Molecular cloning and characterization of FATTY ACID ELONGATION1 (BjFAE1) gene of Brassica juncea

The Brassica juncea homologue of Arabidopsis thaliana FAE1 gene, which is r esponsible for elongation of fatty acid chain length from C18 to C20 and C2 2 was amplified via PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) using heterologous prim ers. The PCR product was cloned into pGEM-T vector, subcloned and sequenced . The BjFAE1 has 1536 nucleotides and shares 93.6% homology with the A. tha liana counterpart. Southern analysis, using the PCR product as probe, indic ated that FAE1 gene is of the same size in all the cultivated Brassica spec ies, i.e. B. juncea, B. nigra, B. campestris, B. oleracea, B. napus and B, carinata. It expresses strongly only in the developing seed and podwall.