辣椒CaCRF4的全长cDNA克隆及其表达分析

ERF(ethylene responsive factor) is one of the largest plant speciifc transcription factor family implicated in plant growth, development and response to environmental stresses. However, the structure and function of majority members in this family remain unknown, especially in non model plants such as pepper. In the present study, a full length cDNA of putative ERF containing AP2 conservative domain was isolated from a cDNA library of Capsicum annuum. The full length harbor a open reading frame encoding a protein of 250 aa in length, which share 31-46% sequence similarity to ERF from other plant species. With a pair of specific primers of CaCRF4, this gene was found to be constitutively expressed in different organs of pepper plants, with the highest expression level in leaves and lowest level in roots. Additionally, the gene was also found to be transcriptionally upregulated by exogenous application of SA, JA and ET as well as inoculation of Ralstonia solanacearum and treatment of high temperature stress. These results implied that CaCRF4 may play key roles in pepper response to the infection of Ralstonia solanacearum and heat stress treatment.