Abstract:According to the transcriptome database of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, a novel ACO gene was cloned with the method of RTPCR and genome walking for the first time, and named as SmACO1(GenBank accession number: JQ026111). The genomic sequence of SmACO1 is 1 347 bp in length, consisting of 3 exons and 2 introns. The full length of SmACO1 cDNA is 1 117 bp, and has an opening reading frame of 945 bp, which encodes 314 amino acids. Bioinformatics analysis showed that SmACO1 was a stable hydrophilic protein located in the cytoplasm without signal peptide and transmembrane domain, and contains a Fe(Ⅱ)-dependent oxygenase superfamily domain. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that SmACO1 expressed differently in different organs and the expression level was the highest in flower. Furthermore, this gene could be induced by pathogen and methyl jasmonate, indicating that it might be involved in plant defenses.