Isolation and Characterization of a Type II Peroxiredoxin Gene from Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer

A peroxiredoxin cDNA (PgPrx) was isolated and characterized from the leaves of Panax ginseng. The cDNA is 716 nucleotides long and has an open reading frame of 489 base pairs with a deduced amino acid sequence of 162 residues. The calculated molecular mass of the mature protein is approximately 17.4 kDa with a predicted isoelectric point of 5.37. A GenBank BlastX search revealed that the deduced amino acid sequence of PgPrx shares a high degree homology with type II peroxiredoxin (Prx) proteins in other plants. The PgPrx gene was highly expressed in leaves, and expressed at a low level in the stem. To analyze the gene expression of PgPrx in response to various abiotic stresses, we utilized real-time quantitative RTPCR. Our results reveal that PgPrx expression is induced by ultraviolet irradiation, low temperature, and salt. The induction of PgPrx in response to abiotic stimuli suggests that ginseng Prx may function to protect the host against environmental stresses.