Fruit Morphology and Ripening-Related QTLs in a Newly Developed Introgression Line Collection of the Elite Varieties ‘Védrantais’ and ‘Piel de Sapo’

Abstract

Melon is an economically important crop with widely diverse fruit morphology and ripening characteristics. Its diploid sequenced genome and multiple genomic tools make this species suitable to study the genetic architecture of fruit traits. With the development of this introgression line population of the elite varieties ‘Piel de Sapo’ and ‘Védrantais’, we present a powerful tool to study fruit morphology and ripening traits that can also facilitate characterization or pyramidation of QTLs in inodorous melon types. The population consists of 36 lines covering almost 98% of the melon genome, with an average of three introgressions per chromosome and segregating for multiple fruit traits: morphology, ripening and quality. High variability in fruit morphology was found within the population, with 24 QTLs affecting six different traits, confirming previously reported QTLs and two newly detected QTLs, FLQW5.1 and FWQW7.1. We detected 20 QTLs affecting fruit ripening traits, six of them reported for the first time, two affecting the timing of yellowing of the rind (EYELLQW1.1 and EYELLQW8.1) and four at the end of chromosome 8 affecting aroma, abscission and harvest date (EAROQW8.3, EALFQW8.3, ABSQW8.3 and HARQW8.3). We also confirmed the location of several QTLs, such as fruit-quality-related QTLs affecting rind and flesh appearance and flesh firmness.

Genetic regulation of volatile production in two melon introgression line collections with contrasting ripening behavior

“…These SSC QTLs were only found in a single experiment, so these lines should be tested again. On the contrary, the firmness QTL detected in VED11.2_C was stable, as it was previously detected in VED11.2 [ 11 ]. Fruit size QTLs detected in this population were also coincident with previously described QTLs.…”

“…Regarding bigger fruits of PS7.1_C, this phenotype was not previously detected in PS7.1, likely due to the presence of non-targeted introgressions that were removed in PS7.1_C [ 10 ]. This QTL colocalizes with FWQW7.1 in the VED ILs population [ 11 ] and with a fruit size QTL described in a PI 414723 x Dulce RIL population [ 12 ]. The smaller fruits of PS10.2_C could be related to FAQP10.1 and FPQP10.1 , QTLs previously identified in PS10.1 [ 10 ], but also to a FW QTL detected by Eduardo et al (2007) [ 17 ].…”

“…melo , cantalupensis group) [ 9 ]. Recently, two reciprocal IL collections have been developed between the commercial varieties PS and VED [ 10 , 11 ]. In addition, among several RIL populations developed in melon [ 12–14 ], the volatile profile has been evaluated in a VED x PS RIL population, and 166 VOCs QTLs have been detected [ 2 ].…”

Genetic Mapping and QTL Analysis of Fruit Traits in Melon (Cucumis melo L.)

“…Multiple molecular tools have been developed to help researchers map traits in many crop varieties and link them to certain genomic loci or genes [ 14 , 15 ], thus accelerating plant breeding. The use of molecular markers has facilitated the unraveling of molecular mechanisms underlying different traits [ 16 , 17 ]. The identified markers have accelerated genetic crop breeding based on marker assisted selection (MAS).…”

Estimating the Moisture Ratio Model of Cantaloupe Slices by Maximum Likelihood Principle-Based Algorithms

“…saccharinus ) is a kind of agricultural plant and belongs to Cucurbitaceae. Cantaloupes contain rich nutrition and are good sources of -carotene and vitamin C. Furthermore, they have low unsaturated fat, low cholesterol, and high moisture contents [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. China is the largest producer of cantaloupes with a production of 13.8 million tons in 2020 [ 5 ].…”