**The U.S. National Cotton Germplasm Collection – Its Contents, Preservation, Characterization, and Evaluation**

Richard G. Percy, James E. Frelichowski, Mark D. Arnold, Todd B. Campbell, Jane K. Dever, David D. Fang, Lori L. Hinze, Dorrie Main, Jodi Scheffler, Monica A. Sheehan, Mauricio Ulloa, Jing Yu and John Yu

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/58386

**1. Introduction**

cotton (*Gossypium arboretum* L.) into upland cotton (*G. hirsutum* L.). Genetics and Mo‐

[37] Mumtaz H. Identification of structural and functional genomic markers for fiber quality traits in cotton using interspecific population (*G. hirsutum* x *G. barbadense*).

[38] Haq MA. Development of Mutant Varieties of Crop Plants at NIAB and the Impact on Agricultural Production in Pakistan. In:QY. Shu (ed.) Induced Plant Mutations in the Genomics Era. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome;

MPhil thesis. Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad Pakistan; 2007.

lecular Research 2011; 10 (4) 2404-2414.

2009. p 61-64.

166 World Cotton Germplasm Resources

The early history of the cotton industry in the U.S. was, for the most part, a story of importation and adaptation of cottons from Mexico, Guatemala, and the tropics of the Western Hemi‐ sphere. By the 19th century there were two distinctive types of upland cotton, with distinctive origins, being grown in the U.S. One type, known as green-seeded cotton, was from southern Mexico. The other dominant type of upland, white-seeded cotton, had its origins in the central plateau of Mexico [1,2]. Although these cottons were grown extensively, no coordinated efforts were made to maintain the original stocks or their progeny. Modern, systematic collection and preservation of cotton in the U.S. only began in response to the outbreak of the boll weevil in the 1880's [3]. Three collection trips between 1902 and 1906 were responsible for the introduc‐ tion of two cottons, Acala and Kekchi, which would contribute significantly to the develop‐ ment of modern U.S. cultivars [4]. From these initial collecting trips and ensuing trips, federal, university and state experiment stations began to assemble the germplasm collections. Also from these efforts there sprang collaborative efforts that were formalized into U.S. regional projects involving scientists and members from all aspects of the U.S. cotton industry. The first Regional Research Project was S-1 in 1950 (succeeded by many) and it established a priority of acquiring and studying diverse germplasm for cotton improvement [5-7]. Increased organization and centralization of germplasm activities was necessary to manage and increase

© 2014 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

cotton germplasm resources. Plant Introduction centers were established with the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 and a National Seed Storage Laboratory (now the National Center for Genetic Resources and Preservation or NCGRP) was established in 1958 for long term backup storage of germplasm. Federal funds and staff also were committed to create working collections throughout the U.S. to specialize in crops. In 1960, the cotton sub-collections were deposited at NGCRP with their passport data, and in the early 1980's they were consolidated in College Station, TX, USA. Increased staff, greenhouses, seed processing and storage facilities were added. The curators continued to add germplasm from publicly donated cultivars and germplasm lines, explorations and exchanges with other collections and to record descriptors on new and existing germplasm. The International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (now Bioversity International) established a set of cotton descriptors in 1980 to serve as a guide for data collection for the U.S. and other collections [8]. Databases for the National Plant Germ‐ plasm System (NPGS) and the collection are managed online by the Germplasm Resources and Information Network (GRIN).

(or TEX) sub-collection was started on the campus of Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, to catalogue *G. hirsutum* landraces and various genetic stocks and is the format continued to the present day, exclusively for *G. hirsutum* photoperiodic landraces or tropically collected material. The GB sub-collection originated from *G. barbadense* accessions curated at Phoenix, AZ, and after consolidation with the main collection, it has continued to expand as new

The U.S. National Cotton Germplasm Collection – Its Contents, Preservation, Characterization, and Evaluation

Working Collection1 CGRU2 SC3 CSRL4

SSR, Seed Oil/Protein Evaluation

(AD) *hirsutum* total 6302 42659 2878 3731 1541 631 1380 440+ 700+ 290 473 400+ (*hirs*. landraces) (2522) - (1220) (1174) - (510) (1380) (440+) - - - *barbadense* 1584 5502 340 328 430 23 42 20 5 - 25 *tomentosum* 16 98 3 5 2 - - - - - 3 *mustelinum* 19 125 4 4 7 - - - 6 - 6 *darwinii* 138 80 8 4 4 - - - 9 - - - (A) *herbaceum* 194 1487 129 129 49 194 - 20 26 - 2 *arboreum* 1729 4287 1729 1729 145 1729 - 20 24 10 4 - (B) *anomalum* 7 95 3 3 5 - - - 2 - - *capitis viridis* 1 36 1 1 - - - - - - - *triphyllum* 2 14 0 1 - - - - 1 - - - (C) *nandewarense* 6 11 1 1 1 - - - - - - *robinsonii* 3 31 0 1 - - - - 1 - - *sturtianum* 7 103 1 2 3 - - - - - - - (D) *aridum* 14 135 4 2 4 - - - - - - *armourianum* 10 115 1 2 2 - - - - - - *davidsonii* 31 140 4 2 9 - - - 2 - 1 *gossypioides* 8 135 4 4 7 - - - - - - *harknessii* 19 72 0 1 - - - - 1 - 1 *klotzschianum* 59 52 1 1 1 - - - 2 - - *laxum* 2 3 1 1 1 - - - -- - *lobatum* 4 61 1 1 1 - - - - - - -

CLCV Evaluation

Landrace Evaluation

Salt/Drought Evaluation

Characterization, Digital Imaging

Abiotic Evaluation

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/58386

169

Biotic Evaluation

Phenotypic Evaluation

ARS Texas A&M Agrilife5

acquisitions have been made.

Accessions

Distribution 1987-2013

Seed Increase 2011-2013

Characterization, Digital Imaging 2011-2013

*Gossypium* genome/species
