Cloning and Molecular Characterization of a SKP1 Gene from Brassica napus

Oligochitosan is a potent plant defense elicitor, but how oligochitosan induces the resistance of plants to pathogens is still unclear. Intend to explore the mechanism of oligochitosan inducing defense, we cloned a new cDNA coding for S-phase kinase-associated protein 1(SKP1), designated BnSKPl (Genebank: DQ206627), from oilseed (Brassica Napus L) based on our former microarray data by RACE and bioinformatics technique. The full length cDNA is 753 bp and consists of one open reading frame of 480 bp. It is predicted to encode a protein of 160 amino acids with an estimated molecular weight of 17.8 kDa and estimated PI is 4.44. Bioinformatics analysis showed BnSKPl contains the conserved domain of SKP1 and with high sequence similarity to previously reported plant SKP1 genes such as AtASKl. The character of BnSKPl protein such as subcellular location, hydropathicity, secondary structure and 3D structure model was analyzed by using bioinformatics methods.