Morphological and molecular characterization of some pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) genotypes collected from Erzincan province of Turkey

Abstract

Plant genetic resources constitute the most valuable assets of countries. It is of great importance to determine the genetic variation among these resources and to use the data in breeding studies. To determine the genetic diversity among genotypes of Cucurbita pepo L. species of pumpkin, which is widely grown in Erzincan, 29 different pumpkin genotypes collected were examined based on the morphological parameters and molecular characteristics. SSR (Simple Sequence Repeat) markers were used to determine genetic diversity at the molecular level. The analysis of morphological characterization within genotypes showed a wide variability in morphological traits of plant, flower, fruit, and leaf. In the evaluation performed using SSR markers, all primers exhibited polymorphism rate of %100. Seven SSR markers yielded a total of 15 polymorphic bands, the number of alleles per marker ranged from 2 to 3, and the mean number of alleles was 2.14. Polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.06 (GMT-M61) to 0.247 (GMT-P41), and the mean PIC value per marker was 0.152. Cluster analysis using Nei's genetic distance determined that 29 genotypes were divided into 4 major groups. The present findings have revealed the genetic diversity among pumpkin genotypes collected from Erzincan province and may form the basis for further breeding studies in pumpkin.

VPBR: An Automatic and Low-Cost Vision-Based Biophysical Properties Recognition Pipeline for Pumpkin

“…For instance, Nankar et al conducted a manual evaluation of various phenotypic and biochemical properties, including plant height, fruit weight, color, firmness, and virus resistance [ 6 ], to underscore the significance of phenotypic traits in characterizing and selecting plant accessions for breeding and crop improvement. Similarly, Öztürk et al, assessed 11 pumpkin genotypes [ 7 ], examining morphological characteristics like fruit shape, size, color, seed color, and seed size. Additionally, they utilized molecular markers, such as random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers, to analyze the genetic diversity and relationships among the pumpkin genotypes.…”

Morphological Characteristics of Selected Flower Parts of Cucurbita pepo L. Styriaca Group

“…Pumpkin fruits are an extremely healthful agricultural crop with a balanced mixture of beneficial nutrients for human health and nutrition (Dhiman et al, 2009;Dar et al, 2017;El Khatib and Muhieddine, 2019). Recently, an increasing interest has been given not only to the pumpkin flesh and its by-products mainly seeds and peels (Aruah et al, 2010;Lebeda et al, 2017;Tripti et Horčinová et al, 2022;Öztürk et al, 2022), but also to its flowers and some vegetative parts (e.g. buds, tender stem tips, leaves, tendrils), which are also used as vegetables (Nee, 1990;Merrick, 1991;Lira, Andres and Nee, 1995;Ghosh and Rana, 2021).…”