In vivo screening
To assay the function of candidate novel cis-regulatory elements, we use a luciferase-activity based transient test system developed by our external
collaborators F. Turck and J. Adrian, MPI for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne. A binary vector containing the luciferase gene driven by a tetramer
of a candidate cis-regulatory element upstream of a minimal promoter is delivered into A. thaliana leaf epidermal cells by particle bombardment.
Several developmental stages and response-inducing conditions can be analyzed in this transient assay. In addition, stable A. thaliana lines with these
constructs are being generated to be able to analyze responses in different plant cell types and to implement additional response-inducing conditions.
Figure 1. Luciferase luminescence assay. False colour image depicting luciferase activity in A. thaliana leaf epidermal cells after particle
bombardment-mediated transformation with cis-element driven reporter constructs. In collaboration with F. Turck and J. Adrian, MPI for Plant Breeding
Research, Cologne.
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