Promoter functional in a plant cell

Abstract: The present invention relates to a promoter which is characterized in that it comprises the DNA sequence (a) or (b) and a DNA comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1, wherein (a) is a DNA sequence comprising the nucleotide sequence represented by at least nucleotide numbers 112-246 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 2, and (b) is a DNA sequence comprising the nucleotide sequence represented by at least base numbers 186-282 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.3 (hereinafter referred to as the present promoter), a chimeric gene comprising the above promoter, a vector comprising the above promoter, a transformant containing the promoter, the chimeric gene or the vector, a method for expressing a gene comprising the step of expressing the desired gene in a host cell under the control of the promoter, use of the promoter for controlling the expression of a desired gene in a host cell, and a method for producing the promoter. According to the present invention, it becomes possible to provide a compact promoter suitable for more highly expressing a desired gene in the particular tissue than in other tissues in a host.

Description: The present invention relates to a promoter functional in a plant cell. In order to express a desired gene in a host cell for altering traits of a host cell such as a plant cell, etc., the gene is placed under the control of a promoter functional in a host cell. When it is necessary to more highly express the desired gene in a specified tissue of a host than other tissues, a promoter conferring the higher transcription activity in the specified tissue than in the other tissues is used. The promoter which has a longer DNA sequence is influenced by a variety of factors in a host cell or probability of recombination or deletion is increased when the promoter is introduced into a chromosome of a host cell. As a result, there arises a problem that the desired trait is not expressed when the promoter is introduced into a host cell. Accordingly, there has been a demand for a compact promoter which may be suitable for higher expression of the desired gene in the particular tissue than in the other tissues in a host. Thus, the technical problem underlying the present invention is to provide plant promoters allowing a specific expression of a desired gene in seed and pollen of a host plant. This problem has been solved by the provision of the embodiments as characterized in the claims. Accordingly, the present invention relates to 1. a promoter which is characterized in that it comprises the DNA sequence (a) or (b) and a DNA comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1, wherein (a) is a DNA sequence comprising the nucleotide sequence represented by at least nucleotide numbers 112-246 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 2, and (b) is a DNA sequence comprising the nucleotide sequence represented by at least base numbers 186-282 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.3 (hereinafter referred to as the present promoter), 2. a promoter which is characterized in that it comprises the following DNA sequence (a) or (b) and a DNA comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1, (a) a DNA sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 112-246, nucleotide numbers 54-246 or nucleotide numbers 1-246 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.2, (b) a DNA sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 186-282, nucleotide numbers 127-282 or nucleotide numbers 1-282 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.3, 3. the promoter according to 1 or 2, wherein a DNA comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.1 is positioned 5' upstream of the DNA sequence (a) or (b), 4. the promoter according to any one of 1-3, which is characterized in that it comprises two or more than two copies of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.1, 5. the promoter according to any one of 1 to 3, which is characterized in that it comprises 4 or 8 copies of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1, 6. a chimeric gene which is characterized in that it comprises the promoter of any one of 1 to 5 and a desired gene (hereinafter referred to as the present chimeric gene), 7. a vector which is characterized in that it comprises the promoter of any one of 1-5 (hereinafter referred to as the present vector), 8. the vector according to 7, which is characterized in that it comprises a cloning site and a terminator functional in a host cell, which is positioned 3' downstream of the promoter, 9. a vector which is characterized in that it comprises the chimeric gene of 6, 10. a transformant which is characterized in that the promoter of any one of 1-5, the chimeric gene of 6 or the vector of any one of 7-9 is introduced into a host cell (hereinafter referred to as the present transformant), 11. the transformant according to 10, which is characterized in that the host cell is a microorganism, 12. the transformant according to 10, which is characterized in that the host cell is a plant cell, 13. a method for expressing gene, which is characterized by comprising a step of expressing the desired gene in a host cell under the control of the promoter of any one of 1-5 (hereinafter referred to as the present gene expression method), 14. use of the promoter of any one of 1-5 for controlling the expression of a desired gene in a host cell, 15. a method for producing a promoter, which is characterized by comprising a step of ligating a DNA having the following DNA sequence (a) or (b) and a DNA having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.1 in an functional form in a host cell (hereinafter referred to as the present promoter manufacturing process), (a) A DNA sequence comprising the nucleotide sequence represented by at least nucleotide numbers 112-246 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.2, (b) A DNA sequence comprising the nucleotide sequence represented by at least nucleotide numbers 186-282 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.3, 16. a method for producing a promoter, which is characterized by comprising a step of ligating a DNA having the following DNA sequence (a) or (b) and a DNA having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.1 in an functional form in a host cell, (a) a DNA sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 112-246, nucleotide numbers 54-246 or nucleotide numbers 1-246 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.2, (b) a DNA sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 186-282, nucleotide numbers 127-282 or nucleotide numbers 1-282 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.3. Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integer or step. Fig. 1 is a view showing a step for constructing the plasmids pGCRG1-1, pGCRG1-2 and pGCRG1-3 containing the present promoter. In the figure, GUS denotes β-glucuronidase gene, and T-nos denotes a terminator of nopaline synthase gene derived from Ti-plasmid. Fig. 2 is a view showing a step for constructing the plasmid pGGY1-1, pGGY1-2 and pGGY1-3 containing the present promoter. In the figure, GUS denotes β-glucuronidase gene and T-nos denotes a terminator of nopaline synthase gene derived from Ti-plasmid. Fig. 3 is a view showing a step for constructing the plasmid pCRG1-1, pCRG1-2 and pCRG1-3. In the figure, GUS denotes β-glucuronidase gene and T-nos denotes a terminator of nopaline synthase gene derived from Ti-plasmid. Fig. 4 is a view showing a step for constructing the plasmid pGY1-1, pGY1-2 and pGY1-3. In the figure, GUS denotes β-glucuronidase gene and T-nos denotes a terminator of nopaline synthase gene derived from Ti-plasmid. Fig. 5 is a view showing a step for constructing the plasmid pG8CRG1-1, pG8CRG1-2. In the figure, GUS denotes β-glucuronidase gene and T-nos denotes a terminator of nopaline synthase gene derived from Ti-plasmid. The present invention will be described in detail below. The genetic engineering technique used here can be performed in accordance with a conventional method described in, for example, Molecular Cloning 2 nd edition authored by J. Sambook, E. F. Frisch and T. Maniatis, (published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory press, 1989), DNA cloning authored by M. Glover (published by IRL, 1985) and the like. The present promoter is a promoter comprising the following DNA sequence (a) or (b) and a DNA comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1, (a) a DNA sequence comprising the nucleotide sequence represented by at least nucleotide numbers 112-246 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.2, (b) a DNA sequence comprising the nucleotide sequence represented by at least nucleotide numbers 186-282 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.3. As the "a DNA sequence comprising the nucleotide sequence represented by at least nucleotide numbers 112-246 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.2" (hereinafter referred to as DNA sequence A), there are the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 112-246, the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 54-246, the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 1-246 of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.2 and the like. In addition, as the "a DNA sequence comprising the nucleotide sequence represented by at least nucleotide numbers 186-282 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.3" (hereinafter referred to as DNA sequence B), there are the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 186-282, the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 127-282, the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 1-282 of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 3 and the like. It is preferable that the above sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.1 is usually positioned 5' upstream of above DNA sequence A or the DNA sequence B and, as a distance between a DNA comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 and the DNA sequence A or B is shorter, a compact promoter comprising the shorter sequence can be constructed. The present promoter may comprise two or more than two copies of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.1. For example, there are promoters comprising, preferably 4 or 8 tandem repeat of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.1. The other nucleotide sequence may intervene between the nucleotide sequences shown by SEQ ID:No.1. However, since when the other nucleotide sequence intervenes therebetween, a length of a promoter becomes longer, the nucleotide sequences are preferably tandemly connected without any other nucleotide sequences. Here, "tandem repeat" means that two or more than two nucleotide sequences having the same nucleotide sequences are connected to each other successively. The present promoter may be prepared by separately preparing the DNA sequence A or the DNA sequence B and a DNA comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.1, according to methods of the conventional chemical synthesis and in vitro annealing, and ligating the separately obtained DNAs, respectively, according to a method using, for example, DNA ligase or the like. More particularly, a DNA fragment comprising the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 112-246 of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.2 may be prepared by, for example, chemically synthesizing a nucleotide (+ chain) shown by SEQ ID:No.6 and its complementally nucleotide (- chain) shown by SEQ ID:No.7, and annealing them in vitro. On the other hand, a DNA fragment having 4 tandem repeat of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.1 may be prepared by chemically synthesizing an oligonucleotide (+ chain) having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.4 and its complementary oligonucleotide (- chain) having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.5 and annealing them in vitro. The present promoter may be prepared by ligating a DNA fragment having 4 tandem repeats of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 1 5' upstream to a thus obtained DNA fragment having