Davis, California, USA
December 11, 2014

High-tech genomics and traditional Chinese medicine come together as researchers identify the genes responsible for the intense bitter taste of wild cucumbers. Taming this bitterness made cucumber, pumpkin and their relatives into popular foods, but the same compounds also have potential to treat cancer and diabetes.

Additional details can be found at: http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=11100

Biosynthesis, regulation, and domestication of bitterness in cucumber
Lucas, William J., Science Magazine 2014

Contact: William Lucas, wjlucas@ucdavis.edu, (530) 752-1093