A co-dominant molecular marker linked to the monoecious gene CmACS-7 derived from gene sequence in Cucumis melo L

This study aimed to find a molecular marker linked to the sex determination gene CmACS-7 based on the sequence publicly available in GenBank (accession number EU791279). Four pairs of primers were designed to clone the CmACS-7 gene on the monoecious parental line 'RH107' and the andromonoecious parental line '76-09'. Analysis of the fragments' sequences and the publicly available sequences showed homology of 99% and 98%, respectively. According to the insertion/deletion loci between the two parental lines, a pair of specific primers T1-L/T1-R was designed to assay the polymorphism in the parents and F(1), F(2), and BC(1) populations and additional 20 accessions. The specific fragment amplified with primers T1-L/T1-R, was identified as a co-dominant molecular marker co-segregated with the sexual genotype in melon, named C1A/C1a, and could be used in marker assistant selection in melon breeding.