Isolation and Characterization of Pathogen inducible Leucine Zipper containing Gene from rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Dongjin)

A full length cDNA, OsLEUZIP, encoding leucine zipper containing protein from rice EST of rice (0ryza sativa L. cv. Dongjin) treated Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae 10331. OsLEUZIP contains 1,227 bp nucleotides and encodes a protein of 408 amino acid residues with predicted molecular weight of 47,229 Da. The deduced amino acid sequence of OsLEUZIP has consensus sequence of leucine zipper from PROSITE (PDOC00029), L-X(6)-L-X(6)-L-X(6) -L. OsLEUZIP gene were preferentially induced in rice during incompatible interaction with Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae 10331 and Pyracuraria grisea KJ-301. Expression of OsLEUZIP gene was also induced by treatment of abiotics such as ethephon and ABA. Our data represented in this study suggesting that OsLEUZIP gene may play an important role in the rice defense-related. Further studies of this gene, overexpression in rice, yeast-two hybrid assay, electrophoretic mobility shift assay and northern blot analyses of transgenic plant, would be useful to elucidate the role of the OsLEUZIP gene in defense responses of rice.