New Genes for the Cucurbitaceae

Cucurbit Genetics Cooperative Report 2:49-53 (article 29) 1979

R.W. Robinson (Chairman, Cucurbit Gene List Committee)
New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, NY 14456

The genetics of the Cucurbitaceae has been reviewed by a committee sanctioned by the American Society for Horticultural Science, and lists of the preferred symbol for each gene were published (13) in 1976. Since then, a number of reports of additional genes have been published, and some previously published papers omitted in the review have come to our attention. Following is a list of these genes:

Gene symbol

Character

Reference

Preferred
Synonym

Citrullus lanatus

Af* Aulacophora foveiocollis resistance. Resistance to the red pumpkin beetle; dominant to susceptibility. 21
db Didymella bryoniae resistance. Gummy stem blight resistance; recessive to susceptibility. 10
Fwr Fruit fly resistance in watermelon. Dominant to susceptibility to Dacus cucurbitae. 5

Cucumis melo

Al-1* Al1 Abscission layer-1. One of two dominant genes for abcission layer formation. 18
Al-2* Al2 Abscission layer-2. One of two dominant genes for abcission layer formation. 18
Bi Bitter. Bitter seedling, dominant to nonbitter. 6
dc-1* Dacus cucurbitae resistance-1. One of two complementary recessive genes for resistance to the melon fruitfly. 15
dc-2* Dacus cucurbitae resistance-2. One of two complementary recessive genes for resistance to the melon fruitfly. 15
jf* juicy flesh. Juicy flesh recessive to less juicy; segregates discreetly in monogenic ratio in segregating generations. 2
ri ridge. Ridged fruit surface recessive to ridgeless. 18
yv yellow virescence. Pale cotyledons; yellow green young leaves and tendrils; bright yellow petals and yellow stigma; etiolated; older leaves becoming green. 22

Cucumis metuliferus

Wmv Watermelon mosaic virus resistance. Resistance to watermelon virus-1; dominant to susceptibility. 11

Cucumis sativus

cla Colletotrichum lagenarium resistance. Resistance to race 1 of anthracnose; recessive to susceptibility. 1
Cca Corynespora cassiicola resistance. Resistance to target leaf spot; dominant to susceptibility.
Cm Corynespora melonis resistance. Resistance to C. melonis; dominant to susceptibility. 20
dl delayed growth. Reduced growth rate; shortening of hypocotyl and first internodes. 7
Fba Flower bud abortion. Preanthesis abortion of floral buds, ranging from 10 to 100%. 8
Foc Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum. Resistance to Fusarium wilt; dominant to susceptibility. 9

Cucurbita moschata

cr cream corolla. Cream to nearly white petals for cr/cr, yellow for cr/+, and orange corolla for +/+; derived from C. okeechobeensis. 14

Lagenaria siceraria

Af* Aulacophora foveicollis resistance. Resistance dominant to susceptibility to the red pumpkin beetle. 21
b* bottle. Bottle-shaped fruit recessive to disk. 19
db* dumbell. Interacts with b to produce F2 of 9 club: 3 round: 4 dumbell-shaped fruit. 19
G Green. Dark green fruit color; dominant to light green. 19
lb* light brown seed. Light brown seed coat color recessive to brown. 19
r* round. Round fruit; recessive to disk fruit shape. 19

Luffa spp.

g gynoecious. Pistillate flowers only; interacts with a to produce monoecious or trimonoecious (AA GG) andromonoecious (aa GG), gynoecious (AA gg), or hermaphroditic (aa gg) plants. 3

Melothria medraspatana

s* small seeds. Small (3.0 mm) seed recessive to large (3.6 mm). 16
w* white seeds. White seed coat if ww, ashy if Ww, and black if WW. 16

Momordica charantia

lbs* light brown seed. Light brown seed coat color; recessive to dark brown. 17
ls* large seed. Large seed size; recessive to small seed size. 17
w* white epicarp. White immature fruit skin; recessive to green. 17

*Proposed new symbol.

It is hoped that researchers will consult the above list and previous lists (13) of cucurbit genes before choosing a gene symbol, so that inadvertent duplication of gene symbols can be prevented.

