Theoretical and Applied Genetics最新文献

{"title":"A TOPLESS-related gene regulates both male and female sterility in wheat.","authors":"Yu Wu, Huijun Guo, Hongchun Xiong, Yongdun Xie, Linshu Zhao, Jiayu Gu, Huiyuan Li, Yuping Ding, Luxiang Liu","doi":"10.1007/s00122-025-04920-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-025-04920-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Wheat yield mainly depends on thousand-grain weight, spike number per unit, and grain number per spike. Since fertility is directly related to seed setting rate and grain number, the discovery of novel genes and alleles affecting male or female sterility is essential for advancing the genetic understanding of wheat fertility. Here we identified a wheat mutant on anther-stigma development (asd), exhibiting both male and female sterility with thin shriveled non-dehiscent anthers that failed to release pollen, as well as visorless stigmas. Cytological examination of asd showed a lack of cutin polymer on anther surfaces and extensive microspore mother cell degeneration leading to pollen deficiency. Using MutMap⁺ and exome capture sequencing, we mapped one target gene on chromosome 2D, narrowing it a 1.62-Mb interval, and identifying TraesCS2D03G0987000 (TaTPR1), which encodes a conserved TOPLESS-related protein, as the candidate gene. TaTPR1 harbored a single base mutation (G > A) at the junction of the 6th intron and 7th exon, which disrupted splicing resulting in three transcripts. TaTPR1 expression levels were elevated in mutant anthers and ovaries, with subcellular localization confirming its presence in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Various allelic mutations within TaTPR1 exerted distinct impacts on pollen fertility and stigma development and led to reduced self-setting rates, which verified TaTPR1 to be the target gene. This study identified a crucial novel gene affecting both male and female sterility in wheat, which offers new insights into fertility mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":22955,"journal":{"name":"Theoretical and Applied Genetics","volume":"138 6","pages":"129"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144174974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Recent duplications and rare structural variations revealed by comparative sequence analysis of low molecular weight glutenin subunits (LMW-GS) genes re-identified using LMWgsFinder in 26 genomes of the grass family.","authors":"Shengli Zhang, Xiaojing Shan, Yun Wang, Tairui Lu, Daxing Xu, Han Gong, Yuchao Fan, Yuanyuan Guan, Junjie Zhao, Haili Sun, Dongfang Li, Haiyan Hu, Zhengang Ru, Yong Q Gu","doi":"10.1007/s00122-025-04919-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-025-04919-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Key message: </strong>LMWgs Finder developed by this study was used to re-identify the LMW-GS genes in a total of 26 genomes across the grass family and several important and novel findings were obtained. LMW-GS are one of the primary components of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seed storage proteins, which have an important impact on wheat end-use quality traits. Identifying LMW-GS genes accurately within wheat genomes has consistently presented a significant challenge. LMWgsFinder developed by this study was used to re-identify the LMW-GS genes in a total of 26 genomes of the grass family. Apart from six species, a total of 291 LMW-GS genes were identified. Except for the two versions of the TaCS (Triticum aestivum Chinese Spring) genome, only 38.13% (98/257) of the LMW-GS genes identified by LMWgsFinder were annotated in the coding sequence annotation files (provided by the sequencing research groups) of the remaining 18 genomes. EnSpm-like transposon activity mediated recent duplication or triplication of the same LMW-GS gene has been observed in 8 wheat species for the first time, indicating that the replication of LMW-GS genes has been ongoing alongside the evolution of wheat. Several cases of rare structural variations associated with the loss or acquisition of LMW-GS gene function have been discovered and experimentally verified. Twenty-one new LMW-GS genes were discovered in 15 species of Triticeae. The results of this study provide the first empirical support at the DNA level, with confirmed chromosomal localization information, for the widely accepted notion that LMW-GS genes undergo gene duplication during wheat evolution. Additionally, this study offers gene sequence resources and a wealth of valuable information for further research on LMW-GS gene function, molecular-assisted selection, gene aggregation breeding, and molecular design breeding.