Genome-wide identification of STERILE APETALA (SAP) like genes in Gossypium and functional characterization of GhSAP_A07 controlling seed size, leaf morphology.

Summary: Cotton plants give us the fibers we use for clothes and the seeds we use for oil. Scientists wanted to figure out how to make cotton plants grow even better. They looked closely at a special type of gene called SAP, which acts like a manager telling the plant how to grow its parts.

They discovered 12 of these SAP genes in cotton. When they made one specific gene (called GhSAP_A07) work extra hard, the plants grew different leaves and much bigger seeds! They found out this happens because the gene changes how a plant growth hormone called "auxin" moves around inside the plant. This exciting discovery could help farmers grow much better, higher-yielding cotton in the future.