Abstract: β-actin is a member of the actin family, which plays important roles in maintaining cytoskeletal structure, cytoplasmic movement and cell division. β-actin is one of the most commonly used  internal controls in gene quantitative analysis. In this study, a full-length cDNA of β-actin from Mantichorula semenowi was cloned via homology cloning and RACE. Sequence analysis and phylogenetic study showed that this cDNA contained 1 372 nucleotides, with a 1 131 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding 376 amino acids and flanked with a 66 bp 5′UTR and a 175 bp 3′UTR. β-actin shared a high sequence identity of 96%-99% with that of other insects. Profiles ofβ-actin expression in different recovery time after heat shock were expressed similarly and not significantly different from that of the unstimulated control, suggesting an ubiguitous expression pattern.

Key words: Mantichorula semenowi, β-actin gene, homology cloning, rapid amplification of cDNA ends(RACE), internal control