Isolation of a novel dehydrin gene from Codonopsis lanceolata and analysis of its response to abiotic stresses

BMB Rep. 2008 Apr 30;41(4):338-43. doi: 10.5483/bmbrep.2008.41.4.338.

Abstract

Dehydrins (DHNs) compose a family of intrinsically unstructured proteins that have high water solubility and accumulate during late seed development at low temperature or in water-deficit conditions. They are believed to play a protective role in freezing and drought-tolerance in plants. A full-length cDNA encoding DHN (designated as ClDhn) was isolated from an oriental medicinal plant Codonopsis lanceolata, which has been used widely in Asia for its anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties. The full-length cDNA of ClDhn was 813 bp and contained a 477 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polypeptide of 159 amino acids. Deduced ClDhn protein had high similarities with other plant DHNs. RT-PCR analysis showed that different abiotic stresses such as salt, wounding, chilling and light, triggered a significant induction of ClDhn at different time points within 4-48 hrs post-treatment. This study revealed that ClDhn assisted C. lanceolata in becoming resistant to dehydration.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Abscisic Acid / pharmacology
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Base Sequence
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Codonopsis / genetics*
  • Cold Temperature
  • DNA, Complementary / isolation & purification
  • Dehydration / genetics*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / drug effects
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Phylogeny
  • Plant Proteins / genetics*
  • Plant Proteins / isolation & purification
  • Plant Proteins / metabolism
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Sodium Chloride / pharmacology

Substances

  • DNA, Complementary
  • Plant Proteins
  • dehydrin proteins, plant
  • Sodium Chloride
  • Abscisic Acid