Breaking the repulsive linkage between fiber strength and yield in a cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) MAGIC population suggests dampening starvation responses can increase yield

High yield is one of the most desirable traits in crops. A negative correlation between yield and other desirable traits in crops may be due to either pleiotropy or repulsive linkage. Multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) populations create opportunities for novel combinations of alleles of genes from several parents to exist in one recombinant inbred line. Here, we describe the breaking of the repulsive linkage between yield (YLD) and cotton fiber strength (STR) at Chr. Ghi_A07:90 Mb in a Gossypium hirsutum L. MAGIC population. The loss of a PHL3-like gene (Ghi_A07G11906) may dampen the phosphate (Pi) starvation response, and attenuate a reallocation of resources to root growth at the expense of vegetative and reproductive growth, and thus a reduction in yield. Targeted mutagenesis of transcription factors that modulate abiotic stress responses may be a generalizable strategy for yield improvement in farmed crops.