BACKGROUND The genus Cucumis contains two species of important vegetable crops, C. sativus, cucumber, and C. melo, melon. Melon has iconographical and textual records from lands of the Mediterranean Basin dating back to antiquity, but cucumber does not. The goal of this study was to obtain an improved understanding of the history of these crops in the Occident. Medieval images purportedly of Cu...

This investigation describes the synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of oxabicyclic analogues related to the helminthosporins. Four oxabicycles were prepared by [4+3] cycloaddition of an oxyallyl carbocation, generated in situ from 2,4-dibromopentan-3-one, with selected furans. Functional group manipulations of the oxabicyclic architecture generated nine further derivatives. The phy...

Activated carbon prepared from Cucumis Melo Peel was used as adsorbent for the removal of chromium ion from aqueous solution. Adsorption experiments were performed by varying initial metal ion concentration, temperature, and pH. Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms were used to analyze the equilibrium data obtained at different adsorption conditions. Adsorption results obtained, shows that the Cr ...

DNA Sequence, Satellite DNA, Cucumis melo The primary sequence of the prominent Cucumis melo satellite DNA is presented. The cloned Hind Ill-repeat unit has a length of 352 bp and a GC-content of 56%. Within this sequence an inverted repeat of 9 bp, including a 286 bp loop, and one direct repeat are shown. Several open reading frames are possible following the sequence in both directions whose ...

fusarium wilt of melon is a destructive fungal disease throughout the world. in this study, the evolutionary relationships among isolates of different formae speciales of fusarium oxysporum was examined, with a special emphasis on the forma specialis melonis. bootstrapped maximum likelihood analysis of the elongation factor-1α (ef-1α) sequence was conducted on 16 iranian and 11 foreign isolates...

Molecular analysis encouraged discovery of genetic diversity and relationships of cultivated melon (Cucumis melo L.). We sequenced nine inter- and intra-genic regions of the chloroplast genome, about 5500 bp, using 60 melon accessions and six reference accessions of wild species of Cucumis to show intra-specific variation of the chloroplast genome. Sequence polymorphisms were detected among mel...

BACKGROUND The gorgeous frescoes organized by the master Renaissance painter Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520) and illustrating the heavenly adventures of Cupid and Psyche were painted between 1515 and 1518 to decorate the Roman villa (now known as the Villa Farnesina) of the wealthy Sienese banker Agostino Chigi (1466-1520). Surrounding these paintings are festoons of fruits, vegetables and flowers p...

Chromosome-specific painting is a powerful technique in molecular cytogenetic and genome research. We developed an oligonucleotide (oligo)-based chromosome painting technique in cucumber (Cucumis sativus) that will be applicable in any plant species with a sequenced genome. Oligos specific to a single chromosome of cucumber were identified using a newly developed bioinformatic pipeline and then...