Fusarium wilts, caused by races of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. melonis, (FOM) have a devastating impact on melon in the Middle East and Mediterranean region. The soil-borne disease is difficult to control because of the long survival of the pathogen in soils. Identifying sources of genetic resistance and incorporating them in cultivars and rootstocks would have been the best solution, but it was never applied to locally important landraces such as Faqous melons (also called snake-melon or Egyptian cucumbers), that are not in the focus of commercial breeding.
This project seeks to collect and characterize Cucumis melo landraces, and develop genetic resources for breeding locally adapted melons, focusing on Fusarium resistance as our first goal.
A) Collect Cucumis melo germplasm in Israel and Palestinian Authority, focusing on local landraces. Organize the collection as part of the Palestinian Gene Bank;
B) Characterize the germplasm collection using morphological and horticultural parameters and DNA fingerprinting.
C) Characterize novel sources of Fusarium resistance, by phytopathgological, genetic and mapping approaches.
D) Initiate a melon- landrace-breeding program of FOM-resistant or tolerant accessions.
- Participatory Breeding using bulk selection
- Introgression breeding for FOM resistance
Articles:
- Abu Zaitoun S. Y., Jamous R. M., Shtaya M. J., Mallah O. B., Imad S Eid I. S., Ali-Shtayeh M. S. Characterizing Palestinian snake melon (Cucumis melo var. flexuosus) germplasm diversity and Structure using SNP and DArTseq markers. BMC Plant Biology (2018) 18:246. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-018-1475-2
- Ali-Shtayeh, M.S., Jamous, R.M., Shtaya, M.J., Mallah, O.B., Eid, I.S., Abu Zaitoun, S.Y. Morphological characterization of snake melon (Cucumis melo var. flexuosus) populations from Palestine. Genet Resour Crop Evol (2017) 64: 7-22. doi:10.1007/s10722-015-0329-0
Theses:
- Imad Subhi Ibrahim Eid (2019). Characterization of novel sources of Fusarium resistance in Faqous (Cucumis melo subsp. melo var. flexuosus) by phytopathological and genetic approaches. MSc thesis, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.
- Omar B. Y. Mallah (2014). Assessment of biodiversity among Palestinian landraces of Cucumis melo L. groups based on morphological descriptors and molecular markers (RAPD and ISSR). MSc thesis, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.
Conferences:
- R.M Jamous, O.B. Mallah, M. J. Shtaya, I. S. Eid, S.Y. Abu Zaitoun, R. Perl-Treves, M.S. Ali-Shtayeh, Differential response of Palestinian snake melon (Cucumis melo var. flexuosus) landraces to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis (Fom) races.The XIV Solanaceae and III Cucurbitaceae Genomics Joint Conference (SOLCUC 2017) , Valencia, Spain. September 3-6, 2017. ( www.solcuc2017.org)
- S.Y Abu Zaitoun, R.M Jamous, M.J Shtaya, O.B Mallah, I. S. Eid, M.S. Ali-Shtayeh. Genetic diversity and population structure analysis of Palestinian snake melon (Cucumis melo var. flexuosus) landraces using SNP and DArTseq markers. The XIV Solanaceae and III Cucurbitaceae Genomics Joint Conference (SOLCUC 2017), Valencia, Spain. September 3-6, 2017. ( www.solcuc2017.org)
- S. Y. Abu Zaitoun, R. M. Jamous, M. J. Shtaya O. B. Mallah, I. S. Eid, M. S. Ali-Shtayeh: Genetic Diversity and Population Structure Analysis of Palestinian Snake Melon (Cucumis melo var. flexuosus) Landraces Using DArT Markers. Second Palestinian International Graduate Conference on Natural, Medical and Health Sciences and Humanities (SPIGCNMHSH 2017), An-Najah National University, Nablus; 04/2017
- M. S. Ali-Shtayeh, M. J. Shtaya, R. M. Jamous, O. B. Mallah, I. S. Eid, & S. Y. Abu Zaitoun (2016). New resources to control melon Fusarium wilt in the Middle East USAID Middle East Research Partnerships Forum, Amman, Jordan, Grand Hyatt Hotel, March 13th – 16th, 2016
- O.B. Mallah, M. J. Shtaya, I. S. Eid, R. M. Jamous, M. S. Ali-Shtayeh. Screening for Resistance in Palestinian Snake Melon (Cucumis melo var.flexuosus) landraces to Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. melonis (FOM) Races. Second Palestinian International Graduate Conference on Natural, Medical and Health Sciences and Humanities (SPIGCNMHSH 2017), An-Najah National University, Nablus; 04/2017
- O.B. Mallah, S. Yaish, M. J. Shtaya R. M. Jamous, M. S. Ali-Shtayeh. Assessment of biodiversity among Palestinian landraces of Cucumis melo L. groups based on morphological descriptors and molecular markers (RAPD and ISSR). 4th Conference of Biotechnology Research and Application in Palestine. Arab American University, Jenin, Palestine. March 21,2016