ARF — Cucumis sativus

Summary

CsARF (CSA_2G348280) on cucumber chromosome 2 encodes a small GTPase of the ARF/SAR family, a member of the P-loop NTPase superfamily. The encoded protein is associated with multiple molecular functions including G protein activity, phosphatidylinositol kinase activity, phospholipase activator activity, actin binding, blue light photoreceptor activity, and histone acetyltransferase activity. CsARF is associated with diverse biological processes such as vesicle-mediated transport, ER-to-Golgi transport, chloroplast accumulation movement, phototropism, gravitropism, and regulation of auxin metabolism. It localizes to Golgi-associated vesicles, COPII-coated vesicles, the ER membrane, and early endosomes. The gene has been associated with agronomically important traits including biomass yield, water use efficiency, days to flowering, root mass density, leaf senescence, viral disease response, low temperature stress response, and oxidative stress response. Studies of related genes in other species link the ARF family to fruit set, leaf relative water content, and nitrogen content.