Cloning and Expression Analysis of GpUCH Gene in Grimmia pilifera

A drought resistance gene was cloned from drought cDNA library of Grimmia pilifera, the gene relatived to ubiquitin carboxy terminal hydrolytic enzymes (UCH), named GpUCH. The cDNA fragment of GpUCH was cloned from Grimmia pilifera through rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). To further study the function of GpUCH gene, it was necessary to describe the sequence characteristics, evolutionary relationship and gene expression. The full length cDNA was 951bp with an pen reading frame of 711bp which encoded 237 amino acid with a molecular weight of 257kD, and the isoelectric point is 467. The result of bioinformatics showed that this protein was unstable transmembrane protein and had no signal peptide. The phylogenetic tree showed that GpUCH and Physcomitrella patens UCH protein had a close relationship. QRT PCR analysis showed that the expression of GpUCH gene was induced in both rehydration and dehydration.Under different conditions the expression of GpUCH were obviously varius. The results suggested that GpUCH gene might play an important role in drought stress.