PARTIAL SEQUENCES OF THE GENE THAT CODIFIES FOR THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR VPHSFB1 IN Vasconcellea pubescens. FIRST REPORT

Plant heat stress transcription factors (HSFs) are involved in the response to heat. In Arabidopsis thaliana the HSFs genes are completely identified, however there was no information available about these genes in Vasconcellea pubescens (Chamburo) until now. In this preliminary work we describe the VPHSFB1 gene of V. pubescens (gene expression evaluated by RT-PCR and the partial sequence) that was induced by the increment of temperature. From our results, VPHSFB1 could be used as a heat response marker gene in tropical species. Key words: Caricaceae, gene expression, heat.