Xiaojing  Zhang , Jiayi  Wu , Huijuan  Xu , Xiaoyan  Chen

Modern Agriculture Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Cotton Genomics and Genetics, 2024, Vol. 15, No. 6   
Received: 22 Oct., 2024    Accepted: 28 Nov., 2024    Published: 13 Dec., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Drought seriously affects global cotton production and poses significant challenges to sustainable agricultural development. This study explores the genetic improvement of cotton drought resistance from the physiological mechanisms, genetic traits, and advanced breeding techniques, as well as key physiological mechanisms such as osmotic regulation, stomatal regulation, and root development, as well as genetic traits including ABA biosynthesis genes, stress-induced proteins, and transcription factors. Key molecular breeding methods such as marker assisted selection (MAS), genome selection (GS), and genome editing tools (such as CRISPR-Cas9) are introduced, and biotechnology interventions such as transgenic methods and RNA editing are also elaborated The role of interference (RNAi) and omics techniques in improving stress resistance was demonstrated through case studies, demonstrating the practical application of these strategies in developing drought tolerant cotton. Insights into the results and lessons learned were provided, and challenges such as genetic bottlenecks, environmental variability, and regulatory constraints were discussed. This study aims to promote the development of elastic cotton varieties and ensure sustainable productivity under constantly changing climate conditions.

Drought tolerance; Cotton breeding; Genetic improvement; Molecular breeding; Transgenic approaches