Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Plant Biodiversity Research, Technical University of Munich, 85354, Freising, Germany.
Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, Laboratory of Genetics, Horticulture, and Seed Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, 01BP526, Cotonou, Republic of Benin.
Am J Bot. 2018 Oct;105(10):1662-1671. doi: 10.1002/ajb2.1172. Epub 2018 Oct 9.
The domestication history of melon is still unclear. An African or Asian origin has been suggested, but its closest wild relative was recently revealed to be an Australian species. The complicated taxonomic history of melon has resulted in additional confusion, with a high number of misidentified germplasm collections currently used by breeders and in genomics research.
Using seven DNA regions sequenced for 90% of the genus and the major cultivar groups, we sort out described names and infer evolutionary origins and domestication centers.
We found that modern melon cultivars go back to two lineages, which diverged ca. 2 million years ago. One is restricted to Asia (Cucumis melo subsp. melo), and the second, here described as C. melo subsp. meloides, is restricted to Africa. The Asian lineage has given rise to the widely commercialized cultivar groups and their market types, while the African lineage gave rise to cultivars still grown in the Sudanian region. We show that C. trigonus, an overlooked perennial and drought-tolerant species from India is among the closest living relatives of C. melo.
Melon was domesticated at least twice: in Africa and Asia. The African lineage and the Indian C. trigonus are exciting new resources for breeding of melons tolerant to climate change.
瓜类的驯化历史仍不清楚。有人认为它起源于非洲或亚洲，但最近发现其最接近的野生亲缘种是澳大利亚的一个物种。瓜类复杂的分类历史导致了更多的混淆，目前有大量的种质资源被错误识别，这些资源被用于育种和基因组学研究。
我们使用了 7 个 DNA 区域对 90%的属和主要栽培群体进行了测序，以理清已描述的名称，并推断其进化起源和驯化中心。
我们发现，现代瓜类品种可以追溯到两个谱系，它们在大约 200 万年前就已经分化。一个谱系局限于亚洲（Cucumis melo subsp. melo），而第二个谱系，即本文中描述的 C. melo subsp. meloides，则局限于非洲。亚洲谱系产生了广泛商业化的栽培群体及其市场类型，而非洲谱系则产生了仍在苏丹地区种植的栽培品种。我们表明，印度被忽视的多年生耐旱物种 C. trigonus 是 C. melo 最接近的现存亲缘种之一。
瓜类至少在两个地方被驯化：非洲和亚洲。非洲谱系和印度的 C. trigonus 是培育对气候变化具有耐受性的瓜类的令人兴奋的新资源。
