Total RNA was extracted from the leaves using an RNA extraction kit (AxGen, Union City, CA, USA). Residual DNA was removed using a DNase Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). The isolated total RNA (1 μg) was reverse transcribed using a ReverTra Ace qPCR RT Kit (Toyobo, Osaka, Japan). qRT-PCR was then performed using an iCycler iQ Multicolor PCR Detection System (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA) as described by Li et al.17 (link). The primers used for qRT-PCR are listed in Supplementary Table S1 . The relative expression levels were standardized to those of watermelon β-ACTIN and were calculated as described by Livak and Schmittgen37 (link),38 (link).
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