Skip to main content
PMC home page
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1997 Mar;113(3):987–995. doi: 10.1104/pp.113.3.987

Identification of a 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase gene linked to the female (F) locus that enhances female sex expression in cucumber.

T Trebitsh 1, J E Staub 1, S D O'Neill 1
PMCID: PMC158220  PMID: 9085580

Abstract

Sex determination in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is controlled largely by three genes: F, m, and a. The F and m loci interact to produce monoecious (M_f_) or gynoecious (M_f_) sex phenotypes. Ethylene and factors that induce ethylene biosynthesis, such as 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) and auxin, also enhance female sex expression. A genomic sequence (CS-ACS1) encoding ACC synthase was amplified from genomic DNA by a polymerase chain reaction using degenerate oligonucleotide primers. Expression of CS-ACS1 is induced by auxin, but not by ACC, in wounded and intact shoot apices. Southern blo hybridization analysis of near-isogenic gynoecious (MMFF) and monoecious (MMff) lines derived from divers genetic backgrounds revealed the existence of an additional ACC synthase (CS-ACS1G) genomic sequence in the gynoecious lines. Sex phenotype analysis of a segregating F2 population detected a 100% correlation between the CS-ACS1G marker and the presence of the F locus. The CS-ACS1G gene is located in linkage group B coincident with the F locus, and in the population tested there was no recombination between the CS-ACS1G gene and the F locus. Collectively, these data suggest that CS-ACS1G is closely linked to the F locus and may play a pivotal role in the determination of sex in cucumber flowers.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (2.0 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Abel S., Nguyen M. D., Chow W., Theologis A. ACS4, a primary indoleacetic acid-responsive gene encoding 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase in Arabidopsis thaliana. Structural characterization, expression in Escherichia coli, and expression characteristics in response to auxin [corrected]. J Biol Chem. 1995 Aug 11;270(32):19093–19099. doi: 10.1074/jbc.270.32.19093. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Botella J. R., Schlagnhaufer C. D., Arteca J. M., Arteca R. N., Phillips A. T. Identification of two new members of the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase-encoding multigene family in mung bean. Gene. 1993 Jan 30;123(2):249–253. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(93)90132-m. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Carter M. J., Milton I. D. An inexpensive and simple method for DNA purifications on silica particles. Nucleic Acids Res. 1993 Feb 25;21(4):1044–1044. doi: 10.1093/nar/21.4.1044. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. DeLong A., Calderon-Urrea A., Dellaporta S. L. Sex determination gene TASSELSEED2 of maize encodes a short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase required for stage-specific floral organ abortion. Cell. 1993 Aug 27;74(4):757–768. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(93)90522-r. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dellaporta S. L., Calderon-Urrea A. Sex determination in flowering plants. Plant Cell. 1993 Oct;5(10):1241–1251. doi: 10.1105/tpc.5.10.1241. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Destéfano-Beltrán L. J., van Caeneghem W., Gielen J., Richard L., van Montagu M., van der Straeten D. Characterization of three members of the ACC synthase gene family in Solanum tuberosum L. Mol Gen Genet. 1995 Feb 20;246(4):496–508. doi: 10.1007/BF00290453. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Huang P. L., Parks J. E., Rottmann W. H., Theologis A. Two genes encoding 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase in zucchini (Cucurbita pepo) are clustered and similar but differentially regulated. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Aug 15;88(16):7021–7025. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.16.7021. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Irish E. E., Nelson T. Sex Determination in Monoecious and Dioecious Plants. Plant Cell. 1989 Aug;1(8):737–744. doi: 10.1105/tpc.1.8.737. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kim W. T., Silverstone A., Yip W. K., Dong J. G., Yang S. F. Induction of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase mRNA by auxin in mung bean hypocotyls and cultured apple shoots. Plant Physiol. 1992 Feb;98(2):465–471. doi: 10.1104/pp.98.2.465. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lander E. S., Green P., Abrahamson J., Barlow A., Daly M. J., Lincoln S. E., Newberg L. A., Newburg L. MAPMAKER: an interactive computer package for constructing primary genetic linkage maps of experimental and natural populations. Genomics. 1987 Oct;1(2):174–181. doi: 10.1016/0888-7543(87)90010-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Liang X., Abel S., Keller J. A., Shen N. F., Theologis A. The 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase gene family of Arabidopsis thaliana. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Nov 15;89(22):11046–11050. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.22.11046. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. O'Neill S. D., Nadeau J. A., Zhang X. S., Bui A. Q., Halevy A. H. Interorgan regulation of ethylene biosynthetic genes by pollination. Plant Cell. 1993 Apr;5(4):419–432. doi: 10.1105/tpc.5.4.419. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. O'Neill S. D., Zhang X. S., Zheng C. C. Dark and Circadian Regulation of mRNA Accumulation in the Short-Day Plant Pharbitis nil. Plant Physiol. 1994 Feb;104(2):569–580. doi: 10.1104/pp.104.2.569. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Rottmann W. H., Peter G. F., Oeller P. W., Keller J. A., Shen N. F., Nagy B. P., Taylor L. P., Campbell A. D., Theologis A. 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase in tomato is encoded by a multigene family whose transcription is induced during fruit and floral senescence. J Mol Biol. 1991 Dec 20;222(4):937–961. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(91)90587-v. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sanger F., Nicklen S., Coulson A. R. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5463–5467. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Shifriss O, George W L, Quiones J A. Gynodioecism in Cucumbers. Genetics. 1964 Feb;49(2):285–291. doi: 10.1093/genetics/49.2.285. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Zarembinski T. I., Theologis A. Anaerobiosis and plant growth hormones induce two genes encoding 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Mol Biol Cell. 1993 Apr;4(4):363–373. doi: 10.1091/mbc.4.4.363. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Plant Physiology are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES