Molecular Cloning and Abiotic Stress Expression Analysis of Gtpase Era Gene in Mulberry (Morus Alba L.)

Era (E. coli RAS-like protein) forms a unique family of GTPase, its functions in cell cycle control by coupling cell division with growth rate. In the present paper, a cDNA sequence coding GTPase Era mRNA was cloned from mulberry. Sequence analysis showed that its open reading frame (ORF) is 1275 bp in length encoding a protein of 424 amino acids. The GTPase Era gene had era domain and belonged to the FeoB_N superfamily. Phylogenetic analysis based on the amino acid sequences encoded by the GTPase gene from various species showed that the mulberry was closely related to Morus notabilis, Ipomoea nil, Capsicum annuum, Solanum pennellii, Nicotiana sylvestris and Nicotiana tubacum. The expression patterns of GTPase Era treated under drought, low temperature and salt stresses were examined using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The expression level of the mRNA had a significant change under drought, cold and salt stress treatments compared to the normal growth environment with the maximum expression on third day for drought stress, the sixth day for the low temperature stress and the seventh day for the salt stress. These data provide a better understanding of the molecular basis of signal transduction during stress responses in mulberry trees