Abstract
We isolated promoter sequences of the Cry j 1 gene-which encodes an allergenic protein in the pollen of Japanese cedar-by an inverse-PCR technique using genomic DNA as the template. One of the isolated promoter sequences conferred pollen-associated expression on a fusion construct that included a gene for β-glucuronidase (GUS) in transgenic tobacco plants. Histochemical analysis of GUS expression using four deletion mutants of this promoter sequence revealed that expression differed among pollen grains at different stages of maturation and that a 223-bp 5’-untranslated region of the gene was sufficient for spatial and temporal expression of the gene in pollen and pollen tubes. Our results indicate that the promoter sequence might be adequate for active pollen-associated expression in tobacco, as it is in Cryptomeria japonica.
