Identification of a Causal Pathogen of Watermelon Powdery Mildew in Korea and Development of a Genetic Linkage Marker for Resistance in Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)

Watermelon production is often limited by powdery mildew in areas with a large daily temperature range. Development of resistant watermelon cultivars can protect against powdery mildew; however, little is known about the characteristics of its causal agents. Here, we identified the genus and race of a causal pathogen of powdery mildew in Ansung province of South Korea, and developed molecular markers for the generation of resistant watermelon cultivars. The causal pathogen was determined to be Podosphaera xanthii based on multiple sequence alignments of internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of rDNA. The physiological race was identified as 1W, and the Ansung isolate was named P. xanthii 1W-AN. Following inoculation with the identified P. xanthii 1W-AN, we found inheritance of the resistant gene fitting a single dominant Mendelian model in a segregated population (‘SBA’ × PI 254744). To develop molecular markers linked to fungus-resistant loci, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was accomplished between DNA pooled from eight near-isogenic lines (NILs; BC₄F₆), originated from PI 254744 and susceptible ‘SBB’ watermelon. After sequencing bands from RAPD were identified in all eight NILs and PI254744, 42 sequence-characterized amplified-region (SCAR) markers were developed. Overall, 107 F₂ plants derived from BC₄F₆ NIL-1 × ‘SBB’ were tested, and one SCAR marker was selected. Sequence comparison between the SCAR marker and the reference watermelon genome identified three Nco I restriction enzyme sites harboring a single nucleotide polymorphism, and codominant cleavage-amplified polymorphic site markers were subsequently developed. A CAPS marker was converted to a high-resolution melt (HRM) marker, which can discriminate C/T SNP (254PMR-HRM3). The 254PMR-HRM3 marker was evaluated in 138 F 2:3 plants of a segregating population (‘SBA’ × PI254744) and was presumed to be 4.3 cM from the resistance locus. These results could ensure P. xanthii 1W-AN resistance in watermelon germplasm and aid watermelon cultivar development in marker-assist breeding programs.