To investigate the functional conservation of cis regulatory elements controlling AGAMOUS (AG) expression, we placed the promoter region of AG from Arabidopsis thaliana into a close relative, Brassica napus, and a distantly related species, Linum usitatissimum, and analyzed the subsequent expression patterns in each species. Spatially, the expression patterns in all three species were marginally similar, in that expression was confined primarily to the reproductive organs and nectarium. Within organs however, tissue-specific expression patterns were not conserved between species. Unlike Arabidopsis, the transgenic AG cis elements did not express in the ovules of B. napus and L. usitatissimum. Temporally, the pattern of AG cis-element expression in B. napus was identical to that of Arabidopsis during early development; however, the AG cis elements did not express at all during early flower development in L. usitatissimum. These results suggest that although regulatory factors controlling the generalized local expression of AG have been conserved between these species, those controlling temporal and tissue-specific expression have not.Key words: AGAMOUS, cis elements, regulation, Arabidopsis, Brassica napus, Linum usitatissimum.
Tissue-Specific Expression Conferred by the S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine Synthetase Promoter of Arabidopsis thaliana in Transgenic Poplar