Characterization of the Sporophyte-Preferential Gene Promoter from the Red Alga Porphyra yezoensis Using Transient Gene Expression

The life cycle of plants entails an alternation of generations, the diploid sporophyte and haploid gametophyte stages. There is little information about the characteristics of gene expression during each phase of marine macroalgae. Promoter analysis is a useful method for understanding transcriptional regulation; however, there is no report of promoter analyses in marine macroalgae. In this study, with the aim of elucidating the differences in the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms between the gametophyte and sporophyte stages in the marine red alga Porphyra yezoensis, we isolated the promoter from the sporophyte preferentially expressed gene PyKPA1, which encodes a sodium pump, and analyzed its promoter using a transient gene expression system with a synthetic β-glucuronidase (PyGUS) reporter. The deletion of −1432 to −768 relative to the transcription start site resulted in decreased GUS activity in sporophytes. In contrast, deletion from −767 to −527 increased GUS activity in gametophytes. Gain-of-function analyses showed that the −1432 to −760 region enhanced the GUS activity of a heterologous promoter in sporophytes, whereas the −767 to −510 region repressed it in gametophytes. Further mutation and gain-of-function analyses of the −767 to −510 region revealed that a 20-bp GC-rich sequence (−633 to −614) is responsible for the gametophyte-specific repressed expression. These results showed that the sporophyte-specific positive regulatory region and gametophyte-specific negative regulatory sequence play a crucial role in the preferential expression of PyKPA1 in P. yezoensis sporophytes.