A comprehensive genome variation map of melon identifies multiple domestication events and loci influencing agronomic traits

First author: Guangwei Zhao; Affiliations: Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (中国农业科学院郑州水果研究所): Zhengzhou, China

Corresponding author: Sanwen Huang

Melon is an economically important fruit crop that has been cultivated for thousands of years; however, the genetic basis and history of its domestication still remain largely unknown. Here we report a comprehensive map of the genomic variation in melon derived from the resequencing of 1,175 accessions, which represent the global diversity of the species. Our results suggest that three independent domestication events occurred in melon, two in India and one in Africa. We detected two independent sets of domestication sweeps, resulting in diverse characteristics of the two subspecies melo and agrestis during melon breeding. Genome-wide association studies for 16 agronomic traits identified 208 loci significantly associated with fruit mass, quality and morphological characters. This study sheds light on the domestication history of melon and provides a valuable resource for genomics-assisted breeding of this important crop.

甜瓜是一种重要的经济水果作物，已经被栽培了数千年；然而，甜瓜驯化的遗传基础和历史仍然还不清楚。 本文中，作者通过对来自全球的1175份甜瓜材料的重测序绘制了甜瓜基因组变异图谱。 本文的结果表明，在甜瓜驯化历史中发生了三个独立的驯化事件，其中两个发生在印度，一个发生在非洲。 作者检测到两个独立的驯化清除集合，从而导致了两个甜瓜亚种melo和agrestis在育种过程中的不同特征。 对16个农艺性状的全基因组关联分析鉴定了208个与果实质量、品质和形态特征显著相关的基因座。 本文的研究揭示了甜瓜的驯化历史，并为该重要作物的基因组学育种提供了宝贵的遗传资源。

通讯：黄三文 (http://www.agis.org.cn/rctd/rcdw/gjjrc/gjgccrctszcjh/194198.htm)

个人简介：1989-1993年，北京农业大学，学士；1993-1996年，中国农业大学，硕士；2000-2005年，荷兰瓦赫宁根大学；博士。

研究方向：致力于利用组学大数据开拓植物生物学前沿并推动蔬菜作物育种变革。

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-019-0522-8

Journal: Nature Genetics

Published date: November 01, 2019