Rice ubiquitin-derived promoters

摘要

Four rice ubiquitin genes have been sequenced, including the promoter region. Among the four promoters, two belong to a class known as polyubiquitin genes and two to the class of ubiquitin fusion genes. The two polyubiquitin genes both comprise of 6 ubiquitin-monomers in the coding region. Promoters isolated from the polyubiquitin genes were shown to drive strong constitutive expression in transformed rice plants. Expression of the one polyubiquitin gene was induced by heat-shock treatment. The ubiquitin promoters can be used to drive expression of structural genes including but not limited to genes for herbicide resistance, resistance to pests, and tolerance to drought or other adverse environmental conditions.