Abstract
As a diverse species, watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. &Nakai var. lanatus] has different kinds of fruit sizes, shapes, flesh colors and skin colors. Skin color is among the major objectives for breeding. Yellow skin is an important trait in watermelon, but the underlying genetic mechanism is unknown. In this study, we identified a locus for yellow skin through BSA-seq and GWAS. A segregation analysis in F2 and BC1 populations derived from a cross of two inbred lines ‘94E1’(yellow skin) and ‘Qingfeng’(green skin) suggested that skin color is a qualitative trait. BSA-seq mapping confirmed the locus in the F2 population, which was detected on chromosome 4 by GWAS among 330 varieties. Several major markers, namely, 15 CAPS markers, 6 SSR markers and 2 SNP markers, were designed to delimit the region to 59.8 kb region on chromosome 4. Utilizing the two populations consisting of 10 yellow and 10 green skin watermelons, we found a tightly linked functional SNP marker for the yellow skin phenotype. The application of this marker as a selection tool in breeding programs will help to improve the breeder’s ability to make selections at early stages of growth, thus accelerating the breeding program.
Highlights
Skin color is predominantly an extremely important characteristic for markets and breeders point of view, displaying wide range of variations
We identified a locus and linkage marker on chromosome 4 that was associated with watermelon yellow skin through genome wide association studies (GWAS) of 330 watermelon accessions and bulked-segregant analysis (BSA) by genotyping a pair of bulked DNA samples from two sets of individuals representing opposite extreme phenotypes
The segregation ratio computed by the chi-square test for these three populations was in accordance with 3:1 (Table 1), suggesting that watermelon yellow skin was a qualitatively inherited trait controlled by a single dominant gene
Summary
Skin color is predominantly an extremely important characteristic for markets and breeders point of view, displaying wide range of variations. Anthocyanin synthesis in apple flowers is controlled by two MYB genes, two UFGT genes, one bHLH3 gene and one bHLH33, while the MdMYB1a, MdMYB1, MdbHLH3-1, MdbHLH33-1, MdUFGT2-1, and MdUFGT4 genes were disclosed to synthesize anthocyanin in apple skin. They may be involved in other plant functions at different fruit development stages in different cultivars [4]. The study demonstrated that the MYB12 transcription factor plays an important role in regulating the flavonoid pathway in tomato fruit and suggested strongly that SlMYB12
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