Constitutive expression of cucumber CsACS2 in Arabidopsis disrupts anther dehiscence and male fertility via ethylene signaling and DNA methylation, revealing new avenues for enhancing crop reproductive traits. The cucumber gene CsACS2, encoding ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid) synthase, plays a pivotal role in ethylene biosynthesis and sex determination. This study investigates the effects of constitutive CsACS2 expression in Arabidopsis thaliana on anther development and male fertility. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing CsACS2 exhibited male sterility due to inhibited anther dehiscence, which was linked to suppressed secondary cell wall thickening. RNA-Seq analysis revealed upregulation of ethylene signaling pathway genes and downregulation of secondary cell wall biosynthesis genes, with gene set enrichment analysis indicating the involvement of DNA methylation. Rescue experiments demonstrated that silver nitrate (AgNO₃) effectively restored fertility, while 5-azacytidine (5-az) partially restored it, highlighting the roles of ethylene signaling and DNA methylation in this process. Constitutive CsACS2 expression in Arabidopsis disrupts anther development through ethylene signaling and DNA methylation pathways, providing new insights into the role of ethylene in plant reproductive development and potential applications in crop improvement.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is an important horticultural crop worldwide. Sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl−) in the surface soil are the major limiting factors in coastal areas of Shandong Province in China. Therefore, to understand the mechanism used by cucumber to adapt to sodium chloride (NaCl), we analyzed the phenotypic and physiological indicators of eighteen cucumber germplasms after three days under 100 and 150 mM NaCl treatment. A cluster analysis revealed that eighteen germplasms could be divided into five groups based on their physiological indicators. The first three groups consisted of seven salt-tolerant and medium salt-tolerant germplasms, including HLT1128h, Zhenni, and MC2065. The two remaining groups consisted of five medium salt-sensitive germplasms, including DM26h and M1-2-h-10, and six salt-sensitive germplasms including M1XT and 228. A principal component analysis revealed that the trend of comprehensive scores was consistent with the segmental cluster analysis and survival rates of cucumber seedlings. Overall, the phenotype, comprehensive survival rate, cluster analysis, and principal component analysis revealed that the salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive germplasms were Zhenni, F11-15, MC2065, M1XT, M1-2-h-10, and DM26h. The results of this study will provide references to identify or screen salt-tolerant cucumber germplasms and lay a foundation for breeding salt-tolerant cucumber varieties.

为了明确黄瓜种质对氯化钠的不同耐性,解析黄瓜耐盐的分子机理,本研究以耐盐种质MC2065、盐敏感种质白黄瓜和21份其他黄瓜种质为材料,设置5个NaCl浓度,50、100、150、200、250 mmol·L-1分别开展适宜NaCl浓度筛选,以及适宜浓度处理后耐盐指数、叶绿素、保护酶等9个生理生化指标的测定与分析.结果表明,100和150 mmol·L-1可以作为耐盐鉴定的适宜浓度.NaCl浓度为100 mmol·L-1时,白黄瓜盐害指数为35.94％,出现明显盐害胁迫,而MC2065盐害指数为4.69％,未表现出明显盐害症状;NaCl浓度为150 mmol·L-1时,两个材料均表现明显盐害症状,白黄瓜出现半数以上叶片枯萎,而MC2065出现半数以下叶片枯萎.聚类分析发现,21份材料分为3个类群,第一类群包括ZQ3、N26-5-1、寿水1、DRTJY-2、莱西、翠玉、20S077-1,属于耐盐种质;第二类群包括DJ04、DY-1、XY1、YY9123、M2XT、D1503、X805,属于中耐盐种质;第三类群包括F6-3-1、SJ11-1、XB23、20S091-1、HLT-921h、AZ-1、DRT345,属于盐敏感种质.主成分分析发现,黄瓜种质综合得分趋势与聚类分析、黄瓜幼苗存活率高低趋势基本一致.本研究结果为黄瓜耐盐机理的研究提供了参考,也为黄瓜耐盐品种的育种工作奠定了基础.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is a vital vegetable crop worldwide. Mg2+ and NO3− in the surface soil are the major limiting factors to continuous cropping in the main cucumber-producing areas of Shandong province in China. This study aimed to understand the magnesium nitrate- adaption in cucumber. Using a relatively salt tolerant cultivar ‘MC2065’ as experiment material, we analyzed the rate of water loss and changes in transcriptome profiles of cucumber leaves treated with 80 mM Mg(NO3)2 at different wilting stages for 0, 3, 12, and 24 h (T0-CK, T3, T12, T24 groups, respectively). The results showed that magnesium nitrate stress increased the rate of water loss in leaves. A total of 7465 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified from a pool of 15923 genes. The maximum number of DEGs (4373) were observed at T12 vs. T0. For T3 vs. T0 and T24 vs. T0, there were 3763 and 3889 DEGs, respectively. Statistical analysis of gene expression showed 1075 DEGs significant expressed at T3, T12 and T24, compared to CK. Gene Ontology (GO) gene functional analysis of the DEGs identified 52 functionally enriched groups, within the categories of metabolic process, cell part and catalytic activity. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis found DEGs related to plant hormone signal transduction (ko04075) and DNA replication of secondary metabolites were significantly in 86 pathways. Notably, the SAUR family in auxin signal transduction pathway had the highest number of DEGs, followed by PYL and ARR family in abscisic acid and cytokinin pathway. The unique DEGs identified in this study provide crucial information for further study on salt response mechanisms and genetic enhancement of salt resistance in cucumber.

