Inheritance and linkage analysis of the yellow pulvinus mutant of cotton.

Morphological mutants of cotton are used in genetic mapping studies and in studies of plant development, and occasionally have proven to have agronomic value. The objectives of this study were to determine the inheritance and linkage relations of a spontaneous mutant found in a cotton breeding nursery. Seeds of the mutant plant were grown and crossed with the genetic standard, TM-1, and multiple marker tester lines, T582 and T586, to determine the inheritance and linkage relations. Inheritance studies established that the mutant was controlled by recessive alleles at a single locus. Linkage analysis showed weak linkage with cluster-1, which would place the mutant in linkage group III on chromosome 16. No linkage associations were found with the 12 markers tested, including the other marker located distally on chromosome 16, which should place the mutant near the centromere region of chromosome 16. These results have identified a new recessive mutant located on chromosome 16, which we designate yellow pulvinus (yp). This mutant adds an additional morphological mutant for genetics research on cotton.