Research Project: Genomics and Genetic Improvement of Disease Resistance and Horticultural Characteristics of Watermelon, Broccoli, and Leafy Brassicas

Location: Vegetable Research

Publications (Clicking on the reprint icon will take you to the publication reprint.)

Genetic control of flowering time and fruit yield in citron watermelon - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Katuuramu, D.N., Levi, A., Wechter, W.P. 2023. Genetic control of flowering time and fruit yield in citron watermelon. Horticulture Research. 14. Article 1236576. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1236576.

Genome-wide association study of soluble solids content, flesh color, and fruit shape in citron watermelon - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Katuuramu, D.N., Levi, A., Wechter, W. 2023. Genome-wide association study of soluble solids content, flesh color, and fruit shape in citron watermelon. The Plant Genome. 16(4). Article e20391. https://doi.org/10.1002/tpg2.20391.

Genome-wide association mapping and genomic prediction of Fusarium wilt race 2 resistance in the USDA Citrullus amarus collection - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Ganaparthi, V., Rennberger, G., Wechter, P., Levi, A., Branham, S.E. 2023. Genome-wide association mapping and genomic prediction of Fusarium wilt race 2 resistance in the USDA Citrullus amarus collection. Theoretical and Applied Genetics. 107:3649-4037. https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PDIS-02-23-0400-RE.

GWAS resolves molecular mechanisms underlying natural variation for carotenoids in Cucurbita maxima Duchesne - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Reddy, U.K., Guadalupe Talavera C, A.A., Natarajan, S., Alaparthi, S., Levi, A., Nimmakayala, P. 2023. GWAS resolves molecular mechanisms underlying natural variation for carotenoids in Cucurbita maxima Duchesne. HortScience. 312. Article 111811. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2023.111881.

Weed management by summer cover crops, solarization and anaerobic soil disinfestation in plasticulture - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Gursewak, S., Ward, B., Levi, A., Cutulle, M. 2022. Weed management by summer cover crops, solarization and anaerobic soil disinfestation in plasticulture. HortScience. 12(11):2754. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12112754.

What makes a giant fruit? Assembling a genomic toolkit underlying various fruit traits of the mammoth group of Cucurbita maxima - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Reddy, U.K., Natarajan, P., Lakshmi Abburi, V., Tomason, Y., Levi, A., Nimmakayala, P. 2022. What makes a giant fruit? Assembling a genomic toolkit underlying various fruit traits of the mammoth group of Cucurbita maxima. Frontiers in Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2022.1005158.

Genome-wide association study and population structure analysis of seed-bound amino acids and total protein in watermelon - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Joshi, V., Nimmakayala, P., Song, Q., Lakshmi, V.A., Natarajan, P., Levi, A., Crosby, K., Reddy, U. 2021. Genome-wide association study and population structure analysis of seed-bound amino acids and total protein in watermelon. Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12343.

A catalog of natural products occurring in watermelon - Citrullus lanatus - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Sorokina, M., Mccaffrey, K.S., Ordovas, J.M., Deaton, E.E., Ma, G., Perkins-Veazie, P.M., Steinbeck, C., Levi, A., Parnell, L.D. 2021. A catalog of natural products occurring in watermelon - Citrullus lanatus. Frontiers in Nutrition. 8:602. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.729822.

QTL mapping and pyramiding resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (races 1 and 2) and potyviruses in watermelon - (Abstract Only)
Branham, S.E., Wechter, W.P., Ling, K., Katuuramu, D.N., Levi, A. 2021. QTL mapping and pyramiding resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (races 1 and 2) and potyviruses in watermelon. Eucarpia Cucurbitaceae Symposium Proceedings.

Altered chromatin confirmation and transcriptional regulation in watermelon following genome doubling - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Garcia-Lozano, M., Natarajan, P., Levi, A., Katam, R., Nimmakayala, P., Reddy, U. 2021. Altered chromatin confirmation and transcriptional regulation in watermelon following genome doubling. Plant Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.15256.