分子标记是继形态学、细胞学和生化标记后的新型技术,随着分子生物学的迅猛发展,该技术已在蔬菜育种上广泛应用.本文概述了分子标记的概念及分类,包括典型标记技术的原理及优缺点,详述其近年在黄瓜(Cucumis sativus)外观、品质、产量与性型、抗逆、种质资源鉴定以及品种纯度鉴定方面相关基因定位上的应用,最后对其在基因定位及辅助选择育种方面的应用前景进行了展望.

The WRKY proteins constitute a large family of transcription factors that have been known to play a wide range of regulatory roles in multiple biological processes. Over the past few years, many reports have focused on analysis of evolution and biological function of WRKY genes at the whole genome level in different plant species. However, little information is known about WRKY genes in melon (Cucumis melo L.). In the present study, a total of 56 putative WRKY genes were identified in melon, which were randomly distributed on their respective chromosomes. A multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis using melon, cucumber and watermelon predicted WRKY domains indicated that melon WRKY proteins could be classified into three main groups (I-III). Our analysis indicated that no recent duplication events of WRKY genes were detected in melon, and strong purifying selection was observed among the 85 orthologous pairs of Cucurbitaceae species. Expression profiles of CmWRKY derived from RNA-seq data and quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) analyses showed distinct expression patterns in various tissues, and the expression of 16 CmWRKY were altered following powdery mildew infection in melon. Besides, we also found that a total of 24 WRKY genes were co-expressed with 11 VQ family genes in melon. Our comparative genomic analysis provides a foundation for future functional dissection and understanding the evolution of WRKY genes in cucurbitaceae species, and will promote powdery mildew resistance study in melon.

Plant ascorbate peroxidase (APX) genes play significant roles in environmental stress response and development. However, the knowledge about them in the important vegetable cucumber is scarce. In this paper, 6 APX genes in cucumber genome were identified through bioinformatics method. And their chromosome location, gene exon-intron structure, phylogeny, and cis-elements were systematically analyzed. The results showed that cucumber APX genes distribute in different chromosomes, and their putative coding sequence size ranges from 750 bp to 1425 bp. They all have 8 or more exons, and their putative encoded proteins are predicted to localize in cytosol or chloroplast. There are typical ascorbate peroxidase domain, myristoylation sites, and phospharylation sites in APXs encoded proteins of cucumber. And also, multiple cis-elements responsive to different environmental stimuli and hormones are existed in cucumber APX upstream sequences, which suggests they may have some roles in environmental stress responses.

To pinpoint genetic model of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) internode length and function mode of gene,and also to evaluate the genetic effect and heritability of major genes and minor genes,two culcmber parents with significantly different internode length,namely ‘SJ57-h’ (short internode,P1'hereinafter) and ‘SJ11-1’ (long internode,‘P2’ hereinafter),were used to generate F1、B1、B2 and F2 populations for joint analysis.Mixed major-gene plus polygenes inheritance model were used to genetic law of internode length in both spring and autumn seasons.The results showed that the best fitted genetic model for cucumber internode size in both autumn and spring was D-0 model which internode length was controlled by one pair of additive-dominant-major genes plus additive-dominant-epitasis polygenes.Moreover,progeny internode length was closer to long-internode parent P2,namely,the progenies has long-internode parent heterosis.In spring,the major gene heritability of B1,B2 and F2 populations were estimated to be 68.5％,36.2％ and 56.3％,respectively,while the heritability of polygene was 0.6％,17.1％ and 0.6％,respectively.The variance of environment accounted for an average of 40.2％ of the phenotypic variation among three generations.In autumn,heritability of the major gene among B1,B2 and F2 generations was estimated as 68.5％,40.5％,65.1％,while the heritability of polygene was 1.2％,40.6％ and 5.4％,respectively.Environment variance accounted for about 26.3％ of the phenotypic variation.These results indicated that cucumber internode length was mainly controlled by a pair of major genes while the internode length was also obviously affected by environment factors in the B2 generation.Selection efficiency of major genes was relatively high in early generation of F2 and B1,whereas for selection efficiency of polygene was higher in B2 generation.Therefore,the trait of cucumber internode length was suitable for selection in early generation.The finding in the study will lay a theoretical foundation for breeding new cucumber vareties with improved plant architecture.

