The in vivo antitumor activity of a crude extract from the bitter melon (Momordica charantia) was determined. The extract inhibited tumor formation in CBA/H mice which had been given i.p. injections of 1.0 X 10(5) CBA/Dl tumor cells (77% of the untreated mice with tumors versus 33% of the treated mice with tumors after 6 weeks). The extract also inhibited tumor formation in DBA/2 mice which had...

Two cDNA fragments (pCMe-ACS2 and 3) encoding auxin-responsive 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase (ACS; EC.4.4.1.14) have been isolated from melon, and the expression patterns of the genes in etiolated melon seedlings and melon fruit have been determined by RT-PCR analysis. The deduced amino acid sequences of pCMe-ACS2 and 3 were homologous to those of AT-ACS6 and 4, which were auxin-re...

For successful application of the sterile insect technique (SIT), wild female insects should not be more receptive to remating after mating with a mass-reared sterile male than after to mating with a wild fertile male. The remating frequencies of melon fly Bactrocera cucurbitae Coquillett (Diptera: Tephritidae) females were assessed in field cages with male melon flies from: (1) a male-only gen...

Momordica charantia is often called bitter melon, bitter gourd or bitter squash because its fruit has a bitter taste. The fruit has been widely used as vegetable and herbal medicine. Alpha-eleostearic acid is the major fatty acid in the seeds, but little is known about its biosynthesis. As an initial step towards understanding the biochemical mechanism of fatty acid accumulation in bitter melon...

Andromonoecy is a widespread sexual system in angiosperms, characterized by plants carrying both male and bisexual flowers. Monoecy is characterized by the presence of both male and female flowers on the same plant. In cucumber, these sexual forms are controlled by the identity of the alleles at the M locus. In melon, we recently showed that the transition from monoecy to andromonoecy result fr...

In the article, conditions of bioecological development pest species, dynamics during vegetation period and criterion harmfulness, types diseases are studied in fields. Information on biological effectiveness measures controlling pests encountered fields is given. KEY WORDS: cucurbits crops, melon, melon fly, porosity making diseases, control.

The 2-C-methyl-d-erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) pathway provides the precursors for the biosynthesis of plastidial isoprenoids, which include the carotenoid pigments of many fruits. We have analysed the genes encoding the seven enzymes of the MEP pathway in melon (Cucumis melo L.) and determined that the first one, 1-deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate synthase (DXS), and the last one, 1-hydroxy-2-methyl-2...

Mathematical models based on dynamic growth process of greenhouse melon leaves were built. Two experiments, involving different years, organic fertilizer rates and cultivar types in melon, were carried out for data acquisition. In each experiment, time-course observations of leaf morphological properties (leaf length and leaf width) on different leaf positions of melon were obtained. The result...