Cloning and analysis of SCL7 gene from Populus euphratica

To characterize the function of SCL7 in Populus euphratica, we cloned the full-length PeSCL7 gene and promoter region based on the AtSCL7 sequence of Arabidopsis and the Populus database. DNA sequence analysis showed that the PeSCL7 gene contained an open reading frame of 1 767 bp long without intron and encoded a 588 amino acid polypeptide. Similarity analysis showed that it belonged to the SCL4/7 branch of GRAS/SCL family. RT-PCR analysis revealed that the PeSCL7 could be induced by various stresses and the expression reached a maximum after 3 hrs of induction. PeSCL7 was detected in leaves, stems and roots in P. euphratica via the analysis on the organ-specific expression. The PeSCL7 promoter sequence, about 968 bp in length, contained many stress-responsive cis-acting elements, i.e., ABRE, MYB and WRKY core sequences. The results indicate that the PeSCL7 gene may play a significant role in stress responses of P. euphratica.