Natural variation in a CENTRORADIALIS homolog contributed to cluster fruiting and early maturity in cotton

Abstract

We show that the cotton gene GoCEN-Dt, a homolog of Antirrhinum CENTRORADIALIS, is responsible for determinate growth habit and cluster fruiting. Insight into the genetic control of branch and flower differentiation offers new approaches to develop early maturing cultivars of cotton and other crops with plant architecture appropriate for mechanical harvesting.