Introduction to CucCAP - Developing Genomic Resources for the Cucurbit Community

The U.S. Cucurbit community has developed a USDA-SCRI funded cucurbit genomics project, CucCAP: Leveraging applied genomics to increase disease resistance in cucurbit crops. Primary objectives of the project include development of communal sequence and phenotype databases and bioinformatics tools for watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), melon (Cucumis melo), cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and squash (Cucurbita pepo). We will perform genotyping by sequencing (GBS) of approximately 1000 accessions from the PI collections of each of the four crops. Analyses of these data will be used to develop genome-informed core collections of 384 accessions for each species. Individual plants from the core collections will be self-pollinated and resequenced by GBS, providing a set of diverse lines and their associated sequence data, SNP datasets and genetic maps which will be available for future phenotypic and GWAS analysis of any traits of interest. Genomic and phenomic data and associated bioinformatic tools generated by the project will be publicly available through the International Cucurbit Genomics Initiative (ICuGI) website, along with workshops and webinars to facilitate use. The CucCAP project will focus on resistance to key diseases for each crop as identified by cucurbit producers. We will use a combination of GWAS and bi-parental populations to identify resistance associated QTL and initiate marker development. Breeding efforts for resistances to downy mildew, Fusarium, gummy stem blight, Phytophthora capsici, powdery mildew and several viruses will be performed in parallel with the genomic analyses and tool development.