| Summary: | Salinity stress prominently limits cucumber growth and productivity. However, the mechanism underlying salinity response mediated by the C-TERMINALLY ENCODED PEPTIDE (CEP) peptide in cucumber primary root remains largely unclear. In this study, we show that salinity prominently inhibits cucumber primary root growth, and <i>CsCEP</i> gene expression is differentially induced by salinity. We further demonstrate that the exogenous application of synthetic CsCEP3 peptide partially suppresses salinity-triggered growth inhibition in cucumber primary root, although CsCEP3 peptide itself shows no obvious effect on cucumber primary root growth under normal conditions. Our transcriptomic and qRT-PCR data further reveal that CsCEP3 peptide may modulate gene expression related to abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and slat-responsive transcription factors to attenuate the inhibitory effect of salinity on cucumber primary root growth. Taken together, our work provides a fundamental insight into CEP peptide-mediated cucumber salinity adaptation.
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