SummaryCowpea (V. unguiculata L. Walp) is a climate resilient legume crop important for food security. Cultivated cowpea (V. unguiculata L) generally comprises the bushy, short‐podded grain cowpea dominant in Africa and the climbing, long‐podded vegetable cowpea popular in Asia. How selection has contributed to the diversification of the two types of cowpea remains largely unknown. In the current study, a novel genotyping assay for over 50 000 SNPs was employed to delineate genomic regions governing pod length. Major, minor and epistatic QTLs were identified through QTL mapping. Seventy‐two SNPs associated with pod length were detected by genome‐wide association studies (GWAS). Population stratification analysis revealed subdivision among a cowpea germplasm collection consisting of 299 accessions, which is consistent with pod length groups. Genomic scan for selective signals suggested that domestication of vegetable cowpea was accompanied by selection of multiple traits including pod length, while the further improvement process was featured by selection of pod length primarily. Pod growth kinetics assay demonstrated that more durable cell proliferation rather than cell elongation or enlargement was the main reason for longer pods. Transcriptomic analysis suggested the involvement of sugar, gibberellin and nutritional signalling in regulation of pod length. This study establishes the basis for map‐based cloning of pod length genes in cowpea and for marker‐assisted selection of this trait in breeding programmes.
Partial resistance to Phytophthora sojae in soybean may provide effective protection against all isolates of the pathogen, thus reducing yield losses. Better understanding of partial resistance has, therefore, become an important goal for the improvement of soybean (Glycine max). The aim of the present study was to identify the potential quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for partial resistance to P. sojae.
SUMMARY
The bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria, Cucurbitaceae) is an important horticultural crop exhibiting tremendous diversity in fruit shape. The genetic architecture of fruit shape variation in this species remains unknown. We assembled a long‐read‐based, high‐quality reference genome (ZAAS_Lsic_2.0) with a contig N50 value over 390‐fold greater than the existing reference genomes. We then focused on dissection of fruit shape using a one‐step geometric morphometrics‐based functional mapping approach. We identified 11 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for fruit shape (fsQTLs), reconstructed their visible effects and revealed syntenic relationships of bottle gourd fsQTLs with 12 fsQTLs previously reported in cucumber, melon or watermelon. Homologs of several well‐known and newly identified fruit shape genes, including SUN, OFP, AP2 and auxin transporters, were comapped with bottle gourd QTLs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.