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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Lignin Down-regulation of Zea mays via dsRNAi and Klason Lignin Analysis
Published on: July 23, 2014
Intron enhancement of gene expression and the splicing efficiency of introns in maize cells
1Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, CA 94305.
Abstract:
The inclusion of the alcohol dehydrogenase 1-S(Adh 1-S) intron 1 in the transcription unit of maize gene constructs has been shown to increase gene expression in cultured maize cells. We have extended these studies with Adh1-S intron 1 using the firefly luciferase, Escherichia coli beta-glucuronidase and chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter genes adjoined to different plant promoters and find enhancement of transient gene expression in all cases but one. We also show that the enhancement phenomenon can be mediated by the third intron of the maize actin gene. In all cases tested, the inclusion of an intron results in increased levels of steady-state RNA. The degree of enhancement depends on the exon sequences flanking the intron; flanking exons also influence the efficiency of intron splicing. Unexpectedly, unspliced RNAs accumulate during the transient assay.
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