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Light-inducible and tissue-specific pea lhcp gene expression involves an upstream element combining enhancer- and silencer-like properties

Nature volume 323, pages 551–554 (1986)Cite this article

Abstract

Studies in viral and mammalian cell systems have identified regulatory elements, collectively termed enhancers, which are cis-acting elements effective in either orientation and at both 5′ and 3′ ends of a gene, and which increase transcription when linked to either their own or a heterologous promoter gene system1–5. Certain upstream elements in yeast have also been shown to exert a negative effect on the rate of transcription of cell-cycle-specific genes and these have been called silencers6. Two of the best characterized plant gene families are those of the small subunit of the ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (rbcS) genes7 and the lightharvesting chlorophyll a/b-bind ing protein (lhcp) genes8. The first enhancer element in plants has recently been described showing that an upstream element of an rbcS gene could, in both orientations, confer light-inducible expression on a heterologous promoter/gene system9. We report here that a 247-base pair (bp) element from an lhcp gene acts not only as a light-inducible enhancer but also as a tissue-specific ‘silencer’.

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Author notes

  1. J. Simpson & L. Herrera-Estrella

    Present address: Centre de Investigatión y Estudios Avanzados, Apdo Postal 629, 26500, Irapuato, Gto, Mexico

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorium voor Genetica, Rijksuniversiteit Gent, B-9000, Gent, Belgium

    J. Simpson, J. Schell, M. Van Montagu & L. Herrera-Estrella

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  1. J. Simpson
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Simpson, J., Schell, J., Montagu, M. et al. Light-inducible and tissue-specific pea lhcp gene expression involves an upstream element combining enhancer- and silencer-like properties. Nature 323, 551–554 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/323551a0

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