Cloning and functional characterization of the peptide deformylase encoding gene EuPDF1B from Eucommia ulmoides Oliv

In this study, we isolated the EuPDF1B from Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. The full-length sequence of EuPDF1B is 1176 bp with a poly-A tail, and contains an open reading frame (ORF) of 831 bp that encodes a protein of 276 amino acids. EuPDF1B was localized to the chloroplast. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that this gene was expressed in almost all tissues tested, but mainly in mature leaves. Moreover, the expression of EuPDF1B was enhanced by ABA, MeJA and GA and inhibited by shading treatment. The expression pattern was further confirmed in EuPDF1Bp-1 transgenic tobacco lines. Among all the transgenic tobacco lines, EuPDF1Bp-3 showed the highest GUS histochemical staining and activity in different tissues. This difference may be related to the presence of enhancer elements in the region from − 891bp to -236bp of EuPDF1B promoter. In addition, the expression of the chloroplast gene psbA , the net photosynthetic rate and the growth rate of tobacco plants overexpressed with EuPDF1B were greater than those of the wild type, suggesting that EuPDF1B may promote the growth of transgenic tobacco plants. This is the first time that PDF and its promoter have been cloned from woody plants, laying a foundation for further analysis of the function of PDF and its expression regulation.