Abstract: Superoxide dismutases (SOD) is widespread in plant where it plays a major role in the defense against toxic-reduced oxygen species, and has been proposed to be important for plant stress tolerance. In this study, a full length cDNA sequence of a superoxide dismutase (SOD) gene named GpSOD was cloned from Grimmia pilifera(GenBank accession No. GU989312) using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The full length cDNA of GpSOD was 1 115 bp with a 771 bp open reading frame (ORF). Sequence analysis showed that GpSOD is a hydrophobic and non-secretory protein, with two copper-zinc superoxide dismutase sites, and belongs to the Sod Cu families. GpSOD protein shares 68.8%-86.8% homology with SOD proteins from other plants. QRT-PCR analysis showed that although GpSOD was expressed in both dehydration and rehydration, but induced significantly in dehydration, and inhibited in rehydration. The results demonstrated that the GpSOD is closely related to the process of response to drought stress in G.pilifera, which provided premise conditions for oxidative stress genes further seeking.

Key words: Grimmia pilifera, drought stress, GpSOD, sequence analysis, gene expression