Biotechnology of cucurbits

Cucurbits is a general term for the species of the Cucurbitaceae family. This family comprises about 130 genera and more than 900 species of which only a few are cultivated.1,2 Melon, watermelon, pumpkins, squash, gourds and cucumber represent the most important cucurbits. The world production of these crops is in excess of 115 million metric tons, on a total area harvested of 6.9 million hectares throughout the world (FAOSTAT database, 2000). The world production and the harvested area has increased three-fold in the last three decades. Similarly, yields have been also greatly improved in the last few years, for instance from 11.6 tons/ha in 1970 for cucumber to 16.2 tons/ha today. In this section, we concentrate on the most widely cultivated species with emphasis on those for which biotechnology methods have been applied (Table 10.1).

  Table 10.1 A summary of gene transfer and corresponding agricultural traits into cucurbits  
Plant
species
Transformation methods
Gene utilised
Agricultural traits
Inheritance
Field or greenhouse test
Reference
 
Cucumis melo
A.t.
CMV coat protein
CMV resistance
R1
No
24
 
Cucumis melo
A.t. and
Biolistic
CMV-WL coat protein
25
 
Cucumis melo
A.t.
ZYMV, WMV-2, CMV coat protein
ZYMV, WMV-2, CMV resistance
45
 
Cucumis melo
A.t.
ACC oxidase gene in antisense orientation
Slow ripening
14, 41
 
Cucumis melo
A.t.
HAL1 yeast
Salt tolerance
yes
no
37
 
Cucumis melo
A.t.
ZYMV, WMV-2, CMV coat protein
ZYMV, WMV-2, CMV resistance
yes
Field
28
 
Cucumis melo
A.t.
S-adenosylmethionine
Slow ripening
39
 
Cucumis sativus
A.t.
CMV-C coat protein
CMV resistance
yes
No
22
 
Cucumis sativus
A.t.
CMV coat protein
CMV resistance
yes
Field
23
 
Cucumis sativus
A.t.
Rice chitinase
Resistance Btootrytis cinerea
yes
No
5
 
Cucurbita pepo
A.t.
ZYMV, WMV2 coat protein
ZYMV, WMV-2, resistance
yes
Field
29
 
Cucurbita pepo
A.t.
ZYMV, WMV coat protein
ZYMV, WMV resistance
yes
Greenhouse and field
45
 
Cucurbita pepo
A.t.
ZYMV, WMV coat protein
ZYMV, WMV resistance
yes
Field
30
 
Cucurbita pepo
A.t.
ZYMV, WMV-2, CMV coat protein
ZYMV, WMV-2, CMV resistance
yes
Field
27