Analysis of regulatory mechanisms of gene expression and its applications in plants - Monograph [Japanese]

摘要

Genetic engineering to improve various functions of plants-plant biotechnology-is useful for increasing food production, environmental purification, and the production of industrial, chemical, and pharmaceutical materials. We investigated the regulatory mechanisms of gene expression and isolated some strong promoters for development of useful transgene expression systems in plant cells. It was also found that an insulator element suppresses variation in transgene expression in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cells. Furthermore, we are inrestigating the molecular breeding of salt-tolerant plants. Ectoine as a compatible solute conferred hyperosmotic tolerance and expression of the ENA1 gene encoding Na+-ATPase enhanced tolerance to Li+ in tobacco cells. The OsHKT1 and OsHKT2 genes, which respectively encode an Na+ transporter and K+-Na+ cotransporter, were isolated from japonica rice (Oryza sativa) and a salt-tolerant indica rice.