Genetic characterization of cucumber genetic resources in the NARO Genebank indicates their multiple dispersal trajectories to the East.

Genotyping-by-sequencing of 723 worldwide cucumber genetic resources revealed that cucumbers were dispersed eastward via at least three distinct routes, one to Southeast Asia and two from different directions to East Asia. The cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is an economically important vegetable crop cultivated and consumed worldwide. Despite its popularity, the manner in which cucumbers were dispersed from their origin in South Asia to the rest of the world, particularly to the east, remains a mystery due to the lack of written records.