title: Mutation in the gene encoding 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase 4 (CitACS4) led to andromonoecy in watermelon.
abstract: Although it has been reported previously that ethylene plays a critical role in sex determination in cucurbit species, how the andromonoecy that carries both the male and hermaphroditic flowers is determined in watermelon is still unknown. Here we showed that the watermelon gene 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase 4 (CitACS4), expressed specifically in carpel primordia, determines the andromonoecy in watermelon. Among four single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) and one InDel identified in the coding region of CitACS4, the C364W mutation located in the conserved box 6 was co-segregated with andromonoecy. Enzymatic analyses showed that the C364W mutation caused a reduced activity in CitACS4. We believe that the reduced CitACS4 activity may hamper the programmed cell death in stamen primordia, leading to the formation of hermaphroditic flowers.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Vegetable Research Center, National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Ministry of Agriculture; Beijing Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Improvement, Beijing, 100097, China.|Department of Vegetable Science, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
authors.forename: Gaojie
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Beijing Vegetable Research Center, National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Ministry of Agriculture; Beijing Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Improvement, Beijing, 100097, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Vegetable Research Center, National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Ministry of Agriculture; Beijing Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Improvement, Beijing, 100097, China.
authors.forename: Haiying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Vegetable Research Center, National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Ministry of Agriculture; Beijing Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Improvement, Beijing, 100097, China.
authors.forename: Honghe
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Beijing Vegetable Research Center, National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Ministry of Agriculture; Beijing Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Improvement, Beijing, 100097, China.
authors.forename: Guoyi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Beijing Vegetable Research Center, National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Ministry of Agriculture; Beijing Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Improvement, Beijing, 100097, China.
authors.forename: Jianting
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Beijing Vegetable Research Center, National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Ministry of Agriculture; Beijing Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Improvement, Beijing, 100097, China.
authors.forename: Shouwei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Beijing Vegetable Research Center, National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Ministry of Agriculture; Beijing Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Improvement, Beijing, 100097, China.
authors.forename: Shaogui
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Beijing Vegetable Research Center, National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Ministry of Agriculture; Beijing Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Improvement, Beijing, 100097, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Department of Vegetable Science, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
authors.forename: Huolin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Vegetable Science, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
authors.forename: Junping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Beijing Vegetable Research Center, National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Ministry of Agriculture; Beijing Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Improvement, Beijing, 100097, China. xuyong@nercv.org.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D029773:Citrullus / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D017124:Conserved Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics*; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D008190:Lyases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D008190:Lyases; C021773:1-aminocyclopropanecarboxylate synthase
keywords: 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase; Citrullus lanatus; sex determination