Cloning, expression and genetic transformation of sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) gene in Saccharum spontaneum L.

Sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) is a key enzyme catalyzing sucrose metabolism in plants. In this study, we isolated the SPS cDNA from Saccharum spontaneum and designated as SsSPS (GenBank accession no. MF398541). The full-length of SsSPS cDNA was 4153-bp with an opening reading frame (ORF) of 3132 nucleotides, which encoded a 1043-amino acid protein. The nucleotide sequences alignment showed that it had 98%, 97% and 87% homology with S. officinarum, Setaria italica and Lolium perenne, respectively. Moreover, the SsSPS was detected to express in leaf and stem tissues of S. spontaneum and exhibited a predominant expression in the stem tissue. However, there was no significant difference in the expression level of SsSPS between young leaves and mature ones. Additionally, we generated transgenic S. spontaneum using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Our data will provide a valuable foundation for further study of the potential role of SPS in plants.