Zea mays regulatory elements and uses thereof

Abstract

Provided are constructs and methods for expressing a transgene in plant cells and/or plant tissues using Zea mays chlorophyll a/b binding gene regulatory elements.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A gene expression cassette comprising a promoter operably linked to a heterologous nucleic acid, wherein the promoter comprises a polynucleotide comprising a sequence identity of at least 90% to SEQ ID NO:3. 
     
     
         2 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 1 , wherein the polynucleotide has at least 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:3. 
     
     
         3 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 1 , wherein the polynucleotide comprises an intron. 
     
     
         4 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 3 , wherein the intron has at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:5 or SEQ ID NO:6. 
     
     
         5 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 1 , wherein the polynucleotide has at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:1. 
     
     
         6 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 1 , wherein the operably linked nucleic acid encodes a polypeptide or a small RNA gene. 
     
     
         7 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid is selected from the group consisting of a nucleic acid conferring insecticidal resistance, herbicide tolerance, a nucleic acid conferring nitrogen use efficiency, a nucleic acid conferring water use efficiency, a nucleic acid conferring nutritional quality, a nucleic acid encoding a DNA binding protein, and a nucleic acid encoding a selectable marker. 
     
     
         8 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 1  further comprising a 3′ untranslated region. 
     
     
         9 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 8 , wherein the 3′ untranslated region has at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:7 or SEQ ID NO:8. 
     
     
         10 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 1  further comprising a 5′ untranslated region, wherein the 5′ UTR has at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:19. 
     
     
         11 . A recombinant vector comprising the gene expression cassette of  claim 1 , wherein the vector is selected from the group consisting of a plasmid, a cosmid, a bacterial artificial chromosome, a virus, and a bacteriophage. 
     
     
         12 . A transgenic cell comprising the gene expression cassette of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         13 . The transgenic cell of  claim 12 , wherein the transgenic cell is a transgenic plant cell. 
     
     
         14 . A transgenic plant comprising the transgenic plant cell of  claim 13 . 
     
     
         15 . The transgenic plant of  claim 14 , wherein the transgenic plant is a monocotyledonous plant or dicotyledonous plant. 
     
     
         16 . The transgenic plant of  claim 15 , wherein the monocotyledonous plant is selected from the group consisting of a maize plant, a rice plant, and a wheat plant. 
     
     
         17 . A transgenic seed from the transgenic plant of  claim 14 , wherein the seed comprises the gene expression cassette. 
     
     
         18 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 1 , wherein the promoter is a tissue preferred promoter. 
     
     
         19 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 1 , wherein the tissue preferred promoter is a leaf, husk, stem or silk tissue preferred promoter. 
     
     
         20 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 1 , wherein the promoter comprises the polynucleotide sequence of nucleotides 11,887 of SEQ ID NO:3. 
     
     
         21 . A method for expressing a coding sequence in a transgenic plant, the method comprising:
 a) transforming a plant cell with a gene expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide sequence comprising a sequence identity of at least 90% to SEQ ID NO:3 operably linked to the heterologous coding sequence, which is operably linked to a 3′ untranslated region;   b) isolating the transformed plant cell comprising the gene expression cassette;   c) regenerating a transgenic plant from the transformed plant cell; and,   d) obtaining the transgenic plant, wherein the transgenic plant expresses the coding sequence.   
     
     
         22 . A method for manufacturing a synthetic polynucleotide sequence comprising a sequence identity of at least 90% to SEQ ID NO:3, the method comprising:
 a) isolating a nucleic acid comprising a polynucleotide sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:3;   b) producing a plurality of oligonucleotide primer sequences, wherein the oligonucleotide primer sequences bind to the nucleic acid under stringent hybridization conditions;   c) ligating the plurality of oligonucleotide primer sequences to synthesize a synthetic polynucleotide sequence; and,   d) sequencing the resulting synthetic polynucleotide to confirm that it comprises at least 90% identity to SEQ ID NO:3.