Cloning and analysis of defensin 1 cDNA from Scots pine
Antifungal protein with a molecular weight 5.6 kDa was purified from 7-days old Scots pine seedlings. LC-MS/MS analysis revealed this protein to belong to plant defensins. A pine defensin 1 cDNA (PsDef1), 252 b. p. long, was obtained by PCR amplification from Pinus sylvestris L. сDNA library and was cloned into vector рЕТ 23d(+). PsDef1 cDNA encodes 83-amino acid protein with 33-amino acid N-terminal signal peptide. The mature protein is characterized by the presence of specific conserved residues common to all plant defensins. Structural and functional similarity between PsDef1 and defensins of group 1 has been shown.