Genetic Dissection of ToLCNDV Resistance in Resistant Sources of Cucumis melo

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Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) is a begomovirus causing significant melon (Cucumis melo) crop losses globally. This study aims to map the ToLCNDV resistance in the PI 414723 melon accession, previously identified and characterized through phenotypic studies, thereby exploring shared genomic regions with the established resistant source WM-7. In the present study, WM-7 and PI 414723 were crossed with the susceptible accessions 'Rochet' and 'Blanco' respectively, to generate F1 hybrids. These hybrids were self-pollinated to generate the populations for mapping the ToLCNDV resistance region and designing markers for marker-assisted selection. Disease evaluation included visual symptom scoring, viral-load quantification and tissue printing. Genotyping-by-sequencing and SNP markers were used for quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping. For genetic analysis, qPCR and bulked segregant RNA-seq (BSR-seq) were performed. Gene expression was assessed using RNA-seq, and qRT-PCR was used for confirmation. The research narrows the candidate region for resistance in WM-7 and identifies overlapping QTLs on chromosome 11 in PI 414723, found in the region of the DNA primase large subunit. BSR-seq and expression analyses highlight potential regulatory roles of chromosome 2 in conferring resistance. Differential expression was confirmed for six genes in the candidate region on chromosome 2. This study confirms the existence of common resistance genes in PI 414723 and WM-7.

This work was supported by the grant PID2021-125787OR-C33, funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033; the ‘FEDER UE’ PROMETEO/2021/072 project for excellence groups Conselleria d’Educació, Cultura, Universitats i Ocupació (Generalitat Valenciana, Spain); and project RTC-2017-6023-2, funded MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by FEDER ‘A way of making Europe’. C.S. was the recipient of a ‘Margarita Salas’ grant (MS/60) from the Requalification Program for Excellence of the Universitat Politècnica de València, Spanish Ministry of Universities and European Union-Next Generation EU. C.P.M. is a recipient of the predoctoral fellowship “Programa de Ayudas de Investigación y Desarrollo (PAID-01-19)” from Universitat Politècnica de València. Funding for open access charge: Universitat Politècnica de València (PAID-12-23).

Peer reviewed