Introgression line libraries in melon (Cucumis melo L.): development, genetic insights, and applications in trait dissection and crop improvement.
5 affiliations
- 1Instituto de Conservación y Mejora de La Agrodiversidad Valenciana (COMAV-UPV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera S/N, Valencia, 46022 Spain.
- 2Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG), CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB, Edifici CRAG, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona, 08193 Spain.
- 3Institut de Recerca I Tecnología Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Edifici CRAG, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona, 08193 Spain.
- 4Department of Agronomical Engineering, Technical University of Cartagena (UPCT), Paseo Alfonso XIII, 48, ETSIA, Cartagena, Murcia 30203 Spain.
- 5Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Ingeniero Fausto Elio S/N, Valencia, 46022 Spain.
Abstract
Introgression lines (ILs) are powerful genetic resources for dissecting the architecture of complex traits in crops. This review summarizes the development and characterization of six IL libraries and two additional ILs in melon (Cucumis melo L.), generated from diverse donor genotypes, including wild accessions, landraces, traditional and elite cultivars, introgressed into Mediterranean elite backgrounds, such as 'Piel de Sapo' and 'Védrantais.' Together, these libraries capture a wide representation of melon genetic diversity and have revealed numerous stable quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for key agronomic traits, including fruit shape, weight, color, firmness, soluble solids content, volatile composition, climacteric ripening, and resistance to Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV). Notably, large-effect QTLs were recurrently identified across independent IL libraries. This suggests that targeted improvement of complex traits may be achieved by manipulating a limited number of loci. Notably, several ILs displayed transgressive phenotypes relative to their donor parents. These results highlight their ability to uncover cryptic genetic variants relevant to modern breeding. Beyond QTL discovery, ILs have facilitated fine mapping and gene identification, leading to the cloning of genes such as CmOFP13 (fruit shape), CmNAC-NOR, CmERF024 (ripening), and CmVPS41 (CMV resistance). Overall, this review highlights the value of ILs as tools for both breeding and fundamental genetic research and outlines future directions, including integrating transcriptomics and metabolomics approaches, developing ILs for abiotic stress tolerance, and extending IL resources to oriental melon germplasm, thereby enhancing their utility for global melon improvement.Supplementary information
The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-026-01725-x.
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BibTeX
@article{esteras2026introgression,
title = {{Introgression line libraries in melon (Cucumis melo L.): development, genetic insights, and applications in trait dissection and crop improvement.}},
author = {Cristina Esteras and Marta Pujol and Juan Pablo Fernández-Trujillo and Maria José Gonzalo and Ana Monserrat Martín-Hernández and Ana María Pérez-de-Castro and Belén Picó and Jordi Garcia-Mas and Antonio José Monforte},
journal = {Molecular breeding : new strategies in plant improvement},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1007/s11032-026-01725-x},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42846555},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Introgression line libraries in melon (Cucumis melo L.): development, genetic insights, and applications in trait dissection and crop improvement.
AU - Cristina Esteras
AU - Marta Pujol
AU - Juan Pablo Fernández-Trujillo
AU - Maria José Gonzalo
AU - Ana Monserrat Martín-Hernández
AU - Ana María Pérez-de-Castro
AU - Belén Picó
AU - Jordi Garcia-Mas
AU - Antonio José Monforte
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
JO - Molecular breeding : new strategies in plant improvement
DO - 10.1007/s11032-026-01725-x
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42846555
AB - Introgression lines (ILs) are powerful genetic resources for dissecting the architecture of complex traits in crops. This review summarizes the development and characterization of six IL libraries and two additional ILs in melon (Cucumis melo L.), generated from diverse donor genotypes, including wild accessions, landraces, traditional and elite cultivars, introgressed into Mediterranean elite backgrounds, such as 'Piel de Sapo' and 'Védrantais.' Together, these libraries capture a wide representation of melon genetic diversity and have revealed numerous stable quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for key agronomic traits, including fruit shape, weight, color, firmness, soluble solids content, volatile composition, climacteric ripening, and resistance to Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV). Notably, large-effect QTLs were recurrently identified across independent IL libraries. This suggests that targeted improvement of complex traits may be achieved by manipulating a limited number of loci. Notably, several ILs displayed transgressive phenotypes relative to their donor parents. These results highlight their ability to uncover cryptic genetic variants relevant to modern breeding. Beyond QTL discovery, ILs have facilitated fine mapping and gene identification, leading to the cloning of genes such as CmOFP13 (fruit shape), CmNAC-NOR, CmERF024 (ripening), and CmVPS41 (CMV resistance). Overall, this review highlights the value of ILs as tools for both breeding and fundamental genetic research and outlines future directions, including integrating transcriptomics and metabolomics approaches, developing ILs for abiotic stress tolerance, and extending IL resources to oriental melon germplasm, thereby enhancing their utility for global melon improvement.Supplementary information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-026-01725-x.
SN - 1572-9788
ER -