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Characterization of the mannan synthase promoter from guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba)

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Abstract

Guar seed gum, consisting primarily of a high molecular weight galactomannan, is the most cost effective natural thickener, having broad applications in the food, cosmetics, paper, pharmaceutical and petroleum industries. The properties of the polymer can potentially be enhanced by genetic modification. Development of suitable endosperm-specific promoters for use in guar is desirable for metabolic engineering of the seed gum. A ~1.6 kb guar mannan synthase (MS) promoter region has been isolated. The MS promoter sequence was fused with the GUS reporter gene and overexpressed in the heterologous species alfalfa (Medicago sativa). The potential strength and specificity of the MS promoter was compared with those of the constitutive 35S promoter and the seed specific β-phaseolin promoter. Quantitative GUS assays revealed that the MS promoter directs GUS expression specifically in endosperm in transgenic alfalfa. Thus, the guar MS promoter could prove generally useful for directing endosperm-specific expression of transgenes in legume species.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Timothy C. Hall (Texas A&M University, College Station, TX) for providing the bean β-phaseolin promoter, Sarah Bay for assistance in collecting seeds and their separation from different tissues, and Dr. Zengyu Wang for critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by a grant to RAD from Halliburton Energy Services.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Biology Division, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, 2510 Sam Noble Parkway, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA

    Marina Naoumkina & Richard A. Dixon

  2. United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Southern Regional Research Center, 1100 Robert E Lee Blvd, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70124, USA

    Marina Naoumkina

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  1. Marina Naoumkina
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  2. Richard A. Dixon
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Correspondence to Richard A. Dixon.

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Communicated by P. Ozias-Akins.

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Naoumkina, M., Dixon, R.A. Characterization of the mannan synthase promoter from guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba). Plant Cell Rep 30, 997–1006 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-011-1003-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-011-1003-4

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