Abstract:To study the molecular mechanism of photosynthesis, we cloned a wheat Lhca gene from the leaves of ‘Bainong207’ using RTPCR, and was designated as TaLhca. The coding sequence (CDS) of this cloned Lhca gene is 810 bp in length, encoding a polypeptide of 269 amino acids. The deduced protein molecular weight was 29.31 kD and its theoretical isoelectric point was 8.69. Bioinformatics analysis showed that TaLhca is a hydrophilic nonsecretory protein with three transmembrane domains and a chlorophyll a/b binding domain. Multiple sequence alignments and phytogenetic analysis of Lhca proteins showed TaLhca is most similar with Lhca from Brachypodium distachyon and Oryza sativa. Cisregulatory element analysis revealed that light responsiveness elements, stress responsiveness elements are in the promoter region of TaLhca. The results of Realtime PCR analysis suggested that TaLhca expressed in root, stem and leaf, with the highest level in leaf, while the lowest level in root. Interestingly, the expression of TaLhca could be strongly induced by NaCl, drought, ABA and H2O2 and low temperature stress, while down regulated by darkness treatment. This results provided references for better understanding on the mechanism of photosynthesis and gene expression in wheat.