Abstract

A fragment of invertase gene containing catalytic sites of cysteine was cloned frompoinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima wild.) by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The length of the fragment was 521 bp, encoding 173 amino acids and containing a part of open reading frames, but no intron. It had a high homology to previously cloned cell wall acid invertase genes in other plants by sequencecomparison, so it could be speculated that the fragment belongs to putative cell-wall acid invertase gene sequence of poinsettia (termed as EpCWINV, GenBank no. EU274662). Gene expression analyses in different organs including roots, stems, leaves, flowers among others and during different growth periods of leaves by semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method and real-time quantitative PCR approach revealed the highest level of expression in roots, the lower in stems and intermediate in leaves and flowers, as well as a continuous rising level in leaves and a continuous declining level in petioles during the developmental stages of the leaves.

Key words: Poinsettia, invertase gene, cloning, gene expression, RT-PCR.