Promoter and leader regions involved in the expression of the Arabidopsis ferredoxin A gene.

Ferredoxin is a nuclear-encoded protein that is involved in a variety of electron transfer reactions in both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic plastids. We show here that the expression of the ferredoxin A gene (FedA) in Arabidopsis thaliana is light-regulated, with its mRNA level increased 4.5-fold by transfer of dark-grown seedlings to white light for 3 h. A portion of this light regulation is mediated by phytochrome through a very low fluence type of response. In addition, it is likely that another photoreceptor(s) is also involved. The FedA promoter confers a light- and tissue-regulated expression pattern when fused to the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) and luciferase reporter genes, indicating that the gene is transcriptionally regulated. No evidence of cis-acting light-regulatory elements within the 5' untranslated leader region of the gene was detected. Nevertheless, elements within this leader are required for full activity since its deletion reduces expression both in the light and dark by 25-fold. This region includes a sequence, ACAAAA, which is also present in the 5' untranslated leader of the other three ferredoxin leaders that have been sequenced and in the leaders of 31 other plant genes or about 8% of all plant genes in the GenBank database. In addition to mediating light regulation, the FedA promoter also directs GUS expression in aerial tissues at 70-fold higher levels than in roots. GUS activity staining in aerial tissues is observed in both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic cells. These data indicate that the FedA promoter also carries the information for expression of this gene in a highly tissue- and cell-specific manner.