Abstract
Zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.) is a valuable vegetable crop with a wide assortment of cultivars that differ in fruit shape, color, flavor and culinary uses. This species is highly challenged from several pathogens including fungi, bacteria and viruses that can cause severe yield losses. To counteract invading pathogens, the plants have developed a complex defense system able to recognize enemy molecules, carry out signal transduction and respond promptly through many gene products. The plant’s innate immunity is triggered by resistance (R) genes that can detect a variety of changes, both through non-self and modified-self recognition. The cultivation of pathogen-resistant zucchini varieties, or rather with R-genes, is one of the most straightforward strategies to assure high quality and quantity fruit yield. The increasing availability of high-throughput sequencing technology has the potential to develop innovative genome-based strategies for the identification of loci involved in disease resistance. Improved knowledge of plant defense mechanisms and advancements in genomics can provided new opportunities to accelerate classical breeding programs. Zucchini breeding for disease resistance needs suitable gene candidates, which can be discovered through the understanding of the genetic basis of resistance mechanisms in cucurbit resources. Indeed, the dissection of pathogen recognition mechanisms through non-self-pathogen molecules or cellular components that have been disrupted upon infection will facilitate the identification of new functional R-genes. In addition, the annotation of genes involved in disease resistance could be combined with phenotypic and molecular analyses to better dissect the genetic control of resistance. The information generated from genomic scanning will help breeders integrate genetic and genomic data to obtain a more durable resistance to cucurbit pathogens. In this chapter, we illustrate how innovative strategies can enhance the discovery of R-gene candidates, highlighting some genomic applications for improving zucchini resistance against biotic stress.
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Appendix I: Research Institutes Relevant to Zucchini
Appendix I: Research Institutes Relevant to Zucchini
Institution name | Country | Contact person Website |
|---|---|---|
Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II | Italy | Maria Raffaella Ercolano |
Universitat Politècnica de Valencia | Spain | Belen Pico |
University of Çukurova | Turkey | Nebahat Sari |
The Agricultural Research Organisation of Israel – the Volcani Centre | Israel | Tadmor Yaakov |
Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center | Taiwan | Maarten van Zonneveld |
Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-árido | Brazil | Glauber H. de Sousa Nunes |
Leibniz-Institut fuer Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung | Germany | Ulrike Lohwasser |
Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza Catie | Costa Rica | Muhammad Ibrahim |
Szkola Glowna Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego | Poland | Marta Olas-Sochacka |
Stichting Wageningen Research, Centre for Genetic Resources | Netherlands | Willem van Dooijeweert |
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Andolfo, G., Amoroso, C.G., Ercolano, M.R. (2021). Disease Resistance Breeding with Genomic Tools in Zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.). In: Al-Khayri, J.M., Jain, S.M., Johnson, D.V. (eds) Advances in Plant Breeding Strategies: Vegetable Crops. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66961-4_11
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