THE MAIZE GAPC4 PROMOTER CONFERS ANAEROBIC REPORTER GENE-EXPRESSION AND SHOWS HOMOLOGY TO THE MAIZE ANTHOCYANIN REGULATORY LOCUS C1

The cytosolic glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GapC) gene fam ily of maize is differentially expressed in response to anaerobic stre ss. While GapC1 and GapC2 are downregulated, GapC3 and GapC4 are anaer obically induced. We have sequenced and analyzed a 3073 bp promoter fr agment of GapC4. The promoter confers anaerobic induction of a reporte r gene construct in a transient gene expression system in maize. Delet ion analysis of the GapC4 promoter revealed a 270 bp long DNA region r equired for anaerobic induction. This region contains sequence motifs resembling the cis-acting sequences of the anaerobically induced maize Adh1 and Adh2 genes. Furthermore, the 3073 bp GapC4 promoter fragment displays homology to long terminal repeats of maize retrotransposons and to the 3' region of the maize anthocyanin regulatory locus C1.