Jiayi Wu , Yuxin Zhu , Tianze Zhang

Modern Agriculture Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Cotton Genomics and Genetics, 2025, Vol. 16, No. 5   
Received: 06 Aug., 2025    Accepted: 17 Sep., 2025    Published: 09 Oct., 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.

Cotton fibers are important natural textile raw materials, and their maturation process directly affects the length, strength and quality of the fibers. However, the molecular regulatory mechanisms during the fiber maturation period remain unclear, which limits the genetic improvement of high-quality cotton varieties. To deeply reveal the protein regulatory network related to fiber maturation, in this study, Label-Free Quantitative Proteomics technology was adopted to systematically analyze the protein expression profiles in cotton fibers at different developmental stages. Further functional enrichment and protein-protein interaction network analysis indicated that cellulose synthase (CESA), sucrose synthase (SUS), peroxidase, heat shock protein, etc. play a core role in the process of fiber maturation. This study systematically analyzed the developmental biological basis of cotton fiber maturation, the types and expression characteristics of key enzymes, and verified the expression patterns of key genes through case studies. Finally, it explored the application potential of proteomics data in breeding. This research not only enriches the understanding of the maturation mechanism of cotton fibers, but also provides potential functional gene resources for molecular breeding of high-quality cotton.

Cotton fiber maturation; Label-free quantitative proteomics; Key enzyme; Cell wall synthesis; Molecular breeding