In order to elucidate the tolerance of cucumber to low light irradiance,two cultivars of cucumber Deltastar and Jinyan 2 were used to determine the effect of low light stress (75 to 100 μmol · m-2 · s-1) on plant physiological and biochemical indexes,photosynthesis,fluorescence Characteristics,Rubisco activity,Rubisco large and small subunit protein contents and their gene expression of cucumber plants,compared with the light intensity of the control treatment (600μmol · m-2 · s-1).Results showed that the stomata development of leaves had been restrained under low light,especially for Jinyan 2,the stomatal openness,stomatal density and stomatal index decreased by more than 20％.After treated with the low light,leaf chlorophyll content,the net photosynthetic rate (Pn),stomatal conductance (Gs),actual quantum yield of PSII,Rubisco activity,Rubisco large and small subunit protein contents and their transcript levels had obviously decreased,and Jinyan 2 decreased by more than 30％.Compared with Jinyan 2,Deltastar maintained a higher pigment content,and showed strong ability to capture and utilize the light energy.The distribution of photosynthesis was higher in quantum yield,and higher rubisco activity,Rubiseo size subunit protein content and size subunit gene expression.Thus Deltastar may possess low-light tolerance with a lower decrease of Pn by 30.9％,while for Jinyan 2,the Pn decreased by 54.5 ％.Thus,Pn of Deltastar and Jinyan 2 was 30.9％ and 54.5％ lower than that of CK,respectively,and showed strong resistance to low light.The results of this study provided a reference for the further study of low light resistance mechanism of cucumber and the selection and cultivation of low light cucumber varieties.

为了研究番茄和马铃薯CIPK3基因的功能,利用生物学信息学的方法从番茄和马铃薯的基因组中分别鉴定出2个与拟南芥CIPK3同源的基因,并对这些基因的结构特征、系统进化和顺式元件进行了系统分析.结果表明,番茄和马铃薯的2个CIPK3基因均与拟南芥的CIPK3直系同源,且都含有14个外显子,编码区大小相似,编码蛋白预测都位于细胞膜上且含有的基序类型相同;在它们的编码区上游序列中均存在多个激素和逆境应答元件,暗示它们在激素和逆境应答中具有一定功能.

植物CBL基因在逆境应答及发育过程中具有重要功能.为了挖掘黄瓜CBL基因并预测CBL的功能,利用生物信息学的方法,从黄瓜基因组中鉴定出6个CBL基因,并对其染色体定位、基因结构、系统进化和顺式调控元件进行了系统分析.结果表明,黄瓜的CBL基因有2个分布在2号染色体上,4个分布在3号染色体上,外显子多为8个,编码区序列为603 ～ 759 bp.黄瓜CBL编码的蛋白存在一些保守的位点和基序.在黄瓜CBL基因的上游序列中,存在一些应答多种激素和逆境的顺式元件,且不同成员各不相同.这说明黄瓜CBL家族成员可能具有不同的生物学功能.本试验结果为进一步研究黄瓜CBL基因在逆境应答中的功能提供了科学依据.

Three cucumber NRT2 genes were identified by bioinformatics method.And their genome dis-tribution,gene structure,phylogeny and cis -elements were systematically analyzed.The results showed that the 3 cucumber NRT2 genes,Csa017175,Csa017221 and Csa000871,located in chromosome 1,1 and 5 re-spectively and had 2 or 3 exons.Csa000871 was a ortholog of Arabidopsis NRT2.5.Csa017221 and Csa017175 were orthologs of Arabidopsis NRT2.4.They all had several responsive elements to plant hormones and environmental stresses,which showed that they not only played some roles in nitrogen absorption,but also were involved in plant stress response.The results might provide the clue for further studying the functions of cucumber NRT2 genes.

白籽插接商品种苗的推广应用改变了山东设施黄瓜的栽培模式，将传统的越冬长季节栽培变为秋冬茬和早春茬连茬栽培，大大降低了长季节栽培过程中促控结合的管理难度，生产的黄瓜具有果皮油亮、品质优良、丰产抗逆、畅销度好、增效显著的优势。

Haiyang white cucumber is a landrace of Haiyang and its special local product. Haiyang white cucumber has been one of significant vegetable industries in Haiyang. In this paper, we summarized the present situation of research and industalization about Haiyang white cucumber and gave some measures for its development.

