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Article|18 Mar 2026|OPEN
Haplotype-resolved T2T genome and population resequencing provide insights into the domestication and mogroside biosynthesis of Siraitia grosvenorii (Cucurbitaceae)
Yixuan Kou1,2,3 , ,† , Shulan Wang1 ,† , Wei Xie1 , Li Dou1 , Dingguo Pan1 , Bowen Lai1 , Fuyan Mo1 , Panyu Yang1 , Dongchang Zeng1 , Sujuan Wei1 and Haimiao Wang1 , Zhiyong Zhang1,2,3 , Shaoqing Tang,1,2,3 ,
1Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection (Guangxi Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guilin 541006, Guangxi, China
2Guangxi Key Laboratory of Landscape Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization in Lijiang River Basin, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin 541006, Guangxi, China
3Guangxi University Engineering Research Center of Bioinformation and Genetic Improvement of Specialty Crops, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin 541006, Guangxi, China
*Corresponding author. E-mail: yixuankou@126.com,shaoqing@mailbox.gxnu.edu.cn
Both authors contributed equally to the study.

Horticulture Research 13,
Article number: uhag103 (2026)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhag103
Views: 71

Received: 16 Sep 2025
Accepted: 12 Mar 2026
Published online: 18 Mar 2026

Abstract

Monk fruit (Siraitia grosvenorii, Cucurbitaceae) is globally renowned for its triterpenoid glycoside mogroside V, a high-intensity, non-caloric natural sweetener. However, its domestication and mogroside biosynthesis remain largely unknown. Here, we report a haplotype-resolved telomere-to-telomere (T2T) gapless genome for monk fruit, consisting of 14 chromosomes with genome sizes of 316.21 Mb (Hap1) and 316.07 Mb (Hap2). Comparative genomic analyses of the haplotypes revealed that structural variations and transposable elements have significantly contributed to genomic variation and architecture in monk fruit. Population genomic analyses based on 173 re-sequenced genomes indicated that cultivated monk fruit was mainly domesticated in situ from local wild populations in northern Guangxi of China, and that it likely experienced a mild domestication bottleneck, while exhibiting low genetic diversity. Demographic inference further revealed that the low genetic diversity is largely attributed to demographic changes driven by historical climate shifts. Selective sweeps were identified across all chromosomes of cultivated monk fruit, among which are genes exhibiting diverse putative functions and involved in various biosynthetic processes and secondary metabolism. This pattern of selective sweeps demonstrates the joint role of artificial selection and demographic changes in shaping the genomic landscape of cultivated monk fruit. Furthermore, comparative transcriptome analyses showed a pronounced temporally specific expression pattern among mogroside biosynthesis genes during fruit development and delineated additional candidate genes potentially involved in mogroside biosynthesis. This study not only provides insights into the domestication and mogroside biosynthesis of monk fruit but also lays a valuable genomic foundation for its molecular breeding and mogroside-targeted synthetic biology.