Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Sep 25;23(4):310.
doi: 10.1007/s10142-023-01239-1.

Construction and application of a new watermelon germplasm with the phenotype of dwarf and branchless

Junling Dou  1 , Qishuai Kang  1 , Tengwei Li  1 , Muhammad Jawad Umer  2 , Badr Alharthi  3 , Dongming Liu  1 , Sen Yang  1 , Huanhuan Niu  1 , Changsheng Ma  1 , Huayu Zhu  1 , Luming Yang  4
Affiliations

Construction and application of a new watermelon germplasm with the phenotype of dwarf and branchless

Junling Dou et al. Funct Integr Genomics. .

Abstract

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a widely cultivated cucurbitaceae crop appreciated by consumers worldwide. However, the long vine and abundant lateral branches of currently cultivated watermelon varieties hinder light simplification and mechanized cultivation, affecting plant spacing and row spacing requirements. To address this, the development of watermelon with dwarf and branchless traits has become a crucial direction for the industry. In previous studies, the genes controlling dwarf (Cldw-1) and branchless (Clbl) traits were mapped and cloned. Marker-assisted selection markers, dCAPS3 and dCAPS10, were developed for these traits, respectively. In this study, the dwarf germplasm WM102 and the branchless germplasm WCZ were crossed to obtain F1 .Further self-crossing of the F1 individuals resulted in the F2 population. Through multiple generations of self-pollination, a new watermelon germplasm DM with double mutation (dwarf and branchless) was obtained. DM exhibited stable inheritance without segregation. Moreover, DM was used as a donor parent for crossing with commercial watermelon materials, and near-isogenic lines (NILs) with the dwarf and branchless traits were developed. These NILs carry additional desirable agronomic traits and provide valuable genetic resources for future watermelon breeding programs, particularly in improving plant architecture and overall quality. The development and application of DM and NILs hold great potential for advancing the watermelon industry toward industrialization, large-scale cultivation, and enhanced plant architecture.

Keywords: Branchless; Dwarf; Marker-assisted selection; Plant architecture; Watermelon.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Dong W, Wu D, Li G, Wu D, Wang Z (2018) Next-generation sequencing from bulked segregant analysis identifies a dwarfism gene in watermelon. Sci Rep 8:2908 - DOI
    1. Dou J, Wang Y, Yang H et al (2022a) Development of branchless watermelon near isogenic lines by marker assisted selection. Hortic Plant J 8(5):627–636 - DOI
    1. Dou J, Yang H, Sun D et al (2022b) The branchless gene Clbl in watermelon encoding a TERMINAL FLOWER1 protein regulates the number of lateral branches. Theor Appl Genet 135:65–79 - DOI
    1. Guner N, Wehner TC (2004) The genes of watermelon. HortScience 39:1175–1182 - DOI
    1. Huang X, Zhang X, Jiao D et al (1995) A new watermelon germplasm without branching and light resistant to fusarium wilt was obtained by radiation mutagenesis. Chinese Watermelon Melon 3:10–11 (In Chinese)

LinkOut - more resources