Department of Vegetable Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 141004, India.
School of Agricultural Biotechnology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 141004, India.
Sci Rep. 2023 Mar 21;13(1):4627. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-29935-9.
Hull-less seed trait is preferred by nut and oil industries worldwide for snacking and oil extraction as it evades the expensive decorticating (dehulling) process. This seed trait is available in C. pepo only, which has small seed cavity, sensitive to various biotic and abiotic stresses, and restricted to temperate regions for cultivation. Contrarily, the related species C. moschata has wider adaptability, disease tolerance and high seed yield. Therefore, attempt was made to transfer this trait into C. moschata through conventional pollination and ovule culture using four parents of hull-less C. pepo and six of hulled C. moschata. Through conventional approach, few viable F seeds (12-23) were obtained by using C. pepo as female parent, but in three crosses (HLP36 × HM1343, HLP36 × HM1022 and HLP44 × HM1022) only, whereas, its use as male parent was not successful. This incompatibility issue of reciprocals was resolved through ovule culture of C. moschata genotypes HM1343 and HM6711 after 17 to 19 days of pollination with C. pepo genotypes HLP53 and HLP72, respectively. The hybridity of interspecific crosses was confirmed through SSR markers (alleles inherited from both the parents), morphological characters and micromorphological leaf traits (differed from both the parents). The successful transfer through interspecific hybridization was further established with the presence of hull-less seed in fruits of F populations. Outcome of this study would pave the way for enhancing the productivity and multi-season cultivation of snack-seeded pumpkin even in subtropical and tropical regions.
hull-less 种子特性因其在零食和油提取方面避免了昂贵的脱壳（去壳）过程而受到全球坚果和油产业的青睐。这种种子特性仅存在于南瓜属 C. pepo 中，其种子腔小，对各种生物和非生物胁迫敏感，且仅在温带地区种植。相比之下，相关物种南瓜属 C. moschata 具有更强的适应性、耐病性和高种子产量。因此，尝试通过常规授粉和胚珠培养将该特性转移到南瓜属 C. moschata 中，使用 4 个 hull-less C. pepo 亲本和 6 个 hulled C. moschata 亲本。通过常规方法，使用 hull-less C. pepo 作为母本，仅获得了少数有活力的 F 种子（12-23 粒），但在三个杂交中（HLP36×HM1343、HLP36×HM1022 和 HLP44×HM1022），其作为父本的使用并不成功。通过在授粉后 17-19 天对南瓜属 C. moschata 基因型 HM1343 和 HM6711 进行胚珠培养，解决了互作的不亲和性问题，分别用 C. pepo 基因型 HLP53 和 HLP72 授粉。通过 SSR 标记（从双亲遗传的等位基因）、形态特征和微观叶片特征（与双亲不同）确认了种间杂交的杂种性。通过在 F 代群体的果实中存在 hull-less 种子，进一步证实了种间杂交的成功。这项研究的结果将为提高零食种子南瓜的生产力和多季节种植铺平道路，甚至在亚热带和热带地区也是如此。
