Molecular characterization and expression pattern of a novel cadmium resistance gene of tobacco

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) of tobacco is a pollutant that is extremely toxic to the health of humans. Protein plant cadmium resistance 8 gene has been characterized to increase the plant Cd resistance. In present experiment, the complete mRNA sequence of tobacco protein plant cadmium resistance 8 gene was amplified using the rapid amplification of cDNA ends methods. The full-length tobacco protein plant cadmium resistance 8 gene mRNA was 887bp containing an 555 bp open reading frame, which encodes a protein of 184 amino acids. BLAST analysis revealed that tobacco protein plant cadmium resistance 8 protein shares high homology with the protein plant cadmium resistance 8 of potato (81%), Lycopersicon esculentum (80%), Eutrema salsugineum (60%), Capsella rubella (58%) and thale cress (57%). Results also showed that tobacco protein plant cadmium resistance 8 gene has a closer genetic relationship with the protein plant cadmium resistance 8 gene of Lycopersicon esculentum. The expression profile was studied and the results indicated that tobacco protein plant cadmium resistance 8 gene was highly expressed in root, moderately expressed in stem, and hardly expressed in flower and leaf. These results established the primary foundation of utilizing tobacco protein plant cadmium resistance 8 gene to decrease the cadmium content of tobacco and benefit the health of humans in the future.