A system for plant regeneration from individual cells or explants is essential for the application of genetic engineering. In Cucurbitaceae, in vitro regeneration has been reported across a wide spectrum of crops, including summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) (7), winter squash (Cucurbita maxima Duch.) (9), bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria Standl.) (6) and, recently, figleaf gourd (Cuburbita fic...

Grafting watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) to control Fusarium wilt has been practiced in Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East for decades. Until recently, grafting watermelon has not been practiced in the United States due to labor costs and land availability. There is some disagreement in the literature as to the effects that grafting has on watermelon fruit quality. This study was designed...

ARIOUS structural and physiological barriers to recombination in species Vhyb rids often impose rigorous limitations upon the extent to which the characters of one species may be combined with those of another. Among such barriers structural and genic imbalance resulting in the differential elimination of gametes and zygotes of recombination types has often been mentioned (ANDERSON 1939; DEMPST...

The properties of starches isolated from two squash cultivars (Cucurbita maxima) were studied and compared with those of two pumpkin cultivars (Cucurbita moschata) and one normal potato cultivar. The amylose content of pumpkin and squash starches ranged from 16.18% to 21.29%. The pumpkin and squash starches appeared as a mixture of spherical, polyhedral and dome shaped granules. The pumpkin and...

Pseudoperonospora cubensis, the causal agent of cucurbit downy mildew (CDM), is known to exhibit host specialization. The virulence of different isolates of the pathogen can be classified into pathotypes based on their compatibility with a differential set composed of specific cucurbit host types. However, the genetic basis of host specialization within P. cubensis is not yet known. Total genom...

The mitochondrial genomes of seed plants are unusually large and vary in size by at least an order of magnitude. Much of this variation occurs within a single family, the Cucurbitaceae, whose genomes range from an estimated 390 to 2,900 kb in size. We sequenced the mitochondrial genomes of Citrullus lanatus (watermelon: 379,236 nt) and Cucurbita pepo (zucchini: 982,833 nt)--the two smallest cha...

The diabroticite rootworm beetles coevolved with plants of the family Cucurbitaceae as demonstrated by their feeding dependence on the tetracyclic triterpenoid cucurbitacins. These beetles also exhibit strong attraction to phenylpropanoid volatile components of Cucurbita blossoms. A mixture of 1,2,4-trimethoxybenzene, indole, and (E)-cinnamaldehyde, all blossom components, is highly attractive ...

The pumpkin seed oil obtained from Cucurbita pepo has been shown to be useful for the treatment of nocturia in patients with urinal disorders in several western countries. In this study, we evaluated the effect of the pumpkin seed oil from Cucurbita maxima on urinary dysfunction in human overactive bladder (OAB). Forty-five subjects were enrolled in this study. An extract of pumpkin seed oil fr...

Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo var. Styriaca is a phylogenetically young member of the Cucurbita spp. since the mutation leading to dark green seeds with stunted outer hulls arose only in the 19th century. This mutation defined the so-called Styrian oil pumpkin and facilitated the production of Styrian pumpkin seed oil. It is a regional specialty oil in the south-eastern part of Europe. In this art...