The transgene locus of the tobacco plant 271 (271 locus) is located on a telomere and consists of multiple copies of a plasmid carrying an NptII marker gene driven by the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 19S promoter and the leaf-specific nitrite reductase Nii1 cDNA cloned in the antisense orientation under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter. Previous analysis of gene expression in leaves has shown that this locus triggers both post-transcriptional silencing of the host leaf-specific Nii genes and transcriptional silencing of transgenes driven by the 19S or 35S promoter irrespective of their coding sequence and of their location in the genome. In this paper we show that silencing of transgenes carrying Nii1 sequences occurs irrespective of the promoter driving their expression and of their location within the genome. This phenomenon occurs in roots as well as in leaves although root Nii genes share only 84% identity with leaf-specific Nii1 sequences carried by the 271 locus. Conversely, transgenes carrying the bean Nii gene (which shares 76% identity with the tobacco Nii1 gene) escape silencing by the 271 locus. We also show that transgenes driven by the figwort mosaic virus 34S promoter (which shares 63% identity with the 35S promoter) also escape silencing by the 271 locus. Taken together, these results indicate that a high degree of sequence similarity is required between the sequences of the silencing locus and of the target (trans)genes for both transcriptional and post-transcriptional silencing.

The effect of flanking matrix attachment regions (MARs) on homology-dependent trans-silencing was tested using two strong trans-silencing loci. The transgenic tobacco line 271 carries at a single locus a p35S-RiN-tNos transgene which is able to silence, in trans and at the transcriptional level, the expression of any p35S-driven transgene irrespective of its position. The transgenic tobacco line 6b8 carries at a single locus a p35S-uidA-tRbcS transgene which is able to silence in trans, at the post-transcriptional level, the expression of any uidA-expressing transgene irrespective of its position. Various transgenic tobacco lines carrying a target p35S-uidA-tNos transgene, flanked on each side by MARs from chicken, bean, yeast or tobacco, were crossed with lines carrying the 271 and 6b8 loci. Expression of the target transgene was silenced in all hybrids, irrespective of the presence or absence of MAR sequences. These results therefore demonstrate that MARs are not able to protect transgene expression from strong silencing loci that act in trans.

alpha-H chain diseases (HCD) is a human lymphoproliferative disorder, characterized by the production of truncated alpha-Ig H chains, without associated L chains. In this study, we have analysed the serum protein, the alpha-HCD mRNA and the rearranged alpha-HCD gene from the leukemic cells of a patient (MAL) with alpha-HCD. The abnormal MAL serum Ig consisted of short alpha 1-chains, lacking VH and CH1 domains (only CH2 and CH3 domains were present). The alpha-HCD mRNA (1.2 kb) was shorter than a normal alpha-mRNA (2 kb); the corresponding cDNA had sequences for the leader, a 84-bp sequence of unknown origin and the CH2 and CH3 exons. The establishment of the sequence of the productive alpha-HCD MAL allele revealed two major deletions; that of the VH region as well as that of the CH1 region. The JH region is altered by multiple mutations, small insertions and a duplication of the psi JH3 region. A large insert (INS1), of 360 bp (containing the 84 bp exon found in the cDNA), replaces the deleted VH region. INS1 is non-Ig related and apparently of nongenomic origin. A large second insert (509 bp), is located between the enhancer and the switch region. Insert2 contains repetitive non-Ig-related sequences and a small Ig-related sequence. All these alterations resulted in an abnormal mRNA, which comprises the leader, a 84-bp alien exon derived from INS1 and the CH2 and CH3 exons of the alpha 1-gene.