Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » Vegetable Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #324532
Title: Significant parent-of-origin effects in cucumber

Author
item SHEN, JIA - University Of Wisconsin
item DIRKS, ROB - Ghent University
item Havey, Michael

Submitted to: Eucarpia Cucurbitaceae Symposium Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/2/2016
Publication Date: 7/21/2016
Citation: Shen, J., Dirks, R., Havey, M.J. 2016. Significant parent-of-origin effects in cucumber. Eucarpia Cucurbitaceae Symposium Proceedings. Paper No. L8.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Cucumber is a useful plant to study organellar effects because chloroplasts are maternally and mitochondria paternally transmitted. We produced doubled haploids (DH) from divergent cucumber populations, generated reciprocal crosses in a diallel mating scheme, measured weights of plants approximately 25 days after planting, and estimated combining abilities and heterosis for early plant growth. General (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining abilities and reciprocal effects were all highly significant (P<0.001). Hybrids consistently out-performed parental lines and average heterosis over mid-parent values was between 14% and 30%. We also evaluated for performance differences between reciprocal hybrids with identical nuclear genotypes, and significant parent-of-origin effects were detected. Significant differences for growth of reciprocal hybrids from DH parents indicate that cucumber breeders should consider the direction of crosses when producing hybrid cultivars.