Vasu Kuraparthy

Bio

Overall goal of our program is broadening the genetic base of crop plants through conservation, efficient utilization of biodiversity using genetic and genomic tools and understand the genetic basis of fundamental biological processes in plant biology that will lead to profitable and sustainable crop production. Primary focus of our research is on cotton genetics and breeding with the goal of developing germplasm, genetic stocks, mapping and genomic resources for enhancing the cotton productivity through improved genetics and breeding information and technologies.

Current Cotton Research Focus Areas

• Trait Improvement

  • Disease & Insect Resistance

  • Plant Architecture, Growth & Development

  • Fiber Quality & Yield

  • Water Use Efficiency

  • Heat Stress Tolerance

  • Climate Resilience

• Trait & Gene Discovery
• Developing Genetic & Genomic Resources
• Advancing Breeding Methodologies
• Germplasm Releases

Tools, Technologies & Approaches

• Trait Mapping
• Gene Cloning
• Gene Editing
• Quantitative & Population Genetics
• Genomics & Computational Genetics
• Molecular Breeding
• Molecular Biology & Cytogenetics
• High Throughput Phenotyping
• Field Breeding
• Introgressive Breeding

Publications

• Genome‐wide association study of yield‐component traits in US upland cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.) , Crop Science (2026)
• Genome‐wide exploration of bacterial leaf blight resistance and fine mapping of major resistance gene ( Bb13 ) in upland cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.) , The Plant Genome (2026)
• Population structure, genetic diversity analyses and genome-wide association study of photoperiod sensitivity in Pima cotton (Gossypium barbadense L.) , BMC Plant Biology (2026)
• Better root length distribution in the deep soil profile enhances upland cotton performance , Field Crops Research (2025)
• Genetic and biochemical analyses identify a major locus, GH-PA1 , underlying pollen carotenoid accumulation and pigmentation in upland cotton , Journal of Experimental Botany (2025)
• Fine mapping and targeted genomic analyses of photoperiod‐sensitive gene ( GB_PPD1 ) in Pima cotton ( Gossypium barbadense L.) , Crop Science (2024)
• Genome-wide association study of fiber quality traits in US upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) , Theoretical and Applied Genetics (2024)
• Phenotypic variability in the US upland cotton core set for root traits and water use efficiency at the late reproductive stage , Crop Science (2024)
• Physiological characterization of leaf‐shape isolines of upland cotton , Agronomy Journal (2024)
• Development and validation of Kompetitive allele‐specific PCR (KASP) markers for bacterial blight resistant locus BB‐13 in Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) , Crop Science (2023)