Interspecific hybridization in cucumis

Response of Wild Cucumis Species to Inoculation with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis Race 1,2y

“…Because some wild Cucumis species have high resistance to race 1,2y, it would be valuable to study the use of wild Cucumis species as genetic resources of high resistance to race 1,2y. To date, few interspecific hybrids between melon and wild Cucumis species have been reported because of strong reproductive barriers (Beherav and Choen, 1995;Deakin et al, 1971;Fassuliotis, 1977;Kho et al, 1980;Fujishita, 1969, 1970;Singh and Yadava, 1984); however, some interspecific hybrids of genus Cucumis were obtained through embryo culture (Chen et al, 1997;Fassuliotis and Nelson, 1988;Skálová et al, 2008). To introduce this high resistance to race 1,2y into melon cultivars, methods to overcome reproductive barriers in interspecific crosses between melon and wild Cucumis species, such as embryo cultures, should be investigated.…”

Cucurbits (Cucurbitaceae; Cucumis spp., Cucurbita spp., Citrullus spp.)

“…grows in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains sympatrically with var. sativus and is used by native peoples of northern India as a laxative (Deakin, Bohn, and Whitaker 1971). It possesses a multiple fruiting and branching habit not present in C. sativus var.…”

“…This technique was first applied in crosses among Cucumis species (Deakin, Bohn, and Whitaker 1971), but it was without the expected positive results (Chatterjee and More 1991;Lebeda, Knstkova, and Kubalakova 1996).…”

“…However, these species are potentially important for plant improvement programs as sources of resistance to economically important pathogens such as powdery mildew, downy mildew, anthracnose, and fusarium wilt (Leppik 1966;Kirkbride 1993). In the last 60 years, conventional and biotechnological approaches for overcoming species crossing barriers in Cucumis have often been applied without success (Whitaker 1930;Batra 1953;Smith and Venkat Ram 1954;Deakin, Bohn, and Whitaker 1971;Fassuliotis and Nelson 1988). Until recently, repeated attempts at interspecific hybridization of wild Cucumis species (e.g., C. metuliferus, C. melo) with cucumber were either unsuccessful or irreproducable (Fassuliotis and Nelson 1988).…”

Kinetin Is the Most Effective Cytokinin on Shoot Multiplication from Cucumber

“…Conventional breeding aiming to transfer desirable traits from wild species has not been successful (Esquinas-Alcazer & Gulick, 1983). Therefore, the development of in vitro micropropagation methods is very useful for its clonal multiplication (Deakin et al, 1971;Gaba et al, 2004). Tissue culture methods allow establishing cultures from a minimum amount of starting plant material (Klavina et al, 2006), with a lower chance of obtaining mutants comparing with conventional breeding.…”