Molecular Characterization and Expression Profiles of Myrosinase Gene（RsMyr2） in Radish（Raphanus sativus L.）

Myrosinase is a defense-related enzyme and is capable of hydrolyzing glucosinolates into a variety of compounds, some of which are toxic to pathogens and herbivores. Many studies revealed that a number of important vegetables or oil crops contain the myrosinase-glucosinolate system. However, the related promoter and genomic DNA sequences as well as expression profiles of myrosinase gene remain largely unexplored in radish（Raphanus sativus）. In this study, the 2 798 bp genomic DNA sequence, designated as RsMyr2, was isolated and analyzed in radish. The RsMyr2 consisting of 12 exons and 11 introns reflected the common gene structure of myrosinases. Using the genomic DNA walking approach, the 5′-flanking region upstream of RsMyr2 with length of 1 711 bp was successfully isolated. PLACE and PlantCARE analyses revealed that this upstream region could be the promoter of RsMyr2, which contained several basic cis-regulatory elements including TATA-box, CAAT-box and regulatory motifs responsive to defense and stresses. Furthermore, recombinant pET-RsMyr2 protein separated by SDS-PAGE was identified as myrosinase with mass spectrometry. Real-time PCR analysis showed differential expression profiles of RsMyr2 in leaf, stem and root at different developmental stages（e.g., higher expression in leaf at cotyledon stage and lower in flesh root at mature stage）. Additionally, the RsMyr2 gene exhibited up-regulated expression when treated with abscisic acid（ABA）, methyl jasmonate（MeJA） and hydrogen peroxide（H2O2）, whereas it was down-regulated by wounding（WO） treatment. The findings indicated that the expression of RsMyr2 gene was differentially regulated by these stress treatments. These results could provide new insight into elucidating the molecular characterization and biological function of myrosinase in radish.     

Molecular Identification and Expression Analysis of GhHYDRA 1 Gene,a Homologue of HYDRA1 Gene From Upland Cotton （Gossypium hirsutum L.）

Beside as precursors of BRs biosynthesis,more and more evidences supposed that phytosterols play an important role in plant growth and development.To investigate the effects of phytosterols on the fiber development of upland cotton(Gossypium hirsutum L.)and the molecular base of sterol regulating cotton fiber growth,a homologue of HYDRA1 was cloned from upland cotton(cv.Xuzhou 142)by screening cotton fiber EST database and contigging the candidate ESTs.The GhHYDRA1 encoded a polypeptide of 218 amino acid residues and the deduced amino acid sequences had high homology with the members of HYDRA1 in Populus trichocarpa,Solanum tuberosum,and Arabidopsis thaliana.Moreover,GhHYDRA1 had comparable transmembrane regions to AtHYDRA1 in sequence,length,order,and spacing,except for a C-terminal polylysine cluster.Quantitative real-time RT-PCR analysis revealed that the higher expression levels of GhHYDRA1 gene were detected in 6 to 12 DPA(days post anthesis)fibers,while the lower levels were observed in 0 DPA ovule(with fibers)and 16 to 18 DPA fibers.These results indicated that GhHYDRA1 is the homologue of HYDRA1 gene and plays a crucial role in fiber elongation.Furthermore,auxin and BL up-regulated the expression level of GhHYDRA1 while ABA and KT down-regulated the expression level of GhHYDRA1 in cotton ovule and fiber growth.The result suggested that phytosterols play a role in the interaction of plant hormones.     

Cloning and Characterization of a Somatic Embryogenesis Receptor-Like Kinase Gene in Cotton （Gossypium hirsutum）

A novel gene,GhSERK1,was identified in cotton.It encoded a protein belonging to the somatic embryogenesis receptorlike kinase (SERK) family.The genomic sequence of GhSERKI was 6920 bp in length,contain...     

Cloning and Expression Analysis of a Brassinosteroid Biosynthetic Enzyme Gene, GhDWF1, from Cotton （Gossypium hirsuturm L.）

