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Isolation and Characterization of a Curcin Promoter from Jatropha curcas L. and Its Regulation of Gene Expression in Transgenic Tobacco Plants

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Abstract

Ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) represent those proteins that universally depurinate conserved α-sarcin loops of large rRNAs. In this study, a 0.6-kb fragment of a 5′ flanking region preceding a curcin gene, encoding a type I RIP curcin, of Jatropha curcas L. endosperm was cloned, and its regulation of expression of the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene was investigated in transgenic tobacco. Analysis of GUS activities showed that the 0.6-kb flanking fragment of the curcin gene was sufficient to drive the GUS reporter gene expression in tobacco seed. The activity of this flanking fragment was analyzed at different stages of seed development. Histochemical localization of GUS activity indicated that the promoter was specifically active in the endosperm tissue of the dicotyledonous tobacco embryo. Moreover, this activity was first initiated at the heart-shaped embryonic stage during seed development.

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Abbreviations

DAF:

Days after flowering

GUS:

β-glucuronidase

IC50 :

Half maximal inhibitory concentration

DOFCORE:

Regulatory element of AAAG sequence

DPBFCORE:

Regulatory element of ACACNNG sequence

E-BOX:

Regulatory element of CANNTG sequence

Prolamin box:

Regulatory element of TGCAAAG sequence

ABRE:

Regulatory element of ACGTG sequence

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the General Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30670204), China International Science and Technology Cooperation Project (No. 2004DFB00300, No. 2006DFB63400), and the Key Project of Chinese Ministry of Education (No. 104151).

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Correspondence to Ying Xu.

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Qin, X., Zhang, J., Shao, C. et al. Isolation and Characterization of a Curcin Promoter from Jatropha curcas L. and Its Regulation of Gene Expression in Transgenic Tobacco Plants. Plant Mol Biol Rep 27, 275–281 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11105-008-0078-8

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