Wild and cultivated cotton species: comparative studies on plant biochemistry, soil biology, and soil nutrient status

Context Among the Gossypium species, wild cotton species (WCS) serve as a genetic reservoir of diverse unique traits that are useful for genetic improvement of cultivated cotton species (CCS). Although cotton-breeding strategies largely use phenotypic and genotypic data for parent selection, plant biochemistry and soil biology have not been considered because of the absence of such data. Aims To study the differences in WCS and CCS on plant biochemistry, soil biology, and soil nutrient status. Methods A comparative analysis was conducted on 10 WCS (Gossypium anomalum, G. aridum, G. australe, G. barbosanum, G. capitis-viridis, G. davidsonii, G. raimondii, G. somalense, G. stocksii, G. thurberi) and four CCS (G. arboreum, G. herbaceum, G. hirsutum, and G. barbadense). Key results CCS had a higher soil basal respiration rate and microbial biomass carbon, whereas WCS had higher glomalin, phosphatase, β-glucosidase, and soil dehydrogenase activities. WCS had higher shoot and root carbohydrates, whereas CCS recorded higher proteins in the shoots and roots. WCS exhibited significantly higher peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, catalase, and L-phenylalanine ammonia lyase activities in the shoots and roots compared with CCS, whereas CCS had higher phenolic content. In terms of soil nutrients, WCS had higher organic carbon, macro, secondary, and micronutrients concentrations than CCS. Conclusions WCS exhibited higher plant defense enzyme activity and soil nutrient status than did CCS. Implications Our study has provided a greater understanding on the biochemical and soil biological differences between CCS and WCS, eventually supplementing the cotton database and support cotton breeders in selecting unique traits for crop improvement programmes.