WO1998018948A1 - Flax promoters for manipulating gene expression - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to promoter sequences obtained from flax and useful for modification of flax and other plants for expression of endogenous or foreign genes. The promoters are the SEQ ID NO. 3 and SEQ ID NO. 4 and are obtained from newly illucidated structures of two SAD genes in flax, namely SEQ ID NO. 1 and SEQ ID NO. 2. The promoters have been inserted into cloning plasmids and deposited at the American Type Culture Collection as plasmids pCDC220 and pCDC214 under deposit numbers ATCC 98192 and ATCC 98193, respectively. The promoters may be used in conjunction with genes to modify characteristics of flax and other plants. The invention includes the SAD genes themselves and DNA sequences substantially homologous to SEQ ID NO. 1, SEQ ID NO. 2, SEQ ID NO. 3, and SEQ ID NO. 4, as well as significant parts thereof.

Description

FLAX PROMOTERS FOR MANIPULATING GENE EXPRESSION

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to gene promoters useful for the genetic manipulation of plants. More particularly, the invention relates to gene promoters isolated from flax useful, for example, for manipulating the expression of indigenous genes or transgenes in flax and other plants to modify endogenous characteristics or to introduce new ones. BACKGROUND ART

Flax { Linum usi ta tissimum) is the second most important oilseed crop in Canada and an important crop worldwide. Unfortunately, the use of flax seed oil is limited by the narrow range of natural fatty acids present in it. Therefore, there is a need to create new cultivars with a wider range of fatty acid composition to supplement the existing food and confections markets (Rowland et al., 1995 - please refer to the "References" section below for full reference identification details) . Also, there is a commercial interest in using flax as a vehicle for biofarming of pharmaceutical-related products by molecular genetic manipulation of appropriate transgenes (Moloney and van Rooijen, 1996) . A need for flax varieties tolerant to various abiotic and biotic stresses has also been recognized (Rowland et al., 1995) . For example, herbicide-tolerant flax varieties would be very useful in crop rotation programs. There is always, of course, a need for promoters useful for expressing foreign genes in various other plants. Molecular genetic manipulation of flax seed composition or other characteristics, such as stress tolerance, can be achieved by expressing appropriate transgenes using seed-specific or constitutive gene promoters. While a cDNA sequence corresponding to a flax gene has been reported (Singh et al., 1994), no promoter has yet been characterized from flax. There is, therefore, a need to identify and isolate one or more genes and promoters from flax to facilitate genetic manipulation of the flax plant and other plants . DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION An object of the invention is to identify and isolate one or more genes and promoter sequences from flax and to utilize such sequences in the genetic manipulation of plants.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vector containing a promoter sequence from flax for introducing an indigenous gene or a transgene into flax or other plants.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of modifiying flax and other plants to change characteristics thereof.

Stated in general terms, the present invention is based on the isolation, purification and characterization by the inventors of the present invention of two genes from flax and two promoters from those genes. The sequences obtained are used for regulating the expression of a heterologous gene (foreign, reporter or transgene) in flax and other plant species. This can result in flax plants having different range of fatty acids than natural flax and can result in the development of transgenic plants suitable for the production of specific products or having new and useful characteristics. Such plants and products are of commercial and industrial interest. According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided isolated and purified deoxyribonucleic acid of SEQ ID N0:1 or SEQ ID NO: 2. These sequences relate to the novel flax genes isolated and characterized by the inventors of the present invention.

These identified and isolated genes are useful in themselves for making antisense or sense constructs based on the derived sequences. Both types of contruct can be used to reduce the levels of similar mRNA during expression of the natural genes. This would result in an increase in 18:0 fatty acid in membrane or storage lipids in flax and other plant species. Sense constructs may also be used in enhancing the levels of mRNA. Such enhancement will result in the increase of 16:1 or 18:1 fatty acids in membranes or storage lipids in flax and other plant species. Such plants will be of increased commercial interest and value.

Thus, according to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of changing fatty acids of membrane and storage lipids of plants, characterized by making an antisense or sense construct based on SEQ ID NO:l, SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4, ligating the constuct into a plant transformation vector, using the vector to transform the genome of a plant or plant seed, and then growing the plant or plant seed and extracting membrane or storage lipids from the plants.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided isolated and purified deoxyribonucleic acid of SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4 (deposited as plasmids ATCC 98193 and 98192, respectively, see details below) . These are the promoters that are useful for enhancing or enabling the expression of genes introduced into flax or other plants .

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a gene expression cassette comprising a sequence according to SEQ ID N0:1, SEQ ID N0:2, SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4. The gene expression cassette is useful in itself as this part of the plasmids mentioned above can be used to construct other plasmid suitable to transform other plant species. According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a vector for introduction of a gene into a plant cell, the vector comprising a promotor of SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4.

The invention also relates to transgenic plants and plant seeds having a genome containing an introduced promoter sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4 regulating the expression of an introduced gene, and a method of producing such plants and plant seeds. The invention also relates to substantially homologous DNA sequences (e.g. greater than or equal to 40% homology, more preferably greater than or equal to 70% homology) isolated and/or characterized by known methods using the sequence information of SEQ ID NO:l, SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ ID NO:3 or SEQ ID NO:4, and to parts of reduced length of promoter sequences SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4 that are still able to function as promoters of gene expression. It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that small changes in the identities of nucleotides in a specific promoter sequence may result in reduced or enhanced effectiveness of the promoters and that partial promoter sequences often work as effectively as the full length versions. The ways in which promoter sequences can be varied or shortened are well known to persons skilled in the art, as are ways of testing the effectiveness of promoters. All such variations of the promoters are therefore claimed as part of the present invention. It should be noted that the term "promoter" in this disclosure includes the core promoter elements (TATA box and initiator) and upstream regulatory elements (enhancers) (Datla et al., 1997).

As will be appreciated from the description above, the promoters of the invention are beneficial in manipulating the expression of genes in flax and other crops .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 shows genomic DNA sequence of the SAD1 [SEQ ID NO:l; identified in Fig. 1 as LUSADl.SEQ] and SAD2 [SEQ ID NO: 2; identified in Fig. 1 as LUSAD2.SEQ] genes and the corresponding SAD cDNA sequence [SEQ ID NO: 5; identified in Fig. 1 as LUCDNA] . Nucleotides (nt) are represented by capital letters. Nucleotides different from the cDNA sequence are shaded, including those of introns . Differences between SADl and SAD2 are shown in shaded lower case letters. Gaps in the sequences are presented by dashes. The start and stop codons on the cDNA sequence are boxed. Fig. 2A is a partial restriction map of the SADl gene, and Fig. 2B shows the result of a DNA blot analysis identifying the regulatory sequences of SADl and SAD2.

Fig. 3 shows an outline of the scheme employed to isolate the promoter regions of the two SAD genes.

