Cloning and characterization of a plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiporter gene from Cucumis sativus

A plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiporter gene (CsSOS1) was separated from cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) plants by RT-PCR and RACE methods. Sequence analysis indicated that the full-length CsSOS1 cDNA was 3638 bp long with an open reading frame of 3435 bp long encoding a protein of 1145 amino acids. The deduced protein contained conserved structural domains and shared a high similarity with plasma membrane type Na+/H+ antiporters from other plants. TMpred prediction showed that CsSOS1 had 11 transmembrane domains. As shown by RT-PCR, the expression of CsSOS1 was tissue-specific and increased in the root but decreased in the leaves with increasing NaCl concentration. In addition, expression of CsSOS1 in ATX3 mutant yeast could grow on medium containing NaCl and enhanced AXT3 salt tolerance. These results suggest that the CsSOS1 plays a key role in cucumber plants under salt stress.