Fine mapping and candidate gene analysis of gynoecy trait in chieh-qua (Benincasa hispida Cogn. var. chieh-qua How)

Min Wang; Songguang Yang; Wei Liu; Zhenqiang Cao; Lin Chen; Wenrui Liu; Dasen Xie; Jinqiang Yan; Biao Jiang; Qingwu Peng

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1158735

Fine mapping and candidate gene analysis of gynoecy trait in chieh-qua (Benincasa hispida Cogn. var. chieh-qua How)

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Apr 20:14:1158735. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1158735. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Min Wang^{1

2}, Songguang Yang^{1

2}, Wei Liu^{1

2}, Zhenqiang Cao^{1

2}, Lin Chen^{1

2}, Wenrui Liu^{1

2}, Dasen Xie^{1

2}, Jinqiang Yan^{1

2}, Biao Jiang^{1

2}, Qingwu Peng¹

Affiliations

¹ Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
² Guangdong Key Laboratory for New Technology Research of Vegetables, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Gynoecy demonstrates an earlier production of hybrids and a higher yield and improves the efficiency of hybrid seed production. Therefore, the utilization of gynoecy is beneficial for the genetic breeding of chieh-qua. However, little knowledge of gynoecious-related genes in chieh-qua has been reported until now. Here, we used an F₂ population from the cross between the gynoecious line 'A36' and the monoecious line 'SX' for genetic mapping and revealed that chieh-qua gynoecy was regulated by a single recessive gene. We fine-mapped it into a 530-kb region flanked by the markers Indel-3 and KASP145 on Chr.8, which harbors eight candidate genes. One of the candidate genes, Bhi08G000345, encoding networked protein 4 (CqNET4), contained a non-synonymous SNP resulting in the amino acid substitution of isoleucine (ATA; I) to methionine (ATG; M). CqNET4 was prominently expressed in the female flower, and only three genes related to ethylene synthesis were significantly expressed between 'A36' and 'SX.' The results presented here provide support for the CqNET4 as the most likely candidate gene for chieh-qua gynoecy, which differed from the reported gynoecious genes.

Keywords: CqNET4; chieh-qua; ethylene synthesis related genes; gene mapping; gynoecy.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32002038), Guangzhou Science and Technology Project (202102020750), Special Fund for Scientific Innovation Strategy-Construction of High Level Academy of Agricultural Science (R2021PY-QF008), and Agricultural Competitive Industry Discipline Team Building Project of Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (202114TD, 202103TD).