Expression Pattern of Arabidopsis Thaliana Pollen- and Embryo-Specific Promoter in Transgenic Tobacco Plants

Abstract

Current biotechnology research is focused on tissue-specific expression of genes of interest in plants. Promoters with specific spatial and temporal expression profiles in targeted organisms are in wide use for this. This study investigated whether the Arabidopsis thaliana seed-and pollen-specific promoter MXL maintains its specificity in transgenic tobacco plants. Histochemical analysis revealed that the MXL fusion promoter drives slightly different GUS expression in that heterologous organism. GUS staining was clearly detected in the bicellular stage of pollen development and later in germinating tobacco pollen grains. Unlike in A. thaliana, where the MXL promoter is active during the whole period of embryo development, in tobacco its activity was restricted to a short temporal and spatial window from late-heart to mid-torpedo stages, mainly in the apical part of the developing embryo. These results point to the need to test the expression profiles of heterologous promoters in targeted species before they are used in particular biotechnological programs.K Ke ey yw wo or rd ds s: : Embryogenesis, GUS, Nicotiana tabacum, specific promoter activity, transgenic plants.

Three Rice NAC Transcription Factors Heteromerize and Are Associated with Seed Size

“…RY elements recognized by the B3 domain transcriptional activators like ABI3 and FUS3, act as important regulators of seed storage protein expression in dicots (Kawakatsu and Takaiwa, 2010). The sequence TACACAT, designated as Napin motif, is an evolutionarily conserved motif activating the expression of the seed storage protein genes in Brassica and soybean seeds (Jopcik et al, 2014). Correlation with the expression pattern ( Figure 2 ) indicates that genotypic differences in accessions may be a controlling factor for the expression pattern of this gene.…”