Anthranilate N-hydroxycinnamoyl/benzoyltransferase gene from carnation: rapid elicitation of transcription and promoter analysis

Hydroxycinnamoyl/benzoyl-CoA:anthranilate N-hydroxycinnamoyl/benzoyltransferase (HCBT) catalyses the committed reaction of phytoalexin biosynthesis in carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.). Three HCBT cDNAs were cloned previously from suspension-cultured carnation cells that had been induced with fungal elicitor. A rapid, transient induction of hcbt transcripts upon elicitation, reaching maximal abundances within about 0.5 h and returning to basal levels within 4 h, suggested the involvement of unusual cis elements. A DNA fragment of 3.8 kb, spanning the hcbt2 gene with the 5′-flanking region of roughly 1.8 kb, was cloned from carnation plants. The gene encodes one long open reading frame lacking introns. The DNA sequence revealed a conserved TATA box, three elicitor response elements (EREs) and a 9 bp direct repeat as well as an interrupted direct repeat of 11 bp in the TATA distal region. EMSA revealed the binding of elicitor-inducible nuclear factors to the promoter region from –377 to –326 spanning two of the EREs, and their functional relevance was confirmed by transient expression assays of hcbt2 promoter-GUS reporter gene constructs in parsley protoplasts. Furthermore, an oligo(A) segment was present immediately preceding the start of translation (+140 to +150). Transient expression analysis demonstrated that the sequence upstream to –1157 at least is required in context with the 5′-UTR, particularly including the poly(A) segment, for strong expression and full elicitor induction of the hcbt2 gene. The results suggested that several sequence motifs scattered over a wide range of the 5′-flanking region and into the exonic sequence are responsible for the full elicitor regulation of the hcbt2 gene.