Haplotype networking of GWAS hits for citrulline content indicates positive selection leading to the domestication of watermelon - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Vijay, J., Suhas, S., Venkata Lakshmi, A., Lopez, C., Padma, N., Levi, A., Umesh, R. 2021. Haplotype networking of GWAS hits for citrulline content indicates positive selection leading to the domestication of watermelon. Frontiers in Plant Science. 20:5392. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20215392.

Phenotypic diversity for root traits andiIdentification of superior germplasm for root breeding in watermelon - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Katuuramu, D.N., Wechter, W.P., Washington, M., Horry, M.I., Cutulle, M.A., Jarret, R.L., Levi, A. 2020. Phenotypic diversity for root traits andiIdentification of superior germplasm for root breeding in watermelon. HortScience. 55(8):12-72-1279. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI15093-20.

Three-dimensional epicuticular wax on plant surface reduces attachment and survival rate of salmonella during storage - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Chiu, Y., Shen, C., Farnham, M.W., Ku, K. 2020. Three-dimensional epicuticular wax on plant surface reduces attachment and survival rate of salmonella during storage. Postharvest Biology and Technology. 166:111197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postharvbio.2020.111197.

Hi-Test: A self-compatible green sprouting broccoli cultivar that yields seed with high levels of glucoraphanin - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Farnham, M.W. 2020. Hi-Test: A self-compatible green sprouting broccoli cultivar that yields seed with high levels of glucoraphanin. HortScience. 55(5):743-745. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI14569-19.

Transcriptome changes in reciprocal grafts involving watermelon and bottle gourd reveal molecular mechanisms involved in increase of the fruit size, rind toughness and soluble solids - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Garcia-Lozano, M., Dutta, S., Natarajan, P., Tomason, Y.R., Lopez, C., Katam, R., Levi, A., Nimmakayala, P., Reddy, U. 2019. Transcriptome changes in reciprocal grafts involving watermelon and bottle gourd reveal molecular mechanisms involved in increase of the fruit size, rind toughness and soluble solids. Plant Molecular Biology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-019-00942-7.

Haplotype networking of GWAS hits for citrulline content indicates positive selection leading to the domestication of watermelon - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Vijay, J., Suhas, S., Venkata Lakshmi, A., Lopez, C., Padma, N., Levi, A., Umesh, R. 2019. Haplotype networking of GWAS hits for citrulline content indicates positive selection leading to the domestication of watermelon. International Journal of Molecular Sciences [MDPI]. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20215392.

Resequencing of 414 cultivated and wild watermelon accessions identifies selection for fruit quality traits - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Guo, S., Zhao, S., Sun, H., Wang, X., Wu, S., Lin, T., Ren, Y., Deng, Y., Zhang, J., Lu, X., Zhang, H., Shang, J., Gong, G., Wen, C., He, N., Li, M., Liu, J., Wang, Y., Zhu, Y., Tian, S., Jarret, R.L., Levi, A., Huang, S., Fei, Z., Liu, W., Xu, Y. 2019. Resequencing of 414 cultivated and wild watermelon accessions identifies selection for fruit quality traits. Nature Genetics. 51:1616–1623. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-019-0518-4.

Complex horticultural quality traits in broccoli are illuminated by evaluation of the immortal BolTBDH mapping population - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Stansell, Z., Bjorkman, T., Farnham, M.W. 2019. Complex horticultural quality traits in broccoli are illuminated by evaluation of the immortal BolTBDH mapping population. Frontiers in Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.01104.

Pre transplant herbicide application and cultivation to manage weeds in southeastern broccoli production - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Cutulle, M., Campbell, H., Couillard, D.M., Ward, B., Farnham, M.W. 2019. Pre transplant herbicide application and cultivation to manage weeds in southeastern broccoli production. Crop Protection. 124:104862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2019.104862.

