Cloning of the rice seed alpha-globulin-encoding gene: sequence similarity of the 5'-flanking region to those of the genes encoding wheat high-molecular-weight glutenin and barley D hordein.

A genomic clone encoding the rice endosperm major globulin (alpha-globulin) with an apparent molecular mass of 26 kDa was isolated, and its nucleotide (nt) sequence and transcription start point (tsp) were determined. The tsp was identical to that of the gene encoding the wheat high-molecular-weight (HMW) glutenin subunit. The consensus '-300 element' and an A + T-rich sequence exist upstream from the TATA box in the 5'-flanking region. A nt sequence of about 130 bp in the 5'-flanking region was found to be markedly homologous to those of the genes encoding the wheat HMW glutenin subunit and barley D hordein.