The One Ton Genome Project

Why study giant pumpkins?

Believing that it is always best to study some special group, I have, after deliberation, taken up domestic pigeons.

Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species

Scientific insight often comes from unexpected places. Giant pumpkins are extraordinary examples of human-driven evolution through artificial selection. Over the past fifty years, growers have carefully bred and saved seeds from their largest fruits, increasing pumpkin size from a few hundred pounds to well over a metric ton and dramatically altering plant growth traits.

Previous scientific studies have identified genetic differences between large and small-fruited pumpkins, but have not examined diversity within the competitive lineages maintained by giant pumpkin growers.

Unlike studies of ancient domestication, competitive giant pumpkin lineages are exceptionally well documented: pedigrees are recorded and seeds from record-breaking fruits preserved. This creates a rare opportunity to study evolution under strong directional selection. By sequencing the DNA of historic and modern lines from growers, we can track the genetic changes behind the quest to grow the largest fruit on Earth. Standing on the shoulders of these giants, we can also gain insight into the evolutionary process that gave rise to all of our domestic plants and animals.