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The high gene density in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves only relatively short intergenic regions for potential cis-regulatory sequences. To learn more about the regulation of genes harbouring only very short upstream intergenic regions, this study investigates a recently identified novel microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)-responsive cis-sequence located within the 101 bp long intergenic region upstream of the At1g13990 gene. It is shown that the cis-regulatory sequence is sufficient for MAMP-responsive reporter gene activity in the context of its native promoter. The 3' UTR of the upstream gene has a quantitative effect on gene expression. In context of a synthetic promoter, the cis-sequence is shown to achieve a strong increase in reporter gene activity as a monomer, dimer and tetramer. Mutation analysis of the cis-sequence determined the specific nucleotides required for gene expression activation. In transgenic A. thaliana the synthetic promoter harbouring a tetramer of the cis-sequence not only drives strong pathogen-responsive reporter gene expression but also shows a high background activity. The results of this study contribute to our understanding how genes with very short upstream intergenic regions are regulated and how these regions can serve as a source for MAMP-responsive cis-sequences for synthetic promoter design.

Wolves are social animals that live in a family unit and a relatively clearly defined territory. They were eradicated from large parts of Europe in recent centuries due to the damage they cause to agriculture. Nowadays, the wolf is seen as an important part of a near-natural landscape in its ecosystem. Therefore, the wolf is strictly protected according to the Bern Convention, the Fauna-Flora Habitat Directive and the Federal Nature Conservation Act, which has favoured its return. Between the years 2000 and 2022, 161 wolf territories were occupied in Germany and it is likely that there is room for more than 700 territories. With the increase in wolf populations, conflicts with agriculture grow due to livestock depredation and close encounters with humans. Therefore, depending on the wolf management plan of the federal states, measures for herd protection are financially supported and damages to farm animals can be financially compensated if herd protection measures are followed. Problematic animals that have lost their shyness towards humans as well as wolves that cause damage can be killed according to the legal requirements. How humans and wolves will coexist in the future, is part of the current discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resistance gene N of tobacco, which mediates the resistance to the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), is isolated by transposon tagging. The tagging uses the maize activator transposon, which confers the genomic DNA fragment with an N gene to TMV susceptible tobacco. The plant disease resistance genes identify and combat the invading pathogens by triggering host defense responses. This is performed by the resistance gene N, which encodes the 131.4 kDa protein with an amino acid terminal domain.

Background The AthaMap database generates a genome-wide map for putative transcription factor binding sites for A. thaliana. When analyzing transcriptional regulation using AthaMap it may be important to learn which genes are also post-transcriptionally regulated by inhibitory RNAs. Therefore, a unified database for transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation will be highly useful for the analysis of gene expression regulation. Methods To identify putative microRNA target sites in the genome of A. thaliana, processed mature miRNAs from 243 annotated miRNA genes were used for screening with the psRNATarget web server. Positional information, target genes and the psRNATarget score for each target site were annotated to the AthaMap database. Furthermore, putative target sites for small RNAs from seven small RNA transcriptome datasets were used to determine small RNA target sites within the A. thaliana genome. Results Putative 41,965 genome wide miRNA target sites and 10,442 miRNA target genes were identified in the A. thaliana genome. Taken together with genes targeted by small RNAs from small RNA transcriptome datasets, a total of 16,600 A. thaliana genes are putatively regulated by inhibitory RNAs. A novel web-tool, ‘MicroRNA Targets’, was integrated into AthaMap which permits the identification of genes predicted to be regulated by selected miRNAs. The predicted target genes are displayed with positional information and the psRNATarget score of the target site. Furthermore, putative target sites of small RNAs from selected tissue datasets can be identified with the new ‘Small RNA Targets’ web-tool. Conclusions The integration of predicted miRNA and small RNA target sites with transcription factor binding sites will be useful for AthaMap-assisted gene expression analysis. URL: http://www.athamap.de/

Abstract Background Modification of leaf traits in sugar beet requires a strong leaf specific promoter. With such a promoter, expression in taproots can be avoided which may otherwise take away available energy resources for sugar accumulation. Results Suppression Subtractive Hybridization (SSH) was utilized to generate an enriched and equalized cDNA library for leaf expressed genes from sugar beet. Fourteen cDNA fragments corresponding to thirteen different genes were isolated. Northern blot analysis indicates the desired tissue specificity of these genes. The promoters for two chlorophyll a/b binding protein genes (Bvcab11 and Bvcab12) were isolated, linked to reporter genes, and transformed into sugar beet using promoter reporter gene fusions. Transient and transgenic analysis indicate that both promoters direct leaf specific gene expression. A bioinformatic analysis revealed that the Bvcab11 promoter is void of G-box like regulatory elements with a palindromic ACGT core sequence. The data indicate that the presence of a G-box element is not a prerequisite for leaf specific and light induced gene expression in sugar beet. Conclusions This work shows that SSH can be successfully employed for the identification and subsequent isolation of tissue specific sugar beet promoters. These promoters are shown to drive strong leaf specific gene expression in transgenic sugar beet. The application of these promoters for expressing resistance improving genes against foliar diseases is discussed.