Identification of a Locus Controlling Seed Pigment Leaching in Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp]

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

In this manuscript (horticulturae-2452740) entitled ‘Identification of a locus controlling seed pigment leaching in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp)’ submitted to Horticulturae, Christian S. Bowman and colleagues leveraged the power of bulked segregant analysis to identify a locus segregating for the pigment leaching trait in an F2 population of blackeye seed-type cowpea. The writing is clear and concise and in good English. No major issues of concern, however some points or minor issues needs to be addressed to improve the quality of this manuscript.

1. For Figure 1 and Figure 3, scale bars should be included to shown the seed size. Label for X-axis is missing.

2. For Table 1 and Table 2, Names like ‘Eye 2’, ‘Full’, etc. for the seed coat are confusing, and data for the relative surface area of the seeds should be included in the revision.

3. For Figure 2, it is impossible to distinguish characters listed in this figure, please optimize.

4. Authors stated that the anthocyanin has been quantified in this study (see Result section 3.1 ), and methods for the anthocyanin quantification should be provided.

Minor editing of English language required

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

This manuscript (horticulturae-2452740) used bulked segregant analysis to identify a major locus affecting pigment leaching in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) during cooking. Despite discovering key SNP haplotypes, further research suggests this trait's polygenic nature, with potential links to other seed coat or cooking-related traits.

Keywords in alphabetic order;

Introduction its, ok. However, Other sections need corrections.

Figure 1 is not appropriate. It needs to be revised for clarity. Additionally, 1E is not clear and visible.

The Materials and Methods section needs to better describe the steps taken, as well as provide a complete description of the software and equipment used. Figure 2 requires corrections. The lettering on the y-axis is impossible to see clearly.

The legends for the figures and tables need better descriptions, and not just add which genotype or cultivar is being analysed. For example, what were the methods applied? What is the sample size?

Table 2 needs to be redone. Why are there two distinct lines?

The discussion is poor. It is lengthy, lacks focus, and there's no convergence between the results found and the literature. It is essentially a repetition of the results. Only 5 references were found in this section. Therefore, it should be completely rewritten and discussed. What were the advances? How does your work advance the literature? Why is the identification method better? How can it be applied?

This sentence, 'developing more consumer-accepted cultivars by enabling marker-assisted selection for this genetic component of the seed coat leakage trait', is the crux of your work. However, it is underexplored throughout the manuscript. Thus, consider rephrasing and better developing this idea.

Check old references and change When necessary.

English corrections need to be checked for grammar, spelling, and some confusing sentences.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

The MS entitled “Identification of a locus controlling seed pigment leaching in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp)” with authors Christian S. Bowman, Bao Lam Huynh, Philip Roberts, Jansen R.P. Santos, Kaylee Paul, and Timothy J. Close presents original new data. The results are interesting but needs minor improvement to be published.

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.) is one of the most important legume crop growing across the world mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. As a food crop, cowpea is known to have a high nutritional value, and cowpea leaves are also used as a high-protein pot herb. Pigment leaching   that occurs during cooking and canning is an undesirable trait for consumers and producers. The authors' aim is to identify the locus responsible for the pigment extraction trait in a F2 population and a diverse population of blackeye seed-type cowpea. It is important to explore existing biodiversity and genetically dissect of agronomically valuable traits. In this regard, the research done in the presented manuscript merits attention.

The article follows the order required by the journal: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions. Abstract is informative; the Introduction is good. Materials and methods are well described. Over 48% of the cited literature is from the last 10 years.

I have some minor comments on the text:

Page 2: I recommend that authors modify and refine the Aims to reflect the obtained results. Please, formulate the Aims more precisely and clearly.

Page 4: “2.4 Trait Mapping” - It is not clear what software package was used for mapping

In the same paragraph you say "each population" when you actually describing one population (F2). You introduce a second population in Results. Please, describe this population in Materials and Methods.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

I thank the authors for responding to my comments and improving some aspects of the manuscript (horticulturae-2452740). Before acceptance, I suggest that you modify the title [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] to comply with botanical conventions. The bracket should precede the modified name, not follow it.

The conclusions are still too generic. Please consider being more specific and demonstrating the real applications of the work, which I find quite interesting. I also suggest reviewing and further developing the ideas in some generic sentences in the discussion. For instance, in the first and last paragraphs of the discussion, it is important to include appropriate references. Best regards.

English need minor check grammar and spelling.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx