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A large presence/absence variation in the promotor of the ClLOG gene determines trichome elongation in watermelon

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Abstract

Key message

The ClLOG gene encoding a cytokinin riboside 5ʹ-monophosphate phosphoribohydrolase determines trichome length in watermelon, which is associated with its promoter variations.

Abstract

Trichomes, which are differentiated from epidermal cells, are special accessory structures that cover the above-ground organs of plants and possibly contribute to biotic and abiotic stress resistance. Here, a bulked segregant analysis (BSA) of an F2 population with significant variations in trichome length was undertaken. A 1.84-Mb candidate region on chromosome 10 was associated with trichome length. Resequencing and fine-mapping analyses indicated that a 12-kb structural variation in the promoter of Cla97C10G203450 (ClLOG) led to a significant expression difference in this gene in watermelon lines with different trichome lengths. In addition, a virus-induced gene silencing analysis confirmed that ClLOG positively regulated trichome elongation. These findings provide new information and identify a potential target gene for controlling multicellular trichome elongation in watermelon.

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Data availability

The RNA-seq and BSA-seq data have been deposited in NGDC Bioproject PRJCA024248 and PRJCA024253. Other data generated in this study are included in this article and its supplementary information files.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Earmarked Fund for China Agriculture Research System (CARS25-17), the Project of Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City (SCKJ-JYRC-2022-18), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (+ 226-2022-00100), the high-level talents of Zhejiang Province (2021R51007), Science and technology innovation platform for the watermelon and melon breeding, reproduction, and spreading of Zhejiang Province (2020-KYY-NSFZ-0314), the Key Research Project of Ningbo Municipal Government (2021Z057), and the Key Science and Technology Program for Agricultural (Vegetable) New Variety Breeding of Zhejiang Province (2021C02065).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Vegetable Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, People’s Republic of China

    Yuyuan Ma, Yu Wang, Zhiqin Zhou, Runqin Zhang, Yiru Xie, Yihan Zhang, Xiaolong Lyu, Jinghua Yang, Mingfang Zhang & Zhongyuan Hu

  2. Hainan Institute of Zhejiang University, Yazhou District, Sanya, 572025, People’s Republic of China

    Yuyuan Ma, Yu Wang, Zhiqin Zhou, Runqin Zhang, Yihan Zhang, Xiaolong Lyu, Jinghua Yang, Mingfang Zhang & Zhongyuan Hu

  3. Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Growth, Development & Quality Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China

    Yuyuan Ma, Yu Wang, Zhiqin Zhou, Runqin Zhang, Yiru Xie, Xiaolong Lyu, Jinghua Yang, Mingfang Zhang & Zhongyuan Hu

  4. Key Laboratory of Vegetable Breeding, Ningbo Weimeng Seed Co., Ltd, Ningbo, 315100, People’s Republic of China

    Yongming Bo & Mingfang Zhang

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  1. Yuyuan Ma
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Contributions

ZH and MZ conceived and designed the study; YM conducted all experiments and wrote the manuscript; YW and ZZ participated in results analysis; RZ, YZ, YB, and YX helped perform parts of experiments; XL and JY participated in research discussion; all authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Zhongyuan Hu.

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Ma, Y., Wang, Y., Zhou, Z. et al. A large presence/absence variation in the promotor of the ClLOG gene determines trichome elongation in watermelon. Theor Appl Genet 137, 98 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-024-04601-4

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