Molecular cloning and expression analysis of two key genes, HDS and HDR, in the MEP pathway in Pyropia haitanensis

The 1-hydroxy-2-methyl-2-(E)-butenyl-4-diphosphate synthase (HDS) gene and the 1-hydroxy-2-methyl-2-(E)-butenyl-4-diphosphate reductase (HDR) gene are two important genes in the 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway. In this study, we reported the isolation and characterization of full-length HDS (MF101802) and HDR (MF159558) from Pyropia haitanensis. Characteristics of 3-D structures of the PhHDS and PhHDR proteins were analysed respectively. The results showed that the full-length cDNA of PhHDS, which is 1801 bp long, contained a 1455 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a putative 484 amino acid residue protein with a predicted molecular mass of 51.60 kDa. Meanwhile, the full-length cDNA of PhHDR was 1668 bp and contained a 1434 bp ORF encoding a putative 477 amino acid 2 residue protein with a predicted molecular mass of 51.49 kDa. The expression levels of the two genes were higher in conchocelis than that in leafy thallus. Additionally, the expression levels could be influenced by light, temperature and salinity and induced by methyl jasmonate (MJ) and salicylic acid (SA). This study contributed to our in-depth understanding of the roles of PhHDS and PhHDR in terpenoid biosynthesis in Pyropia haitanensis and the regulation of the two genes by external environments.