Genomic organization and expression analysis of a farnesyl diphosphate synthase gene (FPPS2) in apples (Malus domestica Borkh.)

•Obtain the genomic sequence of a farnesyl diphosphate synthase gene (FPPS2) in apples.•FPPS2 contains 11 introns and 12 exons, and expresses in fruit and leaf.•Expression of FPPS2 was lower than that of FPPS1 in fruit after 5 weeks of storage.

A farnesyl diphosphate synthase gene (FPPS2), which contains 11 introns and 12 exons, was isolated from the apple cultivar “White Winter Pearmain”. When it was compared to our previously reported FPPS1, its each intron size was different, its each exon size was the same as that of FPPS1 gene, 30 nucleotide differences were found in its coding sequence. Based on these nucleotide differences, specific primers were designed to perform expression analysis; the results showed that it expressed in both fruit and leaf, its expression level was obviously lower than that of FPPS1 gene in fruit which was stored at 4 °C for 5 weeks. This is the first report concerning two FPPS genes and their expression comparison in apples.

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