The hypocotyl-derived adventitious root (AR) is an important morphological acclimation to waterlogging stress; however, its genetic basis has not been adequately understood. In the present study, a mixed major gene plus polygene inheritance model was used to analyze AR numbers (ARN) 7 days after waterlogging treatment in six generations (P-1, P-2, F-1, B-1, B-2,B- and F-2), using cucumber waterlogging tolerant line Zaoer-N and sensitive Pepino as parents. The results showed that the genetic model D-4, mixed one negative dominance major gene and additive-dominance polygenes, is the best-fitting genetic model for waterlogging-triggered ARN phenotype. A genetic linkage map spanning 550.8 cM and consisting of 149 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers segregating into seven linkage groups was constructed. Three QTLs (ARN3.1, ARN5.1, and ARN6.1) distributed on chromosomes 3, 5, and 6 were identified by composite interval mapping. The major-effect QTL, ARN6.1, located between SSR12898 and SSR04751, was the only locus detected in three seasons, with least likelihood (LOD) scores of 8.8, 10.4, and 9.5 and account for 17.6, 24, and 19.8% of the phenotypic variance, respectively. Using five additional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) makers, the ARN6.1 was narrowed down to a 0.79 Mb interval franked by SSR12898 and SNP25558853. Illumina RNA-sequencing data generated on hypocotyls of two parents 48 h after waterlogging treatment revealed 15 genes in the 0.79 Mb interval were differentially expressed, including Csa6G503880 encoding a salicylic acid methyl transferase-like protein, Csa6G504590 encoding a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, and Csa6G505230 encoding a heavy metal-associated protein. Our findings shed light on the genetic architecture underlying adventitious rooting during waterlogging stress in cucumber, and provide a list of potential gene targets for further elucidating waterlogging tolerance in plants.
