Poster: Transcription Regulation

Abs # 1063: Engineering a novel chemically inducible promoter system for use in plants

Presenter:	Antunes, Mauricio S, antunes@purdue.edu
Authors	Antunes, Mauricio S (A)   Hodges, Thomas K (A)   Carpita, Nicholas C (A)
Affiliations:	(A): Dept. of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University

In the last decade agriculture has experienced a rapid increase in commercially available transgenic crops carrying novel traits such as improved resistance to insects (Bt corn) and herbicides (Roundup-Ready soybean). Earlier transgenesis experiments have taken advantage of strong constitutive promoters, such as the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S, rice actin, and maize ubiquitin, to achieve high levels of expression of a particular protein. More recently, tissue-specific promoters have also been used, in an attempt to limit the expression of the transgene to certain parts of the plant. However, constitutive expression of a protein may not be desirable, particularly if this protein interferes with the early stages of plant development. In other instances, high protein levels cause toxicity to the plant. To overcome these limitations, artificial promoter systems were engineered that can be regulated by a chemical substance. Currently, several chemically inducible (or repressible) promoter systems are available for use in plants. Nevertheless, the majority of these are not suitable for agricultural use, mainly due to the toxicity of the inducers. We will describe our efforts to engineer a novel chemically inducible plant promoter system, based on a fungal gene that is induced by a non-toxic, inexpensive compound. Therefore, this system has a great potential for a broader use, both in basic biological research and in field-grown crops. Financial support: Purdue University TRASK Fund