The Cucumber Kinome: Uncovering and Analyzing the Expression of Cucumis sativus Protein Kinases in Response to Powdery Mildew, Alternaria Leaf Spot, and Root-Knot Nematode
Gene expression, Kinase gene family, Metabolism regulation, Plant immunity, Protein evolution, Response to disease.
Protein kinases (PKs) play a crucial role in regulating various metabolic processes. However, the complete characterization of this enzyme superfamily in the cucumber species is still lacking.The study aimed at characterizing the PK superfamily in the cucumber species and support the understanding of its composition, genomic distribution, classification, and expression patterns in response to Powdery mildew (PM), Alternaria leaf spot (ALS) and Root-knot nematode (RKN). A comprehensive analysis was carried out to investigate the expression patterns of PKs in response to those three major diseases.We identified a total of 835 PKs in the cucumber kinome, which are distributed across the species' seven chromosomes, in which the chromosome number three harbored the highest quantity of kinases, indicating its importance in phosphorylation-related processes. Through classification analysis, we categorized the kinases into 20 distinct groups and 123 families. Among these, the RLK-Pelle group was found to be the most abundant. Curiously, evidence of only three PK genes duplication was observed. Furthermore, our study provides a functional characterization of PKs in cucumber. By analyzing their expression profiles in response to PM, ALS, and RKN we gained a comprehension of PK families properties and functioning, and their involvement in disease-related scenarios. These findings are an overview of the cucumber PKs and their roles in regulating metabolic processes, particularly in the context of plant-pathogen interactions.