Identification and Confirmation of Molecular Markers and Orange Flesh Color Associated with Quantitative Trait Loci for Beta-Carotene in Muskmelon
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Our objectives were to identify randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and orange flesh color (WF) markers linked to major quantitative trait loci (QTL) for high beta-carotene content using bulked segregant analysis in an F2 population from the muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) cross of Sunrise (white flesh color and low beta-carotene) x TAM Uvalde (orange flesh color and high betacarotene) in a greenhouse experiment, and confirm the associations of RAPD and WF markers with QTL for this antioxidant trait in an F2 population from the same cross in a field experiment. Continuous distributions for beta-carotene were observed in the F2 populations indicating quantitative inheritance for the trait. A significant positive correlation was found between beta-carotene and total soluble solids. Five RAPD and WF markers were detected to be significantly associated with QTL for high beta-carotene content in the F2 population of the Sunrise x TAM Uvalde cross in the greenhouse based on simple linear regression. Two unlinked markers associated with QTL were significant in a stepwise multiple regression analysis where the full model explained 58% of the total phenotypic variation for beta-carotene. Two QTL were confirmed in the F2 population of the same cross in the field to be consistently associated with the pro-vitamin A trait. These RAPD and WF markers associated with the beta-carotene QTL, consistently expressed in our populations under greenhouse and field environments, could be at least partially utilized in improving the level of this nutrient in new melon cultivars.
