Inheritance of chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes in cucumber revealed by four reciprocal F(1) hybrid combinations

Both genomes in chloroplasts and mitochondria of plant cell are usually inherited from maternal parent, with rare exceptions. To characterize the inheritance patterns of the organelle genomes in cucumber (Cucumis sativus var. sativus), two inbred lines and their reciprocal F(1) hybrids were analyzed using an next generation whole genome sequencing data. Their complete chloroplast genome sequences were de novo assembled, and a single SNP was identified between the parental lines. Two reciprocal F(1) hybrids have the same chloroplast genomes with their maternal parents. Meanwhile, 292 polymorphic sites were identified between mitochondrial genomes of the two parental lines, which showed the same genotypes with their paternal parents in the two reciprocal F(1) hybrids, without any recombination. The inheritance patterns of the chloroplast and mitochondria genomes were also confirmed in four additional cucumber accessions and their six reciprocal F(1) hybrids using molecular markers derived from the identified polymorphic sites. Taken together, our results indicate that the cucumber chloroplast genome is maternally inherited, as is typically observed in other plant species, whereas the large cucumber mitochondrial genome is paternally inherited. The combination of DNA markers derived from the chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes will provide a convenient system for purity test of F(1) hybrid seeds in cucumber breeding.