IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SUCROSE NON-FERMENTING 1-RELATED PROTEIN KINASE 2 (SNRK2) GENE FAMILY MEMBERS IN HEVEA BRASILIENSIS

Abstract

The sucrose non-fermenting 1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) family members play a key rolein plant stress signal transduction pathways. Although analyses of SnRK2 gene family have been performed in certain plant species, little is known inthe rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis). In this study,we cloned and sequenced 6 SnRK2 genes from rubber tree. The 6 SnRK2 genes were divided into three groups based on phylogenetic analysis. Expression pattern analysis revealed that most of the HbSnRK2s were involved in the responses to stress (drought, glyphosate, powdery mildew, heat, cold) and hormone (GA3, ABA, JA, ETH, STS) treatment. In fact, most of the HbSnRK2 genes showed positive or negative regulation under all these treatments, suggesting that they may be global regulators that function at the intersection of multiple signaling pathways to play important roles in rubber tree stress responses.

Keywords: Hevea brasiliensis, HbSnRK2, stress, gene, protein kinase, sucrose, hormone, rubber, drought, glyphosate, powdery mildew, heat, cold, signal transduction pathways