The draft genome of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and resequencing of 20 diverse accessions

Zhangjun Fei and colleagues report the draft genome of a Chinese elite watermelon inbred line 97103 and resequencing of 20 diverse accessions that represent the three subspecies of Citrullus lunatus. Comparative genome-wide analyses identify the extent of genetic diversity and population structure of watermelon germplasm. Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus, is an important cucurbit crop grown throughout the world. Here we report a high-quality draft genome sequence of the east Asia watermelon cultivar 97103 (2n = 2× = 22) containing 23,440 predicted protein-coding genes. Comparative genomics analysis provided an evolutionary scenario for the origin of the 11 watermelon chromosomes derived from a 7-chromosome…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: IOS-0923312, 1025642, IOS-1025642
• UD
  U.S. Department of Agriculture

  Award: 201015479
• US
  United States - Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund

  Award: IS-4223-09C
• AN
  Agence Nationale de la Recherche

  Award: ANR-09-JCJC-0058
• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: CARS-26, 2012AA100103, 31272184
• MO
  Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China

  Awards: 2012AA100103, 2012AA100105, 2012AA020103
• MO
  Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China

  Award: CARS-26
• BM
  Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission
• NI
  National Institute of Food and Agriculture

  Award: 201015479
• AR
  Agricultural Research Service