Location: Vegetable Crops Research
Project Number: 5090-21000-069-011-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement
Start Date: Dec 15, 2015
End Date: Dec 14, 2020
Objective:
Cucumber provides a unique system to measure organellar effects on abiotic stress tolerance, because the chloroplasts are maternally transmitted and the mitochondria paternally transmitted. This unique transmission genetics allows separation of the chloroplasts and mitochondria by simple reciprocal crossing. We produced reciprocal hybrids among double-haploid cucumbers and showed a significant maternal effect on cold tolerance. We will undertake analyses of the genome, transcriptome and proteome of chloroplasts among reciprocal hybrids produced from the same two doubled haploid lines.
Approach:
The experimental approach would be:
1. Cross among DH lines from plants diverse cucumber populations to produce reciprocal crosses among these lines. Grow and evaluate plants from each family in a replicated trial, measuring important growth traits under cold stress. Analyze for significant differences among reciprocal hybrids from the same DH lines.
2. Study DNA, RNA, and protein expression differences among reciprocal hybrids with significantly different responses to cold stress.
3. Produce cucumber populations with maximum stress tolerance.
