Abstract

As an internal control gene, actin plays an important role in gene expression analysis. In this study, the full length cDNA and genomic DNA sequences of an actin gene were isolated from Chinese herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) for the first time. Sequence analysis indicated that the full length of cDNA was 1657 bp, containing one open reading frame (ORF) of 1134 bp that encodes 377 amino acids, and the genomic DNA sequence was 1817 bp, containing three exons and two introns. They all had been submitted to GenBank and obtained the accession number JN105299 and FJ713744, respectively. Homology analysis showed that the cDNA and its deduced protein of P. lactiflora actin (Plactin) shared high similarities with those from other plants. Protein structure prediction showed that the deduced protein did not have signal peptide and transmembrane topological structure, and was a hydrophilic and stable protein. Temporal and spatial expression analysis of Plactin, which was performed by semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), displayed its stable expression which conformed to the regulation of using as an internal control gene. The results suggested that actin of herbaceous peony could be used as an alternative internal control gene for the study of the targeted genes expression and regulation characteristics in herbaceous peony.

Key words: Paeonia lactiflora, actin, internal control gene, gene expression.