Isolation a P450 gene in Pinus armandi and its expression after inoculation of Leptographium qinlingensis and treatment with methyl jasmonate.

In conifers, the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase of the CYP720B family plays an important role in the synthesis of diterpene resin acids, which are specialised metabolites of the oleoresin defence. We isolated CYP720B19 from Pinus armandi and found that it belongs to the CYP720B family. The CYP720B19 open reading frame of 1467 bp encodes a protein of 488 amino acid residues with high similarity to abietadienol/abietadienal oxidase. Differential expression of the CYP720B19 gene significantly changed when plants were inoculated with the fungus Leptographium qinlingensis, mechanically wounded, or treated with methyl jasmonate (MeJa) and Tween at 4 days and 8 days. Increased expression of the CYP720B19 gene after these treatments suggested that the gene was involved in pine defence against inoculation by L. qinlingensis, MeJa treatment and mechanical injury.