</p>","PeriodicalId":22955,"journal":{"name":"Theoretical and Applied Genetics","volume":"138 6","pages":"128"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144161119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genetic and physical localization of a leaf rust susceptibility gene in barley.","authors":"Ruiying Liu, Dangping Luo, Brian E Scheffler, Amanda M Hulse-Kemp, Megan Overlander-Chen, Raja Sekhar Nandety, Jason D Fiedler, Chenggen Chu, Shaobin Zhong, Shengming Yang","doi":"10.1007/s00122-025-04916-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-025-04916-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Key message: </strong>Fine mapping of the leaf rust susceptibility gene Sph1 identified a receptor-like kinase-encoding gene as a candidate and provided user-friendly markers for barley breeding. Caused by the biotrophic fungal pathogen Puccinia hordei, leaf rust is one of the important foliar diseases in barley. Although a few dominant genes for leaf rust resistance have been identified and cloned in barley, resistance conferred by major genes has been frequently defeated by the pathogen. A recessive resistance was identified in a spring barley accession using the P. hordei isolate VA90-34 which is virulent to most of major resistance genes. To localize this recessive resistance (hereafter named Susceptibility to P. hordei 1 or Sph1 indicating that the dominant allele confers disease susceptibility), we conducted fine mapping with an F₂ population and molecular markers in the present study. The Sph1 gene was anchored near the telomere of the short arm of chromosome 3H, delimited within an ⁓560 kb region in the dominant parent. Of the six predicted genes in the Sph1 region, a gene encoding putative receptor-like kinase was selected as a candidate for functional validation. Therefore, our study provides a high-resolution genetic map and candidate for Sph1, building a foundation for the cloning of this important gene.</p>","PeriodicalId":22955,"journal":{"name":"Theoretical and Applied Genetics","volume":"138 6","pages":"127"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144151715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genetic identification and characterization of quantitative trait loci for wheat grain size-related traits independent of grain number per spike.","authors":"Tao Li, Yanyan Tang, ZhengXi Lin, Jinghui Wang, Juanyu Zhang, Qiang Li, Furong Huang, Junjun Liang, Haili Zhang, Zehou Liu, Jun Li, Wuyun Yang, Guangbing Deng, Hai Long","doi":"10.1007/s00122-025-04912-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-025-04912-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Key message: </strong>Seven stable QTLs for TGW, GW and GL were identified, and two major QTLs were stable in various genetic backgrounds and environments. Thousand grain weight (TGW), mainly determined by grain length (GL) and width (GW), is an important yield component of wheat. In the study, combined with phenotyping in four field trials and a high-quality genetic map constructed with the wheat 55 K SNP array, a total of seven stable QTLs for TGW, GW and GL were identified in a doubled haploid (DH) population derived from the cross between Chuanmai 42 (CM42) and Kechengmai 4 (K4), in which QTgw.CK4-cib-3D, QGw.CK4-cib-2D and QGl.CK4-cib-5 A.1 were novel, and QTgw/Gw.CK4-cib-6 A and QGl.CK4-cib-5 A.1 were major QTLs explaining more than 10% of the phenotypic variances. The effects of QTgw/Gw.CK4-cib-6 A and QGl.CK4-cib-5 A.1 on corresponding traits were further validated in different populations by developing the Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR marker. QTgw/Gw.CK4-cib-6 A significantly increased TGW while reducing grain number per spike (GNS). Interestingly, the other QTLs for grain size, QGw.CK4-cib-2D, QGl.CK4-cib-5 A.1 and QGl.CK4-cib-5 A.2, showed a significant increase in TGW, but did not affect GNS. Moreover, the polymerization of QGw.CK4-cib-2D, QGl.CK4-cib-5 A.1 and QGl.CK4-cib-5 A.2 had a significant addition effect on TGW without reducing GNS, suggesting that these QTLs can work together as an excellent molecular module to break the trade-off between GNS and TGW in wheat high-yield breeding. By analysis of expression, sequence and function annotation TraesCS5A02G001400, TraesCS5A02G002700 and TraesCS5A02G003400 were predicted as the candidate genes for QGl.CK4-cib-5 A.1. Taken together, the present results lay a foundation for subsequent map-based cloning of these QTL and their utilization in wheat breeding.