Identification of QTLs controlling low-temperature tolerance during the germination stage in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Poor seed germination of cucumber at suboptimal temperatures is a great concern for growers wishing to take advantage of the early market. The development of low-temperature-tolerant varieties would be aided by understanding the inheritance of the trait and mapping its locus. In this study, a set of 140 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between 65G (low-temperature-tolerant) and 02245 (low-temperature-sensitive) was used to identify the QTLs linked with low-temperature tolerance. A linkage map was developed using 135 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and five insertion-deletion (Indel) markers, and three QTLs were identified, qLTG1.1, qLTG2.1 and qLTG4.1. qLTG1.1, the major one for germination rate, germination energy and germination index, explained more than 50% of the observed phenotypic variability. The major QTL for radicle length, qLTG4.1, explained 13.8% of the phenotypic variability. The results showed that qLTG1.1 and qLTG4.1 play an important role in low-temperature tolerance during seed germination of cucumber and provide a basis for further fine mapping to determine the molecular mechanism for this trait.