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Functional Analysis of the Promoter of a Female-Specific Cucumber CsACS1G Gene

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Abstract

The 5′ fragment (1,678 bp) of the cucumber female-specific CsACS1G gene was transcriptionally fused to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene and GUS gene and functionally analyzed for important regulatory regions controlling gene expression in onion epidermal cells or stably transformed Arabidopsis plants. Progressive upstream deletion analyses of the promoter showed that the cis-elements needed for cucumber female-specific expression might be located in the region from −535 to −402 bp. Furthermore, deletion analysis also revealed that the region from −117 to −1 bp is sufficient to induce transcription of CsACS1/1G. In addition, there might be repressor elements of cucumber female-specific expression in the region upstream of −535 bp. These findings indicate that a 1,678 bp fragment of the cucumber female-specific CsACS1G promoter contains specific transcription regulatory elements and provide clues about the roles of CsACS1G in cucumber sex determination. Further analyses of these elements will help to elucidate the molecular mechanisms regulating the expression of the CsACS1G gene during sex determination in cucumber.

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Abbreviations

ACC:

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate

ACS :

ACC synthase

ARR1:

Nuclear response regulator 1

AuxRE :

Auxin responsive elements

CaMV :

Cauliflower mosaic virus

GA:

Gibberellic acid

GFP :

Green fluorescent protein

NSHB:

Non-symbiotic hemoglobin-2

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Jian-yong Li (Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology; Cornell University) and Dr Ai-hong Zhang (Zhejiang University) for providing pGII and pBI121 vector, and their helping with Arabidopsis transformation experiments. This work was supported by Foundation for Technological Innovation Research Team in University of Heilongjiang Province of China (2009td07), the Special Grade of the Financial Support from China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (201003411); the Heilongjiang Postdoctoral Special Sustentation Fund (2009), the Special Fund for Scientific and Technological Innovative Talents in Harbin (2011RFQXN044), and Scientific Research Foundation for Doctor, Northeast Agricultural University (2009RC10).

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  1. Horticultural Department, Northeast Agricultural University, 59 Mucai Road, Harbin, 150030, China

    Tao Wu, Zhiwei Qin, Zhuo Feng, Xiuyan Zhou, Ming Xin & Yalin Du

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  1. Tao Wu
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  2. Zhiwei Qin
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Correspondence to Zhiwei Qin.

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Wu, T., Qin, Z., Feng, Z. et al. Functional Analysis of the Promoter of a Female-Specific Cucumber CsACS1G Gene. Plant Mol Biol Rep 30, 235–241 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11105-011-0318-1

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