Genes involved in ethylene synthesis and perception in cucumber

In cucumber, genes determining plant sex expression and the effect of ethylene on the development of male, female and bisexual flowers have been documented. Recently, attempts have begun to elucidate sex differentiation at the molecular level. We cloned a family of ACC oxidase (ACO) mRNAs expressed in cucumber shoot apices and leaves. The plants exhibit intriguing patterns of ACO expression during monoecious sex development and between sex genotypes. AC03 has been over-expressed in and roecious cucumber plants by an attenuated viral vector, but this did not result in a marked change in sex type. An ethylene-perception gene homologous to ERS has been isolated from cucumber buds and has been mapped relative to the M (monoecious) locus. Mhas been suggested to determine the sensitivity of stamens to an inhibitory ethylene signal, but cucumber ERS segregates independently ofM.