Papaya ringspot virus-W (PRSV-W) causes severe yield losses in squash production. The Meru laboratory at the University of Florida identified a single QTL for resistance on Chromosome 09 of the C. moschata genome. Subsequent testing identified two SNP markers as potential targets for marker-assisted selection. The findings of this study will facilitate breeding for resistance against PRSV-W in commercial squash cultivars.
CucCAP Squash Team
CucCAP Squash Team contributions include annual reports of research activities, publications, presentations, and articles about the team’s research efforts and accomplishments.
Early Career Scientist Spotlight | Libby Indermaur
Libby is identifying which of Michael Mazourek’s Cucurbita moschata and C. maxima breeding lines are: 1) resistant to powdery mildew and 2) candidate replacements for the susceptible cultivars used in the processing industry.
CucCAP researchers identify QTL for Phytophthora resistance in squash
Scientists at the University of Florida led by Geoffrey Meru characterized resistance to Phytophthora crown rot in PI 181761 and identified a major QTL on chromsome 13. Several SNP markers were designed to target this QTL for marker-assisted selection.
Early Career Scientist Spotlight | Gregory Vogel
This pHD candidate’s CucCAP grant research focused on developing squash breeding lines with some Phytophthora blight resistance and mapping genes involved in disease resistance. His other focus was pathogen population genetics. In CucCAP1 the squash team sequenced and characterized isolates of the causal agent, Phytophthora capsici, from around New York and mapped genes in the pathogen associated with mating type, fungicide resistance, and virulence.
Squash Team | 2021 Progress Report
CucCAP researchers and stakeholders met on October 27, 28 & 29, 2022 to present and discuss the grant’s accomplishments, ongoing research, plans and expectations. Michael Mazourek (Cornell Univ), Mary Hausbeck (Michigan St Univ), Shaker Kousik (USDA-ARS, Charleston), Geoffrey Meru (Univ Florida), Angela Linares Ramirez (Univ Puerto Rico), and Chris Smart (Cornell Univ.) reported on the Squash Team’s progress.
Early Career Scientist Spotlight | Andrea P. Landrón García
CucCAP scientist Andrea P. Landrón García’s research is focused on the creation of future resistant lines of squash with resistance to powdery mildew using resistant materials with local materials in Puerto Rico.
Meet the CucCAP Squash Team
CucCAP squash breeders investigate resistance of two potyviruses
In Peurto Rico, Genotypes of Cucurbita moschata with a range of susceptibility were inoculated with Papaya ringspot virus and Zucchini yellow mosaic virus and evaluated in the greenhouse and field.
