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A promoter analysis of MOTHER OF FT AND TFL1 1 (JcMFT1), a seed-preferential gene from the biofuel plant Jatropha curcas

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Abstract

MOTHER OF FT AND TFL1 (MFT)-like genes belong to the phosphatidylethanoamine-binding protein (PEBP) gene family in plants. In contrast to their homologs FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT)-like and TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1)-like genes, which are involved in the regulation of the flowering time pathway, MFT-like genes function mainly during seed development and germination. In this study, a full-length cDNA of the MFT-like gene JcMFT1 from the biodiesel plant Jatropha curcas (L.) was isolated and found to be highly expressed in seeds. The promoter of JcMFT1 was cloned and characterized in transgenic Arabidopsis. A histochemical β-glucuronidase (GUS) assay indicated that the JcMFT1 promoter was predominantly expressed in both embryos and endosperms of transgenic Arabidopsis seeds. Fluorometric GUS analysis revealed that the JcMFT1 promoter was highly active at the mid to late stages of seed development. After seed germination, the JcMFT1 promoter activity decreased gradually. In addition, both the JcMFT1 expression in germinating Jatropha embryos and its promoter activity in germinating Arabidopsis embryos were induced by abscisic acid (ABA), possibly due to two ABA-responsive elements, a G-box and an RY repeat, in the JcMFT1 promoter region. These results show that the JcMFT1 promoter is seed-preferential and can be used to control transgene expression in the seeds of Jatropha and other transgenic plants.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Top Science and Technology Talents Scheme of Yunnan Province (2009CI123), the Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan Province (2011FA034) and the CAS 135 program (XTBG-T02) to Z.-F. Xu. The authors gratefully acknowledge the Central Laboratory of the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden for providing the research facilities.

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  1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Plant Resource and Sustainable Use, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Yunnan, 666303, China

    Yan-Bin Tao, Liang-Liang He, Jun Ni & Zeng-Fu Xu

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yan-Bin Tao

  3. Key Laboratory of Gene Engineering of Ministry of Education and State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, Guangdong, China

    Li Luo

  4. School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230027, China

    Liang-Liang He & Jun Ni

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  1. Yan-Bin Tao
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Correspondence to Zeng-Fu Xu.

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Z.-F. Xu is a non-member of the Botanical Society of Japan.

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Tao, YB., Luo, L., He, LL. et al. A promoter analysis of MOTHER OF FT AND TFL1 1 (JcMFT1), a seed-preferential gene from the biofuel plant Jatropha curcas . J Plant Res 127, 513–524 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-014-0639-x

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