A parsley 4CL-1 promoter fragment specifies complex expression patterns in transgenic tobacco

A parsley 4CL-1 promoter fragment specifies complex expression patterns in transgenic tobacco

1991

A:PS

The 4CL-1 gene is one of 2 highly homologous parsley genes encoding 4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligase, a key enzyme of general phenylpropanoid metabolism. Expression of these genes is essential for the biosynthesis of both defence-related and developmentally required phenylpropanoid derivatives. Developmental regulation of the 4CL-1 promoter was examined by analysing the expression of 4CL-1-beta-glucuronidase fusions in transgenic tobacco plants. A 597-bp 4CL-1 promoter fragment specified histochemically detectable expression in a complex array of vegetative and floral tissues and cell types. The activity of a series of 5' deleted promoter fragments was analysed in parsley protoplasts and transgenic tobacco plants. Deletions past -210 bp led to a drastic decline in beta-glucuronidase activity in protoplasts and loss of tissue-specific expression in transgenic tobacco. These results were put into the context of potential protein-DNA interactions by in vivo footprint analysis of the 4CL-1 promoter in parsley cells. Loss of promoter activity in parsley protoplasts and transgenic tobacco was correlated with the deletion or disruption of the distal portion of a large (100-bp) footprinted region within the first 200 bp of the 4CL-1 promoter.

v.3(5):435-443, PLANT CELL

Research > Published Articles