title: A parsley 4CL-1 promoter fragment specifies complex expression patterns in transgenic tobacco.
abstract: The 4CL-1 gene is one of two 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 defense-related and developmentally required phenylpropanoid derivatives. We examined the developmental regulation of the 4CL-1 promoter by analyzing the expression of 4CL-1-beta-glucuronidase fusions in transgenic tobacco plants. A 597-base pair 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 analyzed in parsley protoplasts and transgenic tobacco plants. Deletions past -210 base pairs 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-base pair) footprinted region within the first 200 base pairs of the 4CL-1 promoter.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Hauffe
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Paszkowski
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schulze-Lefert
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hahlbrock
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Dangl
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Douglas
mesh_terms: D001482:Base Composition; D001483:Base Sequence; D003066:Coenzyme A Ligases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004247:DNA; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017343:Genes, Plant; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D010944:Plants / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011523:Protoplasts; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D014026:Nicotiana
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D003066:Coenzyme A Ligases; C019943:4-coumarate-CoA ligase