OsPOP5, A Prolyl Oligopeptidase Family Gene from Rice Confers Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Escherichia coli

The prolyl oligopeptidase family, which is a group of serine peptidases, can hydrolyze peptides smaller than 30 residues. The prolyl oligopeptidase family in plants includes four members, which are prolyl oligopeptidase (POP, EC3.4.21.26), dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV, EC3.4.14.5), oligopeptidase B (OPB, EC3.4.21.83), and acylaminoacyl peptidase (ACPH, EC3.4.19.1). POP is found in human and rat, and plays important roles in multiple biological processes, such as protein secretion, maturation and degradation of peptide hormones, and neuropathies, signal transduction and memory and learning. However, the function of POP is unclear in plants. In order to study POP function in plants, we cloned the cDNA of the OsPOP5 gene from rice by nested-PCR. Sequence analysis showed that the cDNA encodes a protein of 596 amino acid residues with M(w) ≈ 67.29 kD. In order to analyze the protein function under different abiotic stresses, OsPOP5 was expressed in Escherichia coli. OsPOP5 protein enhanced the tolerance of E. coli to high salinity, high temperature and simulated drought. The results indicate that OsPOP5 is a stress-related gene in rice and it may play an important role in plant tolerance to abiotic stress.