Abstract: A PIP（plasma membrane intrinsic protein）aquaporins（AQP）gene，designated as DcPIP2（GenBank accession number GU989036），was cloned from carnation（Dianthus caryophyllus‘Master’）leaves by RT-PCR and RACE. The full cDNA sequence of DcPIP2 is 983 bp，containing an open reading frame（858 bp）and encoding a protein of 285 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 30.6 kD. The DcPIP2 genomic DNA（2 635 bp）（GenBank accession number JF706350），corresponding to the DcPIP2 cDNA，was further cloned，which contains three exons and two introns in its coding sequence. The sequence analysis showed that the homology of amino acid sequences between DcPIP2 and Gossypium hirsutum PIP2;3（ACB42440），Jatropha curcas AQP（ABM54183），and Hevea brasiliensis PIP2（ACV66986）was 89%，88% and 87%，respectively. The expression of DcPIP2 in different organs of cut carnation flowers was determined by real-time quantitative PCR，it was found that DcPIP2 gene was expressed in leaves，stem necks，petals，pistils，stamina and sepals. The highest expression level of DcPIP2 was detected in pistils，followed by petals，while moderate expression level was present in stamina and stem necks，and the lowest level was in leaves.

Key words: Dianthus caryphyllus L., carnation, cut flower, aquaporin, gene cloning