Isolation and functional assessment of a tomato proteinase inhibitor II gene

A genomic clone encoding a serine proteinase inhibitor II, designated as TPI-2, was isolated from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) seedling. It consisted of a 990 bp upstream regulatory region and a 680 bp transcription region containing an intron. As shown by northern hybridization, mechanical injury activated its expression in roots, stems and leaves, and so did exogenous hormones jasmonic acid (JA) and alpha-Linolenic acid (LA), though abscisic acid (ABA) and NaCl failed to induce its expression. Salicylic acid (SA) was found to inhibit the inducing effect of LA but not those of mechanical injury and JA. As demonstrated experimentally, TPI-2 could be expressed effectively in tobacco cells and the protein products showed insecticidal activity.