</p>","PeriodicalId":22955,"journal":{"name":"Theoretical and Applied Genetics","volume":"138 6","pages":"125"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144143595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A GDSL esterase/lipase gene GbGELP identified from a fiber micronaire QTL qMIC-A11 modulates cell elongation and fiber development.","authors":"Zhongyu Wang, Caiping Cai, Ziheng Yu, Yibadiguli Reyimu, Xin Han, Meng Lv, Zihan Zhang, Weixi Li, Guozhong Zhu, Wangzhen Guo","doi":"10.1007/s00122-025-04915-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-025-04915-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Key message: </strong>A fiber micronaire QTL qMIC-A11 was fine-mapped, and the GDSL esterase/lipase gene GbGELP was identified as the causal gene of the QTL. GbGELP modulates cell elongation and cotton fiber development. Fine mapping and map-based cloning of fiber micronaire (MIC)-related quantitative trait loci (QTL) have not been reported to date. Here, we utilized a G. hirsutum (Gh) acc. TM-1-G. barbadense (Gb) acc. Hai7124 introgression line CSSL47, which exhibits a significant decrease in MIC compared to TM-1, to cross with TM-1 and develop the F₂ and F_2:3 secondary segregating populations. Further, a stable MIC QTL qMIC-A11 was simultaneously detected in the F₂ and F_2:3 populations and anchored within a 407 kb region. Among them, GB_A11G1593 encoding a GDSL esterase/lipase, exhibited substantially higher expression levels at fiber elongation period in CSSL47 compared to TM-1, which was temporally identified as the causal gene for qMIC-A11 and named as GbGELP. The heterologous expression of GbGELP in Arabidopsis showed increased root length, root cell length, rosette leaf growth, and trichome density. However, knockdown of GbGELP homologs in CSSL47 significantly decreased the fiber length. Further investigation found that there was an A/T single-nucleotide polymorphism variation (SNP) in the promoter of GELP orthologs between CSSL47 and TM-1, which results in a differential CATTAAATT/CATTTAATT HAHR1-box cis-acting element, a binding site for the homeodomain-leucine zipper IV (HD-ZIP IV). GbGELP was regulated by a HD-ZIP IV transcription factor GhHDG2 via binding to the CATTAAATT element in the GbGELP promoter, while GhGELP could be activated due to GhHDG2 unable to bind the CATTTAATT element in the GhGELP promoter. The fine-mapped MIC QTL qMIC-A11, along with the causal gene GbGELP, will be utilized to improve the fiber quality in cotton breeding.</p>","PeriodicalId":22955,"journal":{"name":"Theoretical and Applied Genetics","volume":"138 6","pages":"126"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144143593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The selection and application of tiller number QTLs in modern wheat breeding.","authors":"Xiangjun Lai, Zhiwei Zhu, Yuanfei Zhang, Yuxiu Liu, Tian Lu, Jinxia Qin, Shengbao Xu","doi":"10.1007/s00122-025-04908-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-025-04908-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Tiller number is a key factor influencing wheat plant architecture and yield potential. This study analyzed the variation in tiller number among 323 wheat accessions across nine environmental conditions. The results revealed a significant decrease in tiller number in modern cultivars compared to traditional landraces, indicating a trend in selective breeding for fewer tillers. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) identified four quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with tiller number on chromosomes 2D, 5A, and 6A. Haplotypes linked to reduced tiller number at three of these QTLs have been significantly selected and are predominantly found in various Chinese agroecological zones, positively affecting grain number and/or weight. These findings suggest that contemporary Chinese wheat breeding strategies have prioritized reducing tiller number while improving spike yield. Identifying selected haplotype combinations can further enhance breeding efforts aimed at optimizing the tiller number trait. This study provides insights into the genetic basis of tiller number QTLs and their relevance to wheat breeding practices.