A genome-wide association study identifies candidate genes for target leaf spot disease resistance in adult cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Target leaf spot disease (TLS), caused by Corynespora cassiicola (Berk & Curt) Wei, ranks among the most serious fungal diseases affecting cucumber production. However, the genetic basis for TLS resistance in cucumber has not yet been determined. In this study, we evaluated TLS resistance in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ying’ao Xu, Shaoyun Dong, Xuewen Xie, Diane M. Beckles, Xiaoping Liu, Jiantao Guan, Caixia Li, Xingfang Gu, Han Miao, Shengping Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1542274/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850131035047591936
author Ying’ao Xu
Shaoyun Dong
Xuewen Xie
Diane M. Beckles
Xiaoping Liu
Jiantao Guan
Caixia Li
Xingfang Gu
Han Miao
Shengping Zhang
author_facet Ying’ao Xu
Shaoyun Dong
Xuewen Xie
Diane M. Beckles
Xiaoping Liu
Jiantao Guan
Caixia Li
Xingfang Gu
Han Miao
Shengping Zhang
author_sort Ying’ao Xu
collection DOAJ
description Target leaf spot disease (TLS), caused by Corynespora cassiicola (Berk & Curt) Wei, ranks among the most serious fungal diseases affecting cucumber production. However, the genetic basis for TLS resistance in cucumber has not yet been determined. In this study, we evaluated TLS resistance in the adult plants of 130 cucumber accessions using a disease index (DI) in October 2021, June 2023, and October 2023. The accessions used in this study were representative collection selected from the global 3,342 accessions, and contain four ecotypes (the Eurasian, Indian, East Asian, and Xishuangbanna type). Cluster analysis suggested that 11 of the 130 accessions exhibited high levels of TLS resistance (CG28, CG70, CG84, CG86, CG100, CG104, CG98, R163, R61, CG64, CG71). A genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis was then performed based on the BLUP value of the DI collected from these three seasons, and three loci (gTLS5.1, gTLS5.2, and gTLS7.1) associated with TLS on two chromosomes were identified. Seven candidate genes linked to disease resistance and abiotic stress were identified through functional annotation with Arabidopsis orthologous genes and pairwise linkage disequilibrium (LD) correlation analysis. Sequence alignment, expression and haplotype analysis further indicated to five of these candidate genes as being potentially causal to TLS: CsaV3_5G010580 for gTLS5.1, and CsaV3_7G026140, CsaV3_7G026180, CsaV3_7G026200 and CsaV3_7G026220 for gTLS7.1. These genes related to TLS resistance in cucumber, could be useful to promote cucumber breeding and development.
format Article
id doaj-art-3ab734e913af49d4b5da3d278a46b50e
institution OA Journals
issn 1664-462X
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Plant Science
spelling doaj-art-3ab734e913af49d4b5da3d278a46b50e2025-08-20T02:32:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2025-06-011610.3389/fpls.2025.15422741542274A genome-wide association study identifies candidate genes for target leaf spot disease resistance in adult cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)Ying’ao Xu0Shaoyun Dong1Xuewen Xie2Diane M. Beckles3Xiaoping Liu4Jiantao Guan5Caixia Li6Xingfang Gu7Han Miao8Shengping Zhang9State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, ChinaDepartment of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United StatesState Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, ChinaTarget leaf spot disease (TLS), caused by Corynespora cassiicola (Berk & Curt) Wei, ranks among the most serious fungal diseases affecting cucumber production. However, the genetic basis for TLS resistance in cucumber has not yet been determined. In this study, we evaluated TLS resistance in the adult plants of 130 cucumber accessions using a disease index (DI) in October 2021, June 2023, and October 2023. The accessions used in this study were representative collection selected from the global 3,342 accessions, and contain four ecotypes (the Eurasian, Indian, East Asian, and Xishuangbanna type). Cluster analysis suggested that 11 of the 130 accessions exhibited high levels of TLS resistance (CG28, CG70, CG84, CG86, CG100, CG104, CG98, R163, R61, CG64, CG71). A genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis was then performed based on the BLUP value of the DI collected from these three seasons, and three loci (gTLS5.1, gTLS5.2, and gTLS7.1) associated with TLS on two chromosomes were identified. Seven candidate genes linked to disease resistance and abiotic stress were identified through functional annotation with Arabidopsis orthologous genes and pairwise linkage disequilibrium (LD) correlation analysis. Sequence alignment, expression and haplotype analysis further indicated to five of these candidate genes as being potentially causal to TLS: CsaV3_5G010580 for gTLS5.1, and CsaV3_7G026140, CsaV3_7G026180, CsaV3_7G026200 and CsaV3_7G026220 for gTLS7.1. These genes related to TLS resistance in cucumber, could be useful to promote cucumber breeding and development.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1542274/fullcucumbertarget leaf spotdisease resistanceGWAScandidate gene analysis
spellingShingle Ying’ao Xu
Shaoyun Dong
Xuewen Xie
Diane M. Beckles
Xiaoping Liu
Jiantao Guan
Caixia Li
Xingfang Gu
Han Miao
Shengping Zhang
A genome-wide association study identifies candidate genes for target leaf spot disease resistance in adult cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
Frontiers in Plant Science
cucumber
target leaf spot
disease resistance
GWAS
candidate gene analysis
title A genome-wide association study identifies candidate genes for target leaf spot disease resistance in adult cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
title_full A genome-wide association study identifies candidate genes for target leaf spot disease resistance in adult cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
title_fullStr A genome-wide association study identifies candidate genes for target leaf spot disease resistance in adult cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
title_full_unstemmed A genome-wide association study identifies candidate genes for target leaf spot disease resistance in adult cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
title_short A genome-wide association study identifies candidate genes for target leaf spot disease resistance in adult cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
title_sort genome wide association study identifies candidate genes for target leaf spot disease resistance in adult cucumber cucumis sativus l
topic cucumber
target leaf spot
disease resistance
GWAS
candidate gene analysis
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1542274/full
work_keys_str_mv AT yingaoxu agenomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT shaoyundong agenomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT xuewenxie agenomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT dianembeckles agenomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT xiaopingliu agenomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT jiantaoguan agenomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT caixiali agenomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT xingfanggu agenomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT hanmiao agenomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT shengpingzhang agenomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT yingaoxu genomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT shaoyundong genomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT xuewenxie genomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT dianembeckles genomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT xiaopingliu genomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT jiantaoguan genomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT caixiali genomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT xingfanggu genomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT hanmiao genomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl
AT shengpingzhang genomewideassociationstudyidentifiescandidategenesfortargetleafspotdiseaseresistanceinadultcucumbercucumissativusl