Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is the third most important crop in the family of Solanaceae. Prickles are considered as the undesirable traits during the plantation of eggplant and the transportation of fruits. In this study, we constructed a high-quality genetic linkage Bin map derived from the re-sequencing analysis on a cross of a prickly wild landrace, 17C01, and a cultivated variety, 17C02. The major quantitative trait locus (QTL) controlling the development of prickles on the calyx (explained 30.42% of the phenotypic variation), named as qPC.12, was identified on a ~7 kb region on chromosome 12. A gene within qPC.12, which encodes a WUSCHEL-related homeobox-like protein, with higher expression levels in 17C01 calyx and 22-bp deletion in 17C02 was probably the functional gene for prickle formation. Results from this study would ultimately facilitate uncovering the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying the development of a prickle in eggplant.

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With the development of facility agriculture, low-light stress is a prominent problem and a popular research topic currently. In this study, transcriptome analysis was used to analyze the genes in the fruit peel of photosensitive and nonphotosensitive eggplant and to explore the mechanism of changes in fruit color, texture, hormone content, aroma, and taste of these two different types of eggplant. We identified 51, 65, 66, and 66 genes involved in synthesizing anthocyanins, texture, hormone content, and aroma and flavor, respectively, in the two different types of eggplant based on the variation in gene expression trends in the fruit peel. These results provide a basis for further analysis of the molecular mechanism underlying the regulatory processes in eggplant fruits under low-light stress.