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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #260833
Title: Enhancer-promoter interference and its prevention in transgenic plants

Author
item SINGER, STACY - Cornell University
item COX, KERIK - Cornell University
item Liu, Zongrang

Submitted to: Plant Cell Reports
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/7/2010
Publication Date: 12/19/2010
Citation: Singer, S., Cox, K., Liu, Z. 2010. Enhancer-promoter interference and its prevention in transgenic plants. Plant Cell Reports. DOI: 10.1007/s00299-010-0977-7.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Transcriptional enhancer elements have been shown to override the specificity of nearby promoters in a position- and orientation-independent manner. This is problematic when multiple enhancers/promoters co-exist within a single transgenic construct as it has the potential to cause the mis-expression of transgenic product(s) and thus, severely compromise the precise engineering of agronomically important traits in crop species. In order to develop strategies with which to prevent such interference, a clear understanding of the mechanism underlying enhancer-mediated activation of target promoters will be required in plants. To date, very little is known concerning enhancer function in plants. Likewise, only a very limited number of enhancer-blocking insulators that function in plant species have been identified. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge surrounding enhancer-promoter interactions, as well as possible means of minimizing such interference during plant transformation experiments.