Gene Cloning and Sequence Analysis of Chitinase Gene in Zinnia elegans

[Objective] The aim was to clone and analyze the sequence of chitinase gene segment in Zinnia elegans. [Method] Using the Dreamlandseries of Z. elegans as materials,the total RNA of the leaves was extracted from. The degenerate primers were designed according to the conservative sequences of chitinase gene in other plants,and the chitinase gene segment of Z. elegans( ZEchi) was cloned by RT- PCR,and then the gene sequence was analyzed. [Result]The cloned segment was 227 bp and encoded 75 amino acid residues; homology analysis of the nucleotides showed that the sequence of ZEchi had more than 70% similarity with those of other reported plants' chitinase gene,and it had the highest homology with Vitis vinifera of 74%; homology analysis of the deduced amino acids showed that the chitinase polypeptide belonged to the 18 family chitinase and the sequence had more than 70% similarity with those of other reported plants' chitinase; amino acids cluster analysis showed that the chitinase polypeptide was clustered together with Trifolium repens and Medicago truncatula; bioinformatics analysis showed that the polypeptide was not a transmembrane protein and mainly contained two secondary structure of alpha helix and random coil. [Conclusion] The study laid a foundation for the further study on the function of chitinase gene.