A Novel Non-specific Lipid Transfer Protein Gene from Sugarcane (NsLTPs), Obviously Responded to Abiotic Stresses and Signaling Molecules of SA and MeJA

Non-specific lipid transfer proteins (NsLTPs) are soluble, small, basic proteins in plant, which have been reported to be involved in plant physiological functions such as the catalyzing transfer of phospholipids and play an important role in plant defense and stress responses. In this study, a member of NsLTP family gene (ScNsLTP, Acc. No. KR259657) was isolated from a full-length cDNA library of sugarcane stalk. The cDNA of ScNsLTP was 671 bp long and contained a 312 bp open reading frame (ORF), which can encode a protein of 103 amino acid residues with molecular weight of 10.66 kDa. The ScNsLTP transcript levels in sugarcane seedlings decreased in response to SA, whereas it increased under MeJA treatment, suggesting an antagonistic regulatory mechanism between the signaling molecules of SA and MeJA. The transcript levels of ScNsLTP were obviously up-regulated under chilling and PEG stresses, implying that the ScNsLTP gene was involved in response to abiotic stresses and playing a positive role in adaption to low temperature and drought stresses. These results provide important information for further functional studies of plant NsLTPs gene.