CONSTRUCTION OF A REFERENCE GENETIC MAP OF MELON

The quality and usefulness of a genetic map depends on several factors, some of which are examined in this paper. The type of population, which determines the number of recombination events, has a direct and important effect on resolution of the map. “Immortalized” populations are interesting, as they allow replication and addition of new markers and new horticultural traits. The number of horticultural traits localized on the map must be as high as possible. The map we have obtained using two recombinant inbred populations has 12 linkage groups and a total size of 1590 cM with 777 markers (608 AFLP, 25 RFLP, 128 ISSR, and 16 RAPD). Thirteen genes involved in the genetic control of disease resistance or fruit and seed characteristics have been localized.