Three genes in Chinese cabbage genome was comparatively analyzed with CBL4 orthologous gene of Arabidopsis.The results showed that 3 CBL4 genes of Chinese cabbage were very conserved in se-quence and structure,but different in cis -elements,which suggested they were different in functions.

CBL genes are very important for plant in response to environmental stress and development. However,the studies on CBL genes in melon have not been reported at pesent.Seven CBL genes in melon ge-nome were identified by comparative genomics method,and their genome distribution,gene structure,phylog-eny and cis -elements were systematically analyzed.The results showed that all these genes distributed on dif-ferent chromosomes respectively and had 8 exons.Their coding seuquence length was from 642 to 738 bp. Their coded proteins all had 3 EF -hands,which could bind calcium ions,and FPSF motif,which interacted with CIPK kinases.What’s more,many different environmental response elements existed in their upstream sequences,which suggested that they might have multiple biological roles.This laid the foundations for further functional elucidation of these genes in melon.

In this study, the effects of iso-osmotic solution of Mg (NO3) 2 and NaCl on seedling growth, leaf lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzyme activities, and osmotic adjustment substance accumulation were investigated using three cucumber cultivars with different ecotypes. Then salt tolerance was evaluated by membership function method. The results revealed that under the stress of 60 and 80 mmol x L(-1) Mg(NO3) 2 solution and its isotonic 90 and 120 mmol x L(-1) NaCl solution, the seedling traits such as height, stem diameter, leaf area, fresh and dry mass of aerial part and underground parts, and antioxidant enzymes activity were obviously decreased with the increasing concentration of Mg( NO3)2 and its isotonic NaCl in the three cucumber cultivars. Moreover, the inhibitory effects became more obvious with the increasing concentration of either Mg(NO3)2 or NaCl solution. MDA content and membrane lipid peroxidation were enhanced in cucumber seedlings. Among the three cultivars, SJ31-1 changed less than the other two cultivars regarding the reduced amplitudes of biomass, and activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), and the increased amplitude of MDA. In addition, Mg (NO3)2 solution inhibited seedling growth more strongly than isotonic NaCl solution did, such difference was relatively significant with increasing the concentration of solution. The contents of proline, soluble amino acids, and soluble sugars varied depending on the cucumber genotype and salt type. The increased amplitude of proline content was the largest in SJ31-1, and that of soluble sugars was the largest in Lubai 19 when growing under salt treatment. The change of these parameters in Xintaimici was in between. Soluble sugars and soluble proteins were predominant osmolytes unde NaCl stress, whereas proline and soluble proteins were main osmolytes under Mg (NO3) 2 stress. Comprehensive evaluation showed that salt tolerance of the three cucumber cultivars was in order of SJ31-1 > Xintaimici > Lubai 19.

植物CBL基因在逆境应答过程具有重要功能,但在番茄中缺乏相关报道.本研究利用生物信息学的方法从番茄基因组中鉴定出13个CBL基因,并对它们的基因组分布、分子特征、遗传进化以及顺式元件等进行了分析.结果发现,番茄CBL基因在基因组中的分布是不均匀的,外显子数大多为8或者9,编码区序列大小在561～774 bp之间.在进化上番茄CBL基因分为两个不同的类群;它们编码的蛋白除了一个预测定位在胞外基质中,其余定位在细胞的不同部位;在番茄CBL基因的上游序列中存在几个或者多个应答不同逆境和植物激素的顺式元件,而且不同成员含有的顺式元件的种类和数目各不相同.上述分析显示番茄CBL可能参与多种生物学过程,而且不同成员存在功能上的分化.本研究结果可为进一步研究番茄CBL基因的功能提供有益参考.

OST1 gene plays important roles in ABA signaling,abiotic stress response and growth and de-velopment of plant.However,the study on melon OST1 has not been reported at present.In this paper,two novel OST1 genes orthologous to Arabidopsis OST1 were identified through comparative genomics method. Their molecular features,evolution,and cis -elements were systematically analyzed.The results showed that these two melon OST1 genes were located on different chromosomes,and both had 9 introns.The sequence iden-tity of their encoded proteins was 80.38%,and they were highly conserved with the corresponding cucumber homologues.There were multiple cis -elements response to different hormones and stresses in their up -stream sequences,which suggested they might have multiple roles in biological process.This study laid a foundation for further functional dissection of melon OST1 genes in abiotic stress response,growth and development.

The plant SnRK2 genes play important roles in abiotic stress response,but the study on cu-cumber SnRK2 genes is lack of report.Two novel SnRK2 genes which were respectively homologous to Arabi-dopsis SnRK2.4 and SnRK2.10 were identified from cucumber through digging the genome data anew.Their structure,characteristics and cis -elements were systematically analyzed.This study layed a foundation for the further research of response to abiotic stress for cucumber.