PROGRAM

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3

14.30- 18:00

Registration and Poster set up

18:30OPENING CEREMONY

18:30 – 18:45 Welcome and Opening of the Meeting

18:45 -19:05 Nadia Ficcadenti (Invited Speaker): Melon Genetic Research in Italy

19:05 –19:45 Antonio J. Monforte (Invited Speaker):  Introgression Lines in Melon Genetics Research

19:45WELCOME COCKTAIL

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4

Session 1: CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE OF GENETIC RESOURCES

Chairpersons: Rebecca Grumet, Jiaxing Tian 

9:00 – 9:40 Ulrike Lohwasser (Invited Speaker): Plant Genetic Resources of Cucurbitaceae

9:40 – 9:55 Catherine Dogimont: The selection of new valuable alleles during the melon domestication process in Sudan

9:55 – 10:10 Carlos Romero: Phenotypic analysis of a Cucumis F2 interspecific population segregating for reproductive barriers

10:10 – 10:25 Shigita Gentaro: Museomics-based analyses reveal new crop wild relatives in the genus Cucumis

10:25 – 10:40 Concetta Lotti: Management and valorization of germplasm of Apulian typical unripened melon

10:40 – 11:00 Harry S. Paris (Invited speaker): Southern Italy: Nativity of the Cocozelle Squash (Cucurbita pepo L. subsp. pepo, Cocozelle Group)

11:00-11:30 Coffee break and poster viewing (Session 1)

Session 2: GENOMICS APPROACHES FOR IMPROVING CUCURBIT CROPS

Chairpersons: Grzegorz Bartoszewski, Concetta Lotti

11:30 – 12:10 Wenge Liu (Invited Speaker): Genetic Analysis of Nutrition, Texture and Flavor of Watermelon Fruits

12:10 – 12:25: Manuel Jamilena:  Development of a TILLING platform as a reverse genetic approach for functional genomics and plant breeding in Cucurbita pepo

12:25 – 12:40 Wu Haibin: Luffa: Genome Sequencing, Germplasm Innovation, and Functional Gene Cloning

12.40 -12.55 Shahar Nizan : Expression of the melon NLR gene complement in response to multiple pathogens

12:55 – 14:15 Lunch Break

Session 2: GENOMICS APPROACHES FOR IMPROVING CUCURBIT CROPS (continued)

14:15 – 14:30 Shuxia Chen: Molecular mechanism analysis of aldehyde aroma in cucumber fruit

14:30 – 14:45 Daniele Liberti: QTL stacking in Cucumis sativus to optimize resistance to ToLCNDV

14:45 – 15:00 Gur Amit: Pan-genome and multi-parental framework for high-resolution trait dissection in melon (Cucumis melo)

15:00 – 15:15 Marta Pujol: ETHQV8.1, encoded by ethylene-responsive transcription factor ERF024, regulates chromatin associated proteins before the onset of fruit ripening in melon

15:15 – 15:30 Prerna Sabharwal: Exploration of Novel Genetic Resistance to Powdery Mildew in Cucurbita pepo Using Genome-Wide Association Studies

15:30 – 16:00 Coffee Break and Poster viewing (Session2)

16:00 – 16:15 Flavia Mascagni: Comparative genome-wide analysis of repetitive DNA and its structural proximity to functional sequences in the genus Cucurbita

16:15 – 16:30 Tian Jiaxing: Global identification of fruit-related noncoding RNAs in pumpkin

16:30– 16:45 Gregory Inzinna: Mapping a Novel Resistance to Powdery Mildew in Cucurbita moschata  Development of Markers for Varietal Improvement

16:45 – 17:00 Rita Dublino: Unraveling powdery mildew resistance in Cucurbita pepo: a transcriptomic and genomic exploration of two contrasting cultivars

TUSDAY, NOVEMBER 5

Session 3: PLANT RESPONSE TO BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC STRESS

Chairpersons: Belen Pico, Giuseppe Andolfo

08:30 – 09:10 Yuling Bai (Invited Speaker) : Impairing plant susceptibility genes: what did/can we gain in cucurbits for resistance breeding

09:10 – 09:25 Henk Schouten: DNA primase large subunit is an essential plant gene for geminiviruses, putatively priming viral ss-DNA replication

09:25 – 9:40 Shallu Thakur: Genome editing strategies for improved powdery mildew resistance in cucurbits

09:40 – 9:55 Ana Montserrat Martín-Hernández: Niemann-Pick C1 protein – A new player in Cucumber Mosaic virus infection in melon

09:55 – 10:10 Kevin Crosby: Assessment of fruit quality and disease resistance in cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L.) hybrids developed at Texas A&M

10:10 – 10:25 William M. Wintermantel: Emergence of watermelon chlorotic stunt virus and its impact on virus population structure and infection dynamics in southwestern U.S. melon and watermelon production

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break and Poster viewing (Session3)

11:00 – 11:15 Božena Sedláková: Application of a new differential set for virulence study on Czech cucurbit downy and powdery mildew populations

11:15 – 11:30 Onofrio Davide Palmitessa: NFT with supplementary light as a technique to extend the production period of ‘Scopatizzo’ (Cucumis melo L.), even through the use of brackish water

11:30 – 11:45 Amnon Levi: Genomic Prediction of Resistance to Fusarium Wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum race 2) in Watermelon Using Parametric and Non-Parametric Approaches

11:45 – 12:00 Alejandro Flores-León: Evaluation of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) for Drought Tolerance in Growth Chamber and Field Conditions

12:00 – 13:30 Lunch

13:30 Departure for Excursion by Bus

19:00 Return to Hotel

20:30 Social Dinner

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6

Session 4: QUALITY TRAITS IMPROVEMENT

Chairpersons: Antonio Monforte, Manuel Jamilena Quesada

09:00 – 09:40 Bhimanagouda S. Patil (Invited Speaker): Evaluating Sensory Attributes and Health-Promoting Compounds in Hybrid Melon Varieties Across Different Cultivation Regions of the United States of America

09:40 – 09:55 Rebecca Grumet: Mining the cucumber core collection for genetic control of fruit quality traits

09:55 – 10:10 Jie Zhang: Identification of flesh color controlling genes in watermelon

10:10 – 10:25 Xiaoxi Liu: Fine mapping of McTu4.1 controlling fruit wart in bitter gourd

10:25 – 10:40 Cecilia Martínez: GWAS and BSA-seq approaches reveal several genomic regions and candidate genes regulating carotenoid content in Cucurbita pepo fruit

10:40 – 11:10 Coffee Break and Poster viewing (Session4)

Session 5: INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR BREEDING

Chairpersons: Sara Sestili, Shuxia Chen

11:10 – 11:50 Abdelhafid Bendahmane (Invited Speaker): Leveraging Translational Biology to Enhance Plant Breeding

11:50 – 12:05 Hiroshi Ezura: In planta Particle Bombardment (iPB): A novel gene editing technology for efficient breeding of cucurbit crops

12:05 – 12:20 Yong Xu: Application of Molecular Breeding in Watermelon

12:20 – 12:35 Geoffrey Meru: Genetics and breeding of the hull-less seed pumpkin in Cucurbita

12:35 – 13:00 Closing Remarks