ABSTRACT
To tolerate water deficits, some plants osmotically adjust their cells to maintain both turgor and cell volume. In this study four cotton genotypes were characterized in relation to their osmotic adjustment, photosynthetic rate, relative water content, carbon discrimination and other physiological parameters. The results of this study have been used to guide our work in the molecular characterization and gene isolation in these same genotypes by Differential Display (RT-PCR). Cultivars Siokra L-23 and the wild type (T-1521) presented higher water deficit tolerance when compared with CS-50 and Stoneville 506. Osmotic adjustment and a higher photosynthetic rate played a key role in these results.
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