Novel maize ubiquitin promoters

Abstract

The Zea mays c.v. B73 Ubiquitin-1 ( Z. mays c.v. B73 Ubi-1) promoter drives high levels of constitutive transgene expression in plants. Repeated use of the same Z. mays c.v. B73 Ubi-1 promoter in multi-gene constructs may also lead to gene silencing, thereby making transgenic products less efficacious. Provided are gene regulatory promoter elements, constructs, and methods for expressing a transgene in plant cells and/or plant tissues using gene regulatory elements from the Ubi-1 promoter of a different Zea species, Z. luxurians v2.

1 . A gene expression cassette comprising a promoter operably linked to a transgene, wherein the promoter comprises a polynucleotide with at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 2. 
     
     
         2 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 1 , wherein the promoter hybridizes under stringent conditions to a polynucleotide probe comprising a sequence identity of at least 90% to a complement of SEQ ID NO: 2. 
     
     
         3 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 1 , wherein the operably linked transgene encodes a polypeptide or small RNA. 
     
     
         4 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 1 , wherein the transgene is selected from the group consisting of an insecticidal resistance transgene, a herbicide tolerance transgene, a nitrogen use efficiency transgene, a water use efficiency transgene, a nutritional quality transgene, a DNA binding transgene, and a selectable marker transgene. 
     
     
         5 . The gene expression cassette of  claim 1 , further comprising a 3′-untranslated region. 
     
     
         6 . A recombinant vector comprising the gene expression cassette of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         7 . The recombinant vector of  claim 6 , wherein the vector is selected from the group consisting of a plasmid, a cosmid, a bacterial artificial chromosome, a virus, and a bacteriophage. 
     
     
         8 . A transgenic cell comprising the gene expression cassette of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         9 . The transgenic cell of  claim 8 , wherein the transgenic cell is a transgenic plant cell. 
     
     
         10 . A transgenic plant comprising the transgenic plant cell of  claim 9 . 
     
     
         11 . The transgenic plant of  claim 10 , wherein the transgenic plant is a monocotyledonous or a dicotyledonous plant. 
     
     
         12 . The transgenic plant of  claim 11 , wherein the monocotyledonous plant is selected from the group consisting of a maize plant, a rice plant, and a wheat plant. 
     
     
         13 . A transgenic seed from the transgenic plant of  claim 10 . 
     
     
         14 .- 50 . (canceled)