Translational genomics of cucurbit oil seeds

Cucurbitaceae includes more than 950 different species with cucumber, melon, pumpkins, squashes, and watermelon being the most economically important crops. Cucurbit crops are mainly grown for consumption of their mature or immature fruit, but seed production for edible seed or oil extraction is increasing. Although many different species are grown for their seed, species from the Cucurbita and Citrullus genera are the best studied. Due to the economic importance of cucurbit fruit and their relatively small genomes, draft genomes for nine different species are publicly available. Genomic studies of oil seed traits include the mapping of unique seed coat traits like the hull-less trait in Cucurbita and the egusi seed trait in Citrullus. Loci associated with seed size, seed coat color, and fatty acid content have also been identified in some species. Despite these advances, oil seed translational genomics lags behind that for horticultural traits in cucurbits. There is great opportunity for utilizing the abundant genomic resources in cucurbits to advance molecular breeding for seed oil traits.