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CucCAP scientists apply genomic selection for Fusarium wilt resistance in watermelon
Complex traits influenced by multiple genes, such as quantitative disease resistances, pose challenges for marker-assisted selection in breeding. Genomic selection (GS) is a promising strategy for achieving higher genetic gains by stacking favorable alleles into elite cultivars. CucCAP scientists at the USDA Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston SC and Clemson University tested multiple computational models to evaluate GS as an approach to enhance resistance to Fusarium wilt race 2 in watermelon. GS models were able to identify superior families carrying all QTL associated with race 2 resistance, providing efficacy in improving elite watermelon cultivars with polygenic traits of disease resistance.
For further reading see:
Biswas A, Wechter P, Ganaparthi V, Jarquin D, Kousik S, Branham S, Levi A. 2025. Comparative genomic prediction of resistance to Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum race 2) in watermelon: parametric and nonparametric approaches. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 138:35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-024-04813-8
