Cloning and Expressional Analysis of HbTUA1, an α-tubulin Gene from Hevea brasiliensis (Para Rubber Tree)

The α-tubulin(TUA) proteins are major components comprising microtubules,and play roles in multiple biological processes in plants. Previously,we have showed by proteomics techniques that a TUA protein was upregulated by tapping. Here,the full-length cDNA of a TUA gene was cloned for the first time from the latex of Hevea brasiliensis. The cDNA was named as HbTUA1,and submitted to GenBank under the accession no. KC333454.The 1 580 bp long cDNA consisted of a 45 bp 5′-UTR,a 167 bp 3′-UTR,and a 1 368 bp coding sequence that predicted a protein of 449 amino acids. The deduced HbTUA1 protein harbored a TUA-specific GTP-binding domain. The expression patterns of HbTUA1 were investigated by real-time quantitative PCR. Of the six tissues examined,HbTUA1 showed the highest expression in latex,then in the bark and bud,and the least in the seed and leaf. The expression of HbTUA1 in latex was induced by tapping and wounding,and differed among the rubber trees with different severities of tapping panel dryness. The results presented here suggested the involvement of HbTUA1 in the regulation of latex regeneration and stress responses in H. brasiliensis.