Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of Members of the <i>ACS</i> Gene Family in <i>Cucurbita maxima</i> and Their Transcriptional Responses to the Specific Treatments
Ethylene biosynthesis and signal transduction play critical roles in plant sex differentiation. <i>ACS</i> (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase) is a rate-limiting enzyme in ethylene biosynthesis. However, the understanding of the <i>ACS</i> gene family in <i>...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/15/8476 |
| Summary: | Ethylene biosynthesis and signal transduction play critical roles in plant sex differentiation. <i>ACS</i> (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase) is a rate-limiting enzyme in ethylene biosynthesis. However, the understanding of the <i>ACS</i> gene family in <i>Cucurbita maxima</i> is limited. Here, we identified and characterized 13 <i>ACS</i> genes in the <i>C. maxima</i> genome. All <i>ACS</i> genes could be divided into three groups according to a conserved serine residue at the C-terminus. Thirteen <i>CmaACS</i> genes were found to be randomly distributed on 10 of the 20 chromosomes of <i>C. maxima</i>. The <i>ACS</i> gene exhibits different tissue-specific expression patterns in pumpkin, and four <i>ACS</i> genes (<i>CmaACS1</i>, <i>CmaACS4</i>, <i>CmaACS7</i>, and <i>CmaACS9</i>) were expressed specifically in both the female and male flowers of <i>C. maxima</i>. In addition, the expression levels of <i>CmaACS4</i> and <i>CmaACS7</i> were upregulated after ethephon and IAA treatments, which ultimately increased the number of female flowers, decreased the position of the first female flower and decreased the number of bisexual flowers per plant. These results provide relevant information for determining the function of the <i>ACS</i> genes in <i>C. maxima</i>, especially for regulating the function of ethylene in sex determination. |
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| ISSN: | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |