Genetic basis and principal component analysis in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) grown under water deficit condition

Aziz Ullah; Amir Shakeel; Hafiz Ghulam Muhu-Din Ahmed; Muhammad Naeem; Muhammad Ali; Adnan Noor Shah; Lichen Wang; Mariusz Jaremko; Nader R Abdelsalam; Rehab Y Ghareeb; Mohamed E Hasan

doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.981369

Genetic basis and principal component analysis in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) grown under water deficit condition

Front Plant Sci. 2022 Oct 6:13:981369. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.981369. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
² Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
³ Institute of Agro-Industry and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
⁴ Department of Agricultural Engineering, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan.
⁵ College of Life Science, Linyi University, Linyi, China.
⁶ Smart-Health Initiative and Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Agricultural Botany Department, Faculty of Agriculture (Saba Basha), Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
⁸ Plant Protection and Biomolecular Diagnosis Department, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, Alexandria, Egypt.
⁹ Bioinformatics Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, University of Sadat City, Sadat City, Egypt.

Abstract

Cotton is considered as the main crop in the agricultural sector of Pakistan. Water deficiency in this region in recent years has reduced the chances of high yields of cotton. Selection and creation of high-yielding varieties of cotton, even in water deficit conditions, is one of urgent tasks of today. For this purpose, 40 diverse genotypes of upland cotton were screened in normal and water deficit conditions in triplicate arrangement under split plot in a randomized complete block design. All the genotypes showed significant difference under both water regimes. Ten upland cotton accessions were screened out as water deficit tolerant (VH-144, IUB-212, MNH-886, VH-295, IR-3701, AA-802, NIAB-111, NS-121, FH-113, and FH-142) and five as water deficit sensitive (IR-3, CIM-443, FH-1000, MNH-147, and S-12) based on seed cotton yield and stress susceptibility index. These tolerant and sensitive genotypes were crossed in line × tester mating design. For further evaluation of genetic material, the seed of 50 F₁ crosses and their 15 parents were field planted under normal and water deficit conditions during next cotton growing season. Traits related to yield under the study showed significant variations among the accessions and their half sibs. The results of the principal component analysis (PCA) exhibited that total variation exhibited by factors 1 and factor 2 were 55.55 and 41.95%, respectively. PCA transformed the variables into three factors, and only two factors (F1 and F2) had eigenvalue > 1. The degree of dominance revealed that all parameters were highly influenced by non-additive gene action under both water regimes. Furthermore, the line VH-295 and tester CIM-443 had better yield performance under water deficit stress. The cross-combinations, viz., VH-144 × S-12, NIAB-111 × IR-3, and VH-295 × MNH-147, were the best for yield contributing traits. These combinations may be helpful for germplasm enhancement on large scale under water scarcity. All the studied traits have non-additive types of gene action suggesting the usage of these genotypes in cotton hybrid development program against water deficit tolerance.

Keywords: combining ability effects; gene action; line × tester; seed cotton yield; water deficit.