Cloning and expression analysis of UpPDS gene in Ulva pertusa

Abstract

Phytoene desaturase (PDS) is an essential constituent of several carotenoid biosynthetic enzymes, which catalyzes phytoene into ζ-carotenoids. Here, a cDNA encoding PDS gene named UpPDS in Ulva pertusa was cloned by the approaches of expressed sequence tag sequencing of suppression subtractive hybridization cDNA library and rapid amplification of cDNA ends technique. The results showed that the full-length cDNA of UpPDS was 2029 bp, containing 1599 bp open reading frame and encoding 532 amino acids. Homology analysis showed that the deduced UpPDS protein was highly homologous to the PDS proteins from some algal species. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the UpPDS was clustered together with PDS of Ectocarpus siliculosus firstly and was more close to PDS proteins from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Volvox carteri. The RT-qPCR analysis indicated that the transcript level of UpPDS was upregulated during the period of emersion.