the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 112-246 of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.2 using T4 DNA ligase (Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.). Similarly, a DNA fragment having 8 tandem repeats of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 1 may be prepared by chemically synthesizing an oligonucleotide (+ chain) having 8 tandem repeats of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 and its complementary sequence (- chain) and annealing them in vitro. The present promoter may be prepared by ligating a DNA fragment comprising the nucleotide sequence in which 8 tandem repeats of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 5' upstream to a thus obtained DNA fragment having the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 112-246 of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.2 using T4.DNA ligase (Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.). Alternatively, the present promoter may be prepared by, for example, cloning a gene from the tissues or cells previously known to have the gene containing the desired DNA fragment, excising either of or both of a DNA fragment comprising the DNA sequence A or the DNA sequence B and a DNA fragment comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.1 using a suitable restriction enzyme and ligating the resulting DNA fragments using a method employing a DNA ligase or the like as necessary. Alternatively, the present promoter may be prepared by performing PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to obtain either of or both of a DNA fragment comprising the DNA sequence A or the DNA sequence B and a DNA fragment comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 1 using the gene cloned as described above as a template and using primers to amplify the DNA fragments, and ligating the resulting DNA fragments using a method employing a DNA ligase or the like as necessary. More particularly, a DNA fragment comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.2 may be obtained by, for example, performing PCR using as a primer an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 1-20 in the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.2 and an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence complementary to the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 226-246 in the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.2 and using a carrot genomic DNA as a template. Similarly, a DNA fragment comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.3 may be obtained by, for example, performing PCR using as a primer an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 1-20 in the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.3 and an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence complementary to the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 262-282 in the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.3 and using a soybean genomic DNA as a template. Thus obtained DNA fragments may be ligated with the DNA fragment comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1, which was prepared by chemical synthesis and annealing in vitro as described above, to prepare the present promoter. The copy number of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID: No.1 in the present promoter may be varied by performing PCR using a DNA containing the present promoter made as described above as a template and using a primer containing the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.1. For example, the present promoter with an increased copy number of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.1 may be prepared by using the plasmid pGCRG1-1 or pGCRG1-2 containing the present promoter as a template and using as a primer an oligonucleotide selectively having the nucleotide sequence (SEQ ID:No.18 or SEQ ID:No.19) containing two or more than two, for example, 8 tandem repeats of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 and a primer having the nucleotide sequence complementary to a region located 3' downstream of the present promoter in a template plasmid, for example, an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:20. The desired gene can be expressed in a host cell by using a thus obtained present promoter. In this case, a chimeric gene having the present promoter and the desired gene (hereinafter referred to as the present chimeric gene) may be utilized. Here, "the desired gene" is a gene which is desired to be expressed in a host cell and an example thereof is a gene encoding an enzyme, a storage protein, a receptor, a transcription regulating factor, a signal transmitting factor or the like, and these genes may be ligated downstream of the present promoter in a sense direction or an anti-sense direction depending upon the object of present invention. The present chimeric gene may contain a terminator functional in a host cell as necessary. The terminator functional in a host cell is not limited to specified ones as long as it shows the termination activity in a host cell to be transformed and, in a case where a host cell is a plant cell, there are a terminator (NOS) of the nopaline synthase gene derived from the Ti-plasmid of Agrobacterium genus, a terminator derived from a plant virus such as garlic virus GV1, GV2 and the like. It is preferred that, in the present chimeric gene, the present promoter and the desired gene are usually ligated in a functional form. "In a functional form" herein means that, upon introduction of the present chimeric gene to transform a host cell, the desired gene contained in the chimeric gene is ligated to the present promoter and, if necessary the terminator such that the desired gene is expressed under the control of the present promoter and, if necessary, the terminator. In a vector having the present promoter, a vector is a DNA which can be replicated in a host cell and examples thereof are a plasmid, phage, phagemid and the like which can amplify in a host cell such as E. coli, yeast, plant cell, animal cell and the like. More particularly, there are pUC plasmid [pUC118, pUC119 (Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.) and the like], pSC101 plasmid, Ti-plasmid [pBI101, pBI121 (CLONTECH Co.) and the like], Bluescript phagemid [pBluescript SK(+/-) (STRATAGENE Co.) and the like], M13 phage [mp10, mpl 1 (Amersham Co.) and the like], λ phage [λ gt 10, gt 11 (Amersham Co.) and the like], cosmids [SuperCosI (STRATAGENE Co.) and the like] and the like, and a vector having the present promoter may be constructed by cloning the present promoter into such the vector using the conventional genetic engineering techniques. When a vector having the present promoter has further a cloning site and a terminator functional in a host cell, which is positioned 3' downstream of the promoter, this vector may be preferably utilized for constructing a vector for expressing the desired gene in a host cell. "Cloning site" herein is a nucleotide sequence which can be specifically recognized and cleaved by a restriction enzyme usually used in the genetic engineering techniques and a restriction enzyme recognition sequence which is uniquely present on a vector is preferable. It is preferable that such a cloning site, the present promoter and the terminator functional in a host cell are positioned such that the present promoter, the desired gene and the terminator functional in a host cell are functionally ligated on the vector upon insertion of the desired gene into the cloning site. In order to construct such a vector, a DNA fragment comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.1, and a DNA fragment comprising the nucleotide sequence represented by at least nucleotide numbers 112-246 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.2 or the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 186-282 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.3 may be inserted into a multiplecloning site of a plasmid containing the cloning site and a terminator functional in a host cell, more particularly, pBI101.3 (manufactured by CLONTECH Co.). Alternatively, the present promoter and a terminator functional in a host cell may be inserted into a multiplecloning site of a vector, more particularly, pBIN19 (Nuc. Acid. Res. 12:8711-8721(1984)) and the like. A vector having the present chimeric gene is suitable for introduction of the chimeric gene into a host cell, and may be prepared, for example, by cloning the chimeric gene into the aforementioned vector or cloning the desired gene into a cloning site of the aforementioned vector having the present promoter, the cloning site and a terminator functional in a host cell. A vector having the present chimeric gene may be prepared by removing a reporter gene (β-gluclonidase gene; hereinafter expressed as GUS gene) present on the aforementioned vector by cleaving the vector derived from, for example, pBI101.3 (manufactured by CLONTECH Co.) by using a suitable restriction enzyme, and inserting the desired gene in place of the reporter gene. The present vector may be introduced into a host cell derived from a microorganism such as E. coli, Agrobacterium or the like by a calcium chloride method, an electroporation method and the like described in, for example, J., Sambrook, E. F., Frisch, authored by T. Maniatis, Molcecular Cloning, 2nd edition (1989) (published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), further and a host cell into which the present vector was introduced is useful for preparation of the present chimeric gene and introduction of the present chimeric gene into other host cells. Alternatively, the present promoter may be introduced into a host cell derived from a plant by a particle bombardment method and the like. Alternatively, the present vector may be introduced into a host cell derived from a plant by the known method such as an Agrobacterium infection method, an electroporation method, a particle bombardment method or the like. As a plant into which the present promoter, the present chimeric gene or the present vector may be introduced to express the desired gene in a host cell under the control of the present promoter, there are monocotyledonous plants such as rice, maize, barley, wheat and the like, dicotyledonous plants, such as Leguminosae plants, such as soybean, garden pea, Phaseolus, alfalfa and the like, Solanaceae plants, such as tobacco, tomato, potato and the like, Brassica plants, such as cabbage, rapeseed, mustard and the like, Cucurbitaceae plants, such as melon, pumpkin, cucumber and the like, Umbelliferae plants, such as carrot, celery, Compositae plants, such as lettuce and the like. By introducing the present promoter, the present chimeric gene or the present vector into a host cell, for example, a transformant in which the present promoter is inserted upstream of the desired gene on the gemomic DNA and which expresses the gene under the control of the present promoter, a transformant in which the present chimeric gene is inserted into the genomic DNA and which expresses the desired gene contained in the chimeric gene under the control of the present promoter, a transformant which has the present vector in a host cell and expresses the desired gene contained in the vector under the control of the present promoter and the like are obtained. In order to obtain a transformed plant, a transformed plant cell may be redifferentiated according to a method used in the conventional plant tissue culturing techniques described in, for example, Plant Molecular Biology Manual, Kluwer Academic Publishers press (1988) authored by S.B.Gelvin, R.A.Schiperoot and D.P.S. Verma, Experimental Protocol of Model Plant (Section: Rice, Arabidopsis) (Shurei Co.) (ISBN-4-87962-157-9 C3345, 1996) p.p.78-143 editorially supervisioned by Ko Shimamoto, Kiyotaka Okada or Plant Gene Manupulation Manual, How to make transgenic plant (Kodansha Scientific) 1990, ISBN4-06-153513-7 C3045 p.p.28-33 authored by Hirofumi Uchimiya, to obtain a plant derived from the plant cell or a portion thereof. Further, by cultivating and selfing the plant obtained as described above, a progeny of the plant may be obtained. In the present invention, the transformant includes such the plant cell, plant and progeny. As