Cloning And Expression Analysis Of Five Ethylene Signal Transduction Genes From Sweet Cherry(Prunus Avium L.)

The phytohormone ethylene is a very important regulator in plant growth and development. Now the researches on ethylene signal transduction pathway and the regulation mechanism have received considerable attention in plant molecular biology.Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is a non-climacteric fruit sensitive to low concetrations of ethylene. To investigate the transcriptional mechanisms underlying sweet cherry ethylene response, transcription factors encoding one EIN2, two EIN3-Like(EILs) and one F-box protein EBF which targets EIN3-Like(EILs) were cloned from sweet cherry. The genes were cloned from Sweet cherry by RT-PCR and RACE. Degenerated primers were designed based on the conserved sequences in EIN2,EILs,EBF cDNAs. The full-length cDNA of PacEIN2 was 4 278 bp, and contained a 3 864 bp open reading frame, encoding a polypeptide of 1287 amino acids with a molecular mass of 139.44 kDa and dimorphic structure. PacEIL1 cDNA was 2 636 bp and contained a 1 806 bp open reading frame, encoding a polypeptide of 600 amino acids with a molecular mass of 67.84 kDa and dimorphic structure. PacEIL2 cDNA was 2 109 bp and contained a 1 806 bp open reading frame, encoding a polypeptide of 600 amino acids with a molecular mass of 67.27 kDa and dimorphic structure. PacEIL3 cDNA was 2080 bp. PacEBF1 cDNA was 3 120 bp and contained a 1 941 bp open reading frame, encoding a polypeptide of 646 amino acids with a molecular mass of 68.87 kDa and dimorphic structure.PacEIN2, PacEIL2, PacEIL3 and PacEBF1 were constitutively expressed during flower, leaf and fruit development and ripening. In contrast, The four genes mRNA levels were signified different in different tissues and stages in Prunus avium L. The expression of transcripts of PacEIN2, PacEIL2, PacEIL3 and PacEBF1 were higher during young leaf and early fruit development than old leaf and ripened fruit. In a conclusion, ethylene may not play an important role in leaf and fruit development of sweet cherry.