Position and direction of the primers used in IPCR are indicated by arrowheads. Various abbreviations are as follows: E, exon; I, Intron; RE, 5'- regulatory elements (promoters); and UT, untranslated regions. Fig. 4 discloses nucleotide sequences [SEQ ID NO: 3 (SADl) and SEQ ID NO: 4 (SAD2)] of the 5'- regulatory regions of the two SAD genes. Homologous nt are represented by a dash (-) , gaps by a dot (.), and additions by lower case letters. A putative transcriptional site is indicated by +1, and a TATA box is overlined. Key restriction sites are also shown.

Fig. 5 shows salient features of the plasmids CDC214 and pCDC220. Various abbreviations are as follows: flax promoter I, SADl gene promoter; flax promoter II, SAD2 gene promoter; GUS ( uidA) , gene for β-glucuronidase enzyme; nos-T, transcriptional terminator of the nopaline synthase gene; nptll, neomycin phospho-transferase expression cassette. The arrowheads indicate the direction of transcription. Key restriction sites are shown. Regions outside the left and right border (LB and RB) are that of a previously described binary plant transformation vector, pRD410 (Datla et al . , 1992). Fig. 6 shows the expression of a heterologous gene ( uidA) by the two SAD gene promoters in various tissues of flax. Different tissues are abbreviated as YL+A, young leaves and apices; ML, mature leaves: S, stems; R, roots; B, buds; 1/2 OF, half open flower; FI, Flower; and MS, seeds at about mid-development. Data presented are from one generation of two plants transformed with a tandem 35s promoter (2x35s) , two generations of two plants transformed with pCDC214 (SADl), and one generation of two plants transformed with pCDC220 (SAD2) .

Fig. 7 shows the expression of a heterologous gene ( uidA) by the two SAD gene promoters during flax seed development and in relation to .fatty acid and protein biosyntheses . For GUS assays, data represent one generation of two plants transformed with a tandem 35s promoter (2x35s) , two generations of two plants transformed with pCDC214 (SADl) , and two generations of a plant transformed with pCDC220 (SAD2) . For fatty acids, three individual embryos of var. McGregor were analyzed. For protein content, data are from two transgenic plants transformed with pCDC214 and 220. Fig. 8 shows the expression of a heterologous gene ( uidA) by the two SAD gene promoters in tobacco leaves and mid-developmental seeds. Data represent 5 to 8 transgenic plants transformed with pCDC214 (SADl), pCDC220 (SAD2), pRD410 (35s), and pRD420 ( uidA alone).

Fig. 9 shows the expression of a heterologous gene (uidA) by the two SAD gene promoters during tobacco seed development. Various developmental stages of tobacco seeds were identified according to de Silva et al. (1992) and are abbreviated as W, white; LB, light brown; B, brown; DB, dark brown; and M, mature. Data represent 5 to 8 transgenic plants transformed with pCDC214 (SADl), pCDC220 (SAD2), pRD410 (35s), and pRD420 ( uidA alone) .

Fig. 10 shows the expression of a heterologous gene ( uidA) by the two SAD gene promoters in canola leaves and mature seeds. Data represent 2 to 5 plants transformed with pCDC214 (SADl), pCDC220 (SAD2), pRD410 (35s), and untransformed plants (UT) . BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

In flax, endogenous SAD activity can be detected from about 10 days after pollination (dap) to seed maturity, suggesting a promoter of this gene would be useful in manipulating gene expression during seed development. Moreover, SAD has been found to be the key enzyme in manipulating the levels of saturated fatty acids in rapeseed and soybean triacylglycerols (Knutzon et al., 1992; see Tδpfer et al., 1995). During studies carried out by the inventors aimed at diversifying flax as a crop, it was discovered that there are two SAD genes in flax. The isolation, purification and characterization of these genes and their promoters is disclosed below, as well as the expression capabilities of the promoters in flax and other plant species.

The promoters developed according to the present invention can be used to modify an endogenous characteristic of flax or another plant species, or to to add a new characteristic. An example of a modification of an endogenous characteristic of flax is, for example, the alteration of levels of different types of fatty acids in the seed oils. The introduction of a new characteristic is, for example, the production of a thermoplastic polymer in plants that normally do not produce thermoplastics. While it is normally easy to detect added characteristics, it is sometimes difficult to detect altered characteristics because of natural variation of characteristics in plants. The alterations can, however, be detected by comparing the average characteristics of a statistically significant number of the plants under examination with a statistically significant number of genomically-unmodified plants of the same genotype, grown under identical environmental conditions at the same time. If there is an appreciable difference in the measured characteristic, then it can be said that there has been an alteration of that characteristic and that the alteration is a result of the genomic- modification.

In the case of an added characteristic, again the comparison can be made with genomically-unmodified plants of the same genotype, again grown under identical environmental conditions at the same time.

The promoters of the present invention belong to a two-member gene family encoding the enzyme Δ9 desaturase (Stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase; SAD; EC 1.14.99.6). Stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase is the first enzyme in the fatty acid desaturation pathway, and it catalyzes the conversion of stearoyl-ACP(18:0-ACP) to oleoyl-ACP (18 : 1Δ9-ACP) . The promoters were isolated using the inverse polymerase chain reaction (IPCR) technique. They are capable of expressing a foreign gene, e.g. uidA (which encodes β-glucuronidase : GUS), in various tissues with high level of expression in seeds. In developing seeds, both promoters showed a similar temporal expression pattern for uidA (measured as GUS activity) . The GUS activity could be detected as early as 4 dap in developing seeds and in desiccated seeds (~50 dap) of transgenic flax. In developing seeds, the ability of the promoters to effect uidA gene expression correlated well with both fatty acid and protein biosyntheses and the maximum activity of GUS preceded the maximal accumulation of fatty acids and proteins. The promoters of the invention are useful in manipulating transgene expression in a variety of tissues including seeds. Some of the products which are possible using these promoters include, but are not limited to, the following: plants with enhanced herbicide, pest, pathogen, and stress resistance; plants containing oil, protein, and carbohydrate of altered composition and content; plants with reduced anti-nutritional substances; plants producing pharmaceutical compounds such as antibodies, neuropeptides, recombinant proteins, and biodegradable thermoplastics (Bennett, 1993; Moloney and van Rooijen, 1996; Datla et al., 1997). The effectiveness of the promoters of the present invention is predictable from the effectiveness of known promoters. For example, it is well established that promoters such as cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) are capable of expressing a wide variety of genes in a wide varity of plant species. Napin promoter (from rapeseed) has been used to express a variety of genes in canola/rapeseed (Knutzon et al., 1992; Jones et al . , 1995; Dahesh et al., 1996). Phaseolin gene promoter (from bean) has also been used to express several genes in rapeseed (Hitz et al., 1995). The β-conglycinin promoter (from soyabean) has been used to express genes not only in soyabean but also in Petunia (Kinney, 1997; Chen et al. , 1986) .

