Watermelon super-pangenome paves the way for precision breeding

Watermelon is a quintessential summertime fruit, evoking images of warm, sunny afternoons and cookouts with friends and family. You can easily picture its striped, green rind and pink flesh, imagine the delicate crunch as you bite into a slice, and almost taste the sweet juice bursting onto your tongue. What you likely don't consider is the biological basis of traits like fruit color, texture, and sweetness—the genetics that have undergone millions of years of selection, both in nature and through intentional breeding, to give you that exact experience.