Wang Heng, Wang Yuan-Yuan, Zhou Zhong-li, Oluoch George, Kong Qing-Quan, Cai Xiao-Yan, Wang Xing-Xing, Zhang Zhen-Mei, Wang Kun-Bo and Liu Fang
Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) accounts for more than 95% of the world cotton production but its genetic base has seriously narrowed. It is necessary to utilize desirable genes from its semi-wild lines which have enviable traits such as saline-alkaline tolerance. In this study, linkage groups were constructed using an F2 population derived from an intraspecific cross between a semi-wild line (marie-galante 85) and a cultivar (CCRI-16) in the upland cotton (G. hirsutum L.). The map was based entirely on genome-wide simple sequence repeat markers. A total of 69 loci were mapped in 13 linkage groups covering a genome length of 615 cM with an average inter-locus distance of 8.9 cM. The average length of linkage group in this map is 47.3 cM, with an average number of five loci per linkage group. Based on the common primer SWU11887, one linkage group corresponded to chromosome 2. The results may lay a foundation for quantitative trait loci mapping which will facilitate the improvement of cultivars or varieties within upland cotton.