Moreover, by testing the promoters in two very diverse plant species, as will become apparent from the experimental detail below, the inventors have demonstrated that the promoters would function in other diverse plant species as well.

Further demonstration of this principle can be obtained from Chen ZL, Schuler MA, Beachy RN. 1986; Dehesh K, Jones A, Knutzon DS, Voelker TA. 1996; Hitz WD, Mauvis CJ, Ripp KG, Reiter RJ, DeBonte L, Chen, Z. 1995; Jones A, Davies HM, Voelker TA. 1995; Kinney, AJ. 1997; and Knutzon et al., 1992. It is believed that the present invention can now best be described by presenting experimental details forming a specific illustration. It should be kept in mind, however, that the present invention is not limited to these details. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS

Molecular Biological Techniques

Isolation of plasmid DNA, restriction digestion, modification and ligation of DNA, PCR, gel electrophoresis, and transformation and culture of E. coli strains were carried out according to standard procedures (Sambrook et al., 1989). Nucleotide sequencing was performed using double stranded plasmid DNA by the dideoxy chain termination method (Sanger et al., 1977) using a Taq DYEDEOXY™ terminator cycle sequencing kit (available from Applied Biosystems) and an Applied Biosystems Model 370A Sequencer (available from Applied Biosystems) . The oligodeoxy- ribonucleotides used in nucleotide sequencing, and PCR techniques were synthesised using a phosphoramidate synthesis procedure in a Biosearch 8750 DNA synthesizer (New Brunswick Scientific Co.), and purified by HPLC- based protocols (Gait, 1984) . IPCR was done according to Ochman et al. (1993) and Warner et al . (1993). Plant DNA was extracted using the protocol of

Dellaporta et al . (Dellaporta et al., 1983) except that RNA was removed by adding 100 μg of RNAase B (Sigma) followed by incubation at 65°C for 20 min. The DNA was extracted once with an equal volume of phenol: chloroform (1:1, v/v) and once with an equal volume of chloroform: isoamyl alcohol (24:1, v/v). Five μg of DNA was digested with the appropriate restriction enzyme, fractionated on a 0.8% agarose gel, and pressure-blotted onto Hybond-N™ nylon membranes (Amersha ) using the PosiBlot™ apparatus (Stratagene) after depurination, denaturation and neutralization of the DNA (Sambrook et al., 1989). The blotting solution contained 0.02 M NaOH and 1 M NH₄-acetate. The DNA was immobilized on the membrane by baking the membranes at 80°C for 1 h.

A radioactive probe for identifying promoters was prepared by annealing 10 ng of oligo-29A and 30A (Table 1 below) and then filling in the ends using the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase and random primer kit solutions (GIBCO BRL) .

Table 1 Nucleotide sequence of various oligonucleotides (OL) used

OL-24 (-) 5'-GAAι₃₇₁ATGCCATCAT-

ACTCCAATCAT-3' [SEQ ID NO: 6]

OL-25 ( + ) 5'-GAA₁₂₀CCTTCAACAAC-

AATGGCTCTC-3' [SEQ ID NO: 7]

OL-29A ( + ) 5'-₁₂₀CCTTCAACAACAATGGCTCTCAAGC-

TCAACCCAGTCACCACCTT-3' [SEQ ID NO: 8]

OL-30A (-) 5'-ι₉₄GGAGAAGTTGTTGAGGGAGCGTGTT-

GAAGGGAAGGTGGTGACTGGGTTGA-3' [SEQ ID NO: 9]

OL-39 (-) 5'-₂₅₃TTGGTGGAGGTGGAACTGAA-3' [SEQ ID NO: 10]

OL-110 ( + ) 5'-₂₆₃AGCTAAAGAAGTCACATGGAC-3' [SEQ ID NO: 11]

NOTE: The number in subscript corresponds to the nucleotide residue in the SAD cDNA sequence (Singh et al . , 1994) . + and - indicate coding and non-coding strand.

The sequence of oligo-29A corresponded to nt 120-

163 of SAD cDNA (reported by Singh et al., 1994). The sequence of oligo-30A corresponded to nt 145-194. In this way, radioactive probe fragments spanning 75 bps in the 5' end region of SAD cDNA were obtained.

Prehybridization was done at 65°C for 3 h in 5x

SSPE, 5x Denhardts solution, 0.5% SDS, and 500 μg of Salmon sperm DNA (Amersham) . Hybridization was done at 55°C for 18 h. The membrane was washed at room temperature in 2x SSPE and 0.1% SDS for 15 and 5 min and then at 50°C in lx SSPE and 0.1% SDS for 10 min. 5 At this point the membrane was free of background signal. Autoradiograms were obtained by exposing the membranes for variable lengths of time to Kodak X- OMAT™ AR films with intensifying screens at -70°C. Reporter Gene Constructs

10 A 1.747 kb DNA fragment containing only the 5'- regulatory region and a part of the untranslated region of the SADl gene was amplified by PCR and cloned into the pCRII vector (Invitrogen Corp) . The same fragment was retrieved as an EcoRI fragment from the pCRII

15 vector and subsequently cloned into pBluescript™ II SK (Stratagene) to gain some cloning sites. The relevant 5'- regulatory region, approximately 1.257 kb, of the SAD2 gene was PCR-amplified but using the pfu DNA polymerase (Stratagene) , and cloned into an EcoKV site

20 of the pBluescript II SK vector.

The SADl and SAD2 gene 5' regulatory elements were cloned into pRD420 as a Sall-Smal fragment in front of the uidA. The plasmid pRD420 was obtained from Dr. R.S.S. Datla, NRC Plant Biotechnology Institute, 110

25 Gymnasium Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, S7N OW9 (Datla et al . , 1992). The resulting constructs were labeled as pCDC214 and pCDC220. These constructs were deposited on October 3, 1996 (tested for viability on October 9, 1996, deposit receipt dated October 10,

30 1996) under the terms of the Budapest Treaty at the American Type Culture Collection, 12301 Parklawn Drive, Rockville, MD 20852, USA, under deposit nos. ATCC 98193 and 98192, respectively. The plasmids CDC214 and 220 were transferred directly to Agrobacteri um strain GV3101 containing helper plasmid pMP90 (Koncz and Schell, 1986) using a freeze-thaw method of transformation (An et al., 1988). Plant Transformation

Flax seeds were surface sterilized by stirring in 70% ethanol for 2 minutes, followed by three 10 minute washes in 0.5% sodium hypochlorite (freshly diluted from the commercial product) , and 5 rinses in sterile distilled water. Seeds were germinated on basal medium consisting of Murashige and Skoog (MS) major and minor salts and Gamborg vitamins (Sigma 0404), 3% sucrose and 0.8% agar. The pH of the medium was adjusted to 5.8 before autoclaving. About 10 surface-sterilized seeds were placed in each 100x15 mm plate. The plates were sealed with parafilm and placed in the dark at 22°C for 5 to 7 days.

