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ARTICLE
Impact of Seed Halopriming on Germination, Morphological Traits, and Cry1Ac Gene Expression in Bt Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)
1 College of Agriculture, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
2 Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, 33720, Finland
3 Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Licio Giorgieri 5, Trieste, 34127, Italy
4 National Institute for Genomics and Advanced Biotechnology (NIGAB), National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, 45500, Pakistan
* Corresponding Authors: Ruhong Xu. Email: ; Luhua Li. Email:
# These authors equally contributed to this work
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Recent Research Trends in Genetics, Genomics, and Physiology of Crop Plants)
Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(1), 229-241. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.059315
Received 04 October 2024; Accepted 12 December 2024; Issue published 24 January 2025
Abstract
Seed priming is an effective seed pretreatment technology that enhances germination and overall crop performance by optimizing seed hydration and metabolic processes before planting. Seed quality is a critical determinant of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) crop performance, influencing germination, plant vigor, and yield. This study evaluates the effects of seed priming with potassium salts (1% and 2% KCl and K2SO4) on germination, morphological traits, and Cry1Ac gene expression in three Bt cotton cultivars (IUB-2013, NIAB-878B, FH-142) as Cry1Ac enhance the pest resistance in Bt cotton and reduce the plant’s dependence on chemical insecticides. Seeds were primed for six hours, air-dried, and sown in the field. Germination rates, plant height, number of bolls per plant, boll weight, seed cotton yield, and ginning outturn (GOT) were assessed at crop maturity. Cry1Ac gene expression was quantified to explore the influence of priming treatments on transgene activity. Results demonstrated that 1% K2SO4 priming significantly enhanced germination and yield-related traits, with Cry1Ac expression peaking in the IUB-2013 cultivar under 1% K2SO4 treatment. These findings suggest that potassium-based halopriming improves cotton seedling establishment and Bt gene expression. This study addresses the critical gaps in understanding the effects of seed halopriming on morphological traits, germination, and expression of the Cry1Ac gene in Bt cotton while providing a novel eco-friendly and cost-effective halopriming approach, offering the potential to improve cotton production.Keywords
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