Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026

AirID-Based Proximity Labeling for Protein-Protein Interaction in Plants
Published on: September 16, 2022
The genome of the cucumber, Cucumis sativus L
Sanwen Huang1, Ruiqiang Li, Zhonghua Zhang
1Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crops Genetic Improvement of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China. huangsanwen@caas.net.cn
Abstract:
Cucumber is an economically important crop as well as a model system for sex determination studies and plant vascular biology. Here we report the draft genome sequence of Cucumis sativus var. sativus L., assembled using a novel combination of traditional Sanger and next-generation Illumina GA sequencing technologies to obtain 72.2-fold genome coverage. The absence of recent whole-genome duplication, along with the presence of few tandem duplications, explains the small number of genes in the cucumber. Our study establishes that five of the cucumber's seven chromosomes arose from fusions of ten ancestral chromosomes after divergence from Cucumis melo. The sequenced cucumber genome affords insight into traits such as its sex expression, disease resistance, biosynthesis of cucurbitacin and 'fresh green' odor. We also identify 686 gene clusters related to phloem function. The cucumber genome provides a valuable resource for developing elite cultivars and for studying the evolution and function of the plant vascular system.
Related Concept Videos
Comparing Mitochondrial, Chloroplast, and Prokaryotic Genomes
Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
Genome Annotation and Assembly
Genomics
Evolution of Microbial Genome