Progress and challenges in breeding broccoli adapted to high temperature environments - (Abstract Only)

Genome of ‘Charleston Gray’, the principal American watermelon cultivar, and genetic characterization of 1,365 accessions in the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System watermelon collection - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Wu, S., Wang, X., Reddy, U., Sun, H., Bao, K., Patel, T., Oritz, C., Abburi, L., Nimmakayala, P., Branham, S., Wechter, W.P., Massey, L.M., Ling, K., Kousik, C.S., Hammar, S.A., Tadmor, Y., Portnoy, V., Gur, A., Katzir, N., Guner, N., Davis, A., Hernandez, A.G., Wright, C.L., McGregor, C., Jarret, R.L., Xu, Y., Zhang, X., Wehner, T.C., Grumet, R., Levi, A., Fei, Z. 2019. Genome of ‘Charleston Gray’, the principal American watermelon cultivar, and genetic characterization of 1,365 accessions in the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System watermelon collection. Plant Biotechnology Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.13136.

The multi-allelic APRR2 Gene is associated with fruit pigment accumulation in melon and watermelon - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Oren, E., Tzuri, G., Vexler, L., Dafna, A., Meir, A., Faigenboim, A., Kenigswald, M., Portnoy, V., Schaffer, A.A., Levi, A., Buckler IV, E.S., Katzir, N., Burger, J., Tadmor, Y., Gur, A. 2019. The multi-allelic APRR2 Gene is associated with fruit pigment accumulation in melon and watermelon. Journal of Experimental Botany. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erz182.

Evaluation of a public immortal B. oleracea mapping population illuminates complex horticultural quality traits in broccoli - (Abstract Only)

Differential gene expression in fruits across the reciprocal grafts and effects of grafting on fruit quality and weight - (Abstract Only)

Genome-wide diversity for worldwide watermelon collections: Analysis of population structure, haplotype networks, selective sweeps and LD decay to characterize domestication signals - (Abstract Only)
Reddy, U., Patel, T., Wehner, T., Nimmahayala, P., Kousik, C.S., Wechter, W.P., Branham, S., Ling, K., Jarret, R.L., Levi, A., Ortiz, C., Abbiro, V., Bao, K., Wang, X., Rivera-Burgos, L., Fei, Z. 2018. Genome-wide diversity for worldwide watermelon collections: Analysis of population structure, haplotype networks, selective sweeps and LD decay to characterize domestication signals. Cucurbitaceae Proceedings. http://cucurbit2018.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/2018_Cucurbits_Abstracts_Book.pdf (Abstracts Book, Page #87).

Pan-genomes of the citrullus species - (Abstract Only)

A large genotype-environment interaction for challenging adaptation traits promises greater genetic gain in breeding broccoli adapted to eastern growing conditions - (Abstract Only)
Bjorkmkan, T., Davis, J.M., Hutton, M.G., Farnham, M.W., Griffiths, P., Bloomquist, M. 2018. A large genotype-environment interaction for challenging adaptation traits promises greater genetic gain in breeding broccoli adapted to eastern growing conditions. HortScience 53(g):377-378.

Genomic resequencing of bulked heat tolerant and susceptible broccoli segregants identifies new QTLs associated with tolerance - (Abstract Only)
Branham, S., Farnham, M.W. 2018. Genomic resequencing of bulked heat tolerant and susceptible broccoli segregants identifies new QTLs associated with tolerance. HortScience. 53(g):S46.

Evaluation of weed management in east coast broccoli production - (Abstract Only)
Cutulle, M., Farnham, M.W., Campbell, H., Couillard, D.M. 2018. Evaluation of weed management in East Coast broccoli production. HortScience 53(g):S87.

Effect of plastic color on yield and quality of eight broccoli hybrids - (Abstract Only)
Ward, B.K., Horry, M.I., Simmons, C., Couillard, D.M., Farnham, M.W. 2018. Effect of plastic color on yield and quality of eight broccoli hybrids. HortScience 53(g):S71.