A novel four‐gene‐based inheritance model explains gradations of nakedness in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.).

In crop improvement, delineating inheritance pattern of a character guides a plant breeder to choose appropriate breeding procedure, which enables ease of improving phenotypic expression of the traits. To deduce the inheritance pattern of naked seed or fuzzless character, four parental lines involving two purely naked seed types (DHN‐1 and DHN‐10), one partial naked seed type (SP46CC) and one fully fuzzy type (OSB415) were used to develop three different types of crosses, namely, naked × naked seed type cross (N × N), partial naked × naked seed type cross (PN × N) and fuzzy × naked seed type cross (F × N). We observed that naked trait segregates in the ratio of 11 naked: 5 partial naked in N × N cross, 22 naked: 42 partial naked in PN × N cross and 22 naked: 42 partial naked: 192 fuzzy in F × N cross. Our study reports a novel four‐gene model to understand inheritance nature of naked seed character where the presence of single basic dominant fuzzy gene negates the effect of genes controlling nakedness resulting fuzzy phenotype irrespective of the number of partial fuzzyness/nakedness imparting alleles. This indicates that nakedness is recessive to fuzzyness. Based on our results, we infer observing gradations of nakedness on seeds depends on the presence of number of partial fuzzyness imparting alleles, which led to a conclusion that the trait exhibited dose‐dependent expression with one basic gene for fuzziness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]