Light-inducible and tissue-specific expression of a chimaeric gene under control of the 5'-flanking sequence of a pea chlorophyll a/b-binding protein gene

We have investigated the regulatory functions of the 5'-flanking sequences of a chlorophyll a/b-binding protein gene from Pisum sativum, using the neomycin phosphotransferase (II) activity from Tn5 as an enzymatic reporter. We show that 0.4 kb of the upstream flanking sequences of this gene are sufficient for both organ-specific and light-regulated expression of our chimaeric constructs in transformed tobacco plants. In addition, we show that sequences farther upstream have a significant influence on the level of transcription of these constructions.