{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T05:02:30Z","timestamp":1790053350703,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789516800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","award":["32372690"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32372690"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["32372690"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32372690"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100007539","name":"Jiangsu Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Fund","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["CX (19)3029"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CX (19)3029"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100007539","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["CX (19)3029"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CX (19)3029"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/0335n2618","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Downy mildew (DM) in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis, severely restricts cucumber growth and yield. This study compared transcriptomic responses to P. cubensis infection between the DM-resistant cucumber cultivar \u2018115\u2019 and the DM-susceptible cultivar \u2018XTMC\u2019 at 48 and 72 h post-infection. Compared with the controls, infection induced 6667 and 6601 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in \u2018115\u2019 and \u2018XTMC\u2019 leaves, respectively. Across both time points, 97 and 90 DEGs were commonly upregulated specifically in \u2018XTMC\u2019 and \u2018115\u2019 leaves, respectively, following P. cubensis inoculation. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis associated genes highly expressed in each cultivar primarily with plant hormone signal transduction and plant\u2013pathogen interaction pathways. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) confirmed the expression patterns. CsJAZ8 expression was downregulated in \u2018115\u2019 leaves after P. cubensis infection, whereas CsJAZ8 overexpression increased cucumber susceptibility to DM. These findings provide genetic resources for investigating the mechanisms underlying DM resistance and developing molecular breeding strategies for cucumber.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants15182836","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T13:50:27Z","timestamp":1789566627000},"page":"2836","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals Defense Mechanisms Against Pseudoperonospora cubensis Infection in Cucumber Cultivars"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Qianyi","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Horticulture and Landscape, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zebin","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Horticulture and Landscape, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiran","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Horticulture and Landscape, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuan","family":"Yao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Horticulture and Landscape, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhi","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Horticulture and Landscape, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tingting","family":"Yuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Horticulture and Landscape, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yurui","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Horticulture and Landscape, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jingping","family":"Dong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-9183-9945","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jun","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Horticulture and Landscape, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.1126\/science.adv2006","article-title":"ARF3-mediated auxin signaling is essential for sex determination in cucumber","volume":"391","author":"Han","year":"2026","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2040","DOI":"10.1038\/s41588-026-02682-z","article-title":"Pangenome-resolved structural variation drives adaptation and trait evolution in cucumber","volume":"58","author":"Guan","year":"2026","journal-title":"Nat. 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