ABSTRACT
Objective: To clone the enzyme genes related with methyl eugenol synthesis and characterize the corresponding sequence information based on the transcriptome sequencing of Asarum heterotropoides. Methods: RT-PCR was performed to obtain the full length cDNA of the phenylalanine lyase (PAL) gene, cinnamic acid-4-hydroxylase (C4H) gene, 4-hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA ligase (4CL), and cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) genes by using young leaves as materials. The acquired enzyme genes were analyzed by bioinformatics. Results: The ORF lengths of AhPAL, AhC4H, Ah4CL, and AhCAD were 2 157, 1 278, 1 623 and 1 071 bp, which respectively encoded 718, 425, 540, and 356 amino acids. Four proteins had respective conserved domains. The amino acid sequences of AhPAL, Ah4CL, and AhCAD were similar to those of other reported species except for AhC4H. Conclusion: Four enzyme genes related with methyl-eugenol synthesis in A. heterotropoides were separated and analyzed using bioinformatics method. These results would lay the important foundation for functional analysis of corresponding genes and for elucidating the regulation mechanism of methyl-eugenol biosynthesis.