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Tissue-dependent enhancement of transgene expression by introns of replacement histone H3 genes of Arabidopsis

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Abstract

Intron-bearing replacement histone H3 genes in Arabidopsis and other plants are highly and constitutively expressed. We demonstrate that the introns located within the 5′-untranslated regions (5′-UTR) of the two Arabidopsis replacement H3 genes will abolish the cell cycle dependence of an endogenous histone H4 promoter. We demonstrate that these introns, functionally combined with their endogenous promoters, could produce the high and constitutive expression of the replacement H3 genes observed in planta. They strongly increase gene expression whatever the promoter, from the strong 35S CaMV promoter to complete and resected promoters of cell cycle-dependent and replacement histone genes. Quantitative analysis of the extent of reporter gene enhancement in different parts of developing transgenic plantlets, ranging from 2-fold to 70-fold, supports the notion that trans-acting factors are responsible for this effect. Such factors appear most abundant in roots.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes, CNRS, Université Louis Pasteur, 12 rue du Général Zimmer, 67084, Strasbourg Cedex, France

    Nicole Chaubet-Gigot, Martine Flenet & Claude Gigot

  2. Division of Cell Biology and Biophysics, School of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Room 1414 BSB, 5100 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO, 64110-2499, USA

    Tamas Kapros, Katherine Kahn & Jakob H. Waterborg

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  1. Nicole Chaubet-Gigot
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  2. Tamas Kapros
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  3. Martine Flenet
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  4. Katherine Kahn
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  5. Claude Gigot
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  6. Jakob H. Waterborg
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Chaubet-Gigot, N., Kapros, T., Flenet, M. et al. Tissue-dependent enhancement of transgene expression by introns of replacement histone H3 genes of Arabidopsis. Plant Mol Biol 45, 17–30 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006487023926

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