UV regulates expression of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis genes in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) in an organ and spectrum dependent manner

Expression of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) genes encoding the phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthetic enzymes phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase (C4H), and chalcone synthase (CHS), was studied under control light conditions (photosynthetically active radiation, PAR) in root, stem, and leaf. Furthermore, expression was quantified in leaves illuminated with PAR and supplemental ultraviolet-A (315-400nm) or ultraviolet-B (280-315 nm) radiation. The expression pattern of all twelve CsPAL, threeCsC4H, and three CsCHS genes was established. Among the genes regulated by UV two general expression patterns emerge. One pattern applies to genes primarily regulated by enriched UV-A illumination (pattern 1). Another (pattern 2) was found for the genes regulated by enriched UV-B. Three of the pattern 2 genes (CsPAL4, CsPAL10, CsCHS2) displayed a particular sub-pattern (pattern 2b) with transcription enriched by at least 30 fold. In contrast to the other genes studied, the promoters of the genes regulated according to pattern 2b contained a combination of a number of cis-acting regulatory elements (MREs, ACEs, and G-boxes) that may be of importance for the particularly high enhancement of expression under UV-B- containing light. The regulation of phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis genes in cucumber resembles that of a number of other plants. However, cucumber, due to its greater size, is an attractive species for more detailed studies of the fine regulation of spatial and temporal expression of key genes. This in turn, can facilitate the quantitative investigation of the relationships between different promotor motifs, the expression levels of each of these three genes, and metabolite accumulation profiles.