{
  "abstract": "Melon fruit bitterness, mainly caused by cucurbitacin B (CuB), is a major quality defect that reduces consumer acceptance and market value. However, the genetic and regulatory mechanisms underlying fruit bitterness remain largely unclear. In this study, two thin-skinned melon inbred lines, A54 (bitter leaves and fruit) and B15 (bitter leaves but non-bitter fruit), were used to dissect the genetic basis of fruit bitterness. Genetic analysis revealed that fruit bitterness in A54 is controlled by a single dominant locus. Through bulked-segregant analysis sequencing (BSA-seq) and fine mapping, the candidate region was delimited to a 133-kb interval on chromosome 9, which contains four bHLH genes. Among them, MELO3C005610 (formerly designated CmBr) exhibited 25.5-fold higher expression in A54 than in B15 and was identified as the most plausible positional candidate gene. We further developed a near-isogenic line with bitter fruit (B15NIL) and performed integrated transcriptome, small RNA, and degradome sequencing. Twelve CuB biosynthetic genes were significantly up-regulated in B15NIL fruits, indicating coordinated activation of the cucurbitacin biosynthetic pathway. In addition, small RNA and degradome analyses identified candidate miRNA-target interactions that may contribute to post-transcriptional regulation of CuB biosynthesis, although these interactions require further functional validation. Together, these findings provide a framework for understanding the genetic basis of fruit bitterness in melon and suggest candidate targets for future functional validation and breeding of non-bitter cultivars.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Beijing Vegetable Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China",
    "College of Horticulture Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology, Qinhuangdao 066000, China",
    "School of Life Science, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China",
    "Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ligong Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Guoliang Yuan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Mengqing Lu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Weiqi Han"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Haijun Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jianshe Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Huijun Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Congcong Li",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3262-2432"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jian Ma",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6728-9000"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/460596y65z2j8.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/ijms27209141",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13705163/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "460596y65z2j8",
  "issns": [
    "1422-0067"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/20/9141",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1311|Advances in Cucurbitaceae Research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221959614",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13705163/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13705163",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/460596y65z2j8.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:55Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/ijms27209141",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/20/9141"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:21:34Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13705163",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13705163"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1311|Advances in Cucurbitaceae Research",
      "subfield": "genetics-genomics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Integrated Genetic Mapping, Transcriptomic, and Small RNA Analysis of Fruit Bitterness in Melon",
  "title_text": "Integrated Genetic Mapping, Transcriptomic, and Small RNA Analysis of Fruit Bitterness in Melon",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:21:34Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/460596y65z2j8",
  "venue": "International Journal of Molecular Sciences",
  "versions": []
}