Differential gene expression of ARGININE DECARBOXYLASE ADC1 and ADC2 in Arabidopsis thaliana: characterization of transcriptional regulation during seed germination and seedling development.

•  In plants, polyamines can generally be synthesized by the ornithine decarboxylase and arginine decarboxylase pathways. However, the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana appears to possess only the arginine decarboxylase pathway. As two paralogous ARGININE DECARBOXYLASE (ADC) genes are present in Arabidopsis, we investigated differential expression and potential differences of promoter activity during seedling development and under specific stress conditions. •  Promoter activities were studied in stable homozygotic transformants harbouring promoter::reporter gene fusions. •  Under temperate conditions, ADC2 promoter activity was strongly associated with seed germination, root and leaf development, whereas ADC1 promoter activity was low during vegetative development. Light, sucrose and ethylene were shown to be important regulators of ADC2 promoter activity. By contrast, in roots and leaves of plantlets subjected to chilling treatment the ADC1 paralogue showed high promoter activity whereas ADC2 promoter activity was considerably decreased. •  In situations of seed germination, root development and response to chilling, the modifications of promoter activities were associated with changes in mRNA levels, emphasizing the involvement of transcriptional regulation in ARGININE DECARBOXYLASE gene expression.