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Transcriptome regulation of carotenoids in five flesh-colored watermelons (Citrullus lanatus)

Authors :
Pingli Yuan
Muhammad Jawad Umer
Nan He
Shengjie Zhao
Xuqiang Lu
Hongju Zhu
Chengsheng Gong
Weinan Diao
Haileslassie Gebremeskel
Hanhui Kuang
Wenge Liu
Source :
BMC Plant Biology, Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 1-18 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
BMC, 2021.

Abstract

Abstract Background Fruit flesh color in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a great index for evaluating the appearance quality and a key contributor influencing consumers’ preferences. But the molecular mechanism of this intricate trait remains largely unknown. Here, the carotenoids and transcriptome dynamics during the fruit development of cultivated watermelon with five different flesh colors were analyzed. Results A total of 13 carotenoids and 16,781 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 1295 transcription factors (TFs), were detected in five watermelon genotypes during the fruit development. The comprehensive accumulation patterns of carotenoids were closely related to flesh color. A number of potential structural genes and transcription factors were found to be associated with the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway using comparative transcriptome analysis. The differentially expressed genes were divided into six subclusters and distributed in different GO terms and metabolic pathways. Furthermore, we performed weighted gene co-expression network analysis and predicted the hub genes in six main modules determining carotenoid contents. Cla018406 (a chaperone protein dnaJ-like protein) may be a candidate gene for β-carotene accumulation and highly expressed in orange flesh-colored fruit. Cla007686 (a zinc finger CCCH domain-containing protein) was highly expressed in the red flesh-colored watermelon, maybe a key regulator of lycopene accumulation. Cla003760 (membrane protein) and Cla021635 (photosystem I reaction center subunit II) were predicted to be the hub genes and may play an essential role in yellow flesh formation. Conclusions The composition and contents of carotenoids in five watermelon genotypes vary greatly. A series of candidate genes were revealed through combined analysis of metabolites and transcriptome. These results provide an important data resource for dissecting candidate genes and molecular basis governing flesh color formation in watermelon fruit.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
14712229
Volume :
21
Issue :
1
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
BMC Plant Biology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.3139e7a8117a47d196a277a2f24cc375
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-021-02965-z