Plant trichomes—hair-like projections on leaves and fruits—are more than just biological decorations. In crops like cucumber, they serve as a protective barrier against pests and environmental stress, while also influencing visual appeal and market value. These structures are formed through finely tuned genetic programs that guide cell division, polarity, and surface biochemistry. Despite significant progress in identifying trichome-regulating genes in model plants like Arabidopsis, many questions remain unanswered in crops with multicellular trichomes. Particularly, the molecular links between trichome architecture and cuticle metabolism are still unclear. Due to these challenges, researchers set out to decode how cucumber plants coordinate form and function at the surface level.
In a collaborative study (DOI: 10.1093/hr/uhae235) led by researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, scientists have pinpointed CsTs as the gene responsible for malformed, soft spines in a cucumber mutant known as ts. The findings were published in Horticulture Research on August 14, 2024. Through a combination of gene editing, transcriptomics, and protein interaction assays, the team demonstrated that CsTs plays a dual role in orchestrating the cellular structure of spines and regulating the biosynthesis of protective cuticle waxes—bridging physical development and biochemical defense.
Using CRISPR/Cas9, the researchers knocked out CsTs in cucumber plants, resulting in flattened, tender spines lacking the distinct stalk-base architecture seen in wild-type fruits. Microscopy revealed malformed structures, while chemical analyses showed altered cell wall composition—lower cellulose and lignin, but increased pectin and hemicellulose—explaining the loss of rigidity. Transcriptomic data highlighted CsTs’s role in regulating cytoskeleton-related genes and auxin signaling, critical for cell polarity. Interestingly, a SNP mutation caused mislocalization of the mutant csts protein, disrupting its interaction with vesicle transport and signaling proteins such as CsVTI11 and CsROP1. The team further showed that overexpressing CsTs in an Arabidopsis mutant partially restored normal trichome branching, demonstrating its conserved function. Genetic experiments also suggested that CsTs works in the same pathway as CsMict, another trichome regulator, influencing both physical spine traits and cuticle wax metabolism. Although the proteins don’t directly interact, their combined loss led to severe trichome defects, confirming a shared developmental pathway.
“Identifying CsTs helps us connect the dots between a plant’s structural defenses and its surface chemistry,” said Dr. Junsong Pan, senior author of the study. “It’s rare to find a gene that plays such an integrative role—regulating how cells divide, build walls, and communicate across tissue layers. This opens exciting new possibilities for improving crop resilience and texture through targeted breeding or gene engineering.”
The discovery of CsTs offers a valuable genetic handle for improving cucumber fruit quality. Modifying this gene could enable breeders to fine-tune the firmness and spine density of fruits, enhancing both consumer appeal and postharvest durability. Furthermore, because CsTs also influences cuticle wax levels, it may help develop varieties with better resistance to pests and environmental stress. Given its functional conservation in Arabidopsis, CsTs could become a target gene for manipulating trichome traits across diverse crops. Future research will focus on dissecting the precise signaling cascade downstream of CsTs, including how its interactions with cytoskeletal proteins and membrane-localized partners influence epidermal cell behavior.
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References
DOI
10.1093/hr/uhae235
Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhae235
Funding information
This study was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (32302540) and the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2023 M732328).
About Horticulture Research
Horticulture Research is an open access journal of Nanjing Agricultural University and ranked number one in the Horticulture category of the Journal Citation Reports ™ from Clarivate, 2023. The journal is committed to publishing original research articles, reviews, perspectives, comments, correspondence articles and letters to the editor related to all major horticultural plants and disciplines, including biotechnology, breeding, cellular and molecular biology, evolution, genetics, inter-species interactions, physiology, and the origination and domestication of crops.