Single nucleotide polymorphisms in <i>SEPALLATA 2</i> underlie fruit length variation in cucurbits
Complete disruption of critical genes is generally accompanied by severe growth and developmental defects, which dramatically hinder its utilization in crop breeding. Identifying subtle changes, such as single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in critical genes that specifically modulate a favorable trait is a prerequisite to fulfill breeding potential. Here, we found 2 SNPs in the E-class floral organ identity gene cucumber (Cucumis sativus) SEPALLATA2 (CsSEP2) that specifically regulate fruit length. Haplotype (HAP) 1 (8G2667A) and HAP2 (8G2667T) exist in natural populations, whereas HAP3 (8A2667T) is induced by ethyl methanesulfonate mutagenesis. Phenotypic characterization of 4 near-isogenic lines and a mutant line showed that HAP2 fruits are significantly longer than those of HAP1, and those of HAP3 are 37.8% longer than HAP2 fruit. The increasing fruit length in HAP1-3 was caused by a decreasing inhibitory effect on CRABS CLAW (CsCRC) transcription (a reported positive regulator of fruit length), resulting in enhanced cell expansion. Moreover, a 7638G/A-SNP in melon (Cucumis melo) CmSEP2 modulates fruit length in a natural melon population via the conserved SEP2-CRC module. Our findings provide a strategy for utilizing essential regulators with pleiotropic effects during crop breeding.
Authors
- Min Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0901-5543)
- Jiacai Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3351-7895)
- Chengzhen Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0770-6877)
- Jinsheng Lai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9202-9641)
- Yan Geng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8019-3943)
- Bin Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0855-0213)
- Zhaoyang Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2178-9525)
- Weiyuan Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0385-4637)
- Daixi She
- Zhihua Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8729-3226)
- Yuxiang Huang
- Liu Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2050-430X)
- Jianyu Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9339-3533)
- Xuejun Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7698-5888)
- Liying Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3669-3657)
- Zilong Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2526-195X)
- Xiaolan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6343-3116)
- Yang Xie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9825-4646)
- Yanting Zhong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3500-0647)
- Ming Xin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0584-3282)
- Di Tian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6839-4886)
- Chuang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4701-4858)
- Jingyu Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5359-6986)
Institutions
- Northeast Agricultural University (CN)
- Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN)
- Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology (CN)
- China Agricultural University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Plant Cell
- Published
- 2024-08-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae228
- Citations
- 9
- Primary Topic
- Advances in Cucurbitaceae Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.95
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- China Agricultural University