[Cloning of ACA gene promoter and preliminary study of its function]

Using total DNA isolated from Amaranthus caudatus as the template, a DNA fragment of about 700bp upstream of the coding sequence of Amaranthus caudatus agglutinin (ACA) gene was amplified by TAIL-PCR and cloned. To examine the regulatory function of this DNA fragment, it was inserted into a plant expression vector containing GUS gene to substitute the CaMV 35S promoter and the resulted recombinant plasmid was designated as pBpAG. The expression vector pBpAG was transferred to different tissues of plants, via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in vacuum condition. Transient expression of GUS in the transformed tissues was detected by histochemical GUS staining and the results showed that the GUS activity was expressed specifically in seeds. These preliminary results indicate that this DNA fragment upstream of the ACA coding sequence could very possibly be a promoter with seed specificity. Some putative cis-elements within the promoter were discussed.