Tissue-specific and light-dependent expression within a family of nuclear-encoded sigma-like factors from Zea mays.

The principal transcription machinery functioning in chloroplasts of higher plants is encoded in two subcellular compartments. Subunits of the RNA polymerase catalytic core are plastid encoded, while sigma factors required for promoter recognition are encoded in the nucleus. We have isolated nuclear-encoded cDNAs, sig1, sig2, and sig3, specifying three sigma factors from maize (Zea mays). The three deduced polypeptides have extensive sequence identity with the principal sigma factors of eubacteria. Two of the maize cDNAs, sig1 and sig3, encode NH2-terminal transit peptides which direct the uptake of a heterologous protein into chloroplasts in vitro. Transcripts for the sig3 gene were more abundant in green leaves than in roots and in light-treated seedlings than in dark-grown seedlings. In contrast, sig1 transcripts were readily detectable in all tissues examined. Thus, at least two promoter-selectivity factors function with the maize chloroplast RNA polymerase, one of which is constitutively expressed and the other is light activated.