Provided are constructs and methods for expressing a transgene in plant cells and/or plant tissues using Zea mays chlorophyll a/b binding gene regulatory elements.
1. A gene expression cassette comprising a promoter operably linked to a heterologous nucleic acid, wherein the promoter comprises a polynucleotide comprising a sequence identity of at least 90% to SEQ ID NO:2.
2. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein the polynucleotide has at least 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:2.
3. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein the polynucleotide comprises an intron.
4. The gene expression cassette of claim 3 , wherein the intron has at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:5.
5. the gene expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein the polynucleotide has at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ D NO: 1.
6. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein the operably linked nucleic acid encodes a polypeptide or a small RNA.
7. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid is selected from the group consisting of a nucleic acid conferring insecticidal resistance, a nucleic acid conferring herbicide tolerance, a nucleic acid conferring nitrogen use efficiency, a nucleic acid conferring water use efficiency, a nucleic acid conferring nutritional quality, a nucleic acid encoding a DNA binding protein, and a nucleic acid encoding a selectable marker.
8. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 further comprising a 3′-untranslated region.
9. The gene expression cassette of claim 8 , wherein the 3′-untranslated region has at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:7 or SEQ ID NO;8.
10. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 further comprising a 5′-untranslated regions, wherein the 5′-UTR has at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:19 .
11. A recombinant vector comprising the gene expression cassette of claim 1 ,wherein the vector is selected from the group consisting of a plasmid, a cosmid, a bacterial artificial chromosome, a virus, and a bacteriophage.
12. A transgenic cell comprising the gene expression cassette of claim 1 .
13. The transgenic cell of claim 12 , wherein the transgenic cell is a transgenic plant cell.
14. A transgenic plant comprising the transgenic plant cell of claim 13 .
15. The transgenic plant of claim 14 , wherein the transgenic plant is a monocotyledonous plant or dicotyledonous plant.
16. The transgenic plant of claim 15 , wherein the monocotyledonous plant is selected from the group consisting of a maize plant, a rice plant, and a wheat plant.
17. A transgenic seed from the transgenic plant of claim 14 , wherein the seed comprises the gene expression cassette.
18. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein the promoter is a tissue-preffered promoter.
19. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein the tissue-preferred promoter is a leaf, husk, stem or silk tissue-preferred promoter.
20. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein the promoter comprises the polynucleotide sequence of nucleotides 1-1,887 of SEQ ID NO: 2.
21. A method for expressing a coding sequence in a transgenic plant, the method comprising:
a) transforming a plant cell with a gene expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide sequence comprising a sequence identity of at least 90% to SEQ ID NO:2 operably linked to a heterologous coding sequence, which is operably linked to a 3′-untranslated region;
b) isolating the transformed plant cell comprising the gene expression cassette;
c) regenerating a transgenic plant from the transformed plant cell; and,
d) obtaining the transgenic plant, wherein the transgenic plant expresses the coding sequence.
22. A method for manufacturing a synthetic polynucleotide sequence comprising a sequence identity of at least 90% to SEQ ID NO:2, the method comprising:
a) isolating a nucleic acid comprising a polynucleotide sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:2;
b) producing a plurality of oligonucleotide primer sequences, wherein the oligonucleotide primer sequences bind to the nucleic acid under stringent hybridization conditions;
c) ligating the plurality of oligonucleotide primer sequences to synthesize a synthetic polynucleotide sequence; and,
d) sequencing the resulting synthetic polynucleotide to confirm that it comprises at least 90% identity to SEQ ID NO:2.