Transformation of α‐EXPA1 gene leads to an improved fibre quality in Gossypium hirsutum

The Expansin protein is known for its multifaceted roles in plant growth, especially cell walls. However, very few studies have been done so far to assess the effects of expansin genes on Cotton fibre development. The present study is a successful effort to fill this gap, where the α‐EXPA1 gene transformed into a local cotton variety, Gossypium hirsutum, through Agrobacterium‐mediated transformation under Gossypium hirsutum Seed coat and Fibre‐specific promoter (GhSCFP). The transgenic cotton plants underwent molecular characterization and fibre trait evaluation. Our results indicated that α‐EXPA1 showed an up‐regulated expression during the transition phase of secondary cell wall synthesis and resulted in improving the fibre parameters, especially micronaire value. Transgenic cotton fibre also showed a finer twisting under the Scanning electron microscope (SEM) as compared to non‐transgenic cotton fibre samples. The fibre production is influenced by more than nine thousand genes, and the fibre improvement cannot be just achieved through a single gene transformation. However, α‐EXPA1 is one of the potential candidates for cotton fibre research as it significantly improved the cotton fibre.