Identification of Genes in Melon and Analysis of Their Potential Functions in Fruit Sugar and Acid Accumulation

Overview

Journal Front Plant Sci

Date 2023 Sep 1

PMID 37655221

Authors

Kaili Ren

Weiping Kong

Taoxia Tang

Hong Cheng

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Citric acid is the most important organic acid in melon and has a great influence on fruit flavor quality. ATP-citrate (pro-S) lyase (ACL) is a key regulator in the acetyl-CoA pathway and plays an important role in citric acid metabolism. In this study we analyzed the structure and phylogenetics of genes and their functions in sugar and acid accumulation in melon. A total of four genes were identified in the melon genome, and phylogenetic analysis assigned these genes into the subfamily ( and ) and the subfamily ( and ). Conserved motif and gene structure analyses showed that members of the same subfamily shared identical conserved motifs and gene structures, and probably have similar biological functions. Analysis of -acting elements revealed that promoter sequences contained regulatory elements related to light, stress, phytohormones, and growth and development, indicating that genes may be involved in melon growth and stress responses. The prediction of protein interaction network showed that CmACL proteins were closely related to the proteins belonging to tricarboxylic acid cycle, glyoxylic acid cycle and glycolytic pathway, suggesting that CmACL proteins may play an important role in sugar and acid metabolism. The expression of was significantly and positively correlated with sucrose content, and 2 expression was significantly positively correlated with citric acid content, suggesting that and have important roles in sugar and acid accumulation in melon. Our results offer novel insights and avenues for the regulation of sugar and acid levels in melon and provide a theoretical foundation for breeding high-quality melon cultivars.

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