Abstract：Abstract: Using cDNA-AFLP technique, gene expressions in the ovules of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Xuzhou142 (WT) and its lint and fuzz and mutant (fl ) at fiber initiation stage(0 and 4 d post anthesis) were compared. The result showed that among 561 amplified bands, 166 belonged to two kinds of ovules, of which 83 specially displayed in WT ovules and 83 in fl , respectively. Using cDNAs as probe, 47 WT special fragments were further analyzed by reverse Northern blot, of which 32 were found to be differentially expressed in the WT ovule, and presumably related to the fiber initiation. Sequence analysis demonstrated that, among 18 sequenced fragments, eight were sequence-similar to proteins in GenBank, i.e. polyphosphoinositide binding protein, cytochrome oxidase subunit Ⅱ, beta-glucosidase, sucrose synthase, calcium channel alpha-1D subunit, rice osmotic response protein osr40 and TSO1-like protein, four were similar to hypothetical proteins of Arabidopsis thiliana , and no similar sequence were found in GenBank for the other 6 fragments.
