Identification of Drought and Salt Tolerant Cotton Germplasm and Associated Markers in the U.S. Upland Germplasm Pool.

Abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity prohibit the cotton plant from reaching its maximum genetic potential. However, information on abiotic stress tolerant germplasm and associated molecular markers is currently lacking in cotton. In this study, an Upland cotton germplasm panel of 367 accessions representing historical cotton breeding programs in 14 states of the U.S. was evaluated for drought and salt tolerance at the seedling stage in the greenhouse based on growth and physiological parameters. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) for the abiotic stress tolerance were further identified through association mapping using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. A total of 59 and 71 SSRs from 17 chromosomes were associated with drought and salt tolerance, respectively, and 11 common markers were associated with both drought and salt tolerance.