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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » Vegetable Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #351560
Title: A CsMYB6-CsTRY module regulates fruit trichome initiation in cucumber

Author
item YANG, SEN - China Agricultural University
item CAI, YALING - China Agricultural University
item LIU, XINGWANG - China Agricultural University
item DONG, MINGMING - China Agricultural University
item ZHANG, YAQI - China Agricultural University
item CHEN, SHUYING - China Agricultural University
item ZHANG, WENBO - China Agricultural University
item LI, YUJING - China Agricultural University
item TANG, MIN - China Agricultural University
item ZHAI, XULING - China Agricultural University
item Weng, Yiqun
item REN, HUZAHONG - China Agricultural University

Submitted to: Journal of Experimental Botany
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2018
Publication Date: 2/8/2018
Citation: Yang, S., Cai, Y., Liu, X., Dong, M., Zhang, Y., Chen, S., Zhang, W., Li, Y., Tang, M., Zhai, X., Weng, Y., Ren, H. 2018. A CsMYB6-CsTRY module regulates fruit trichome initiation in cucumber. Journal of Experimental Botany. 69(8):1887–1902. https://doi:10.1093/jxb/ery047.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ery047

Interpretive Summary: The epidermal features on the fruits, such as spine number and size are important fruit quality traits for cucumber production. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying fruit spine formation in cucumber. Here, we reported cloning and functional characterization of the CsMYB6 gene in cucumber, which encodes a MIXTA-like, R2R3 MYB transcription factor that plays an important role in the development of fruit spines in cucumber. Gene expression analysis of CsMYB6 revealed its high level expression in the epidermis of cucumber ovaries during fruit spine initiation, which was similar to CsTRY, another R2R2 MYB transcription factor and a homolog of Arabidopsis AtTRY/AtCPC gene. Overexpression of CsMYB6 and CsTRY in cucumber and ectopic expression in Arabidopsis wild and mutant plants revealed the roles of both CsMYB6 and CsTRY as negative regulators of trichome initiation and density in both species, and CsMYB6 acted upstream of CsTRY in this precess. Protein-protein interaction assays revealed direct interaction between CSMYB6 and CsTRY in which CsMYB6 binds to the three MYB binding sites in the CsTRY promoter region. The cooperative action between CsMYB6 and CsTRY in regulating of trichome initiation seemed to independent of CsCL1, a class I homeodomain-leucine zipper gene involved in multicellular trichome development. A model was proposed to explain the roles of CsMYB6, CsTRY, CsCL1 in regulating fruit trichome initiation and development in cucumber.

Technical Abstract: The epidermal features on the fruits, such as the number and size of trichomes or spines are important fruit quality traits for cucumber production. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying fruit spine formation in cucumber. Here, we reported cloning and functional characterization of CsMYB6 gene in cucumber, which encodes a MIXTA-like, R2R3 MYB transcription factor that plays an important role in the development of fruit trichomes in cucumber. Spatial-temporal expression analysis of CsMYB6 revealed high level expression of CsMYB6 in the epidermis of cucumber ovaries during fruit spine initiation, which was similar to CsTRY, another R2R2 MYB transcription factor and a homolog of Arabidopsis AtTRY/AtCPC gene that also plays a key role in trichome development. Overexpression of CsMYB6 and CsTRY in cucumber and ectopic expression in Arabidopsis wild and mutant plants revealed the roles of both CsMYB6 and CsTRY as negative regulators of trichome initiation and density in both species, and CsMYB6 acted upstream of CsTRY in this precess. Protein-protein interaction assays revealed direct interaction between CSMYB6 and CsTRY in which CsMYB6 bind to the three MYB binding sites in the CsTRY promoter region. The cooperative action between CsMYB6 and CsTRY in regulating of trichome initiation seemed to independent of CsCL1, a class I homeodomain-leucine zipper gene involved in multicellular trichome development. A model was proposed to explain the roles of CsMYB6, CsTRY, CsCL1 in regulating fruit trichome initiation and development in cucumber.