Brassinosteroids （BRs） are an important class of plant steroidal hormones that are essential in a wide variety of physiological processes. To determine the effects of BRs on the development of cotton fibers, through screening cotton fiber EST database and contigging the candidate ESTs, a key gene （GhDWF1） involved in the upstream biosynthetic pathway of BRs was cloned from developing fibers of upland cotton （Gossypium hirsutum L.） cv. Xuzhou 142. The full length of the cloned cDNA is 1 849 bp, including a 37 bp 5＇-untranslated region, an ORF of 1 692 bp, and a 120 bp 3＇-untranslated region. The cDNA encodes a polypeptide of 563 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 65 kD. The deduced amino acid sequence has high homology with the BR biosynthetic enzyme, DWARF1/DIMINUTO, from rice, maize, pea, tomato, and Arabidopsis. Furthermore, the typical conserved structures, such as the transmembrane domain, the FAD- dependent oxidase domain, and the FAD-binding site, are present in the GhDWF1 protein. The Southern blot indicated that the GhDWF1 gene is a single copy in upland cotton genome. RT-PCR analysis revealed that the highest level of GhDWF1 expression was detected in 0 DPA （day post anthesis） ovule （with fibers） while the lowest level was observed in cotyledon. The GhDWF1 gene presents high expression levels in root, young stem, and fiber, especially, at the fiber developmental stage of secondary cell wall accumulation. Moreover, the expression level was higher in ovules （with fibers） of wildtype （Xuzhou 142） than in ovules of fuzzless-lintless mutant at the same developmental stages （0 and 4 DPA）. The results suggest that the GhDWF1 gene plays a crucial role in fiber development.     

Construction and Characterization of a cDNA Library from the Pulp of Coconut （Cocos nucifera L.）

To investigate the gene expression profile of endosperm development, a cDNA library was constructed and characterized from the pulp of coconut at different developmental stages. The constructed cDNA library incorporated approximately 1 × 10^7 clones in total, and the size of the insertion fragments ranged from 800 to 2 000 bp. Sequencing results of 100 randomly picked clones showed that the recombination rate was 96%. In subsequent sequence analysis, 41 clones （41%） were homologous to known function proteins, and 23 clones showed high amino acid identity （more than 80%） with the corresponding genes of different plants. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR indicated that oleosin and globulin genes are pulpspecific expression, and have differential expression level in different developmental stage. Clone 29, recognized as homologous to KIAA1239 protein （Homo sapiens）, was observed to occur nine times, indicating that this gene may be over-expressed during the endosperm development stage. However, the homologous protein was found only in mammals, and the detailed function is still unknown. Elucidation of the functional characterization of these genes will be carried out immediately.     

Isolation and Sequence Analysis of HMW Glutenin Subunit 1Dy10. 1 Ecoding Gene from Xinjiang Wheat （Triticum petropavlovskyi Udacz. et Migusch）

A novel HMW glutenin subunit gene 1Dy10. 1 was isolated and characterized from Xinjiang wheat （Triticum petropavlovskyi. Udacz. et Migusch） accession Daomai 2. The complete open reading frame （ORF） of 1Dy10. 1 was 1 965 bp, encoding 655 amino acids. The numbers and distribution of cysteines in 1Dy 10.1 were similar to those of 1Dy10 and other y-type subunits. In the N-terminal of 1Dy 10.1, an amino acid was changed from L （leucine） to P （proline） at position 55. The repetitive domain of 1Dy10.1 differed from those of known HMW subunits by substitutions, insertions or/and deletions involving single or more amino acid residues. In the repetitive domain of subunit 1Dyl 0.1, the deletion of tripeptide GQQ in the consensus unit PGQGQQ resulted in the appearance of the motif PGQ that have not been observed in other known y-type HMW subunits. In comparison with the subunit 1Dy 12, a deletion of dipeptide GQ, which occurred in subunit IDy10, was also observed in subunit 1Dy10.1. The cloned IDylO. 1 gene had been successfully expressed in Escherichia coli, and the expressed protein had the identical mobility with the endogenous subunit IDy10.1 from seed.     

Cloning and Sequence Analysis of a Novel Cold-Adapted Lipase Gene from Strain lip35 （Pseudomonas sp.）

A combination method of the usual-PCR and reverse-PCR for the cloning of a novel lipase gene directly from the total genomic DNA of strain lip35 （Pseudomonas sp.） is described, whereby a lipase gene （lip） was cloned directly from genomic DNA. The sequence data have been deposited in the GenBank and EMBL data bank with the accession number EU414288. The nucleotide sequence showed a major open reading frame encoding a 59-kDa protein of 566 amino acid residues, which contained a lipase consensus sequence GXSXG. The lipase lip had 74 and 70% homologies with the lipases of an uncultured bacterium and P. fluorescens PfO-1, respectively, but it did not show any overall homology with lipases from other origins. The functional lipase was obtained when the lip gene was expressed in Pichia pastoris GS115.