Jatropha curcas ortholog of tomato MADS-box gene 6 (JcTM6) promoter exhibits floral-specific activity in Arabidopsis thaliana

BACKGROUND: Jatropha curcas L., a perennial oilseed plant, is considered as a promising feedstock for biodiesel production. Genetic modification of flowering characteristics is critical for Jatropha breeding. However, analysis of floral-specific promoters in Jatropha is limited. METHODS: In this study, we isolated the Jatropha ortholog of TM6 (JcTM6) gene from Jatropha flower cDNA library and detected the expression pattern of JcTM6 gene by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). We isolated a 1.8-kb fragment from the 5’ region of the JcTM6 gene and evaluated its spatiotemporal expression pattern in Arabidopsis using the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene and Arabidopsis ATP/ADP isopentenyltransferase 4 (AtIPT4) gene, respectively. RESULTS: JcTM6 was identified as a flower-specific gene in Jatropha. As expected, JcTM6 promoter was only active in transgenic Arabidopsis flowers with the strongest activity in stamens. Moreover, JcTM6:AtIPT4 transgenic Arabidopsis showed a phenotype of large flowers without any alterations in other organs. Furthermore, deletion of the region from –1,717 to –876 bp resulted in the disappearance of promoter activity in stamens but an increase in promoter activity in young leaves, sepals, and petals. Deletion analysis suggests that the –1,717- to –876-bp promoter fragment contains regulatory elements that confer promoter activity in stamens and inhibit activity in young leaves, sepals, and petals.