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Mapping of quantitative trait loci for lycopene content and fruit traits in Citrullus lanatus

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Abstract

Lycopene content is an important factor for determining watermelon fruit quality. However, the low DNA polymorphism among cultivated watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) has hindered the ability to establish high quality genetic maps and study the quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling the lycopene content trait. In this study, we successfully constructed a genetic map of watermelon to determine lycopene content and other horticultural fruit traits using a F2 population developed from a cross between the two lines of watermelon LSW-177 and Cream of Saskatchewan. The genetic map contained 16 linkage groups covering a total length of 2,039.5 cM, which included 37 SSRs (Simple Sequence Repeat) and 107 CAPSs (Cleaved Amplified Polymorphic Sequences), with all of the CAPS markers developed from high-throughput re-sequencing of data from this study. Three CAPS markers (WII04E07-33,WII04E07-37,WII04E07-40) caused the F2 population to perfectly co-segregate for each F2 population plants. We also obtained 12 QTLs for all of the traits measured. Only one QTL (LCYB4.1) was detected with a high value of trait variation (83.50 %) that related to lycopene content and mapped on Chromosome 4 between CAPS markers WII04E07-33 and WII04E07-40, which could nearly account for all of the differences in lycopene content between the two parental strains. In this study, we highlighted 2,458 CAPS loci that were suitable for primer design with a polymorphism of 48.9 %, which is approximately a 12-fold increase from previous studies. The present map and QTLs will facilitate future studies on determining lycopene content related genes and cloning watermelon genes, while also providing for useful markers for breeding for lycopene content.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (31272186). This work was also supported by the China Agriculture Research System (CARS-26-02).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interests.

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Author notes

  1. Angela R. Davis

    Present address: HM. Clause, 9241 Mace Blvd, Davis, CA, 95618, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Horticulture College, Northeast Agricultural University, No. 59 Mucai Street Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, 150030, China

    Shi Liu, Peng Gao, Xuezheng Wang, Abdul Majeed Baloch & Feishi Luan

  2. Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (Northeast Region), Ministry of Agriculture, No. 59 Mucai Street Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, 150030, China

    Shi Liu, Peng Gao, Xuezheng Wang, Abdul Majeed Baloch & Feishi Luan

  3. South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC, USA

    Angela R. Davis

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  1. Shi Liu
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Correspondence to Feishi Luan.

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Liu, S., Gao, P., Wang, X. et al. Mapping of quantitative trait loci for lycopene content and fruit traits in Citrullus lanatus . Euphytica 202, 411–426 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-014-1308-9

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