ARS | Publication request: DISSECTION OF PLANT PROMOTER FUNCTION IN VIVO

Submitted to: Cold Spring Harbor Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: March 6, 2003
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Combinatorial interactions between MYB and transcription HLH factors are required for the regulation of several important processes in plants. Protein-DNA binding and transient expression experiments established a modular structure for several maize flavonoid biosynthetic gene promoters, in which high- and low-affinity MYB binding sites alternate. We have determined that insertions and mutations caused by transposons have effects not predicted from in vitro protein-DNA binding or transient expression experiments. These results suggest that other cis-elements are also important in vivo. To further define which cis-elements are involved in the in vivo regulation, we analyzed the corresponding promoter sequences of the a1 and colorless2 (encoding chalcone synthase) genes in a large number of maize inbred lines, in various Zea species, and other grasses. This "natural variation footprint" method provided information on the degree of variation allowed for experimentally-verified cis-regulatory elements, and identified several conserved non-coding sequences that may serve as additional binding sites for transcription factors.