Bio/Technology
11, 218 - 221 (1993)
doi:10.1038/nbt0293-218
Selectable Marker Genes Engineered for Specific Expression in Target Cells for Plant TransformationSebahattin Özcan1, Simon Firek1
& John Draper1, *
1Department of Botany, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, UK, LE1 7RH.
*Corresponding author. A wound-induced promoter (AoPRl) isolated from Asparagus officinalis was shown by GUS reporter gene analysis to be active during callus formation in tissue cultured leaves from transgenic tobacco plants. Unlike other promoters commonly used to drive expression of marker genes during transformation (e.g. Nos, MAS-35S and CaMV35S), the AoPR1 promoter showed strong expression at wound sites during tobacco leaf disk transformation but was expressed at extremely low levels in the leaves, roots and seeds of the mature plant. A plant transformation vector was constructed in which nptII expression was placed under the control of the AoPR1 promoter. This construct was then used in transformation experiments which resulted in the production of a large number of transgenic tobacco and potato plants. In leaves, roots and tubers (in the case of potato) of these plants, the marker gene protein product (NPTII) was present in low amounts compared to the levels found in control transgenic plants produced using a CaMV35S-nptII gene as a selectable marker.
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