Investigating Triticeae anther gene promoter activity in transgenic Brachypodium distachyon

• Published in: Planta Vol. 245; no. 2; pp. 385 - 396
• Main Authors: Zaidi, Mohsin A., O’Leary, Stephen J. B., Wu, Shaobo, Chabot, Denise, Gleddie, Steve, Laroche, André, Eudes, François, Robert, Laurian S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Science + Business Media 01-02-2017; Springer Berlin Heidelberg; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acyltransferases - genetics; Acyltransferases - metabolism; Agriculture; Allergens; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Brachypodium; Brachypodium - genetics; Brachypodium distachyon; Ecology; Flowers - genetics; Forestry; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Life Sciences; ORIGINAL ARTICLE; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Plant Sciences; Plants, Genetically Modified; Poaceae - genetics; Pollen; Pollen - genetics; Pollen - growth & development; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Triticeae; Triticum aestivum; Tapetum; Pollen; Promoter analysis; Wheat; Green fluorescent protein; Triticale
• ISSN: 0032-0935; 1432-2048
• DOI: 10.1007/s00425-016-2612-5

There remains a vast gap in our knowledge of the promoter cis-acting elements responsible for the transcriptional regulation of Triticeae anther-specific genes. In an attempt to identify conserved cis-elements, 14 pollen-specific and 8 tapetum-specific Triticeae putative promoter sequences were analyzed using different promoter sequence analysis tools. Several cis-elements were found to be enriched in these sequences and their possible role in gene expression regulation in the anther is discussed. Despite the fact that potential cis-acting elements can be identified within putative promoter sequence datasets, determining whether particular promoter sequences can in fact direct proper tissue-specific and developmental gene expression still needs to be confirmed via functional assays preferably performed in closely related plants. Transgenic functional assays with Triticeae species remain challenging and Brachypodium distachyon may represent a suitable alternative. The promoters of the triticale pollen-specific genes group 3 pollen allergen (PAL3) and group 4 pollen allergen (PAL4), as well as the tapetum-specific genes chalcone synthase-like 1 (CHSL1), from wheat and cysteine-rich protein 1 (CRP1) from triticale were fused to the green fluorescent protein gene (GFP) and analyzed in transgenic Brachypodium. This report demonstrates that this model species could serve to accelerate the functional analysis of Triticeae anther-specific gene promoters.