Derivatives of Agrobacteria tumefaciens strain GV3101/pMP90 carrying pCDC214 and pCDC220 were grown on solidified 2x YT medium (Sambrook et al. 1989) supplemented with 50 μg/ml kanamycin and 50 μg/ml gentamycin sulfate. Single colonies from 2 to 3 day- old culture plates were used to inoculate 10 ml liquid 2x YT medium containing antibiotics as above and 20 μM acetosyringone. Cultures were grown at 28°C with rotary agitation for about 24 hours. Prior to inoculation of flax tissues, the cell concentration of the suspension was adjusted to lxlO⁹ cells/ml.

The following methods for obtaining transformed flax callus were modified from Mlynarova et al . (1994) . Hypocotyls of 5-7 day aseptic flax seedlings were cut into segments 3-4 mm long. To avoid dehydration, the segments were maintained in a small Volume of liquid basal medium until all the hypocotyls were cut. The hypocotyl segments were immersed in bacterial suspension (lxlO⁹ cells/ml) for 30 minutes with occasional swirling. The suspension was removed by aspiration and the hypocotyl segments were transferred to sterile filter paper to remove excess liquid. The segments were placed on agar-solidified (0.8%) basal medium supplemented with 4.44 μM 6-benzylaminopurine and 0.54 μM naphthaleneacetic acid (MSD4x2 medium; Basiran et al . , 1987). Maltose (3%) replaced sucrose as the carbohydrate source. About 25 explants were placed in each 100x15 mm Petri dish and maintained at 22-24°C, with a 16 h photoperiod and photon density of approximately 50 μmol/m²/s. After 2 days the segments were transferred to the same medium supplemented with 100 μg/ml kanamycin for selection of transformed cells and 200 μg/ml cefotaxime to eliminate Agrobacteria . The explants were maintained under the same growth conditions for 3 weeks. As a control, non-inoculated segments were treated in the same way.

Green callus formed at the cut ends of most of the inoculated hypocotyl segments, whereas little or no callus appeared on non-inoculated segments and they were completely bleached after 3 weeks on the selection medium. Callus was excised and transferred to basal medium (3% maltose) supplemented with 5 μM zeatin and antibiotics as above. Shoots regenerated from some of the calli within 3-4 weeks.

When the shoots had elongated to 0.5 to 1.0 cm, they were removed from the callus and placed in capped glass tubes (100x25 mm) containing 8 ml rooting medium: 1/2 strength MS salts, 3% sucrose, 0.1 μM IAA, 0.8% agar, pH 5.8, and 30 μg/ml kanamycin for selection of transformed shoots. The shoots were maintained under low light (<25 μmol/m²/s) for 6-8 days by which time some of the shoots had roots about 2-3 mm long. The plantlets were transferred to pots in the growth chamber within 10-14 days, when roots had elongated to about 2 cm and the shoots were 3-5 cm tall. Transgenic plants were grown under 18 h of light (300-500 μmol/m²/s) and day/night temperature of 20/17°C. The plants were fertilized just before flowering with a solution containing 27 g of 15N:30P:15K supplemented with 0.9 g CuS0₄ in 9 liters of water.

Transformation of canola and tobacco were performed according to Moloney et al. (1989) and Horsch et al . (1985), respectively. Tissue Sampling

Various tissues and developing seeds at different stage of development were harvested and immediately frozen in liquid N₂ and stored at -80°C until analyzed. In progeny generations, these tissues were combined from a total of 8 plants.

Fluorimetric GUS Enzyme Assay

Fluorimetric GUS assay was done essentially according to Jefferson (1987) . The assays were done in a micro well titer plate and fluorescence of the reactions was measured by CytoFluor™ II multi-well fluorescence plate reader (PerSeptive Biosystems). Determination of Fatty Acid and Protein Content in Seeds

The fatty acid content of seeds of different ages was determined by fatty acid methyl ester analysis of seed homogenates as described previously (Taylor et al., 1992).

The same protein extracts which were used for GUS assays were used for protein estimation. Protein concentration was determined using a modified Bradford assay method (Bio-Rad protein assay) and BSA as the standard. RESULTS

Isolation and characterization of the two SAD genes The inventors of the present invention have found that three lines of evidence prove there are two SAD genes in flax, namely: the amplification of two different sized DNA fragments by PCR, the results of restriction analysis of cloned PCR products, and the results of DNA blot analysis of flax genomic DNA.

The genomic sequences of the two SAD genes were amplified by PCR. Several oligonucleotide primers were synthesized based on the nucleotide sequence of the published SAD cDNA sequence (Singh et al., 1994). These primers were used in all possible combinations with flax genomic DNA as the template to amplify different segments of SAD genes. The molecular size of the PCR products was determined by agarose gel electrophoresis; in most reactions two products of very similar molecular size were detected, suggesting the possibility of two SAD genes in flax. Amplification with oligo-25 and 24 (Table 1) yielded a fragment of about 2.6 kb. This fragment contained the whole SAD gene as determined by sequence data.

The amplified SAD gene fragments were cloned into pCRII vector (Invitrogen Corp.). The identity of the amplified gene products was confirmed by comparison of their nucleotide sequences with the SAD cDNA sequence (Singh et al., 1994). Sequence analyses indicated that the SADl and SAD2 genes have 97.2% similarity with each other in the coding region and 96.2% and 93.7% with the published flax cDNA sequence, respectively (Fig. 1) . It is clear that the mRNA for SAD cDNA, reported by Singh et al. (1994), was transcribed from the SADl gene. Some general features of the flax SAD genes have been deduced from sequence analysis. As expected on the basis of the cDNA sequence, the coding region of the gene is 1191 bps. This consists of three exons interrupted by two introns of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 kb. Exon 1 consists of 123 bp, whereas exons 2 and 3 are 507 bp and 561 bp long, respectively. Verification for the presence of two SAD genes in flax comes from the analyses of two independent clones, each containing the full length gene. Although the nucleotide sequences of the coding regions are almost identical, there are several base changes. One of these has altered a restriction enzyme site, Ncol , resulting in the observation that the two clones have different restriction digestion patterns. The two clones also differ significantly in their intron sequences (Fig. 1) . The different intron sequences are presumably responsible for the slight difference in the molecular size of the two PCR products generated by the same primer combination.

Identification of SAD Gene Promoter Sequences in Flax Genome Genomic DNA was extracted from 7-10 days old seedlings of flax var. McGregor (obtained from Dr. G. Rowland, Crop Development Centre, 51 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A8 ) , digested with restriction enzyme, BamRI , Bell , Bglll , Ndel or Sstl, gel-fractionated and blotted onto nylon membrane for probing. These restriction enzymes would cut within the flax SAD genomic sequence as indicated in Figure 2A and elsewhere in the flax genome. When the DNA blot was hybridized with the probe, DNA fragments containing the 5'- upstream region and a part of the 5'- untranslated and coding region of the SAD gene were expected to hybridize (Figure 2A) .

