Molecular cloning and expression analysis of the ethylene insensitive3 (EIN3) gene in cucumber (Cucumis sativus)

The plant gaseous hormone ethylene regulates many aspects of plant growth, development, and responses to the environment. Ethylene insensitive3 (EIN3) is a key transcription factor involved in the ethylene signal transduction pathway. To gain a better understanding of this particular pathway in cucumber, the full-length cDNA encoding EIN3 (designated as CsEIN3) was cloned from cucumber for the first time by rapid amplification of cDNA ends. The full length of CsEIN3 was 2560 bp, with an open reading frame of 1908 bp encoding 635 amino acids. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analyses revealed that CsEIN3 has high homology with other plant EIN3/EIL proteins that were derived from a common ancestor during evolution, and CsEIN3 was grouped into a cluster along with melon. Homology modeling demonstrated that CsEIN3 has a highly similar structure to the specific DNA-binding domain contained in EIN3/EIL proteins. Based on quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis, we found that CsEIN3 was constitutively expressed in all organs examined, and was increased during flower development and maturation in both male and female flowers. Our results suggest that CsEIN3 is involved in processes of flower development. In conclusion, this study will provide the basis for further study on the role of EIN3 in relevant biological processes of cucumber and on the molecular mechanism of the cucumber ethylene signaling pathway.