Long-read genome assembly and genetic architecture of fruit shape in the bottle gourd.

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.

A universal pipeline for mobile mRNA detection and insights into heterografting advantages under chilling stress.

Heterografting has long been used to enhance the chilling tolerance of temperature-sensitive crops, including watermelon, whose mechanism is known to involve bidirectional long-distance mRNA movements. Despite several studies reporting on mobile mRNA (mb-mRNA) profiles in plants, accurate identification of mb-mRNAs is challenging owing to an array of technical problems. Here, we developed a bioinformatical pipeline that took most of the known technical concerns into consideration and is considered to be a universal tool for mb-mRNA detection in heterografts. By applying this pipeline to a commercial watermelon-bottle gourd heterografting system, we detected 130 and 1144 mb-mRNAs upwardly and 167 and 1051 mb-mRNAs downwardly transmitted under normal and chilling-stress conditions, respectively. Quantitative real-time PCR indicated a high accuracy rate (88.2%) of mb-mRNA prediction with our pipeline. We further revealed that the mobility of mRNAs was not associated with their abundance. Functional annotation and classification implied that scions may convey the stress signal to the rootstock, subsequently triggering energy metabolism reprogramming and abscisic acid-mediated stress responses by upward movement of effective mRNAs, ultimately leading to enhanced chilling tolerance. This study provides a universal tool for mb-mRNA detection in plant heterografting systems and novel insights into heterografting advantages under chilling stress.

Correction to: A universal pipeline for mobile mRNA detection and insights into heterografting advantages under chilling stress.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/s41438-019-0236-1.].

Parental selection of hybrid breeding based on maternal and paternal inheritance of traits in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.).

Parental selection is crucial for hybrid breeding, but the methods available for such a selection are not very effective. In this study, a 6×6 incomplete diallel cross was designed using 12 rapeseed germplasms, and a total of 36 hybrids together with their parental lines were planted in 4 environments. Four yield-related traits and seed oil content (OC) were evaluated. Genetic distance (GD) was estimated with 359 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers. Heterosis levels, general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) were evaluated. GD was found to have a significant correlation with better-parent heterosis (BPH) of thousand seed weight (TSW), SCA of seeds per silique (SS), TSW, and seed yield per plant (SY), while SCA showed a statistically significant correlation with heterosis levels of all traits at 1% significance level. Statistically significant correlations were also observed between GCA of maternal or paternal parents and heterosis levels of different traits except for SS. Interestingly, maternal (TSW, SS, and OC) and paternal (siliques per plant (SP) and SY) inheritance of traits was detected using contribution ratio of maternal and paternal GCA variance as well as correlations between GCA and heterosis levels. Phenotype and heterosis levels of all the traits except TSW of hybrids were significantly correlated with the average performance of parents. The correlations between SS and SP, SP and OC, and SY and OC were statistically significant in hybrids but not in parents. Potential applications of parental selection in hybrid breeding were discussed.