Development of cantaloupe (Cucumis melo) lines carrying Vat gene with favorable fruit traits

The most popular Iranian cantaloupe Samsoori' is highly susceptible to major potyviruses infecting cucurbits including watermelon mosaic virus (WMV), zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) and cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) transmitted by Aphis gossypii. A dominant gene (Vat) causing resistance to the aphid and viruses was detected in `Ginen Makuwa' in spite of its low fruit quality. They were crossed and the segregating offspring were assessed for combining favorable traits with Vat gene. In the F, population, moderate to high broad-sense heritability estimates were found for measured traits including, fruit weight (0.78) and soluble solid content (0.7). The F, families were significantly different from each other for earliness (97 to 107 days after pollination), fruit weight (448 to 940 g), fruit shape indices (0.91 to 1.1), cavity (4.8 to 7.2 cm), flesh thickness (2.2 to 3.2 cm), SSC (8.7 to 10.8), and fruit numbers per plant (2.2 to 5.7). Resistant and susceptible plants were determined by genotyping 210 plants in F. generation using a dominant DNA marker for the resistant allele of Vat gene. Out of 15 selected F, families, four were specified susceptible, three were homozygote resistant and six showed segregations in their progeny for the Vat gene. Selection assisted by Vat gene marker was a very useful and applied approach for the identification of healthy plants along with phenotypic selection.