Abstract: Based on previous EST sequence of grape ，a full-length cDNA sequence was cloned through RACE and RT-PCR technologies in this study. The full-length cDNA of VpSTART was 1 321 bp with 114 bp 3′UTR，contained a 1 206 bp open reading frame encoding 401 amino acids residues. VpSTART protein showed 45.3 kD，and shared 99%，64%，58%，46% and 25% homology with that of Vitis vinifera，Zea mays，Arabidopsis thaliana，Medicago truncatula and Ricinus communis. Real-time quantitative PCR indicated the expression level of VpSTART was high in inflorescence，tendril and stem of Shang-24 grape abundantly；Accumulation of VpSTART transcripts in Hunan-1 grape leaf that is susceptible to powdery mildew showed no significant difference with that in contrast after E. necator inoculation，while the accumulation increased in Shang-24 grape for 12 h that is resistant powdery mildew and showed a significant difference during 24–96 h inoculation；After 1–48 h treatment with SA，MeJA and Eth signal molecules in Hunan-1 and Shang-24 grapeleaf，the expression patterns of VpSTARTshowed negative regulation by SA，positive regulation by MeJA and Eth.a calculatedmolecular weightof powdery mildew fungus responsive gene VpSTART

Key words: grape, powdery mildew, VpSTART, gene clone, expression analysis