A nuclease-dead Cas9-derived tool represses target gene expression.

Manipulation of gene expression is central to understanding gene function, engineering cell behavior, and altering biological traits according to production demands. Nuclease-dead Cas9 (dCas9), a variant of active Cas9, offers a versatile platform for the precise control of genome function without DNA cleavage. Notably, however, an effective and universal dCas9-based transcriptional repression system remains unavailable in plants.

Architecture design of cucurbit crops for enhanced productivity by a natural allele.

Increasing production efficiency is a top priority in agriculture. Optimal plant architecture is the biological basis of dense planting, high crop yield and labour cost savings, and is thus critical for improving agricultural productivity. In cucurbit crops, most species have elongated internodes, but the path to architecture improvement is still not clear.

NS encodes an auxin transporter that regulates the 'numerous spines' trait in cucumber (Cucumis sativus) fruit.

Fruit spine is an important agronomic trait in cucumber and the "numerous spines (ns)" cucumber varieties are popular in Europe and West Asia. Although the classical genetic locus of ns was reported more than two decades ago, the NS gene has not been cloned yet. In this study, nine genetic loci for the different densities of fruit spines were identified by a genome-wide association study.

Targeted creating new mutants with compact plant architecture using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing by an optimized genetic transformation procedure in cucurbit plants.

Fruits and vegetables in the Cucurbitaceae family contribute greatly to the human diet, for example, cucumber, melon, watermelon and squash. The widespread use of genome editing technologies has greatly accelerated the functional characterization of genes as well as crop improvement. However, most economically important cucurbit plants, including melon and squash, remain recalcitrant to standard Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation, which limits the effective use of genome editing technology.

Regulation of plant architecture by a new histone acetyltransferase targeting gene bodies.

Axillary meristem development determines both plant architecture and crop yield; this critical process is regulated by the PROLIFERATING CELL FACTORS (TCP) family of transcription factors. Although TCP proteins bind primarily to promoter regions, some also target gene bodies for expression activation. However, the underlying regulatory mechanism remains unknown.

Genetic Regulation of Ethylene Dosage for Cucumber Fruit Elongation.

Plant organ growth and development are determined by a subtle balance between growth stimulation and inhibition. Fruit size and shape are important quality traits influencing yield and market value; however, the underlying mechanism regulating the balance of fruit growth to achieve final size and shape is not well understood. Here, we report a mechanistic model that governs cucumber () fruit elongation through fine-tuning of ethylene homeostasis.