ABSTRACT
Capsanthin/capsorubin synthase (Ccs) gene is a key gene that regulates the synthesis of capsanthin and the development of red coloration in pepper fruits. There are three tandem repeat units in the promoter region of Ccs, but the potential effects of the number of repetitive units on the transcriptional regulation of Ccs has been unclear. In the present study, expression vectors carrying different numbers of repeat units of the Ccs promoter were constructed, and the transient expression of the ß-glucuronidase (GUS) gene was used to detect differences in expression levels associated with the promoter fragments. These repeat fragments and the plant expression vector PBI121 containing the 35s CaMV promoter were ligated to form recombinant vectors that were transfected into Agrobacterium tumefaciens GV3101. A fluorescence spectrophotometer was used to analyze the expression associated with the various repeat units. It was concluded that the constructs containing at least one repeat were associated with GUS expression, though they did not differ from one another. This repeating unit likely plays a role in transcription and regulation of Ccs expression.
ABSTRACT
We attempted to create a new germplasm of cucumber cultivar Chinese long (9930) using different doses of ethyl methyl sulfonate (EMS) to induce variability. We tested EMS concentration (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2, 3% v/v) with post-treatment (0.1 M Na2S2O3 and water), EMS concentration (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5% v/v) over different treatment times (8, 16, 24 h), and EMS concentration (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5% v/v) with different treatment temperatures (20 and 28°C). In all experiments with increasing EMS concentration, germination percent, index, and rate were decreased. After addition of stop solution (0.1 M Na2S2O3), post-treatment mutated seeds showed higher germination (84.44%) and rate (37.5%) than seeds treated with water (80 and 34.07%, respectively), while the germination index was high in seeds treated with water. At 20°C, the germination index (4.13) and rate (56.25%) were affected to a greater extent than at 28°C (7.68 and 91.31%, respectively). Treatment times of 16 and 24 h showed similar results for germination percent and rate, while the germination index was decreased over time. There were significant differences in seedling height, fresh true leaf weight, seedling weight, and plant survival with increasing EMS concentration and time. Higher variations in the form of dwarf seedlings were recorded after treatment with 1.5% EMS for 24 h. Based on germination and morphological data, an EMS concentration of 1.5% for 24 h at 20°C and post-treatment with stop solution (0.1 M Na2S2O3) efficiently caused mutation.
