NOVEL HSF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS AND USE THEREOF IN TRANSGENIC PLANTS

摘要

The invention relates to a transcription factor called HaHSFA10 which has been cloned in the inventor's laboratory and which is expressed specifically in the zygotic embryos of sunflower seeds. Moreover, HaHSFA10 is capable of transcriptionally activating promoters of sHSP (small Heat Shock Protein) genes which are expressed during embryogenesis in the sunflower (Helianthus annuus). The structure of the Heat Shock cis Elements present in the aforementioned promoters was used to define the necessary requirements for transcriptional activation by HaHSFA10 and to confirm the presence of HSFs (Heat Shock transcription Factors) that are functionally equivalent to HaHSFA10 in other plants such as tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). As a result, HaHSFA10 (or equivalent HSFs) can be used in order specifically to alter the expression of genes regulated by any of said factors (e.g. the above-mentioned sHSPs) in seeds of different species of transgenic plants.