The result of one such experiment is shown in Figure 2B. In each lane, two different size fragments hybridized with the probe indicating the existence of two SAD genes in flax. Singh et al. (1994) have shown only one SAD gene in flax. Since both the genes might be active, the inventors decided to isolate the 5' regulatory DNA sequences of both SAD genes.

Isolation and Characterization of Promoter Elements 5'- regulatory DNA sequences of the two SAD genes were amplified using the IPCR technique.

DNA blot analysis of the flax genome indicated that the two fragments obtained from the digestion of flax DNA with the restriction enzyme Sstl would contain about 1.7 and 1.2 kb of 5' flanking regions of the SADl and SAD2 gene, respectively (Figs. 2B, 3 and 4). These fragments are expected to contain sufficient 5'- regulatory elements required for gene expression. Sstl was used to cut the flax genomic DNA, and the circularized DNA template required for IPCR was prepared. An outline of the promoter isolation scheme is shown in Fig. 3, and is believed to be self- explanatory.

Flax genomic DNA was digested with the restriction enzyme Sstl and gel fractionated. DNA fragments were isolated from a region of the agarose gel where the two promoter fragments that hybridized with the SAD probe were expected (Fig. 2B and 3) . These DNA fragments were ligated at a concentration favoring the circularization of single DNA molecules (Ochman et al., 1993; Warner et al., 1993). The circularized DNA was then used as a template in the IPCR with two primers (oligo-39 and oligo 110; Table 1) . The orientation of the each member of the primer set used in the IPCR is opposite to that normally used in a regular PCR (Fig. 3). Two distinct fragments of the expected sizes, 2.2 5 kb and 1.7 kb, were amplified using IPCR. The untranslated region and parts of the exon 1 and exon 2 constituted the additional approximately 0.5 kb (Fig.3). The two fragments could also be digested with Sstl indicating the authenticity of the PCR product.

10 The two DNA fragments were cloned in the pCRII vector (Invitrogen Corp.) and sequenced. The DNA sequence of the 5'- regulatory regions of the two SAD genes was compiled and compared (Fig. 4) . The two SAD promoters are quite homologous. A large deletion of

15 368 bp in the SAD2 gene promoter (corresponding to nt 759 to 391 in the SADl promoter) is very conspicuous. There are a few short deletions, some substitutions and minor gaps in both the promoters. Based on the sequence data, 3'- regions of these DNA fragments were

20 matched with the 5'- coding regions of the two SAD genes, and thereby assigned the promoters to their respective SAD genes.

Expression of the β-glucuronidase Gene by Flax Promoters in Transgenic Plants

25 The ability of a promoter to regulate expression of a gene spatially and temporally can be demonstrated by using it to express a heterologus gene. To achieve this here, first, reporter gene constructs were made by fusing the promoter of the SADl or SAD2 gene with the

30 uidA gene (Fig. 5) . These expression constructs were then used to transform flax, canola and tobacco, and independent transgenic plants of these species were obtained. Different tissues were sampled and assayed for GUS activity to determine spatial or tissue-specific expression. Developing seeds were also collected at various stages of development to analyse the temporal expression pattern of the two promoters during seed development .

These promoters were capable of expressing the uidA gene in various tissues, with high level of expression in seeds (Fig. 6). In developing seeds, both the promoters showed similar temporal expression patterns for GUS (Fig. 7) . The GUS activity could be detected as early as 4 dap in developing seeds and in desiccated seeds (approximately 50 dap) of transgenic flax with higher activities around mid-development (14 to 28 dap) .

In tobacco, GUS activity in leaf was insignificant with both the promoters whereas in seeds GUS activity could be detected easily (Fig. 8) . In developing tobacco seeds, GUS activity was highest at about mid- development (Fig. 9) . In canola, GUS activity could be detected easily in both leaves and seeds (Fig. 10) . Utility of the Flax Promoters in Regulating Gene Expression

The utility of the flax promoters disclosed here is demonstrated by comparing their effect on uidA gene expression with both lipid and protein biosynthesis in developing flax seeds. In developing seeds, uidA expression correlated well with both fatty acid and protein biosynthesis (Fig. 7) . In seeds, maximum expression of the uidA gene controlled by the SAD gene promoters preceded the maximum accumulation of fatty acids and proteins. Also, in tobacco the temporal pattern of uidA gene expression correlated well with the lipid biosynthesis (de Silva et al., 1992). Therefore, these promoters are useful in manipulating gene expression in seeds. Since these promoters are also active in other tissues they are useful in manipulating gene expression in a variety of tissues. Utility of SAD Genes

The utility of the genes can be demonstrated by carrying out the following predictive experiments (similar experiments have been reported in Knutzen et al., 1992; Topfer et al., 1995). Firstly, antisense or sense constructs are made using the disclosed or other promoters. For example, these genes or their parts can be ligated into a Smal restriction site of pCDC 214 or 220 (Fig. 5) or any other convenient cloning site of another plant transformation vector. These recombinant plasmids can then be mobilized, for example, into an Agrobacterium strain which can then be used to transform a variety of plant species. Any changes in fatty acids of membrane and storage lipids can be evaluated by routine methods described in this application.

Both type of constructs are expected to reduce the levels of similar mRNA during expression of the natural genes resulting in an increase of 18:0 fatty acid in membrane or storage lipids. Sense constructs can also be used in enhancing the levels of mRNA. Such enhancement will likely result in the increase of 16:1 or 18:1 fatty acids in membranes or storage lipids of plants. Such plants will be of increased commercial interest and value.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that various modifications and alterations may be made to the present invention without departing from the general scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. All such variations and modifications should be considered part of this invention.

SEQUENCE LISTING

(1) GENERAL INFORMATION:

(i) APPLICANT:

(A) NAME: Ravinder Kumar Jain

(B) STREET: 2413 Irvine Avenue

(C) CITY: Saskatoon

(D) STATE: Saskatchewan

(E) COUNTRY: Canada

(F) POSTAL CODE (ZIP) : S7J 2A9

(A) NAME: Roberta Gail Thompson

(B) STREET: 117 Capilano Court

(C) CITY: Saskatoon

(D) STATE: Saskatchewan

(E) COUNTRY: Canada

(F) POSTAL CODE (ZIP) : S7K 4B9

(A) NAME: David Charles Taylor

(B) STREET: 622 Wollaston Bay

(C) CITY: Saskatoon

(D) STATE: Saskatchewan

(E) COUNTRY: Canada

(F) POSTAL CODE (ZIP) : S7J 4C3

(A) NAME: Gordon Grant Rowland

(B) STREET: 213 Lake Crescent

(C) CITY: Saskatoon

(D) STATE: Saskatchewan

(E) COUNTRY: Canada

(F) POSTAL CODE (ZIP) : S7H 3A1

(A) NAME: Alan Gordon McHughen

(B) STREET: 35 Cathedral Bluffs Road

(C) CITY: Saskatoon

(D) STATE: Saskatchewan

(E) COUNTRY: Canada

(F) POSTAL CODE (ZIP) : S7P 1A1

(A) NAME: Samuel Leonard MacKenzie

(B) STREET: 17 Cambridge Crescent

(C) CITY: Saskatoon

(D) STATE: Saskatchewan

(E) COUNTRY: Canada

(F) POSTAL CODE (ZIP) : S7H 3P9

(ii) TITLE OF INVENTION: Flax Promoters For Manipulating Gene Expression (111) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 11

