Summary
Two genetic systems control the pigmentation of seed fibres inGossypium. In the New World amphidiploid cottons, and probably too in many of the wild diploid species, the green colour is controlled by members of a series that includes a minimum of three alleles:
(green lint),
(green fuzz),
(white).
is only known as a mutant in Upland cottons, while
(or a similar allele) is probably common to wild and primitive cultivars ofG. hirsutum andG. barbadens G. tomentosum, G. mustelinum, and several wild diploid species. The recessive,
, has not been found in any wild form ofGossypium.
At least three independent loci control the development of brown pigment, but their homologies have not been analyzed systematically. No wild form ofGossypium has been found to lack brown pigment completely.
All wild forms so far examined have fibres that contain both brown and green pigments. It is suggested that the loss of the green pigment and the retention of brown pigment in the lint fibres of primitive cultivars may have been influenced by human selection. This favours the view that wild forms of cultivated species are originally wild — not feral — types.
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Stephens, S.G. Seed fibre colour in gossypium and its possible significance in the evolution of domesticated cottons. J Genet 63, 63–78 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02984277
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02984277