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The Tall Fescue Turf Grass Class I Chitinase Gene FaChit1 Is Activated by Fungal Elicitors, Dehydration, Ethylene, and Mechanical Wounding

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Abstract

The cDNA, genomic DNA, and promoter sequence of FaChit1, a class I chitinase gene from Festuca arundinacea, were isolated and characterized in the present work. The deduced amino acid sequence of FaChit1 contains the chitin binding, catalytic, and proline and glycine-rich domains characteristic for most class I chitinases, but no C-terminal extension region. FaChit1 is induced effectively by fungal elicitors, dehydration, and ethylene, but only slightly by mechanical wounding. To identify potential stress-related cis-acting elements, 5′ sequences 935, 651, and 233 bp upstream of the FaChit1 start codon were fused to the GUS reporter gene and analyzed in transgenic tobacco. The results indicated that the 935 bp fragment closely mirrored endogenous gene expression and that the 651 bp fragment was sufficient to direct reporter the gene expression in response to fungal elicitors, ethylene, dehydration, or mechanical wounding due to both known and presently uncharacterized cis-acting elements.

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Abbreviations

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

RACE:

Rapid amplification of cDNA end

MUG:

4-Methylumbellifery l-β-d-glucuronide

GUS:

β-Glucuronidase

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Zhi-feng Zhang (Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China) for help with the GUS assays. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 30870194), the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province (grant number 2006C103), the Research Project of Provincial Key Laboratory of Shaanxi (grant numbers 04JS07 and 08JZ70), and the Scientific Research Project of the Education Department of Shaanxi Province (Grant numbers: 05JK304 and 08JK466).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China (Ministry of Education), Institute of Life Science, Northwest University, Xi’an, 710069, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Jian Wang, Na Tian, Xuan Huang, Li Yu Chen & Zi Qin Xu

  2. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, AnKang University, Ankang, 725000, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Jian Wang

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, 53233, USA

    Michael Schläppi

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  1. Jian Wang
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  2. Na Tian
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  3. Xuan Huang
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  4. Li Yu Chen
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Correspondence to Zi Qin Xu.

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Table S1

Lists of primers used in different experiments (DOC 28.5 KB).

Fig. S1

Schematic representation of the FaChit1 promoter fragment and GUS fusion constructs used in transformation experiments. The length is calculated from the translation start code (+1) (DOC 27.5 KB).

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Wang, J., Tian, N., Huang, X. et al. The Tall Fescue Turf Grass Class I Chitinase Gene FaChit1 Is Activated by Fungal Elicitors, Dehydration, Ethylene, and Mechanical Wounding. Plant Mol Biol Rep 27, 305–314 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11105-008-0086-8

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