ortholog of () promoter exhibits floral-specific activity in .

BACKGROUND

L., a perennial oilseed plant, is considered as a promising feedstock for biodiesel production. Genetic modification of flowering characteristics is critical for breeding. However, analysis of floral-specific promoters in is limited.

METHODS

In this study, we isolated the ortholog of () gene from flower cDNA library and detected the expression pattern of gene by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). We isolated a 1.8-kb fragment from the 5' region of the gene and evaluated its spatiotemporal expression pattern in using the - () reporter gene and () gene, respectively.

RESULTS

was identified as a flower-specific gene in . As expected, promoter was only active in transgenic flowers with the strongest activity in stamens. Moreover, transgenic showed a phenotype of large flowers without any alterations in other organs. Furthermore, deletion of the region from -1,717 to -876 bp resulted in the disappearance of promoter activity in stamens but an increase in promoter activity in young leaves, sepals, and petals. Deletion analysis suggests that the -1,717- to -876-bp promoter fragment contains regulatory elements that confer promoter activity in stamens and inhibit activity in young leaves, sepals, and petals.