(IV) COMPUTER READABLE FORM:

(A) MEDIUM TYPE: Floppy disk

(B) COMPUTER: IBM PC compatible

(C) OPERATING SYSTEM: PC-DOS/MS-DOS

(D) SOFTWARE: Patentln Release #1.0, Version #1.30 (EPO)

(Vl) PRIOR APPLICATION DATA:

(A) APPLICATION NUMBER: US 60/029,416

(B) FILING DATE: 30-OCT-1996

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 1:

(l) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 2701 base pairs

(B) TYPE: nucleic acid

(C) STRANDEDNESS : double

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)

(ill) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (IV) ANTI-SENSE: NO

(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: Lmum usitatissimum

(B) STRAIN: McGregor

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 1:

ACAACCATTC AATTCAAAAG TTTTTCCAAT TTCCATTTCC TCATCTGCCT TACCCATAAA 60

TCTCGACGGA CACCAAAAAA CTCAGCCAGC TTGCCCCCAA ACAACAGCGC AGAAAAACCT 120

TCAACAACAA TGGCTCTCAA GCTCAACCCA GTCACCACCT TCCCTTCAAC ACGCTCCCTC 180

AACAACTTCT CCTCCAGATC TCCTCGCACC TTTCTCATGG CTGCTTCCAC TTTCAATTCC 240

ACCTCCACCA AGTAAGCATC TCCTCCTCCT CGGAATCTCC GCCGATTTCT TTTAAGCGAT 300

TGATCGTAGA TAAATTTGTC GGTTGCTTAC CGTTCATCAA AATCTGCACG GTTCGTTTCT 360

TCTTCTGCGC CTAGATTGCA TTATGTCATT GTTCGCTTTC CGATTTGACT GACCGACATA 420

AATCAATTCC TTTGTGTTTC ACGATTCTGG GTTTTGCGCT GTAATTGATT ^■GTCAGTGTTT 480 GCACAGGTTT CCCCTTCTCC TCCTCCGTCC ATCAAATGCA TGTTATTACC ATTTCAATTT 540

CAGTTTCCTT CTCTGAAATA TCCGTCTCTG GGAAAATAAG TCTCTGTATC TACTATCCTA 600

TCAGCTTGTT TAGGAGAGGT TCGATATTCG TTTACATAAA CCAATTGGCT TACAGTCCTT 660

GAACGTTCTA AATGTTGGTC GCGGTGATAA TAGGTTCTCA AAAGAGGTTT GTCTATGTTG 720

TTTGGCAAAA TCTTGTTTCT GTGAATCATG TTTAAGGTCC TTGGAAGAAT GACTAATGAG 780

CTATGACATG ATTACGACGT AGTAGTTATT GAACTGCTGA TAATTCAATA TAGGGGTAAC 840

TTTGTTGATT GTTTGGTCAC AGGGAGGCTG AGAAGCTAAA GAAGTCACAT GGACCACCAA 900

AAGAGGTGCA TATGCAAGTG ACCCATTCCA TGCCCCCACA GAAGCTGGAG ATATTTAAGT 960

CTCTGGAAGG TTGGGCTGAG GATGTTCTAT TACCGCACCT GAAGCCAGTT GAGAAATGCT 1020

GGCAGCCACA GGATTTCCTG CCCGAACCTG AGTCGGATGG GTTCGAGGAG CAAGTGAAGG 1080

AGCTCAGGGC AAGGGCCAAA GAACTGCCCG ATGACTATTT TGTTGTGCTG GTTGGGGATA 1140

TGATCACCGA AGAAGCTCTG CCGACTTACC AGACAATGCT CAACACCCTT GACGGGGTGA 1200

GGGACGAGAC TGGAGCCAGC CTTACGCCGT GGGCAATCTG GACAAGGGCG TGGACCGCTG 1260

AAGAGAATAG GCACGGTGAC CTTCTCAACA AGTATCTATA CCTCTCTGGA AGGGTGGACA 1320

TGAGGCAAAT TGAAAAGACC ATTCAGTATC TCATCGGCTC TGGAATGGTA TGTAATCACA 1380

TACTTCATCC TTTTCTATTA ATCTTTGGGT GAACAAAATT CACTACACTG GTAGCAGCTG 1440

AAACTTTAGA TGATTTTTTT TACTGCCTAG CTTCTATGAA ACAAAACCAC GTAAGTCAAA 1500

TAGGGTTGAC AATGAGTTCA AGTGGCAAAA TTTTTCTTAT ATACCAACTT CGAACCACTT 1560

TATATGACAT ACCAACTCCT AGTTCGGTTA AAATTCCTCC GTCGAAGATA TAATACTTGG 1620

ATTGGTTAAA TGAATTGTGA AAGGATACAC GTGATGTGGT CTGGAATTAA TTTGTTTGAA 1680

TGATCAGTTG GGTTCGGGGC GACAACTGTG AACTGGAACC ACCCTAAGTA AATTTTCTTT 1740

CTGTCCTACA AATTTGAGGT TCTCCTTGAT CACCTTAGTC CATCTTAGGT TTGCCCGTTA 1800

GTAAGATCTG CATTTAGCAG TTTGTCCTGG TATCTGATAT CACTAGTATC TTTGTTTGAT 1860

TCCCTAGCAT CTCTGAAACC ATCGGACAAG TAGGTGGTTT AGGACAAATT TGGTTCATTG 1920

CGGCATTTTT TGTTTGTATC GCCGTATCAT CTGGAAGAAG CAGACAGTTT TGCAAAGTGG 1980

CATCAAGCTC AAGAAAGCAA CGGCTAGAAG AAGTTCTACA TCTGATGCTT TCCTTTTGTT 2040 TCTTTGTGTG CTTTTTGGAC TTTGTTCTTT TTTCCTGTAG GATCCAAGAT CCAAAAACAG 2100

