Skip Navigation



JXB Advance Access published online on April 25, 2005
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/eri159
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
56/416/1635    most recent
eri159v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Garoosi, G. A.
Right arrow Articles by Tomsett, A. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Garoosi, G. A.
Right arrow Articles by Tomsett, A. B.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Garoosi, G. A.
Right arrow Articles by Tomsett, A. B.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author [2005]. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology]. All rights reserved.
Received September 6, 2004
Accepted March 11, 2005

RESEARCH PAPER

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

G. Ali Garoosi 1, Michael G. Salter 2, Mark X. Caddick 3, and A. Brian Tomsett 3*

1 School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK; Present address: Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Imam Khomeini International University, PO Box 288, Qazvin, Iran
2 School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK; Present address: The Department of Cell Physiology and Pharmacology, Room 329 Maurice Shock Building, The University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 9HN, UK.
3 School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
A. Brian Tomsett, E-mail: tomsett{at}liverpool.ac.uk


  Abstract

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 {beta}-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.

Keywords: Aspergillus nidulans; chemically inducible expression; ethanol; plant expression system; tomato.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.