The word “pumpkin” is derived from the Latin word pepo, which is a botanical term for fruit with a hard rind and fleshy interior. The commonly used scientific name for pumpkins is Cucurbita pepo. But some other cucurbits, such as Cucurbita moschata (e.g., ‘Dickenson’ and ‘Libby Select’, known as processing pumpkin) (Figure 1, B) and Cucurbita maxima, which are winter squash, are also known as p...

Cucurbita maxima seed was tested for its immunomodulatory effect by comparing with immunostimulant, Levamisole HCL using dexamethasone induced immuno suppression model in rabbits in terms of assessing cell mediated immune response. Thirty six rabbits were randomly divided into six groups of six animals in each. Group I was the untreated control. Group II was dexamethasone sodium treated. Group ...

We have investigated the phylogenetic relationships among six wild and six domesticated taxa of Cucurbita using as a marker an intron region from the mitochondrial nad1 gene. Our study represents one of the first successful uses of a mtDNA gene in resolving inter- and intraspecific taxonomic relationships in Angiosperms and yields several important insights into the origins of domesticated Cucu...

The DNAs of Cucurbita species were examined by several methods. All Cucurbita DNAs have a similar CsCl isopycnic banding pattern consisting of a major band at 1.695 g/cc and a well separated satellite band at 1.707 g/cc. Compared to other plant and animal genera, Cucurbita species have a large genomic proportion of rDNA; this value ranging from 1.4% to 3.1%. The genomic proportion of rDNA was f...

The incorporation of [14C]mevalonate and [“Clisopentenyl diphosphate into geranylgeranyl diphosphate was investigated in in oitro systems from Cucurbita pepo (pumpkin) endosperm and from Auena sativa etioplasts. Mevalonate incorporation was effectively inhibited in the pumpkin system by geranylgeranyl diphosphate and geranylgeranyl monophosphate but less effectively by phytyl diphosphate or ino...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs, recognize their mRNA targets based on perfect sequence complementarity. MiRNAs lead to broader changes in gene expression after plants are exposed to stress. High-throughput sequencing is an effective method to identify and profile small RNA populations in non-model plants under salt stresses, significantly improving our knowledge regarding ...

Phloem-specific proteins (P proteins) are particularly useful markers to investigate long-distance trafficking of macromolecules in plants. In this study, genus-specific molecular probes were used in combination with intergeneric grafts to reveal the presence of a pool of translocatable P protein subunits. Immunoblot analyses demonstrated that Cucurbita spp P proteins PP1 and PP2 are translocat...

Pumpkin ( cucurbita maxima ) belongs to cucurbitaceae which include pumpkin, gourds, melons and squashes. They are characterized by their seed oil. Pumpkin plant has been grown since the earliest history of mankind 1 . ( Brucher – 1989 ). Pumpkin are grown around the world for variety of agricultural purposes, the seeds show anti helmintic, taenicide diuretic, cardio tonic, anti-inflammatory, a...

The genus Cucurbita L. includes five cultivated species. C. pepo L., C. maxima Duchesne, and C. moschata Duchesne are the three most economically important. A high level of morphological and agronomical variability exists within these species. Large collections of Cucurbita landraces with a high potential value for breeding are maintained elsewhere. The COMAV’s Genebank at the Polytechnic Unive...

BACKGROUND The genus Cucurbita (pumpkin, squash, gourd) is native to the Americas and diffused to other continents subsequent to the European contact in 1492. For many years, the earliest images of this genus in Europe that were known to cucurbit specialists were the two illustrations of C. pepo pumpkins that were published in Fuchs' De Historia Stirpium, 1542. Images of fruits of two Cucurbita...