ANALYSIS OF KAFIRIN PROMOTER ACTIVITY IN TRANSGENIC TOBACCO SEEDS

Sequences corresponding to 855 bp of 5' promoter region and the transi t peptide from lambda GK.1, a genomic clone encoding a 22 kDa alpha-ka firin seed protein from sorghum, were translationally fused to a clone d beta-glucuronidase (GUS) coding sequence from uidA and transferred t o tobacco via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. No GU S expression was detectable at any stage of growth in stems or leaves of these plants. However, GUS expression was detected in both embryo a nd endosperm tissues of resulting tobacco seeds 10-15 days after flowe ring. Dissected tissues indicate endosperm expression was localized wi thin the bulk endosperm and not within the parenchyma cell layer under lying the integument. These studies also demonstrate that within disse cted tobacco embryos, expression from the kafirin promoter was restric ted to the mesocotyl region.