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 |