Research article2020Peer reviewedOpen access
Evidence of the Role of QTL Epistatic Interactions in the Increase of Melon Fruit Flesh Content during Domestication
Riahi, Chaymaa; Luis Reig-Valiente, Juan; Pico, Belen; Diaz, Aurora; Jose Gonzalo, Maria; Jose Monforte, Antonio
Abstract
Cultivated melon was domesticated from wild melons, which produce small fruits with non-edible fruit flesh. The increase in fruit flesh is one of the major domestication achievements in this species. In previous work, a quantitative trait locus (QTL) on chromosome 6 (paqt6.1) linked to fruit flesh content was detected in a cross between cultivated ("Piel de Sapo", PS) and wild (Ames 24294, TRI) accessions. The QTL was introgressed into the PS background, generating the TRI_6-3 introgression line (IL) that confirmed the effects ofpaqt6.1. The primary objective of this work was to fine-mappaqt6.1as the first step for the map-based cloning. Two different approaches were carried out; however, the results were not consistent, precluding the fine mapping ofpaqt6.1. TRI_6-3 and other related ILs were genotyped by genotyping-by-sequencing, finding additional introgressions in other chromosomes. In an F(2)population from TRI_6-3-x-PS, we found an epistatic interaction betweenpaqt6.1and another locus on chromosome 11. The interaction was verified in advanced populations, suggesting that the effects ofpaqt6.1are conditioned by the allelic composition at another locus in chromosome 11. Both loci should have TRI alleles to reduce the flesh content in the PS background. The implications on the history of melon domestication are discussed.
Keywords
Cucumis melo L.; epistasis; QTL cloning; fine mapping; pericarp
Published in
Agronomy
2020, Volume: 10, number: 8, article number: 1064Publisher: MDPI
UKÄ Subject classification
Agricultural Science
Publication identifier
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10081064
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/107841