VARIABILITY OF NUCLEAR DNA CONTENT AMONG AND WITHIN THREE CUCURBIT GENERA

Relative nuclear DNA content was assessed in 14 cucurbit accessions derived from three genera (Cucurbita, Citrullus, and Cucumis), using flow cytometry based on the DAPI staining technique and soybean (Glycine max cv. Polanka) as an internal standard. Relative nuclear DNA content ranged from 0.783 in an accession of Cucurbita pepo to 0.996 in an accession of Cucumis melo. Significant differences in relative nuclear DNA content were found among genera and among accessions of Cucurbita pepo.