A famous painting entitled The Fruit Seller (Fruittivendola) painted in 1580 by Vincenzo Campi located in the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, depicts an elegant lady vender with a lapful of peaches holding a bunch of black grapes presiding over more than a dozen different fruits and vegetables for sale (Fig. 1), including several cucurbits. A large yellow, oblate, ribbed pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L. ...

We announce the draft genome of Methylobacterium radiotolerans, a Gram-negative bacterium isolated from Cucurbita pepo roots. This strain shows 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichloroethylene (DDE)-degrading potential and plant growth-promoting capacities. Analyses of its 6.8-Mb genome will improve our understanding of DDE-degradation pathways and aid in the deployment of phytoremediation technolo...

Lateral roots of intact summer squash seedlings (Cucurbita pepo L.) were used to quantify the effects of boron deficiency on DNA synthesis, protein synthesis, and respiration. The temporal relationship between changes in these metabolic activities and the cessation of root elongation caused by boron deprivation was determined. Transferring 5-day-old squash seedlings to a hydroponic culture medi...

In this study, we analyzed the modifications of antioxidant activity consequent to 3 typical home cooking practices (steaming, boiling, and microwave cooking) in fresh and home frozen vegetables. Six different vegetable species were examined: carrots (Daucus carota L.), zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.), tomatoes (Solanumn lycopersicum L.), green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), peas (Pisum sativum L....

Background and objectives: Cucurbita Pepo L. is a one-year creeper plant with wide heart shaped leaves covered by tiny trichome with many benefits in its fruit, seed, leaf and root. Currently some studies has been directed to show its preventive and curetive properties for some diseases as an alternative or supplement for other methods. The purpose of present study was to investigate the mentio...

The complete genome sequence of a Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) isolate from South Korea (SK) infecting squash (Cucurbita pepo) was obtained using paired-end RNA sequencing. A BLASTn search of the PRSV SK isolate full-genome sequence showed nucleotide sequence identity ranging from 81% to 83% with previously reported PRSV isolates (GenBank accession numbers KX655874 and EF017707).

We report here the draft genome of Enterobacter aerogenes, a Gram-negative bacterium of the Enterobacteriaceae isolated from Cucurbita pepo root tissue. This bacterium shows 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichloroethylene (DDE)-degrading potential and plant growth-promoting capacity. An analysis of its 4.5-Mb draft genome will enhance the understanding of DDE degradation pathways and phytoremediat...

The draft genome of Sphingomonas taxi, a strain of the Sphingomonadaceae isolated from Cucurbita pepo root tissue, is presented. This Gram-negative bacterium shows 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichloroethylene (DDE)-degrading potential and plant growth-promoting capacities. An analysis of its 3.9-Mb draft genome will enhance the understanding of DDE-degradation pathways and phytoremediation appl...

The use of intergenic spacer (IGS) fragments of plant ribosomal DNA (rDNA) for the differentiation between genera and species is tested by cross-hybridization experiments with different IGS probes of two Cucurbitaceae, Cucurbita pepo (zucchini) and Cucumis sativus (cucumber). Hybridization with cloned fragments of different parts of the IGS of ribosomal DNA exhibit a different degree of conserv...

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...