Both wound-inducible and tuber-specific expression are mediated by the promoter of a single member of the potato proteinase inhibitor II gene family

A chimeric gene consisting of 1.3 kb of the 5' regulatory region of a member of the potato proteinase inhibitor II gene family, the coding region of the bacterial β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene and 260 bp of the proteinase inhibitor II 3'-untranslated region containing the poly(A) addition site was introduced into potato and tobacco by Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation. Analysis of transgenic plants demonstrates systemic, wound-inducible expression of this gene in stem and leaves of potato and tobacco. Constitutive expression was found in stolons and tubers of non-wounded potato plants. Histochemical experiments based on the enzymatic activity of the GUS protein indicate an association of the proteinase inhibitor II promoter activity with vascular tissue in wounded as well as in systemically induced non-wounded leaves, petioles, potato stems and in developing tubers. These data prove that one single member of the proteinase inhibitor II gene family contains cis-active elements, which are able to respond to both developmental and environmental signals. Furthermore they support the hypothesis of an inducing signal (previously called proteinase inhibitor inducing factor), which is released at the wound site and subsequently transported to non-wounded parts of the plant via the vascular system from where it is released to the surrounding tissue.     

The Expression of GUS Gene Driven by T-cyt Promoter in Transgenic Tobacco andPotato

The location of GUS gene expression under control of T-cyt gene (gene 4 of T- DNA coding isopenteryl transferase) 5′ region in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. W38) and potato (Solanum tuberosum L, cv. Desiree) plants was examined with biochemical assays. The results showed differential distribution in various organs and different cell types. The highest levels of GUS activity were found in tobacco stem where axillary bud was initiated and potato buds on tubers. Moreover, the expression of T-cyt promoter/GUS was found to be inducible in transgenic tobacco stem with cytokinin rather than auxin treatment. Additionally, the level of expression was high in the wounded leaf of transgenic potato. It was suggested that T-cyt promoter may be selectively induced by some exogenous plant hormones.     

Cloning and characterization of a cathepsin D inhibitor gene from Solanum tuberosum L.

A DNA clone encoding a cathepsin D inhibitor CathInh was isolated from a potato genomic library using a CathInh cDNA as hybridization probe. The amino acid sequence of the coding region is nearly identical with a CathInh cDNA and CathInh proteins previously isolated from a tuber-specific cDNA library and from tubers, respectively. Analysis of GUS activity resulting from expression of chimeric CathInh promoter-GUS genes in transgenic potato plants revealed expression exclusively confined to potato tubers. No GUS activity could be detected in any other organ of the transgenic plants either constitutively or after wounding or treatment with abscisic and jasmonic acid (JA). Interestingly, part of the promoter region of the CathInh gene, essential for GUS activity in tubers, shows striking similarity to promoter regions of tuber-specific class I patatin genes.     

高羊茅FaChit1基因启动子的功能分析

用含有不同长度FaChitl基因启动子区域与GUS基因融合构建植物表达载体pFaChitlP—I、pFaChitlP-Ⅱ以及pFaChitlP-Ⅲ并分别对烟草进行转化,经真菌激发子、干旱、机械损伤以及乙烯等多种胁迫处理后测定GUS活性。启动子缺失分析实验结果显示,真菌激发子对FaChitl基因启动子所介导的GUS诱导表达效果最强,而机械损伤只能微弱地诱导GL靥基因表达;FaChitl基因启动子-651bp以内的序列均能介导GUS基因的诱导表达,同时-935bp与-233bp之间的区域是该启动子响应真菌激发子、乙烯以及机械损伤胁迫所必需的。表明FaChitl启动子是一个多胁迫诱导型启动子。     

Promoter elements involved in environmental and developmental control of potato proteinase inhibitor II expression

The proteinase inhibitor II (pin2) gene family exhibits two different modes of expression. It is, on the one hand, constitutively expressed in flowers of potato and tomato plants. and in potato tubers. On the other hand, its expression is induced in the plant foliage by mechanical wounding. To define cis-regulatory elements involved in pin2 promoter activity, deletion analysis of a potato pin2 promoter has been performed in stably and transiently transformed potato and tobacco plants. Two different elements, a quantitative enhancer and a regulatory element, are required for promoter activity. While functional promoter elements required for pin2 activity in tubers and wounded leaves could not be separated, its expression in flowers is mediated by different cis-acting sequences. Induction of pin2 expression in leaves by treatment with the plant growth regulators abscisic acid and jasmonic acid, and the general metabolite sucrose, depends on the presence of the regulatory element involved in expression in tubers and wounded leaves. Thus, pin2 expression in tubers and wounded leaves apparently results from the action of similar hormonal signals on closely linked promoter elements, while a different signal pathway leads to its constitutive expression in flowers.     

