Zheijiang University professor Tianzhen Zhang and colleagues generated the
most complete genome assemblies for two cotton species Gossypium hirsutum
and G. barbadense using NRGene's customized DeNovoMAGIC-3 software. The
results are published in Nature Genetics.

Despite cotton's wide usage in various industries, little is known about its
origin. With the chromosome-by-chromose representation of the two cotton
species, scientists and breeders can unlock more of cotton's potential.

"The two cultivated allotetraploid cotton species have striking differences
in fiber quality, growth habits, and yields," said Professor Zhang. "As a
result of NRGene's tools, we can now compare these two genomes and use them
to help us pinpoint the genetic differences responsible for these diverse
traits. This can take much of the guesswork out of developing better quality
and higher yield cotton as well as of studying cotton origin and
domestication."

[www.nrgene.com]