High-quality chromosome-level genomes of Cucumis metuliferus and Cucumis melo provide insight into Cucumis genome evolution

Cucumis metuliferus (African horned cucumber), a wild relative of Cucumis sativus (cucumber) and Cucumis melo (melon), displays high-level resistance to several important plant pathogens (e.g., root-knot nematodes and several viruses). Here, we report a chromosome-level genome assembly for C. metuliferus, with a 316 Mb genome sequence comprising 29 039 genes. Phylogenetic analysis of related species in family Cucurbitaceae indicated that the divergence time between C. metuliferus and melon was 17.8 million years ago. Comparisons between the C. metuliferus and melon genomes revealed large structural variations (inversions and translocations >1 Mb) in eight chromosomes of these two species. Gene family comparison showed that C. metuliferus has the largest number of resistance-related nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) genes in Cucurbitaceae. The loss of NBS-LRR loci caused by large insertions or deletions (indels) and pseudogenization caused by small indels explained the loss of NBS-LRR genes in Cucurbitaceae. Population structure analysis suggested that C. metuliferus originated in Zimbabwe, then spread to other southern African regions where it likely underwent similar domestic selection as melon. This C. metuliferus reference sequence will accelerate the understanding of the molecular evolution of resistance-related genes and enhance cucurbit crop improvement efforts.

Automated summary

The African horned cucumber displays high-level resistance to important plant pathogens and has a genome with a large number of resistance-related genes. Its genome shows significant structural variations compared to other species in the Cucurbitaceae family. Originating in Zimbabwe, the cucumber likely underwent similar domestic selection as melon in other southern African regions. These findings will accelerate research on resistance-related gene evolution and improve efforts in cucurbit crop enhancement.