Fig. 1

MC promotes lateral root development in cotton. a MC promotes lateral root development in different cotton cultivars. Seeds from 10 cotton cultivars were collected to detect their lateral root number 12 DAT of seeds soaked with deionised water (Control) or 400 mg/L MC for 12 h. Images were acquired to quantify the lateral root number. b MC promotes lateral root development in a dosage-depended manner. Cotton seeds of K638 were treated with 100 mg/L, 200 mg/L, and 400 mg/L MC. Images were acquired at indicated time points to quantify the lateral root number correspondingly. c Root phenotype of K638. Images were acquired at 6 and 8 days after MC treatment (DAT). Significant differences were assessed from three repeats by standard t-tests (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001). 3 replicates per treatment, 7 plants per replicate, a total of 21 seeds per treatment