described above, a transformant expressing the desired gene in a host cell under the control of the present promoter may be obtained. The useful trait may be imparted to a host cell by ligating the desired gene in a sense direction and expressing it in a host cell under the control of the present promoter. For example, the protein content and the essential amino acid content in feed crops may be increased by expressing a seed storage protein gene such as soybean glycinin gene, β-conglycinin gene, the methionine or cysteine content in feed crops may be increased by expressing a gene encoding a storage protein containing high methionine or cysteine such as the Barazil nuts 2S albumin gene, maize γ-zein gene and the like, the biotin content may be increased in feed crops by expressing a biotin biosynthesis-related enzyme gene such as bioA, bioB, bioC, bioF, bioH enzyme genes derived from a microorganism such as E. coli, a starch component in a rice seed may be altered by expressing an amylopectin synthesis-related enzyme gene such as rice α-1,4-glucan branching enzyme and the like, the improvement of lipid components by the promotion in the oxidation stability of a lipid, the decrease in a phospholipid and the increase in oleic acid and linolenic acid in edible crops becomes possible by expressing the soybean or rapeseed stearoyl-ACP-desaturase gene, acyl-ACP-thioesterase gene, the coconut 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate acyl transferase gene and the like, and the unsaturated fatty acid content may be increased or the resistance to low temperature of a plant may be increased by expressing the spinach glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase gene and the like. On the other hand, the useful trait may be imparted to a host cell by placing the desired gene in an anti-sense direction and expressing it in a host cell under the control of the present promoter. For example, a starch component in a rice seed may be improved by expressing an anti-sense gene of an amylopectin degrading enzyme gene such as the rice isomerase, the storage properties of fruit, flower and the like may be improved by expressing an anti-sense gene of the ethylene synthesizing enzyme gene such as pumpkin 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase and the like, and the storage properties of fruit may be improved by expressing an anti-sense gene of the tomato polygalacturonase gene. Further, the fertility of a plant may be controlled by expressing a sense or anti-sense gene of a male sterility-related gene such as S-locus type specific RNase gene involved in the plant self incompatibility. The present invention will be explained in more detail by way of Examples but is not limited to them. Example 1 (Construction of GUS expression plasmid) After 2 µg of the plasmid Gbox10/-90/GUS(described in JP-A-9-131187) was digested with restriction enzymes XbaI and BamHI, the digested fragments were separated by 0.8% agarose gel electrophoresis, and about 12 kbp DNA fragments (hereinafter referred to as G10-Xb-B fragment) were isolated and purified using a DNA purification kit (Prep-A-Gene DNA Purification Systems, manufactured by BIO-RAD). Similarly, after 2 µg of the plasmid -90/GUS (described in JP-A-9-131187) was digested with restriction enzymes XbaI and BamHI, the digested fragments were separated by 0.8% agarose gel electrophoresis, and about 12 kbp DNA fragments (hereinafter referred to as Xb-B fragment) were isolated and purified. On the other hand, oligonucleotides having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:Nos. 8-15 were synthesized using a DNA synthesizer (Applied Biosystems). A 150 bp DNA fragment (hereinafter referred to as CR16.1 fragment) having the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 112-246 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID: No.2 was prepared by performing PCR using the plasmid pCR16G1/Xb (described in JP-A-8-212680) as a template and using an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 8 and an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 9 as a primer. Similarly, a 208 bp DNA fragment (hereinafter referred to as CR16.2 fragment) having the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 54-246 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID: No.2 was prepared by performing PCR using an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 8 and an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 10 as a primer, and a 268 bp DNA fragment (herinafter referred to as CR16.3 fragment) having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID: No.2 was prepared by performing PCR using an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 8 and an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 11 as a primer. On the other hand, a 110 bp DNA fragment (referred to as GY1.1 fragment) having the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 186-282 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.3 was prepared by performing PCR using the plasmid pGY1 (Iida et al., Plant Cell Report 14:539-544 (1995)) as a template and using an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 12 and an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 13 as a primer. Similarly, a 170 bp DNA fragment (referred to as GY1.2 fragment) having the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 127-282 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.3 was prepared by performing PCR using an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 12 and an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 14 as a primer, and a 296 bp DNA fragment (referred to as GY1.3 fragment) having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.3 was prepared by performing PCR using an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 12 and an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No. 15 as a primer. The PCRs described above were all performed using TAKARA Taq polymerase (Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.) in a reaction solution comprising 10 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0, 50 mM KCl, 0.2 mM