Impact assessments of virus resistance transgene introgression into wild, free-living populations are important for determining whether these transgenes present a risk to agriculture or the environment. Transgenic virus-resistant Cucurbita pepo ssp. ovifera var. ovifera L. (squash) cultivars have been commercialized, and may be cultivated in close proximity to cross-compatible wild, free-living...

Pumpkin, as a dietary plant, has been used in traditional medicine around the world. In addition, during the last decade, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, antitumor, intestinal antiparasitic, antibacterial, anti hypercholesterolemia, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and analgic effects of pumpkin has been reported. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of different extract...

Interspecific hybridization is an important method to widen variations and to develop novel cultivars. Interspecific cross-pollination was carried out among three species of Cucurbita (C. moschata, C. ficifolia and C. martinezii) as male parents with ten cultivars of C. pepo as female parents. Only four cultivars of C. pepo (Eskandarani cv., Queen F , Jedida F and MHTC77 F ) were successful in ...

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...