PubMed · 2026-06-24
Scientists discovered a protein called GhTTLL12 that acts as a master switch for cotton fiber growth, working with two other molecular regulators to control when and how fibers elongate. This finding reveals a precise genetic circuit that could be targeted to breed cotton plants with longer, stronger fibers.
Overexpressing GhTTLL12 increased fiber length and the number of fiber cell protrusions in cotton plants, while CRISPR knockout had the opposite effect and significantly reduced fiber quality.
GhTTLL12 physically binds to microtubules and promotes their assembly into ordered transverse arrays, the internal scaffolding fibers need to elongate directionally.
A three-protein regulatory module (GhMML3 activates GhTTLL12; GhMYB86 represses it) links stage-specific gene expression to microtubule remodeling during fiber development.