Isolation of a ubiquitin-ribosomal protein gene (ubi3) from potato and expression of its promoter in transgenic plants

A genomic clone encoding the potato homolog of the yeast ubiquitin-ribosomal protein fusion gene ubi3 was isolated and characterized. Chimeric genes containing the ubi3 promoter (920 bp of 5 to the ubiquitin start codon) were constructed in which the reporter gene -glucuronidase (GUS) was either fused directly to the promoter, or introduced as a translational fusion to the ubiquitin-coding region. After introduction into the potato by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, GUS activities were measured in leaves and in tubers of transgenic clones. GUS activity was 5- to 10-fold higher in clones expressing the ubiquitin-GUS translational fusion than in clones containing GUS fused directly to the ubi3 promoter. For both types of constructs, GUS activity was highest in meristematic leaves and declined during leaf expansion, then rose again to near the meristematic levels during senescence. GUS activity in tubers was similar to that in young leaves. In contrast to the native ubi3 genes, the chimeric ubi3-GUS transgenes were not activated in the tuber by wounding.     

Chitinase accumulates systemically in wounded poplar trees

Young leaves of poplar ( Populus spp.) trees accumulate novel messenger RNAs shortly after the mature leaves have been mechanically wounded. These systemically wound‐induced ( win ) mRNAs are thought to encode proteins involved in plant defense. In the present paper, transgenic tobacco plants that ectopically expressed a win6 cDNA contained a novel chitinase activity that was not present in normal tobacco. This demonstrated Win6 was a chitinase. Win6 and a related protein Win8 accumulated in wounded poplars. Win6 and Win8 had low isoelectric points (ca 4) as predicted from their nucleotide sequence. The wound‐inducible increase in Win6 and Win8 was correlated with an increase in chitinase (EC 3.2.1.14) activity in poplar leaf extracts. We conclude that mechanical wounding induces chitinase in poplar trees, and speculate that the induced chitinase activity could act to increase the tolerance of poplars to opportunistic wound pathogens.     

Nucleotide sequence and regulated expression of a wound-inducible potato gene (wun1)

Summary Mechanical wounding of potato leaves, stems, roots and tubers leads to a rapid increase of wun1 mRNA. In potato leaves, the wound-induced accumulation of wun1 mRNA is inhibited by the addition of sucrose or other osmotically active agents. This inhibition is organ specific since sucrose does not prevent wun1 mRNA accumulation in wounded tubers. In contrast, expression of patatin was shown to be repressed in tubers by wounding and this repression was reversed by increasing osmotic pressure. Sequence data obtained from the analysis of a wun1 cDNA and a wun1 genomic clone show no homology to any gene known so far. Histochemical data demonstrate a striking analogy in cell specific expression of chimeric genes expressed under the control of the wun1 promoter and the cell specific production of callose in wounded tobacco leaves.     

Wound-inducible and organ-specific expression of ORF13 from Agrobacterium rhizogenes 8196 T-DNA in transgenic tobacco plants

Tissue-specific expression of the ORF13 promoter from Agrobacterium rhizogenes 8196 was assessed throughout the development of transgenic tobacco plants using a GUS reporter gene. ORF13 exhibited high activity in roots but with different patterns of expression. The activity of the ORF13 promoter in vascular tissues increased from the base to the tip of the stem. The ORF13 promoter is wound inducible in a limited area adjacent to the wound site. The time course of wound induction of ORF13 in transgenic tobacco containing an ORF13 promoter-GUS translational fusion was similar to that previously described for genes involved in plant defense responses. A series of 5′ deletions of the ORF13 promoter fused to the β-glucuronidase gene was examined for expression in roots and leaves of transgenic plants. Cis-acting elements that modulate quantitative expression of the transgene after wounding were detected.     

A –308 deletion of the tomato LAP promoters is able to direct flower-specific and MeJA-induced expression in transgenic plants

Tomato and potato leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) mRNAs are induced in response to mechanical wounding and the wound signal molecules, ABA and jasmonic acid. Here, we report the isolation of two LAP genes, LAP17.1A and LAP17.2, from tomato. Functional analysis in transgenic tomato and potato plants show that fusions of the corresponding 5 non-coding regions to the gusA gene are constitutively expressed in flowers and induced in leaves upon wounding or by treatment with methyl jasmonate (MeJA). Comparison of the 5 non-coding regions of the two genes revealed a region from –317 to –3 relative to the ATG, which is strongly conserved in both promoters. This 0.3 kb proximal promoter fragment is sufficient to direct flower-specific and MeJA-inducible GUS activity in transgenic potato plants, and thus contains a MeJA-responsive element that mediates induction by MeJA. Dimeric TGACG motifs or G-box elements similar to those found in other MeJA-inducible genes are not observed in this region, which suggests that a different DNA sequence is involved in MeJA induction of the LAP genes.