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Radiosensitivity of two varieties of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) to different doses of gamma irradiation

  • Genetics & Evolutionary Biology - Original Article
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Abstract

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is one of the most popular fruits in Cameroon and the world at large. However, the extreme sensitivity of watermelon to parasites and climatic vagaries makes its cultivation demanding of chemical inputs that can have negative impacts on human health and the environment. In Cameroon, there is a slow improvement of fruit yield in watermelon breeding due to the lack of natural heritable genetic variation, which is a prerequisite for genetic improvement of crops. Such variation can be created through either random or targeted processes on genotypes with appropriate doses of radiation. Genetic improvement by induced mutagenesis appears today alongside hybridization as an alternative method of creating new plant varieties. However, the success of this approach is determined by the application of an appropriate and ideal dose of mutagen. The objective of this study was to evaluate the radiosensitivity of the two most cultivated watermelon varieties in Cameroon to gamma radiation from 60Co in order to determine an optimal dose or lethal dose 50 (LD50) for the induction of the genetic variability necessary for genetic improvement. Seeds of the Kaolack and Crimson sweet watermelon varieties were irradiated with five doses of gamma radiation (100, 200, 300, 400 and 600 Gy) in the laboratory of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Seibersdorf, Austria. These seeds were cultivated in a greenhouse following an utterly randomized device with three repetitions, and parameters such as the germination rate, the survival rate and the shoot length of plants were evaluated. High rates of 90% and 75% germination were obtained, respectively, for the control treatments of Kaolack and Crimson sweet, while the lowest rates were 35% at 600 Gy for Kaolack and 30% at 400 Gy for Crimson sweet. The highest survival rate of plants (96.66%) was obtained with the control seeds of the Kaolack. This variety had the lowest survival rate (45.6%) at 600 Gy dose. Statistical analysis of data obtained helped to estimate the ideal LD50 doses based on growth reduction of seedlings’ heights after gamma-ray treatment. Using a linear regression model based on parameters like plant size, the LD50 doses for Kaolack and Crimson sweet were calculated at 225.40 Gy and 221.56 Gy, respectively, and predicted between 200 and 250 Gy. These results show that the two varieties evaluated were radiosensitive as clearly expressed in the parameters evaluated, where the values decreased with the increase in the irradiation dose. The LD50 doses from this study could be safely applied as reference doses for large-scale gamma irradiation of watermelon genotypes to create desirable agronomic traits in the mutation breeding efforts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Genetics and Plants Improvement, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Fokam Paul Ernest, Ntsomboh-Ntsefong Godswill, Ngalle Hermine Bille & Bell Joseph Martin

  2. Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD), Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Mafouasson Apala Hortense Noëlle, Ntsomboh-Ntsefong Godswill & Owona Albert Simon

  3. Department of Crop Science, College of Sanghuh Life Science, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, Republic of Korea

    Muthu Thiruvengadam

  4. V.M. Gorbatov Federal Research Center for Food Systems of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation

    Maksim Rebezov

  5. Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russian Federation

    Maksim Rebezov

  6. K.G. Razumovsky Moscow State University of Technologies and Management (The First Cossack University), Moscow, Russian Federation

    Mohammad Ali Shariati

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  1. Fokam Paul Ernest
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  2. Mafouasson Apala Hortense Noëlle
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Contributions

FPE, BJM and GNN conceived and designed the experiments. MNA, OAS and NHB performed the experiments and drafted the manuscript. BJM and MR analyzed the data. MAA helped perform the analysis with constructive discussion. MT reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the submitted manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ntsomboh-Ntsefong Godswill or Bell Joseph Martin.

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Paul Ernest, F., Hortense Noëlle, M., Godswill, NN. et al. Radiosensitivity of two varieties of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) to different doses of gamma irradiation. Braz. J. Bot 43, 897–905 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-020-00659-8

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