DNA Fidelity: Expression of a Monocot Promoter in a Dicot Plant

Abstract

The knowledge generated from the identification of plant promoters has been very important for plant biotechnology development. The use of promoters in transgenic plants allows a reasonable level of regulating protein expression. With the application of reporter genes, such as gusA (uidA,) the production of a colored protein, β-glucuronidase, can be detected and measured both qualitatively and quantitatively, and the activity of the promoter can be assessed. In this work we use a promoter of an abundant banana fruit protein gene Musa acuminata Acidic Chitinase class III a monocot species, to drive expression of gusA in a dicot species, like tomato. We evaluated the monocot promoter capabilities by localizing and quantifying β-glucuronidase (GUS) expression through fluorometric assays during tomato fruit ripening. Our results suggest that this promoter could be used for specifically strong fruit protein expression in dicot plants.