The best person to select a symbol for a gene is the person first reporting on its inheritance, but this has often been neglected by cucurbit researchers. We urge that an appropriate gene symbol be included in all publications about new cucurbit genes. We would appreciate being informed of any publication about a cucurbit gene not included in these lists.

Literature Cited

  1. Abul-Hayla, Z., P.H. Williams, and C. E. Peterson. 1978. Inheritance of resistance to anthracnose and target leaf spot in cucumbers. Pl. Dis. Reporter 62:43-45.
  2. Chadham M.L., K.S. Nadpuri, and S. Singh. 1972. Inheritance of some fruit characters in muskmelon. Indian J. Hort. 29:58-62.
  3. Choudhury, B. and M.R. Thakur. 1965. Inheritance of sex forms in Luffa. Indian J. Genet. Pl. Breed. 25:188-197
  4. Dulta, O.P. and P. Nath. 1972. Inheritance of flower and fruit characters in squash. Cucurbita pepo L. Proc. 3rd Intern. Symposium Sub-Tropical Hort. 1:69-74.
  5. Khandelwal, R.C. and P. Nath. 1978. Inheritance of resistance to fruit fly in watermelon. Can. J. Genet. Cytol. 20:31-34.
  6. Lee, C.W. and J. Janick. 1978. Inheritance of seedling bitterness in Cucumis melo L. HortScience 13:193-0194.
  7. Miller, G.A. and W.L. George, Jr. 1979. Inheritance of dwarf and determinate growth habits in cucumber. J. Amer Soc. Hort. Sci. 104-114-117.
  8. Miller, J.C., Jr., and J.E. Quisenberry. 1978. Inheritance of flower bud abortion in cucumber. HortScience 13:44-45.
  9. Netzer, D., S. Niegro, and E. Galun. 1977. A dominant gene conferring resistance to Fusarium wilt in cucumber. Phytopathology 67:525-527.
  10. Norton, Joseph D. 1978. Inheritance of resistance to gummy stem blight in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.), Accepted for publication in HortScience, JMS 1176.
  11. Provvidenti, R. and R.W. Robinson. 1972. Inheritance of resistance to watermelon mosaic virus in Cucumis metuliferus. J. Hered. 68:56-57.
  12. Ramaswamy, B., V.S. Seshadri, and J.C. Sharma. 1977. Inheritance of some fruit characters in muskmelon. Sci. Hort. 6:107-120.
  13. Robinson, R.W., H.M. Munger, T.W. Whitaker, and G.W. Bohn. 1976. Genes of the Cucurbitaceae. HortScience 11:554-568.
  14. Roe, N.E. and W.P. Bemis. 1977. Corolla color in Cucurbita. J. Hered. 68:193-194.
  15. Sambandam, C.N. and S. Chelliah. 1972. Cucumis callosus (Rottl.) Logn., a valuable material for resistance breeding in muskmelons. Proc. 3rd Intern. Symposium Sub-Tropical Hort. 1:63-68.
  16. Sing, A.K. 1972. Inheritance of some seed characters in Melothria medraspatana (L.) Conz. Balwant Vidyapeeth Jour. Agr. Sci. Res. 14:56-57.
  17. Srivastava, V.K. and P. Nath. 1972. Inheritance of some qualitative characters in Momordica charantia L. Indian J. Hort. 29:319-321.
  18. Takada, K., K. Kanazaqa, and K. Takatuka. 1975. Studies on the breeding of melon for resistance to powdery mildew. II. Inheritance of resistance to powdery mildew and correlation of resistance with other characters. Veg. Orn. Crops. Res. Sta., Yasai Shikenjo Hokoku, Japan 2:11-31.
  19. Tyagi, I.D. 1976. Inheritance of some qualitative characters in bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria Standal). Indian J. Hort. 33:78-82.
  20. Van Es, J. 1958. Bladruuresistantie by Konkommers, Zaabelangen 12:116-117.
  21. Vashishta, R.N. and B. Choudhury. 1972. Inheritance of resistance to red pumpkin beetle in muskmelon, bottle gourd and watermelon. Proc. 3rd Intern. Symposium Sub-Trop. Hort. 1:75-81.
  22. Zink, F.W. 1977. Linkage of virescent foliage and plant growth habit in muskmelon. J. Amer. Hort. Sci. 102-613-615.