Abstract: Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins are one of the important proteins in stress response which have been described as having a potential role in drought tolerance. Crlea(Crlea for Catharanthus roseus late embryogenesis abundant) gene was first cloned from cDNA library of Catharanthus roseus under drought stress through sequencing screening method. The sequence analysis of the Crlea gene showed a complete 492 bp ORF encoding a putative 163 amino acids polypeptide with a biased amino acid of 55.9% to total component. Homology analysis indicated a 69% similarity between CrLEA protein and carrot （Daucus carota）LEA DC3 protein. Hydrophobicity analysis found that CrLEA protein was extremely hydrophilic. For further identifying the function of CrLEA protein, prokaryotic recombinant vector of Crlea gene was constructed and the expression in E.coli was studied. Results showed recombinant CrLEA protein was successfully expressed in E.coli. Hydrophilic and heat-stable analysis of recombinant CrLEA protein showed a strong hydrophilic and heat-stable ability.

Key words: Catharanthus roseus, LEA protein, gene cloning, prokaryotic expression