Isolation and characterization of the Agvip1 gene and response to abiotic and metal ions stresses in three celery cultivars.

VIP1, a VirE2-interacting protein 1, specifically interacts with VirE2 and acts as a molecular adaptor in Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation. This protein is widely used in plant genetic engineering. In this study, we cloned the Agvip1 gene that encodes the AgVIP1 protein from three celery (Apium graveolens) cultivars, namely, "Liuhe Huangxinqin", "Jinnan Shiqin", and "Ventura". The sequence analysis indicated that the Agvip1 gene from the three celery cultivars contained 768 bp Open Reading Frame and encoded with 255 amino acid residues. The N-terminal of AgVIP1 contained RNA recognition motif superfamily, a conserved domain. The Agvip1 gene in three cultivars had very high homology. The phylogenetic tree of VIP1-like proteins was constructed among celery and other plant species, showing that VIP1-like proteins from Solanum lycopersicum and Solanum tuberosum in Solanaceae had the shortest evolutionary relationship with AgVIP1 from A. graveolens in Apiaceae. Quantitative real-time PCR demonstrated that the Agvip1 gene had tissue-specific expression, mainly in the celery root. The expression analysis showed that the Agvip1 gene was induced by abiotic stresses differently in three celery cultivars. In "Liuhe Huangxinqin", the Agvip1 gene was up-regulated under hot, cold stresses. In "Jinnan Shiqin", the Agvip1 gene was up-regulated obviously under cold, drought treatments. However, in "Ventura", the Agvip1 gene was up-regulated under salt stress. The Agvip1 was also induced after metal ions treatments in three celery cultivars. These findings will provide more information on the Agvip1 gene and AgVIP1 protein, and enhance the understanding of the Agvip1 gene regulatory mechanisms under abiotic and metal ions stresses in celery.