News Genomes Assembled from Five Cotton Species Could Lead to Better Varieties Cotton producers in Texas, elsewhere in the US and around the world are looking for new varieties that can better withstand droughts, pests and pathogens, yet yield higher-quality fibers for the textile industry. To help accelerate the breeding and improvement of cotton varieties, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and elsewhere teamed up to produce the reference-grade genomes of all five species, including two cultivated cottons. Their results were published in the journal Nature Genetics Read more First Step Taken Toward Epigenetically Modified Cotton AUSTIN, Texas, May 31, 2017 — With prices down and weather patterns unpredictable, these are tough times for America’s cotton farmers, but new research led by Z. Jeffrey Chen at The University of Texas at Austin might offer a break for the industry. He and a team have taken the first step toward a new way of breeding heartier, more productive cotton through a process called epigenetic modification. Read moreabout First Step Taken Toward Epigenetically Modified Cotton Upland cotton: an improved sequence will advance fiber, fuel and food applications April 11, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire: A consortium led by Z. Jeffrey Chen of The University of Texas at Austin and Jane Grimwood and Jeremy Schmutz of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology has made publicly available a significantly improved high-quality genome sequence of Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum). This sequence of the species making up greater than 90% of the world’s spinnable cotton fiber builds upon previous genome sequences published in the past five years. The data is downloadable at DOE JGI Phytozome Read more October 24, 2011 The project meeting was held at Cotton Inc. in Cary, North Carolina. The project participants discussed and planned cotton (TM-1) physical mapping, BAC end sequencing, RNA-seq, and other sequencing activities, as well as coordination of outreach activities. Attendees:PI: Jeff Chen (Yuki Guan, Gyoungju Nah, UT-Austin)Co-PI: Candace Haigler (Rich Tuttle, Mike Stiff, Sovika Thapas, NC State)Co-PI: Brian Scheffler (USDA ARS MSA Genomics Laboratory, Alcorn State University)Co-PI: David Stelly (Amanda Hulse, TexasRead more October 11, 2010 The annual Cotton Fiber Genomics project meeting was held in Austin. The project was funded by the National Science Foundation and focused on “Functional and Sequence Analysis of Fiber development on Tetraploid Cotton”. The attendees of the meeting include:PI: Chen Lab (David Pang, Yuki Guan, Xiaoli Shi, UT-Austin)Co-PI: David Stelly (Shivapriya Manchali, Texas A&M)Co-PI: Candace Haigler (North Carolina State University).Co-PI : Brian Scheffler (USDA ARS MSA Genomics Laboratory, Stoneville, MS).Read more September 15, 2010 Cotton Fiber Genomics – Dr. Z. Jeffrey Chen and his colleagues will use next-generation DNA sequencing technologies to study the genomics of fiber production in cotton, the largest source of natural and renewable fiber in the world, with a $3.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Read more May 2009 The cotton fiber genomics project funded by NSF is approved for no-cost extension until August 31, 2010. The research team plans to complete a few more large experiments and publish several papers and will submit a competitive renewal proposal in January 2010. Read more November 21th, 2008 The annual Cotton Fiber Genomics project meeting was held in Austin. The project was funded by the National Science Foundation and focused on “Genetic and Functional Genomic Analysis of Early Events in Cotton Fiber Development”. The attendees of the meeting include: PI: Chen Lab (David Pang, Yuki Guan, Misook Ha, Vikram Agarwal, UT-Austin.Co-PI: Triplett Lab (He Jim Kim, Doug Hinchliffe, USDA-ARS/UNO).Co-PI: David Stelly (Shivapriya Manchali, Texas A&M).Co-PI: Peggy Thaxton (Mississippi State University).Co-PI: Sing- Read more February 7th, 2006 The project meeting of NSF cotton fiber genomics was held in Austin, Texas. The Chen lab hosted the meeting. Graduate students and postdocs from each lab gave short presentations about the progress made and discussed about their future research plans. Two close collaborators, Chris Town at TIGR and Roy Cantrell at Cotton Inc., were present at the meeting. We discussed future strategies of cotton genomics research including potential approaches to cotton genome sequencing. Read more January 4th-6th, 2006 PI, Co-PIs, and project members including postdoc and graduate students attended the Betwide Cotton Conference held in San Antonio, TX. Read more January 5th 2005 NSF cotton fiber genomics project meeting was held in USDA-ARS, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA. Members from each lab gave short presentations about the progress made and discussed about the future plans as well. This meeting was held in conjunction with the Beltwide Cotton Conference (Jan. 4th-7th) in New Orleans, LA. Read more December 2004 TM-1 ovule (-3 ~ +3 DPA) full-length cDNA library construction was completed. 51,072 clones were arrayed in 384-well plates (133 plates). Duplicate sets were made and one set was sent to TIGR for sequencing. 49,920 cDNAs (130 plates) are being sequenced at TIGR and ~40,000 ESTs are expected to be generated soon. Read more October 2004 Chen and Stelly will participate in the International Cotton Genome Initiative (ICGI) biennial meeting in Hyderabad, India. Stelly is the elected Chair of ICGI and Chen has organized a session that will examine possible elements and approaches to a sequencing effort. Read more October 15th-16th, 2004 Sreenath Palle, graduate research assistant, will attend Pathways to the Doctorate programmaticconference in southern Texas. The Texas A&M University System developed the program to advance higher education opportunities, and, perhaps even more important, awareness of those opportunities in all regions of the state. The conferences rotate among System institutions, and the Pathways Read more October 8th, 2004 Deadline for submitting FY2005 grant proposals to Plant Genome Research Program. Read more September 23rd-24th, 2004 J. Chen and B. Triplett attend the NSF New Awardee’s Meeting in Washington, D.C. September 22nd, 2004 Announcement of the new projects funded by the NSF Plant Genome Research Program. Read more September 13th, 2004 Total RNAs were purified from immature ovules collected at -3, 0, and +3 days post anthesis (DPA). A full-length cDNA library is under construction. Read more September 1st, 2004 Sreenath Palle (M.Sc., B.Sc.) joined as a graduate research assistant with Dr. Stelly’s group as part of the Fiber Genomics project team. Dr. Suk Hawn Yang joined the project in the Chen lab as a Postdoctoral Researcher and part-time Manager for the project. Ning (Edward) Wei, a Ph. D. student in Computer Science, is working in the Chen and Sze labs on computational analysis of sequence and microarray data being generated. Jenny Lee, a Ph. D. student in Genetics, continues to work on functional analysis of cotton orthologous genes in Arabidopsis. Ms. Ra’sheedah Read more Genetic Road Map May Bring About Better Cotton Crops A University of Texas at Austin scientist, working with an international research team, has developed the most precise sequence map yet of U.S. cotton and will soon create an even more detailed map for navigating the complex cotton genome. Full Story. The research in the USA team is supported by Read more April 20, 2015 A University of Texas at Austin scientist, working with an international research team, has developed the most precise sequence map yet of U.S. cotton and will soon create an even more detailed map for navigating the complex cotton genome. Full Story. The research in the USA team is supported by Read more June 25th, 2004 The first project planning meeting on Cotton Fiber Genomics was held at TAMU. Read more
