Mapping the flavor contributing traits on "Fengwei melon" (Cucumis melo L.) chromosomes using parent resequencing and super bulked-segregant analysis

We used a next-generation high-throughput sequencing platform to resequence the Xinguowei and Shouxing melon cultivars, the parents of Fengwei melon. We found 84% of the reads (under a coverage rate of "13×") placed on the reference genome DHL92. There were 2,550,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms and 140,000 structural variations in the two genomes. We also identified 1,290 polymorphic genes between Xinguowei and Shouxing. We combined specific length amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) and bulked-segregant analysis (super-BSA) to analyze the two parents and the F extreme phenotypes. This combined method yielded 12,438,270 reads, 46,087 SLAF tags, and 4,480 polymorphic markers (average depth of 161.81×). There were six sweet trait-related regions containing 13 differential SLAF markers, and 23 sour trait-related regions containing 48 differential SLAF markers. We further fine-mapped the sweet trait to the genomic regions on chromosomes 6, 10, 11, and 12. Correspondingly, we mapped the sour trait-related genomic regions to chromosomes 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and 12. Finally, we positioned nine of the 61 differential markers in the sweet and sour trait candidate regions on the parental genome. These markers corresponded to one sweet and eight sour trait-related genes. Our study provides a basis for marker-assisted breeding of desirable sweet and sour traits in Fengwei melons.