dNTP mixture solution (each containing 0.2 mM dATP, dGTP, dCTP, dTTP), each 0.5 µM primer, 0.1 µg template DNA, and 2.5 units of TAKARA Taq polymerase (Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.) and in total 30 cycles, each cycle comprising temperature maintaining at 94°C for 1 minutes, then at 55°C for 2 minutes, and at 72°C for 3 minutes. Each 1 µg of the amplified DNA fragment was digested with restriction enzymes XbaI and BamHI. Each 0.2 µg of thus obtained DNA fragment was mixed with 2 µg of above G10-Xb-B fragment and 2 µg of Xb-B fragment, respectively, and ligated using the ligation kit version 2 (manufactured by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.), which was introduced into E. coli strain HB101 (manufactured by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.). CR16.1 fragment, CR16.2 fragment or CR16.3 fragment was ligated with G10-Xb-B fragment, respectively, to construct the plasmid pGCRG1-1, pGCRG1-2 or pGCRG1-3 (Fig. 1). The plasmids pGGY1-1, pGGY1-2 or pGGY1-3 were constructed by ligating GY1.1 fragment, GY1.2 fragment or GY1.3 fragment with G10-Xb-B fragment, respectively (Fig. 2). The plasmids pCRG1-1, pCRG1-2 or pCRG1-3 were constructed by ligating CR16.1 fragment, CR16.2 fragment or CR16.3 fragment with Xb-B fragment, respectively (Fig. 3). The plasmids pGY1-1, pGY1-2 or pGY1-3 were constructed by ligating GY1.1 fragment, GY1.2 fragment or GY1.3 fragment with Xb-B fragment, respectively (Fig. 4). Further, about 630 bp DNA fragment was prepared by performing PCR using the plasmid pCR16G1-1 as a template and using an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.18 and an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.20 as a primer. Similarly, about 690 bp DNA fragment was prepared by performing PCR using pCR16G1-2 as a template and using an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.19 and an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.20 as a primer. Each of the thus obtained DNA fragments was digested with restriction enzymes HindIII and SnaBI. On the other hand, pG8CRG1-1 and pG8CRG1-2 were constructed by ligating the fragments obtained by digesting the plasmid pBI101.1 (manufactured by CLONTECH) with restriction enzymes HindIII and SnaBI and the PCR-amplified DNA fragments (630 bp or 690 bp) digested with HindIII and SnaBI using a T4 DNA polymerase (manufactured by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.) (Fig. 5). Example 2 (Preparation of plasmid DNA for gene introduction) Each E. coli strain HB101 containing the plasmids pGCRG1-1, pGCRG1-2, pGCRG1-3, pG8CRG1-1, pG8CRG1-2, pGGY1-1, pGGY1-2, pGGY1-3, pCRG1-1, pCRG1-2, pCRG1-3, pGY1-1, pGY1-2 or pGY1-3 obtained in Example 1 was inoculated in 200 ml of L medium containing 50 µg/ml kanamycin and cultured, and each plasmid DNA was purified using the commercially available purification kit (QIAGEN). Example 3 (Production of a transformant by an indirect introducing method) Each plasmid DNA purified in Example 2 was introduced by heat treatment (37°C for 5 minutes) into Agrobacterium (Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404) (showing streptomycin resistance and rifampicin resistance) (Hoekma et al. Nature, 303; 179-180 (1983)) which had been competent by trearing with 20 mM CaCl 2 . Transformants harboring the kanamycin resistance properties which are imparted by the NPTII gene on the plasmids (Trien-Cuot et al., Gene 23:331-341 (1983)) were selected in L agar medium containing 300 µg/ml streptomycin, 100 µg/ml rifampicin and 25 µg/ml kanamycin by culturing Agrobacterium treated with the plasmid. The resultant transformant of Agrobacterium was cultured overnight at 28°C in L medium containing 300 µg/ml streptomycin, 100 µg/ml rifampicin and 25 µg/ml kanamycin. The culture of resultant bacterium was used to infect tobacco leaf disks by the conventional method described in Plant Molecular Biology/Manual (1988) (published by Kluwer Academic Publishers) authored by S.B.Gelvin, R.A. Schilperoort and D.P.S.Verma, and Plant Gene Manupulation Manual, How to make Transgenic Plant (Kodansha Scientific), 1990, ISBN4-06-153513-7 C3045, p.p.28-33 authored by Hirofumi Uchimiya. After the leaf disks of the tobacco (SR-1) infected with Agrobacterium was cultured in the MS-NB agar medium for 4 days, they were transferred to the MS-NB agar medium containing 500 µg/ml cefotaxime to remove Agrobacterium. At 11 days after infection, they were transferred to the MS-NB agar medium containing 500 µg/ml cefotaxime and 100 µl/ml kanamycin and cultured. After about 4 weeks, a green young plant with stem and leaf differentiated was cut from the leaf disk, implanted on the MS-NB agar medium containing 500 µg/ml cefotaxime and 50 µg/ml kanamycin and selected a rooted young plant. The rooted young tobacco plant was transferred to soil to cultivate in a greenhouse. Example 4 (Confirmation of insertion of introduced gene in transformed plant) (1) Preparation of genomic DNA from transformed plant Genomic DNA was prepared from a leaf strip of the transformed tobacco plant obtained in Example 3 using a CTAB method described in Plant Gene Manupulation Manual, How to make Transgenic Plant (Kodansha Scientific), 1990, ISBN4-06-153513-7 C3045) p.p.71-74 authored by Hirofumi Uchimiya. After about 0.5g of the plant leaf strip was sufficiently ground in Eppendorf tube using a homogenizer, to the leaf homogenate was added 0.5 ml of 2 × CTAB solution (2% cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, 100 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 20 mM EDTA, 1.4M NaCl, 1% polyvinylpyrroridone (PVP)) which had previously been maintained at 65°C, which was maintained at 65°C for 5 minutes. To this was added 0.5 ml of a chloroform/isoamylalcohol (24:1) mixture, which was gently mixed for 5 minutes. The upper layer was taken by centrifuging at 12,000 rpm (10,000 × g) for 10 minutes, and 1/10 volume of 10% CTAB solution (10% cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, 0.7M NaCl) maintained at 65°C was added thereto, which was maintained at 65°C for 3 minutes. An equivalent volume of chloroform/isoamylalcohol (24:1) mixture