Editing Cucumber (section)

== Description ==
The cucumber is a [[Vine#Horticultural climbing plants|creeping vine]] that roots in the ground and grows up [[Trellis (agriculture)|trellises]] or other supporting frames, wrapping around supports with thin, spiraling [[tendrils]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P43fDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA89|title=''Cucumis sativus'', Cucumber; Chapter 16 in: Unconventional Oilseeds and Oil Sources|last1=Mariod|first1=Abdalbasit Adam|last2=Mirghani|first2=Mohamed Elwathig Saeed|last3=Hussein|first3=Ismail Hassan|date=2017-04-14|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=9780128134337}}</ref> The plant may also root in a [[Soilless gardening|soilless medium]], whereby it will sprawl along the ground in lieu of a supporting structure. The vine has large leaves that form a [[Canopy (biology)|canopy]] over the fruits.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

The fruit of typical cultivars of cucumber is roughly [[cylinder (geometry)|cylindrical]], but elongated with tapered ends, and may be as large as {{convert|62|cm|in|sp=us}} long and {{convert|10|cm|in|sp=us|0}} in diameter.<ref name="ZhangLi2019">{{cite journal|last1=Zhang|first1=Tingting|last2=Li|first2=Xvzhen|last3=Yang|first3=Yuting|last4=Guo|first4=Xiao|last5=Feng|first5=Qin|last6=Dong|first6=Xiangyu|last7=Chen|first7=Shuxia|title=Genetic analysis and QTL mapping of fruit length and diameter in a cucumber (''Cucumber sativus'' L.) recombinant inbred line (RIL) population|journal=Scientia Horticulturae|volume=250|year=2019|pages=214–222|doi=10.1016/j.scienta.2019.01.062|bibcode=2019ScHor.250..214Z |s2cid=92837522}}</ref>

Cucumber fruits consist of 95% water (see nutrition table). In [[Botany|botanical]] terms, the cucumber is classified as a [[pepo (botany)|''pepo'']], a type of [[Berry (botany)|botanical berry]] with a hard outer rind and no internal divisions. However, much like [[tomato]]es and [[Cucurbita|squashes]], it is often perceived, prepared, and eaten as a [[vegetable]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://fruitorvegetable.science/cucumber | title = Cucumber | website = Fruit or Vegetable? | access-date=2019-12-05 }}</ref>

=== Flowering and pollination ===
[[File:Cucumis sativus 0002.JPG|thumb|left|150px|''Cucumis sativus'' flower]]

{{Infobox genome
| image = <!-- Karyotype, for instance -->
| caption =
| taxId = 1639
| ploidy = diploid
| chromosomes = <!-- number of pairs -->
| size = 323.99 Mb
| year =
| organelle = mitochondrion
| organelle-size = 244.82 Mb
| organelle-year = 2011
}}

Most cucumber cultivars are seeded and require pollination. For this purpose, thousands of [[Honey bee|honey]] [[beehive]]s are annually carried to cucumber fields just before bloom. Cucumbers may also be pollinated via [[bumblebee]]s and several other bee species. Most cucumbers that require pollination are [[Self incompatibility in plants|self-incompatible]], thus requiring the [[pollen]] of another plant in order to form [[seed]]s and fruit.<ref name="Nonnecke">{{cite book |author=Nonnecke, I.L. |year=1989  |title=Vegetable Production |publisher=Springer  |isbn=9780442267216 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H7i8QJw8BJsC }}</ref> Some self-compatible cultivars exist that are related to the 'Lemon cucumber' cultivar.<ref name="Nonnecke" />

A few [[cultivar]]s of cucumber are [[Parthenocarpy|parthenocarpic]], the [[blossom]]s of which create [[seedless fruit]] without [[pollination]], which degrades the eating quality of these cultivar. In the [[Agriculture in the United States|United States]], these are usually grown in [[greenhouse]]s, where [[bee]]s are excluded. In [[Europe]], they are grown outdoors in some regions, where bees are likewise excluded.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Traditional cultivars produce male blossoms first, then female, in about equivalent numbers. Newer [[gynoecious]] hybrid cultivars produce almost all female blossoms. They may have a [[pollenizer]] cultivar interplanted, and the number of beehives per unit area is increased, but temperature changes induce male flowers even on these plants, which may be sufficient for pollination to occur.<ref name="Nonnecke" />

