Mehboob-Ur- Rahman

By Mehboob ur-Rahman, Zainab Rahmat, Abid Mahmood, Khalid Abdullah and Yusuf Zafar

Part of the book: World Cotton Germplasm Resources

By Mehboob-ur- Rahman, Tayyaba Shaheen, Mahmood-ur- Rahman, Muhammad Atif Iqbal and Yusuf Zafar

Bioinformatics, a computer-assisted science aiming at managing a huge volume of genomic data, is an emerging discipline that combines the power of computers, mathematical algorithms, and statistical concepts to solve multiple genetic/biological puzzles. This science has progressed parallel to the evolution of genome-sequencing tools, for example, the next-generation sequencing technologies, that resulted in arranging and analyzing the genome-sequencing information of large genomes. Synergism of “plant omics” and bioinformatics set a firm foundation for deducing ancestral karyotype of multiple plant families, predicting genes, etc. Second, the huge genomic data can be assembled to acquire maximum information from a voluminous “omics” data. The science of bioinformatics is handicapped due to lack of appropriate computational procedures in assembling sequencing reads of the homologs occurring in complex genomes like cotton (2n = 4x = 52), wheat (2n = 6x = 42), etc., and shortage of multidisciplinary-oriented trained manpower. In addition, the rapid expansion of sequencing data restricts the potential of acquisitioning, storing, distributing, and analyzing the genomic information. In future, inventions of high-tech computational tools and skills together with improved biological expertise would provide better insight into the genomes, and this information would be helpful in sustaining crop productivities on this planet.

Part of the book: Bioinformatics

By Mehboob-ur-Rahman and Yusuf Zafar

Part of the book: Past, Present and Future Trends in Cotton Breeding

By Adem Bardak, Khezir Hayat, Oktay Erdogan, Zahid Mahmood, Noor-ul-Islam Khan, Muhammad Atif Iqbal, Halil Tekerek, Mehboob-ur-Rahman and Hafiz Muhammad Imran

The genus Gossypium provides natural fiber for textile industry worldwide. Genetic improvement in cotton for traits of interest is not up to mark due to scarcity of adequate information about fiber production and quality. Use of DNA markers for overcoming the issues of selection associated with complex traits is the ultimate choice which may lead to initiate breeding by design. Numerous marker-trait associations have been identified for economical traits using linkage analysis in cotton. Currently there is need for developing high-density genetic maps using next-generation sequencing approaches together with genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Efforts have been started in this direction and several QTLs including fiber quality, yield traits, plant architecture, stomatal conductance and verticillium wilt resistance were identified. This chapter narrates genetic diversity, QTL mapping, association mapping and QTLs related to fiber quality traits. The incorporation of various genomic approaches and previously described marker strategies will pave the way for increase in fiber production.

Part of the book: Past, Present and Future Trends in Cotton Breeding

By Syed Adeel Zafar, Mehmood Ali Noor, Muhammad Ahmed Waqas, Xiukang Wang, Tayyaba Shaheen, Mubashar Raza and Mehboob- Ur-Rahman

Cotton is an important cash crop, providing raw material for different industries and plays crucial role in the economy of several countries. It requires optimum temperature for economic production and causes reduced yield otherwise. Extreme temperature, more importantly, high temperature causes serious yield reduction in cotton by affecting its physiology, biochemistry and quality leading to poor agronomic produce. Freezing temperature also affect the germination percentage and seedling establishment. Several breeding and genomics based studies were conducted to improve the cotton production under high and low temperature stress in cotton. Here we overviewed several agronomic practices to mitigate the effect of extreme temperature, and multiple breeding and molecular approaches to enhance the genetic potential of cotton for temperature tolerance by Marker assisted selection or transgenic approach.

Part of the book: Past, Present and Future Trends in Cotton Breeding

By Khezir Hayat, Adem Bardak, Mehboob-ur-Rahman, Hafiz Muhammad Imran, Furqan Ahmad, Donay Parlak, Muhammad Azam, Muhammad Usmaan, Muhammad Adnan, Sidra Anjum and Rao Sohail Ahmad Khan

Improved fiber yield is considered a constant goal of upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) breeding worldwide, but the understanding of the genetic basis controlling yield-related traits remains limited. Dissecting the genetic architecture of complex traits is an ongoing challenge for geneticists. Two complementary approaches for genetic mapping, linkage mapping and association mapping have led to successful dissection of complex traits in many crop species. Both of these methods detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) by identifying marker–trait associations, and the only fundamental difference between them is that between mapping populations, which directly determine mapping resolution and power. Nowadays, the availability of genomic tools and resources is leading to a new revolution of plant breeding, as they facilitate the study of the genotype and its relationship with the phenotype, in particular for complex traits. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies are allowing the mass sequencing of genomes and transcriptomes, which is producing a vast array of genomic information with the development of high-throughput genotyping, phenotyping will be a major challenge for genetic mapping studies. We believe that high-quality phenotyping and appropriate experimental design coupled with new statistical models will accelerate progress in dissecting the genetic architecture of complex traits.

Part of the book: Plant Breeding