Plant promoter for transgene expression
This disclosure concerns compositions and methods for promoting transcription of a nucleotide sequence in a plant or plant cell, employing a promoter from a Zea mays KN1 gene. Some embodiments relate to a promoter from a Zea mays KN1 gene that functions in plants to promote transcription of operably linked nucleotide sequences.
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 97% to SEQ ID NO:1.
2. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein the polynucleotide further comprises an intron.
3. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein the polynucleotide further comprises a 5′ UTR.
4. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein the heterologous nucleic acid is operably linked to a 3′ UTR.
5. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein the operably linked heterologous nucleic acid encodes a polypeptide or a small RNA gene.
6. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein the heterologous nucleic acid is selected from the group consisting of a heterologous nucleic acid conferring insecticidal resistance, a heterologous nucleic acid conferring herbicide tolerance, a heterologous nucleic acid conferring nitrogen use efficiency, a heterologous nucleic acid conferring water use efficiency, a heterologous nucleic acid conferring nutritional quality, a heterologous nucleic acid encoding a DNA binding protein, and a heterologous nucleic acid encoding a selectable marker.
7. 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.
8. A transgenic cell comprising the gene expression cassette of claim 1 .
9. The transgenic cell of claim 8 , wherein the transgenic cell is a transgenic plant cell.
10. A transgenic plant comprising the transgenic cell of claim 8 .
11. The transgenic plant of claim 10 , wherein the transgenic plant is a monocotyledonous plant or dicotyledonous plant.
12. The transgenic plant of claim 11 , wherein the monocotyledonous plant is selected from the group consisting of a maize plant, a rice plant, and a wheat plant.
13. A transgenic seed from the transgenic plant of claim 10 , wherein the seed comprises the gene expression cassette.
14. The gene expression cassette of claim 10 , wherein the promoter drives expression of the heterologous nucleic acid in reproductive meristematic tissue.
15. The gene expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein the promoter comprises the polynucleotide sequence of nucleotides 1 to 1,407 of SEQ ID NO:1.
16. 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 97% to SEQ ID NO:1 operably linked to the 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.
17. A method for manufacturing a synthetic polynucleotide sequence comprising a sequence identity of at least 97% to SEQ ID NO:1, the method comprising:
a) isolating a nucleic acid comprising a polynucleotide sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:1;
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 97% identity to SEQ ID NO:1.