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JXB Advance Access originally published online on April 25, 2005
Journal of Experimental Botany 2005 56(416):1635-1642; doi:10.1093/jxb/eri159
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© The Author [2005]. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology]. All rights reserved.

RESEARCH PAPER

Characterization of the ethanol-inducible alc gene expression system in tomato

G. Ali Garoosi *, Michael G. Salter {dagger}, Mark X. Caddick and A. Brian Tomsett{ddagger}

School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK

{ddagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax: +44 (0)151 795 4410. E-mail: tomsett{at}liverpool.ac.uk

The efficacy of the ethanol-inducible alc transgene expression system, derived from the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans, has been demonstrated in transgenic tomato. Two direct comparisons have been made. First, this study has utilized two transgenic lines carrying distinct reporter genes (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase and ß-glucuronidase) to distinguish aspects of induction determined by the nature of the gene/gene product rather than that of the plant. Second, comparisons have been made to data generated in other species in order to identify any species-specific effects. The induction profiles for different genes in different species have shown remarkable similarity indicating the broad applicability of this gene switch. While there are minor differences observed between species, these probably arise from diversity in their metabolism. A series of potential alternative inducers have also been tested, revealing that ethanol (through metabolism to acetaldehyde) is better than other alcohols and ketones included in this study. Expression driven by alc was demonstrated to vary spatially, the upper younger leaves having higher activity than the lower older leaves; this will be important for some applications, and for experimental design. The highest levels of activity from ethanol-inducible transgene expression were determined to be the equivalent of those from the constitutive Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S promoter. This suggests that the alc system could be an important tool for plant functional genomics.

Key words: Aspergillus nidulans, chemically inducible expression, ethanol, plant expression system, tomato


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