Fig. 5: Relative expression levels of chromosome pairing and synapsis genes during meiosis in “JM”, “148” and F1 hybrid “2018-Z-4” watermelon lines.

RT-qPCR analysis showed the relative expression levels of seven genes that specifically function in homologous pairing and synapsis during meiosis in parental watermelon lines and the F1 hybrid “2018-Z-4” line. All experiments were performed with three independent replicates. The ClACTIN gene (gene ID: Cla007792) was used for the normalization of RT-qPCR results