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Alpha-tubulin (CsTUA) up-regulated during winter dormancy is a low temperature inducible gene in tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze]

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Abstract

The present manuscript describes cloning and expression characterization of alpha-tubulin (CsTUA) gene in an evergreen tree tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] in response to winter dormancy (WD), abiotic stresses (sodium chloride, polyethylene glycol, and hydrogen peroxide) and plant growth regulators [abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellic acid (GA3), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), and 6-benzylaminopurine (BA)]. CsTUA encoded a putative protein of 449 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 49.6 kDa and an isoelectric point (pI) of 5.09. CsTUA shared 76–84 and 90–95% identity at nucleotide and amino acid level, respectively with TUA genes from other plant species. During the period of active growth (PAG), CsTUA showed maximum expression in floral buds as compared to leaf, stem, fruit and root. Though the transcript was not detectable in the younger leaf tissue during the PAG, the expression was induced within 24 h of the low temperature (LT) treatment. The expression was not modulated by the plant growth regulators either in the tissue harvested during PAG or during WD. It was interesting to record that the expression of CsTUA was up-regulated in response to sodium chloride, polyethylene glycol, and hydrogen peroxide. Data has been discussed on the possible role of CsTUA in imparting tolerance to stresses including to LT so that the tea does not exhibit deciduous nature during winters.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Indian National Science Academy (INSA), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), National Tea Research Foundation (India) and the Department of Biotechnology for funding. AP and LL are grateful to CSIR for awarding Junior and Senior Research Fellowships. MS represents IHBT publication number 2194.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biotechnology Division, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, 176061, India

    Asosii Paul, Lakhvir Lal, Paramvir Singh Ahuja & Sanjay Kumar

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  1. Asosii Paul
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  2. Lakhvir Lal
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  3. Paramvir Singh Ahuja
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  4. Sanjay Kumar
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Correspondence to Sanjay Kumar.

Electronic supplementary material

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Supplementary material 1 (DOC 143 kb)

Supplementary material 2 (DOC 30 kb)

11033_2011_1121_MOESM3_ESM.ppt

Alignment of the deduced CsTUA protein sequence (ABE01246.1) with homologous TAUs, of Triticum aestivum (TaTUA1D: ABD92942.1), Hordeum vulgare (HvTAU1: CAA67942.1), Picea wilsonii (PwTUA1: ABX57816.1) and Arabidopsis thaliana (AtTAU1: AAA32880.1). Residues varying between sequences are shown with grey background. Supplementary material 3 (PPT 306 kb)

Supplementary material 4 (DOCX 17 kb)

11033_2011_1121_MOESM5_ESM.ppt

Comparison of the deduced secondary structures of CsTUA with that of CsTUA1 [25]. Helix, sheet, turn and coil were indicated respectively with blue, red, green and yellow vertical lines. Supplementary material 5 (PPT 104 kb)

11033_2011_1121_MOESM6_ESM.ppt

Phylogenetic tree of CsTUA and previously characterized TUAs. The Neighbor-Joining tree was constructed using MEGA 5.05. TUA accession numbers are AtTUA1 (AT1G64740), AtTUA2 (AT1G04820), AtTUA3 (AT5G19770), AtTUA4 (AT1G04820), AtTUA6 (AT4G14960), PtTUA1 (AY229881), PtTUA2 (AY229882), PtTUA3 (EF583813), PtTUA4 (EF584828), PtTUA5 (EF583814), PtTUA6 ((EF583816), PtTUA7 ((EF584829), PtTUA8 ( XM_002325386), PwTUA1 (EU268195), CsTUA1 (DQ340766), AaTUA1 (AB514115 ), AaTUA2 (AB514116), AaTUA3 (AB514117), and AaTUA4 (AB514118). The genetic distances are indicated by the horizontal bar. Supplementary material 6 (PPT 106 kb)

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Paul, A., Lal, L., Ahuja, P.S. et al. Alpha-tubulin (CsTUA) up-regulated during winter dormancy is a low temperature inducible gene in tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze]. Mol Biol Rep 39, 3485–3490 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-011-1121-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-011-1121-7

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