the cell cycle, treatment with an inhibitor of DNA replication wo...