Similarities between Initiation Mechanism between Cotton Fiber and Arabidopsis Trichome: Prospects in Improving Cotton Fiber Yield

Cotton fiber is the fundamental material for a textile industry, and currently there is an immense interest in understanding the process of fiber initiation and development. Cotton fiber, also known as seed trichome, is differentiated from the seed coat epidermal cells similar to Arabidopsis leaf trichome, which is differentiated from the leaf epidermal cells. Despite functional characterization of individual cotton fiber initiation genes, currently there is not a comprehensive understanding of the mechanism behind cotton fiber initiation. Since the resemblance in initiation to cotton fiber, the Arabidopsis trichome has been successfully employed as a model system for functional characterization of cotton fiber initiation genes. Knowledge gained from the initiation mechanism of Arabidopsis trichomes will facilitate, as a comparative model system in understanding of the cotton fiber initiation mechanisms.