Compatibility of translational enhancers with various plant species

Abstract

Translational enhancers are effective tools to increase the expression level of transgenes in plant cells, and some candidate elements are in use today. However, knowledge about suitable elements for a given plant species are limited. We aim here to make a catalogue of translational enhancers, and evaluated the effectiveness of 5′-UTRs of Nicotiana tabacum alcohol dehysrogenase gene (NtADH 5′-UTR), Arabidopsis thaliana ADH gene (AtADH 5′-UTR), Oryza sativa ADH gene (OsADH 5′-UTR), Ω derived from tobacco mosaic virus, and tobacco etch virus leader (TEVL) in various plant species. We found that the OsADH 5′-UTR is functional in all plant species tested, and that Ω and TEVL are effective in eudicots but not in monocots. From these results, we speculate that the degree of translational enhancement of any element in a given plant species is closely correlated with the phylogenic position of the species.