Adding More “Oomph” to Cucumber DNA

Jack Staub, a plant geneticist with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service is trying to add more spice to the genetic makeup of the cucumber. Apparently, the cucumber suffers from an overly narrow genetic base, which makes it vulnerable to plant pathogens and natural diseases.

Staub's strategy is to infuse the cucumber’s DNA with more wild character. He and a cooperating Chinese scientist have already successfully crossed an unusual wild cucumber species from China with a domestic one. This wild cucumber possesses resistance to gummy stem blight and, possibly, to nematodes and certain viruses. Staub is also eyeing wild melons, a cousin of cucumber, as a source of valuable genes for drought resistance and other traits.

Read the news article at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2007/070302.htm.