In 2009, an international team of researchers announced they had sequenced the cucumber [[genome]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Huang|first1=S.|last2=Li|first2=R.|last3=Zhang|first3=Z.|last4=Li|first4=L.|last5=Gu|first5=X.|last6=Fan|first6=W.|last7=Lucas|first7=W.|last8=Wang|first8=X.|last9=Xie|first9=B.|last10=Ni|first10=P.|last11=Ren|first11=Y.|display-authors=4|year=2009|title=The genome of the cucumber, ''Cucumis sativus'' L|journal=Nature Genetics|volume=41|issue=12|pages=1275–81|doi=10.1038/ng.475|pmid=19881527|doi-access=free|first28=J.|first26=G.|last27=Lu|first27=Y.|last28=Ruan|first12=H.|last29=Qian|first29=W.|last30=Wang|first30=M.|first25=Y.|last26=Tian|last25=Ren|last13=Li|first18=J.|first13=J.|last14=Lin|first14=K.|last15=Jin|first15=W.|last16=Fei|first16=Z.|last17=Li|first17=G.|last18=Staub|last12=Zhu|first24=Z.|first19=A.|last20=Van Der Vossen|first20=E. A. G.|last21=Wu|first21=Y.|last22=Guo|first22=J.|last23=He|first23=J.|last24=Jia|last19=Kilian}}</ref>

A study of [[genetic recombination]] during [[meiosis]] in cucumber provided a high resolution landscape of meiotic [[DNA damage (naturally occurring)|DNA double strand-breaks]] and [[chromosomal crossover|genetic crossovers]].<ref name = Wang2023>{{cite journal |vauthors=Wang Y, Dong Z, Ma Y, Zheng Y, Huang S, Yang X |title=Comprehensive dissection of meiotic DNA double-strand breaks and crossovers in cucumber |journal=Plant Physiol |volume=193 |issue=3 |pages=1913–1932 |date=October 2023 |pmid=37530486 |pmc=10602612 |doi=10.1093/plphys/kiad432 |url=}}</ref>  The average number of crossovers per chromosome per meiosis was 0.92 to 0.99.<ref name = Wang2023/>

===Herbivore defense===
[[Phytochemical]]s in cucumbers may discourage natural [[foraging]] by [[herbivore]]s, such as insects, [[nematode]]s or [[wildlife]].<ref name="shang">{{cite journal |display-authors=3| vauthors = Shang Y, Ma Y, Zhou Y, Zhang H, Duan L, Chen H, Zeng J, Zhou Q, Wang S, Gu W, Liu M, Ren J, Gu X, Zhang S, Wang Y, Yasukawa K, Bouwmeester HJ, Qi X, Zhang Z, Lucas WJ, Huang S | title = Plant science. Biosynthesis, regulation, and domestication of bitterness in cucumber | journal = Science | volume = 346 | issue = 6213 | pages = 1084–8 | date = November 2014 | pmid = 25430763 | doi = 10.1126/science.1259215 | bibcode = 2014Sci...346.1084S | s2cid = 206561241 }}</ref> As a possible defense mechanism, cucumbers produce [[Cucurbitacin|cucurbitacin C]],<ref name=":0a">{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Zhiqiang |last2=Li |first2=Yawen |last3=Cao |first3=Chunyu |last4=Liang |first4=Shan |last5=Ma |first5=Yongshuo |last6=Liu |first6=Xin |last7=Pei |first7=Yanxi |title=The role of H2S in low temperature-induced cucurbitacin C increases in cucumber |journal=Plant Molecular Biology |date=February 2019 |volume=99 |issue=6 |pages=535–544 |doi=10.1007/s11103-019-00834-w |pmid=30707394 |bibcode=2019PMolB..99..535L |s2cid=73431225}}</ref> which causes a [[bitter (taste)|bitter taste]] in some cucumber varieties. This potential mechanism is under preliminary research to identify whether cucumbers are able to deter herbivores and [[Biotic stress#Effect on plant growth|environmental stresses]] by using an intrinsic [[Chemical defense#Plants|chemical defense]], particularly in the leaves, [[cotyledon]]s, [[Pedicel (botany)|pedicel]], [[Caropodium|carpopodium]], and fruit.<ref name=":0a" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=He |first=Jun |title=Terpene Synthases in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and Their Contribution to Herbivore-induced Volatile Terpenoid Emission |journal=New Phytologist |year=2022 |volume=233 |issue=2 |pages=862–877|doi=10.1111/nph.17814 |pmid=34668204 |pmc=9299122 |bibcode=2022NewPh.233..862H |hdl=11245.1/e4b87361-6747-409a-a897-0e3939f560c0 |s2cid=239035917 }}</ref>