was added to mix well, and the upper layer was taken. Two volumes of CTAB precipitate solution (1% cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 10 mM EDTA) was added, which was maintained at 65°C for 1 minute, centrifuged at 12,000 rpm (10,000 × g) to precipitate DNA. The precipitates were dissolved in 50 µl of high salt TE (10 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0, 1 mM EDTA, 1M NaCl), and 100 µl of ethanol was added to mix. The precipitates which had been obtained by centrifuging at 12,000 rpm (10,000 × g) for 15 minutes was dissolved in 50 µl TE (10 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0, 1 mM EDTA). To this was added RNaseA to 10 µg/ml, which was maintained at 37°C for 30 minutes, an equivalent volume of phenol/chlorofom/isoamylalcohol (25:24:1) mixture to mix well, and the upper layer was taken. To this were added 1/10 volume of 3M sodium acetate (pH 5.2) and 2.5 volume of ethanol to mix well, which was centrifuged at 12,000 rpm (10,000 × g) for 5 minutes to recover the precipitates, to obtain about 5 µg of genomic DNA. (2) Confirmation of insertion of introduced gene by PCR method PCR (total 30 cycles, each cycle comprising maintaining temperature at 94°C for 1 minute, then 2 minutes at 55°C, and further 3 minutes at 72°C) was performed using 50 ng of the genomic DNA obtained in (1) as a template and using an oligonucleotide having the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID:No.16 and an oligonuleotide shown by SEQ ID:17 as a primer. The resultant PCR product was analyzed by 4% agarose gel electrophoresis. As a result, amplification of about 500 bp DNA fragment was observed using tobacco genomic DNA into which the plasmid pGCRG1-1, pGCRG1-2, pGCRG1-3, pG8CRG1-1, pG8CR1-2, pGGY1-1, pGGY1-2, pGGY1-3, pCRG1-1, pCRG1-2, pCRG1-3, pGY1-1, pGY1-2 orgy1-3 had been introduced, respectively, and the existence of region from 3' terminal of GUS gene coding region to the terminator of nopaline synthase gene (NOS). Example 5 (Self-fertilization of transformant and development of genetically homogous line) The transformed tobacco, the existence of the introduced gene of which was confirmed in Example 4, was transferred to soil, and cultivated in a greenhouse. At the time of anthesis (flowering), plants were self-pollinated and seeds were obtained from matured flowers. The resultant seeds were sterilized in 1% sodium hypochlorite for 5 minutes, and seeded on MS agar medium containing 100 µg/ml kanamycin. A clone in which about 3/4 of the seeded seeds were germinated to growth was selected. The selected seed was seeded again on MS agar medium containing 100 µg/ml kanamycin, and a clone in which whole seeds were germinated was selected, which was used for the following experiment. Example 6 (Expression of GUS gene in each tissue of transformant) After the transformed tobacco seeds obtained in Example 5 (containing T-DNA region of the plasmid pGCRG1-1, pGCRG1-2, pGCRG1-3, pG8CRG1-1, pG8CRG1-2, pGGY1-1, pGGY1-2, pGGY1-3, pCRG1-1, pCRG1-2, pCRG1-1, pCRG1-3, pGY1-1, pGY1-2, orpGY1-3) and, as a control, untransformed tobacco SR-1 seed were sterilized in 1% sodium hypochlorite for 5 minutes, they were seeded on MS agar medium containing 100 µg/ml kanamycin or MS agar medium (in a case of SR-1 seed) and cultivated for about 2 weeks to obtain a seedling. About 200 mg of leaf and root of the resultant seedling (young plant) were ground using a pestle and a mortar in 300 µl of extraction buffer, and centrifuged at 12,000 rpm (10,000 × g). The resultant supernatant was used for measuring the GUS activity. A reaction solution obtained by adding 100 µl of 5 mM 4-methylumbelliferyl-D-glucronide (MUG) to 400 µl of extraction buffer was maintained at 37°C and 10 µl of the supernatant was added. 100 µl of the reaction solution was taken at every 15 minutes, and the reaction was stopped by the addition of 900 µl of 0.2M calcium carbonate. The fluorescence of the sample thus obtained with time was measured using a fluorometer. The fluorescence analysis was performed at 365 nm excition and 455 nm emission and 0-50 ng/ml concentration of 4-methyl-umbelliferone (4-MU) was used as a standard. The protein content in the extraction solution of each plant sample was measured using Protein Assay Kit (Bio Rad) and specific activity per protein was calculated. The results of measured GUS activity of cotyledon, root and seed of each of 10 transformed tobacco lines with the present plasmid introduced and untransformed tobacco SR-1 used as a control are shown in Table 1. In addition, each transformed tobacco was transferred to soil and cultivated in a greenhouse. Pollen was obtained from flowers at the time of anthesis. Regarding a seed and pollen of each of 5 transformed tobacco lines and untransformed tobacco SR-1 used as a control, expression of the GUS gene was examined according to a staining method described in Plant Gene Manupulation Manual, How to make Transgenic Plant (Kodansha Scientific), 1990, ISBN4-06-153513-7 C3045 p.p.68-70 authored by Hirofumi Uchimiya and Plant Mol. Biol. Rep. 5:387-405 (1987) authored by by Jefferson. The results are shown in Table 2. GUS specific activity in various tissues Introduced Plasmid GUS Specific Activity Seed Leaf Root pCRG1-1 - - - pGCRG1-1 (Present Invention) + + + + + + pCRG1-2 - - - pGCRG1-2 (Present Invention) + + + + + + pCRG1-3 - - + pGCRG1-3 (Present Invention) + + + + + + + pG8CRG1-1 (Present Invention) + + + + + + + + pG8CRG1-2 (Present Invention) + + + + + + + + + + pGY1-1 - - - pGGY1-1 (Present Invention) + + + + + - pGY1-2 - - - pGGY1-2 (Present Invention) + + + + + - pGY1-3 + + - - pGGY1-3 (Present Invention) + + + + + - - (Control) - - - -(Control): Untransformed tobacco SR-1 Number of + : showing the highness of the GUS specific activity GUS stainability in seed and pollen Introduced Plasmid GUS Stainability Seed Pollen pCRG1-1 - - pGCRG1-1 (Present Invention) + + + + + + + pCRG1-2 - - pGCRG1-2 (Present Invention) + + + + + + + + pCRG1-3 - + pGCRG1-3 (Present Invention) + + + + pGY1-1 - - pGGY1-1 (Present Invention) + + + + + + + pGY1-2 - - pGGY1-2 (Present Invention) + + + + + + pGY1-3 + + - pGGY1-3 (Present Invention) + + + + - -(Control): Untransformed tobacco SR-1 Highness of staining:+ + + + (Particularly dense), + + + (Dense), + + (Intermediately dense), + (Dilute), - (No) Compositions of the media used in Examples are shown below. MS Agar Medium 34.7g of MURASHIGE AND SKOOG (Flow Laboratories) was dissolved in 1L of distilled water, which was adjusted to pH 5.8 with 1 M KOH, 8g of agar was added thereto, and sterilized by autoclaving. MS-NB Agar Medium A medium with 0.1 mg/mL of 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 1.0 mg/mL of 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) added L Medium 10g of bactotrypton (Dfcio), 5 g of bactoyeast extract (Difco), and 10g of NaCl were dissolved in 1L of distilled water, adjusted to pH 7.0 with 5M NaOH, and sterilized by autoclaving. Reaction Extraction Solution for Measuring GUS Activity Solution containing 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), 10 mM EDTA, 0.1% Triton X-100, 0.1% sarkosyl, and 10 mM 2-mercaptoethanol. According to the present invention, there becomes possible to provide a compact promoter suitable for specifically expressing the desired gene in the seed and pollen in a host plant. SEQUENCE LISTING <110> Fumiharu ISHIGE et al.; Sumitomo Chemical Company Limited <120> Plant promoter <130> P149405 <150> JP 10/200372 <151> 1998-07-15 <160> 17 <210>1 1 <211> 10 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 1 <210> 2 <211> 246 <212> DNA <213> Daucus carota L. <400> 2 <210> 3 <211> 282 <212> DNA <213> Glycin max cv. Williams <400> 3 <210> 4 <211> 46 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 4 <210> 5 <211> 46 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 1 <210> 6 <211> 140 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 1 <210> 7 <211> 140 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 7 <210> 8 <211> 28 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 1 <210> 9 <211> 25 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 1 <210> 10 <211> 26 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 10 <210> 11 <211> 19 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 11 <210> 12 <211> 22 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 22 <210> 13 <211> 25 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 13 <210> 14 <211> 25 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 14 <210> 15 <211> 25 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 15 <210> 16 <211> 22 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 16 <210> 17 <211>21 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 17 <210> 18 <211> 118 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 18 <210> 19 <211> 119 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 19 <210> 20 <211> 26 <212> DNA <213> Artificial Sequence <400> 20

Claims: A promoter which is characterized in that it comprises the DNA sequence (a) or (b) and a DNA comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO:1, wherein (a) is a DNA sequence comprising the nucleotide sequence by at least nucleotide numbers 112-246 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 2, and (b) is a DNA sequence consisting of the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 186-282 or nucleotide numbers 127-282 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 3. The promoter according to claim 1, wherein (a) is a DNA sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 112-246, nucleotide numbers 54-246 or nucleotide numbers 1-246 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO:2. The promoter of claim 1 or 2, wherein the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ IDNO:1 is positioned 5' upstream of the DNA sequence (a) or (b). The promoter of any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises two or more than two copies of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO:1. The promoter of any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises 4 or 8 copies of the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO:1. A chimeric gene characterized in that it comprises the promoter of any one of claims 1 to 5 and a desired gene. A vector characterized in that it comprises the promoter of any one of claims 1 to 5. The vector of claim 7, characterized in that it has a cloning site and a terminator functional in a host cell, which is positioned 3' downstream of the promoter. A vector characterized in that it comprises the chimeric gene of claim 6. A non-human transformant characterized in that it contains the promoter of any one of claims 1 to 5, the chimeric gene of claim 6 or the vector of any one of claims 7 to 9. The transformant of claim 10, which is a microorganism. The transformant of claim 10, which is a plant cell. A method for expressing a gene, which is characterized by comprising a step of expressing the desired gene in a host cell under the control of the promoter of any one of claims 1 to 5. Use of the promoter of any one of claims 1to 5 for controlling the expression of a desired gene in a host cell. A method for producing a promoter, which is characterized by comprising a step of ligating a DNA comprising the DNA sequence (a) or (b) and a DNA comprising the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 in a functional form in a host cell, wherein (a) is a DNA sequence comprising the nucleotide sequence represented by at least nucleotide numbers 112-246 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO:2, and (b) is a DNA sequence consisting of the nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 186-282 or nucleotide numbers 127-282 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO:3. The method according to claim 15, wherein (a) is a nucleotide sequence represented by nucleotide numbers 112-246, nucleotide numbers 54-246 or nucleotide numbers 1-246 within the nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO:2.

Inventors: ISHIGE FUMIHARU, NISHIKAWA SATOMI, OEDA KENJI, ISHIGE, FUMIHARU, NISHIKAWA, SATOMI, OEDA, KENJI
Applicants: SUMITOMO CHEMICAL CO, SUMITOMO CHEMICAL COMPANY, LIMITED
Application year: 1999
Main classification: C12N15
IPC codes: C12N15