AAAACAACCC CTACCTCGGT TTCATCTACA CCTCATTCCA AGAGAGGGCA ACGTTCATCT 2160

CCCACGGAAA CACAGCCAGA CTCGCCAAGG ACCATGGGGA CATGAAGCTG GCGCAGATCT 2220

GCGGGATCAT CGCAGCAGAC GAGAAACGGC ACGAAACCGC ATACACCAAG ATCGTCGAGA 2280

AGCTCTTCGA GATCGACCCT GACGGTACAG TGCTGGCACT GGCGGACATG ATGAGGAAGA 2340

AGATATCGAT GCCCGCCCAC TTGATGTACG ATGGAGAAGA CGACAACCTC TTCGACAATT 2400

ACTCGTCAGT CGCTCAACGC ATCGGGGTGT ATACTGCCAA GGATTATGCC GATATCCTGG 2460

AGTTCCTGGT GGGGAGGTGG AAAGTGGATG CTTTTACGGG GCTTTCCGGG GAAGGGAACA 2520

AAGCTCAGGA TTTTGTCTGC GGGCTTCCTG CGAGGATTCG AAAGTTGGAG GAGAGGGCTG 2580

CGGGGAGGGC AAAGCAAACG TCGAAATCTG TCCCGTTCAG CTGGATCTTC AGCAGAGAAT 2640

TGGTACTCTA ATGGAGTTTG CTTGAGAGTT AGAGTGTGGA ATGATTGGAG TATGATGGCA 2700

T 2701

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 2:

(l) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 2705 base pairs

(B) TYPE: nucleic acid

(C) STRANDEDNESS : double

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)

(ill) HYPOTHETICAL: NO

(IV) ANTI-SENSE: NO

(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: Lmum usitatissimum

(B) STRAIN: McGregor

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 2:

ACAACCATTC AATTCAATAT CTCACATTCA AGTTTTTCCA ACTTCCATTT CCTCATCTGC 60

CTTACCCATA AATCTCGACA CCAAAACACT CAGCCAGCTT CGTCCCAAAC AACGCAGAAA 120 AACCTTCAAC AACAATGGCT CTCAAGCTCA ACCCAGTCAC CACCTTCCCT TCGACCCGCT 180

CCCTCAACAA CTTCTCCTCC AGATCTCCTC GCACCTTTCT CATGGCTGCT TCCACTTTCA 240

ATTCCACTTC CACCAAGTAA GTTCCCGTCA CCATCTCCTC TTCCTCGGAA TCTCCGCCGT 300

TTCATTTAAG CGATTGATCG TAGAAAATCT GTCGGTTGCT TAGCGTTCAT TCAAATCTGC 360

GCGGTTCGTT TCTTTTTCTT TCTTCAGACT GCATCATCTG CATTATGTTA TTGTTCGTTT 420

CCGATTTGAC TAACCTACAT AATCAATTCC TTTGTGTTTC ACGAGTCTGG ATTTTGCGCT 480

GTAATTGATT GTCAGTGTTT GGACAGGTTT CCATTTCTCC ACCTCCGTCC ATCAAATGCA 540

TGTTATTACC TACCAATTTC AGCGTCTTTC TCTGGAAATT TCTGTCTCTG TATCTACTAT 600

CCTATTAGCT TGTTTGAGAG AGGTTCAATA TTGGTTTGCA TGAACCAAGT GGCTTACAAT 660

CCTTCAACGT TCTAAATGTT GGTCGCAGTA ACAATAGGTT CTCAAAAGAG GTTTTTCTAT 720

GTTGTTTGGC AAAATCTTGT TTCTGTGAAT CATGTTAAGG TCCTGGGAAG AATGATTAAT 780

GAGCTATGAC ATGATTAAGG CGTAGTAGTT ATTGAACTGC TGATAATTCA ATATAGGGGT 840

AACTTTGTTG GTTGTTTGGT GACAGGGAGG CTGAGAAGCT AAAGAAGTCA CATGGACCAC 900

CAAAAGAGGT GCATATGCAA GTGACCCATT CCATGCCCCC ACAGAAGCTG GAGATCTTTA 960

AGTCCCTTGA AGGTTGGGCA GAGGACGTTC TGTTGCCGCA CCTGAAGCCG GTTGAGAAAT 1020

GCTGGCAGCC ACAAGATTTC CTGCCCGAAC CCGAGTCGGA TGGGTTCGAG GAGCAAGTGA 1080

AGGAGCTCAG GGCAAGGGCT AAAGAACTCC CCGATGACTA TTTTGTTGTG CTGGTTGGGG 1140

ATATGATCAC CGAAGAAGCT CTACCGACTT ACCAGACAAT GCTCAACACC CTTGACGGGG 1200

TGAGGGACGA GACTGGAGCC AGCCTTACGC CGTGGGCAAT CTGGACAAGG GCGTGGACCG 1260

CTGAAGAGAA TAGGCACGGT GACCTTCTCA ACAAGTATCT TTACCTCTCT GGAAGGGTGG 1320

ACATGAGGCA AATTGAAAAG ACCATTCAGT ATCTCATCGG CTCTGGAATG GTATATACTC 1380

ACATCCTATC TGCCCCTTTA TCCTTTTCCA TTAATCTTTG ATTGAACAAA ATTCAATAAA 1440

CTGGTAGCTG AAACTTTAGA TGATTTGTTA CTGCCTAGCT TCTATGAGAA AACCACTGAA 1500

GTCAAATAGG TTTGACAATG GGTTTAAATG GAAAAAGTTT CATATACCAT CTTCCATCTA 1560

TTTTATATGA CATACCAACT TCTACTTTGG AGAAAATTCG CCGTGGATAA TCATATTATT 1620

GAAGATATAG TACTTAGTAG ATTGGTTAGA TGAACTGTTA AACAATACAT GTGATGTCGT 1680 GTGCAATTAA TTTGTGTAAA TGATTAGCTG GGTTCGGGAC GACAAATGTG AACTGGAACC 1740

