targeting the petals

In addition to using a constitutive promoter to express our knockdown constructs, we will also express these constructs in parallel with petal specific promoters. Using Genevestigator's Biomarker Search tool, we identified genes with high petal expression. We then looked up those genes AraGenNet for more specific information about expression, and from those that looked the most promising, found promoter information on the Plant Promoter Database by Yoshiharu Y Yamamoto and Junichi Obokata at the Center for Gene Research at Nagoya University. From this database, we selected sequences from 1 to 1.5 kb upstream from the genes to PCR amplify from Arabidopsis genomic DNA.

the genes

• At1g70720
• At1g11850

This gene is an "expressed protein." There is a peak of expression in the petals at stages 12 and 15, with higher expression in the later stage. This is the stage of development that we want to target, which is why we chose this promoter as a candidate for petal expression.

This gene codes for a Fibronectin-attachment protein. There is strong peak in expression in the petals at stage 12, one stage of development that we want to target. In addition, the promoter region is well characterized, making the promoter region of this gene a good candidate for inducing expression in petals.