Identification of Cis-Regulatory Modules that Function in the Male Germline of Flowering Plants

Abstract

The male germline of flowering plants develops within the vegetative cell of the male gametophyte and displays a distinct transcriptional profile. Key to understanding the development of this unique cell lineage is determining how gene expression is regulated within germline cells. This knowledge impacts upon our understanding of cell specification, differentiation, and plant fertility. Here, we describe methods to identify cis-regulatory modules (CRMs) that act as key regulatory regions in the promoters of germline-expressed genes. We detail the complimentary techniques of phylogenetic footprinting and the use of fluorescent reporters in pollen for the identification and verification of CRMs.

A Fruitful Decade Using Synthetic Promoters in the Improvement of Transgenic Plants

“…Homology-dependent gene silencing is a concern that can be avoided by designing synthetic promoters with minimal sequence similarity to the recipient cells’ genome (Venter and Botha 2010). In this manner, a detailed method for the identification of cis -regulatory elements that function in the promoter of germline-expressed genes and display a unique transcriptional profile has been described (Peters et al, 2017). More recently, it has been proposed that combinatorial cis-trans engineering for the introduction of specific traits into plants also enhances environmental adaptability (Shrestha et al, 2018).…”