Table_8_Seed Coat Pattern QTL and Development in Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.).csv

The appearance of the seed is an important aspect of consumer preference for cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.). Seed coat pattern in cowpea has been a subject of study for over a century. This study makes use of newly available resources, including mapping populations, a reference genome and additional genome assemblies, and a high-density single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping platform, to map various seed coat pattern traits to three loci, concurrent with the Color Factor (C), Watson (W), and Holstein (H) factors identified previously. Several gene models encoding proteins involved in regulating the later stages of the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway have been identified as candidate genes, including a basic helix–loop–helix gene (Vigun07g110700) for the C locus, a WD-repeat gene (Vigun09g139900) for the W locus and an E3 ubiquitin ligase gene (Vigun10g163900) for the H locus. A model of seed coat development, consisting of six distinct stages, is described to explain some of the observed pattern phenotypes.

豇豆（Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.）的种子外观是影响消费者偏好的重要因素之一。一个多世纪以来，豇豆种皮图案一直是植物学研究的经典课题之一。本研究依托最新公开的研究资源——包括作图群体、参考基因组及额外基因组组装序列，以及高密度单核苷酸多态性（single nucleotide polymorphism, SNP）基因分型平台——将多种豇豆种皮图案性状定位至三个基因座，该结果与此前已鉴定的色泽因子（Color Factor, C）、沃森因子（Watson, W）和荷斯坦因子（Holstein, H）完全吻合。本研究鉴定出多个编码参与调控类黄酮生物合成通路后期阶段蛋白质的基因模型作为候选基因：其中C基因座对应1个碱性螺旋-环-螺旋（basic helix-loop-helix, bHLH）基因（Vigun07g110700），W基因座对应1个WD重复序列（WD-repeat）基因（Vigun09g139900），H基因座对应1个E3泛素连接酶（E3 ubiquitin ligase）基因（Vigun10g163900）。本研究提出了一套包含六个独立阶段的种皮发育模型，用以阐释部分观测到的种皮图案表型。