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Volume 14
Issue 19
10.3390/plants14192989
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Genomic and Phytochemical Diversity Across a Collection of Snake Melon Landraces

by
Maria-Dimitra Tsolakidou
1,
Anastasia Markou
1,
Angelos C. Kyratzis
2,
Anastasios Kotsiras
3,
Costas Delis
3,
Konstadinos Mattas
4,
Andreas Katsiotis
1,* and
Nikolaos Nikoloudakis
1,*
1
Department of Agricultural Science, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol 3036, Cyprus
2
Vegetable Crop Sector, Agricultural Research Institute—Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Nicosia 1516, Cyprus
3
Department of Agricultural Technology, School of Agricultural Technology and Food Technology and Nutrition, University of Peloponnese, 24100 Kalamata, Greece
4
Department of Agricultural Economics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Plants 2025, 14(19), 2989; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14192989
Submission received: 23 August 2025 / Revised: 22 September 2025 / Accepted: 23 September 2025 / Published: 26 September 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring the Genetic and/or Metabolic Diversity of Traditional Crop Varieties)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Snake melons have been present for a millennia, despite their present limited use, and host a large degree of genetic and phytochemical diversity. The current study evaluated the genomic and biochemical diversity of Snake melon landraces of Cypriot and Greek origin, revealing significant degrees of genetic and mineral/phytochemical variation. Landraces showed a high potential for improving nutritional quality and a possible contribution to stress resilience. Whole-genome analysis highlighted a high degree of SNPs, InDels, SVs, and CNVs, especially in genotypes like Atzouri and ARI001024, indicating that functional variants influence phenotypic/chemical diversity. Biochemical profiling demonstrated great differences in the concentration of pigments, antioxidants, and minerals, with ARI001024 and ARI00894 exhibiting elevated levels of nutrients/phytochemicals. Hierarchical clustering and PCA analyses established relationships among traits, and reinforced the concept that these genotypes may offer valuable genetic resources for breeding programs under climate-resilient production schemes, emphasizing the need for conservation and further genomic characterization.
Keywords: carotenoids; chlorophyll; Cucumis melo; heirloom varieties; minerals; SNPs carotenoids; chlorophyll; Cucumis melo; heirloom varieties; minerals; SNPs

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Tsolakidou, M.-D.; Markou, A.; Kyratzis, A.C.; Kotsiras, A.; Delis, C.; Mattas, K.; Katsiotis, A.; Nikoloudakis, N. Genomic and Phytochemical Diversity Across a Collection of Snake Melon Landraces. Plants 2025, 14, 2989. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14192989

AMA Style

Tsolakidou M-D, Markou A, Kyratzis AC, Kotsiras A, Delis C, Mattas K, Katsiotis A, Nikoloudakis N. Genomic and Phytochemical Diversity Across a Collection of Snake Melon Landraces. Plants. 2025; 14(19):2989. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14192989

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tsolakidou, Maria-Dimitra, Anastasia Markou, Angelos C. Kyratzis, Anastasios Kotsiras, Costas Delis, Konstadinos Mattas, Andreas Katsiotis, and Nikolaos Nikoloudakis. 2025. "Genomic and Phytochemical Diversity Across a Collection of Snake Melon Landraces" Plants 14, no. 19: 2989. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14192989

APA Style

Tsolakidou, M.-D., Markou, A., Kyratzis, A. C., Kotsiras, A., Delis, C., Mattas, K., Katsiotis, A., & Nikoloudakis, N. (2025). Genomic and Phytochemical Diversity Across a Collection of Snake Melon Landraces. Plants, 14(19), 2989. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14192989

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