Functional characterization of cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase during developmental stages and under various stress conditions in kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.)

Abstract

In this study, the entire gene encoding cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase in kenaf (HcCAD2) was cloned and characterized. CAD is a key enzyme in the last step of lignin biosynthesis. The full-length HcCAD ortholog is composed of a 1,074-bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding 357 amino acids (KM044582). BlastP and a phylogenetic study revealed that the deduced amino acid sequences share the highest similarity with Gossypium hirsutum (ABZ01817) (89%). Upon real-time PCR analysis, HcCAD1 (HM151380) and HcCAD2 were highly up-regulated in 4-week-old stem and mature flower tissues, which was matched with histochemical staining and lignin component analysis. The expression patterns of the two genes differed in response to wound, cold, NaCl, SA, H2O2, ABA, MeJA, and drought. CAD enzyme activity was measured with various aldehydes as substrates to form corresponding alcohols. The results indicated that the preferred substrates were coniferyl and sinapyl aldehydes with high catalytic efficiency.