Cloning and characterization of a pathogenesis-related gene (ThPR10) from Tamarix hispida

A PR10 gene (ThPR10) was cloned from Tamarix hispida and characterized. Real-time RT-PCR was employed to evaluate gene expression levels. ThPR10 was expressed in both leaves and roots of T. hispida under normal growth conditions, and can be highly induced in both leaf and root tissues by abiotic stresses including NaCl, PEG, cold, CdCl2, and ABA (abscisic acid) treatments. Our results indicated that ThPR10 is involved in the abiotic stress response, and regulated by an ABA-dependent signaling pathway. Subsequently, ThPR10 was localized at the subcellular level. The gene was fused with the GFP N-terminal driven by CaMV35S promoter and transiently expressed in onion epidermal cells. This strategy localized the ThPR10 protein to the nucleus of onion epidermal cells, suggesting that the pathogenesis-related proteins play a functional role in the cell nucleus.