MODIFICATION OF VACUOLAR CHITINASE AND OSMOTIN CDNAS OF TOBACCO FOR EXTRACELLULAR SECRETION AND THEIR CLONING WITH CAMV 35S PROMOTER

Complete coding region clones of basic chitinase and osmotin genes wer e obtained using PCR from cDNAs previously isolated from tobacco flora l bud day 7 (Fb7) explants. These genes code for vacuolar forms of chi tinase and osmotin. To secrete their protein products extracellularly, stop codons were introduced into the cDNAs before the vacuolar target ting signal using PCR. Constructs have been made with both, full lengt h cDNAs and truncated cDNAs of chitinase and osmotin for plant transfo rmation in Agrobacterium binary vector pGA 470 in which these cDNAs ar e under the control of CaMV 35S promoter.