Transcriptome Profiling to Dissect the Role of Genome Duplication on Graft Compatibility Mechanisms in Watermelon
Mohamed Omar Kaseb,
Muhammad Jawad Umer,
Muhammad Anees,
Hongju Zhu,
Shengjie Zhao,
Xuqiang Lu,
Nan He,
Eman El-Remaly,
Ahmed El-Eslamboly,
Ahmed F. Yousef,
Ehab A. A. Salama,
Abdulwahed Fahad Alrefaei,
Hazem M. Kalaji,
Wenge Liu
Affiliations
Mohamed Omar Kaseb
Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Henan Joint International Research Laboratory of Fruits and Cucurbits Biological Science in South Asia, Zhengzhou 450009, China
Muhammad Jawad Umer
Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Henan Joint International Research Laboratory of Fruits and Cucurbits Biological Science in South Asia, Zhengzhou 450009, China
Muhammad Anees
Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Henan Joint International Research Laboratory of Fruits and Cucurbits Biological Science in South Asia, Zhengzhou 450009, China
Hongju Zhu
Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Henan Joint International Research Laboratory of Fruits and Cucurbits Biological Science in South Asia, Zhengzhou 450009, China
Shengjie Zhao
Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Henan Joint International Research Laboratory of Fruits and Cucurbits Biological Science in South Asia, Zhengzhou 450009, China
Xuqiang Lu
Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Henan Joint International Research Laboratory of Fruits and Cucurbits Biological Science in South Asia, Zhengzhou 450009, China
Nan He
Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Henan Joint International Research Laboratory of Fruits and Cucurbits Biological Science in South Asia, Zhengzhou 450009, China
Eman El-Remaly
Cross Pollenated Plants Department, Horticulture Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Giza 12119, Egypt
Ahmed El-Eslamboly
Cross Pollenated Plants Department, Horticulture Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Giza 12119, Egypt
Ahmed F. Yousef
Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University (Branch Assiut), Assiut 71524, Egypt
Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 1145, Saudi Arabia
Hazem M. Kalaji
Department of Plant Physiology, Institute of Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences SGGW, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Wenge Liu
Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Henan Joint International Research Laboratory of Fruits and Cucurbits Biological Science in South Asia, Zhengzhou 450009, China
Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a popular crop worldwide. Compared to diploid seeded watermelon, triploid seedless watermelon cultivars are in great demand. Grafting in triploid and tetraploid watermelon produces few seedlings. To learn more about how genome duplication affects graft compatibility, we compared the transcriptomes of tetraploid and diploid watermelons grafted on squash rootstock using a splicing technique. WGCNA was used to compare the expression of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between diploid and tetraploid watermelon grafted seedlings at 0, 3, and 15 days after grafting (DAG). Only four gene networks/modules correlated significantly with phenotypic characteristics. We found 11 genes implicated in hormone, AOX, and starch metabolism in these modules based on intramodular significance and RT-qPCR. Among these genes, two were linked with IAA (r2 = 0.81), one with ZR (r2 = 0.85) and one with POD (r2 = 0.74). In the MElightsteelblue1 module, Cla97C11G224830 gene was linked with CAT (r2 = 0.81). Two genes from the MEivory module, Cla97C07G139710 and Cla97C04G077300, were highly linked with SOD (r2 = 0.72). Cla97C01G023850 and Cla97C01G006680 from the MEdarkolivegreen module were associated with sugars and starch (r2 = 0.87). Tetraploid grafted seedlings had higher survival rates and hormone, AOX, sugar, and starch levels than diploids. We believe that compatibility is a complicated issue that requires further molecular research. We found that genome duplication dramatically altered gene expression in the grafted plants’ IAA and ZR signal transduction pathways and AOX biosynthesis pathways, regulating hormone levels and improving plant survival.
