Effects of GUS Gene Integration in Tobacco Plants

The β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene was isolated in 1986 from the bacterium Escherichia coli. Since then it has been widely used as a reporter gene in genetically modified organisms serving to study gene expression and tissue specificity of different promoter sequences. We have introduced the GUS gene into tobacco plants through Agrobacterium-mediated genomic transformation. The plants that were confirmed to be expressing the GUS gene were grown to propagate a new (T1) generation. The T1 plants were analyzed for tissue specificity of GUS expression. The results to date seem to indicate that there is some variation in GUS expression between plant lines. The mechanisms of GUS gene integration in the plant genome as well as the possible effects it can have on a plant’s genomic structure are assessed.