</p>","PeriodicalId":22955,"journal":{"name":"Theoretical and Applied Genetics","volume":"138 6","pages":"124"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144136231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genome-wide association analyses for revealing QTN, QTN-by-environment and QTN-by-QTN interactions in soybean phenology.","authors":"Wenliang Yan, Xitong Liang, Yang Li, Xingtian Jiang, Bing Liu, Leilei Liu, Jianying Feng, Benjamin Karikari, Tuanjie Zhao, Haiyan Jiang, Yan Zhu","doi":"10.1007/s00122-025-04917-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-025-04917-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Context: </strong>Phenology plays an important role in determining the yield and environmental adaptation of soybean, but easily affected by quantitative trait nucleotides (QTN)-by-environment interactions (QEI) and QTN-by-QTN interactions (QQIs). Detailed understanding of the genetic basis and the interactions between genome and environments is critical for the development of cultivars with geographical-appropriate phenology.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A compressed variance component mixed model (3VmrMLM) was used to detect QTNs, QEIs and QQIs for four key phenological traits of 345 soybean accessions. These traits include days from emergence to first flower (R1), pod beginning (R3), seed formation (R5) and maturity initiation (R7). Meanwhile, QTNs, QEIs and QQIs were identified in at least ten environments and Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP) value.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>(i) A total of 110-193 QTNs, 10-31 QEIs and 4-8 QQIs were identified for each trait. (ii) Sixty-six genes involved in regulation of flower to maturity were identified by functional annotations of GO. (iii) Further haplotype analysis assigned soybean phenology-associated genes into 34 haplotype blocks with 136 haplotypes. (iv) Fifty-nine genes contained within 31 haplotype blocks can be considered as candidate genes for regulating soybean phenology, because changes in these haplotypes led to significant variations in the corresponding phenological traits.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Extensive genetic analysis of the QEIs and QQIs was conducted on key phenological stages in soybean. The candidate genes predicted provide valuable information for functional validation to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the soybean phenology.</p>","PeriodicalId":22955,"journal":{"name":"Theoretical and Applied Genetics","volume":"138 6","pages":"123"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144128721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integer programming as a powerful tool for polyclonal selection in ancient grapevine varieties.","authors":"Sónia Surgy, Jorge Cadima, Elsa Gonçalves","doi":"10.1007/s00122-025-04885-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00122-025-04885-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Key message: </strong>Integer programming was used as a novel approach for grapevine selection. Several selection criteria were considered using real data to test the method, which was successfully applied to polyclonal selection. Polyclonal selection (selecting a high-performing, balanced mixture of 7 to 20 clones) in ancient grapevine varieties is a selection method that is increasingly used in countries with ancient viticulture. However, to meet the needs of the vine and wine sector, polyclonal selection must take into account several target traits. Polyclonal selection is based on empirical best linear unbiased predictors of genotypic effects obtained by fitting appropriate linear mixed models. This work proposes a multicriteria method for polyclonal selection. A new approach based on integer programming is implemented to perform polyclonal selection considering multiple traits simultaneously. An algorithm that attempts to maximize the genetic gains of selection according to different selection criteria has been developed and tested on real data of important traits obtained in large field trials of four ancient grapevine varieties. Multiple selection criteria were used to perform polyclonal selection of groups of 7 to 20 clones of each variety based on multiple traits. The results showed that integer programming can be useful in polyclonal selection to obtain selected material with high genetic gains in the target traits, while avoiding losses in other equally important traits.