Characterization Analysis of the Monoecious-Determine M Gene in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is becoming a model to study the sex determination mechanism in plant. The monoeciousdetermine M gene had been cloned as a key enzyme (CsACS2) which takes part in the plant hormone ethylene biosynthesis. In this study, we use the amino acid alignment, cis element analysis in promoter sequence, phylogenetic analysis and conserved domain prediction to study the CsACS2, and the results showed that: a. cucumber CsACS2 may be ortholog gene with melon CmACS7; b. two ethylene-response elements (ERE motif) and one floral organ development relative element (LEAFY motif) are found in the promoter of CsACS2 ; c. CsACS2 has a high homology (72.8%) with AtACS7 in Arabidopsis; d. a putative conserved motif (S-YF-GW) has been found in this ACC synthase. These results are useful to reveal the characteristics and potential biological role of the monoecious-determine gene CsACS2 in cucumber.