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Genetic relationships in Cucurbita pepo (pumpkin, squash, gourd) as viewed with high frequency oligonucleotide–targeting active gene (HFO–TAG) markers

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Abstract

Cucurbita pepo is a highly diverse, economically important member of the Cucurbitaceae. C. pepo encompasses hundreds of cultivars of pumpkins, squash, and gourds. Although C. pepo has been scrutinized with various types of DNA markers, the relationships among the cultivar-groups of C. pepo subsp. pepo, the more widely grown subspecies, have not heretofore been adequately resolved. We assessed genetic relationships among 68 accessions of Cucurbita pepo, including 48 from C. pepo subsp. pepo, using polymorphisms in 539 high frequency oligonucleotide–targeting active gene (HFO–TAG) fragments, that preferably represent coding regions of the genome. Dissimilarities among accessions were calculated, a dendrogram was constructed, and principal component analyses were conducted. Dissimilarities demarcated the four edible-fruited cultivar-groups of C. pepo subsp. pepo, Cocozelle, Pumpkin, Vegetable Marrow, and Zucchini. Furthermore, the results indicate that the Old World pumpkins as well as the long-fruited cultivar-groups of C. pepo subsp. pepo (cocozelle, vegetable marrow, and zucchini) evolved from spontaneous crossing and gene exchange between pumpkins derived from northern North America and pumpkins derived from southern North America. Consistent with pictorial and narrative historical records, such crossing appears to have occurred in Renaissance Europe within the first decades of the European contact with North America. The Old World pumpkins are more closely related to the long-fruited cultivar-groups than are the native North American pumpkins.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Laura Massey of the USDA–ARS, Charleston, for expert technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Newe Ya‘ar Research Center, Agricultural Research Organization, P. O. Box 1021, 30-095, Ramat Yishay, Israel

    Harry S. Paris

  2. Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, P. O. Box 6, 50-250, Bet Dagan, Israel

    Adi Doron-Faigenboim

  3. Department of Biology, West Virginia State University, Institute, WV, 25112-1000, USA

    Umesh K. Reddy

  4. U.S. Vegetable Laboratory, USDA, ARS, 2700 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC, 29414, USA

    Ryan Donahoo & Amnon Levi

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  1. Harry S. Paris
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  2. Adi Doron-Faigenboim
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  5. Amnon Levi
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Correspondence to Harry S. Paris.

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Paris, H.S., Doron-Faigenboim, A., Reddy, U.K. et al. Genetic relationships in Cucurbita pepo (pumpkin, squash, gourd) as viewed with high frequency oligonucleotide–targeting active gene (HFO–TAG) markers. Genet Resour Crop Evol 62, 1095–1111 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-015-0218-6

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