</p>","PeriodicalId":22955,"journal":{"name":"Theoretical and Applied Genetics","volume":"138 6","pages":"122"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12095356/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144112008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Survey of tocopherol and the associated genetic loci in wheat grain.","authors":"Xiaohua Li, Yuqiong Hao, Xia Li, Xinyi Xie, Jiajia Zhao, Bangbang Wu, Xingwei Zheng, Jun Zheng","doi":"10.1007/s00122-025-04893-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-025-04893-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Key message: </strong>Survey of tocopherol and identification of genetic loci in wheat grain: toward a better understanding for breeding tocopherol cultivars. Tocopherol is essential in maintaining human sex hormone as well as antioxidation and immune functions. In this study, the contents of α-, γ- and δ-tocopherol in a Chinese wheat mini-core collection were measured with high-performance liquid chromatography. The effects of various factors such as accession types, winter/spring types and grain colors on tocopherol content were analyzed, and the genetic loci for tocopherol were identified with genome-wide association analysis and linkage analysis. There was no significant difference in total tocopherol in grain of wheat grown in three environments. Seven high-tocopherol (≥ 110 μg/g) germplasms were selected. The genotypic and environmental effects on total tocopherol and its three components ranked G > G × E > E and the tocopherol content were not correlated with accession types, spring/winter variety, red/white grain and release years. Among the eleven agronomic and four grain traits, α-tocopherol was positively correlated with grain thickness, γ-tocopherol was positively correlated with heading date, maturity date and flag leaf length, and γ-, δ- and total tocopherol were negatively correlated with the number of kernels in the middle of the spike. The total tocopherol showed positive correlation with lycopene and lutein. A total of twenty-seven QTL associated with tocopherol were identified with genome-wide association analysis, with obvious additive effects. The fine mapping of Qδ.toc.6 A narrowed functional region down to a 5.26-Mb region via analyzing the tocopherol content among genotypes in secondary mapping population. We proposed five candidate genes with known pathways for tocopherol synthesis in wheat, potentially useful in breeding high-tocopherol wheat varieties.</p>","PeriodicalId":22955,"journal":{"name":"Theoretical and Applied Genetics","volume":"138 6","pages":"121"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144112009","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The knockout of ClaCSLH1 induced dwarfing in watermelon.","authors":"Jiancheng Bao, Jiale Shi, Yuanyuan Qin, Shengqi Hua, Yanhong Wu, Congji Yang, Yige Gu, Wei Dong","doi":"10.1007/s00122-025-04909-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-025-04909-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In agriculture, selecting ideal plant types with desirable traits, such as dwarfing and upright stem structures, significantly enhances crop yield and quality by optimizing light absorption, spatial efficiency, and nutrient utilization. Developing new varieties of dwarf watermelon is a crucial objective in watermelon breeding. In this study, we constructed an F₂ population using the wild-type V063 as the paternal parent and the dwarf variety dw-n as the maternal parent. The dwarfing trait was found to be governed by a pair of recessive alleles. Through bulk segregant analysis sequencing (BSA-seq) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), we identified the gene Cla97C02G035450, which encodes cellulose synthase-like H1 (CSLH1), as a candidate gene associated with the dwarfing phenotype. ClaCLSH1 belongs to the ClaCESA/CSLs family, which is involved in the cell wall formation by regulating the synthesis of cellulose and hemicellulose. Microscopic analyses revealed that dw-n exhibited shorter internode cells, thicker cell walls, and elevated hemicellulose content compared to V063. Subcellular localization studies demonstrated that the CLACSLH1 protein is primarily localized in the nucleus and the cell membrane/wall. Notably, the overexpression of CLACSLH1 in the dw-n background rescued its dwarf phenotype. Furthermore, experiments indicated that knockdown of CLACSLH1 resulted in excessive hemicellulose synthesis, inhibited internode cell elongation, and ultimately led to the stunted phenotype observed in dw-n. This research provides innovative insights into the development of superior dwarf watermelon varieties and advances our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying watermelon dwarfism.</p>","PeriodicalId":22955,"journal":{"name":"Theoretical and Applied Genetics","volume":"138 6","pages":"120"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144094836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}