title: Cloning and Preliminary Functional Analysis of PeUGE Gene from Moso Bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis).
abstract: UDP-galactose-4-epimerase (UGE) is a key enzyme involved in galactose metabolism by catalyzing the interconversion of UDP-glucose to UDP-galactose. The cDNA encoding UGE was isolated from Phyllostachys edulis by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and by 5' and 3' rapid amplification of cDNA ends, and was designated as PeUGE. The full-length cDNA of PeUGE was 1778 bp, which contained an open reading frame (ORF) encoding a peptide of 420 amino acids, with a calculated molecular mass of 46.58 kDa and a theoretic isoelectric point of 9.07. The genomic sequence corresponding to the ORF of PeUGE was 2656 bp containing 10 exons separated by nine introns. Tissue-specific analysis showed that PeUGE was constitutively expressed with the highest level in shoots, which had an increasing trend with the growth of shoots. PeUGE was induced by abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, and water stresses. Moreover, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and lateral roots analysis of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants overexpressing PeUGE systematically confirmed the crucial role of PeUGE in improving the tolerance to abiotic stresses. These results indicated that PeUGE might be one of the key genes involved in the biosynthesis of cell wall polysaccharides during the growth and development of bamboo and in response to stresses, which provided a candidate gene for molecular engineering to improve the quality of bamboo products.
authors.affiliation: 1 State Forestry Administration Key Open Laboratory on the Science and Technology of Bamboo and Rattan, Institute of Gene Science for Bamboo and Rattan Resources , International Center for Bamboo and Rattan, Beijing, China .
authors.forename: Huayu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: 1 State Forestry Administration Key Open Laboratory on the Science and Technology of Bamboo and Rattan, Institute of Gene Science for Bamboo and Rattan Resources , International Center for Bamboo and Rattan, Beijing, China .
authors.forename: Lichao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: 1 State Forestry Administration Key Open Laboratory on the Science and Technology of Bamboo and Rattan, Institute of Gene Science for Bamboo and Rattan Resources , International Center for Bamboo and Rattan, Beijing, China .
authors.forename: Yongfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.affiliation: 1 State Forestry Administration Key Open Laboratory on the Science and Technology of Bamboo and Rattan, Institute of Gene Science for Bamboo and Rattan Resources , International Center for Bamboo and Rattan, Beijing, China .
authors.forename: Hansheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: 1 State Forestry Administration Key Open Laboratory on the Science and Technology of Bamboo and Rattan, Institute of Gene Science for Bamboo and Rattan Resources , International Center for Bamboo and Rattan, Beijing, China .|2 College of Horticulture, Agricultural University of Hebei , Baoding, China .
authors.forename: Yihong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: 1 State Forestry Administration Key Open Laboratory on the Science and Technology of Bamboo and Rattan, Institute of Gene Science for Bamboo and Rattan Resources , International Center for Bamboo and Rattan, Beijing, China .
authors.forename: Zhimin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D007438:Introns; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D006109:Poaceae / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D010940:Plant Proteins