CTAGTAAACT ATGAATTGAG GTTGTCCTTC ATCACTTTAT TCTGTCCTGG GTCTGTTTGC 1800

CTGTTTGCAA GATCTGCATG TAGCAGTTTG TCCTGGTATT TGCTACCAGT GGTATCTTTG 1860

TTTGATTCCC TAGCATCTCT GAAAACATCG GACCAAGTAT CTGGTTAGGA CAAATTTGGT 1920

TCATTGCGGC ATTTTTTGTT TGTATCGCTG TATCGTCTGG AAGAGCAGAC AGTTTTGCAA 1980

AGTGGCATCA AGCTCAAGAA AGCAACGGCT AGAAGAAGTT CTACATCTGA TGCGTTCCTT 2040

TTGTTTCTTT GTGTGCTTTT TGGACTTTGT TCTTTTTGCC TGTAGGATCC AAGATCCAAA 2100

AACAGAAAAC AACCCCTACC TCGGTTTCAT CTACACCCCA TTCCAAGAGA GGGCAACGTT 2160

CATCTCCCAC GGAAATACGG CCAGACTCGC CAAGGACCAC GGGGACATGA AGCTGGCGCA 2220

GATCTGCGGG ATCATCGCAG CAGACGAGAA GCGGCACGAA ACAGCATACA CCAAGATCGT 2280

CGAGAAGCTC TTCGAGATCG ACCCTGACGG TACAGTGTTG GCTCTGGCGG ACATGATGAG 2340

GAAGAAGATA TCGATGCCCG CCCACTTGAT GTACGATGGA GAAGACGACA ACCTCTTCGA 2400

CAATTACTCG TCGGTCGCTC AACGCATCGG GGTGTATACT GCCAAGGATT ATGCTGATAT 2460

CCTGGAGTTC CTGGTGGGGA GGTGGAAAGT GGATGCTTTT ACGGGACTTT CCGGGGAAGG 2520

GAACAAAGCT CAGGAGTTTG TCTGTGGGCT TCCAGCGAGG ATTCGAAAAT TGGAGGAGAG 2580

GGCTGCGGGG AGGGCAAAGC AAACGTCGAA ATCTGTCCCA TTCAGCTGGA TCTTCAGCAG 2640

AGAATTGGTA CTCTAATGGA GTTTGCCCGA GAGTTGAGTG TGGAATGATT GGAGTATGAT 2700

GGCAT 2705

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 3:

(1) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 1693 base pairs

(B) TYPE: nucleic acid

(C) STRANDEDNESS: double

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (m) HYPOTHETICAL: NO

(lv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (VI) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: Linum usitatissimum

(B) STRAIN: McGregor

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 3:

GAGCTCTCAA TGTAGTAACA CAAAGCCTTC TGTCTTCTTT CTGTAACGTT CAATGCTAGA 60

ACTTGTCTTC TTATAACTGT TTGTTTGCTT CTTCAGCTAA TGTTGGAGAA GGATGGAGCC 120

ACGGAGATCC CGGTAAAGCA AAGGATGGAT CGAGAGGAGA CGGTGGCTCG AGAGAACATG 180

GAAGCATTGC ACAGAGCCGT CACGTTGGAA GTGCCTCATT CGCAGGCCCC GTCTCGGTAT 240

GGAACATTTG GTGGTGGTGA GGTTGAAGAA GAGGAGAAAG ATGCCGTAGT TCATCATCTA 300

CTGGGATGGA TTGATCCGGC CAGCATGTTC TCCTCCCGAA ATCGACCTGT CCCTATTGAT 360

GACAATGTAA CATCAATGTC AATCTCTGCA GATATCTGTT AGGATCAGGT CATGATTCTT 420

TTTTGGTTGA TTCTTGTGAA TGTGTAACAT TGATGTAAGC TATTTGTTGT TGTAATATCT 480

GATTTTGTTG TTGCTTTGAT CAATCAAATA AATCTCGTTC AACGCGATCA TAAGCCTCTT 540

TCATATTCAT TTTGACGACT ATGTATAGTC GTACAAACTA TTCGGTTAAC TAATCTACAT 600

CAAGTCGGAA TTAGCTAGAC ATTGTCAAGG AGGAGGAAAA TATCAAGAAA ATTGGATGAG 660

GAAATCATAC ACCCAATTCT GAAGCTGATT CTTCATCTAT GATTTCGAGT TTCGACTTTT 720

TTTGAGTCTC AACTGTGATT TCGAGTTTCG ACTTGATTTG GCTCTTTGAT ATTCGAAATT 780

AAATGCCTCC AAAGTGCTCT CTACTTGCGG TTGGCCTGGT TCAATGGCGA ATCATTGAAT 840

GACAGAACTA GACAGCTACC AGGTGCAAAA AACATTTGTT AATGTCTTCT TGCATTAATG 900

TCCATGTTTT CTGCATTTTA ATCTTTCCCC AAACACCTAA TATATAGCTT CATTGATCCT 960

CCTCTCACGG TTGCAGATCT CGTTGCTGAT AACACATACA TGGCTACAAG ACTCTAAAAC 1020

GGTTCAAAGT GAAATTGTTT TGGTGGTAGA GTTGTGTGTT TGGTGACTCG AAAGTTCTGG 1080

ATTCGAATCC AGCATTCCCC ACAAAATAGA CACCAACGTA GTGTTTATTT ACCGTCTTCT 1140

ATCTTGTATT GACCGAGAGT TACGATATAC TCCGACAAAA AAAGACATCT TCCACATCAT 1200

CAAATGGATC CGTAGTTAGT GCAGTGGCTC GATTAACATA AATGAAAAAA GGAAAAAATT 1260

TGCCTGAAAT CGATGCTCAA AACAAGTAGA AATTCATTCA AACATATTTA GACAAACACG 1320 ATCATTTAGC ATCATCAAAT TAATAACAAG AGCAAACAAT AAAGCACATA GCAAAACATA 1380

CAATAGTCGT CTTGCAATGT CATATGATAA TAAGCCAGTG AAACCATGAA GCCCAAGTGA 1440

AGTGGTCAAG TGGGAGCTGA AAGCTTCCGA ACCCAAGCCC CCGCTACCGG GTTAGGACAT 1500

ACGACACGCG ACATGCTACG AAACTTAAAA ATCGGTCACG CAGTTAATGG AACAAATGAA 1560

ACGCAACGAC TATTAAGTGA CCATTTTGCA GAAATGATAT GAAAAAGTGA CCATTTAGAC 1620

AAATGAGCAA AGAAAATACA AGTGGCGAGT GCTGACATAA TAAACCGAAT GCAGGCGTTA 1680

CCATCCAATT TTA 1693

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 4:

(1) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 1191 base pairs

(B) TYPE: nucleic acid

(C) STRANDEDNESS: double

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)

(ill) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (IV) ANTI-SENSE: NO

(VI) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: Linum usitatissimum

(B) STRAIN: McGregor

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 4:

GAGCTCTCAA TGTAGTAACA CAAACTCTTT TTTTTCCATA ACGTTGAATG TTAGAACTTT 60

GTCTTTTTAT AACTGTTTCT TTCATGAAGC TGATCAGCTG ATGTTGGAGA AGGATGGAGC 120

CACGGAGATT CCTGAAAAGC AAAGGATGGA ACGAGAGGAG ACGGTGACTC GAGAGTACAG 180

GGAAGCATTG CACAGAGCTG TCACGCTTGC AGTGCCTCAT TCAGAGTTCT TGTCTCGGTA 240

TGGAACATTT AGTGGCGGTG ACGTTGAAGA AGAGGAAGAA AGATGCTATG GTTCATCATC 300

TAGTGGGAAG GATTGATCCA GCCGGCATGT TCTCCTCCCG AAATCGGGCC GTCCCAATTG 360

ATGACAATGT AACATCAATG TCAATCTCTG CAGATTTTTG TTAGCAGCAG -GTCATGATTC 420 TTTTTTGGTT GATTCTTGTG AATGTAAGCT ATTTGTTGTT GTAATATATG CATTGATTGT 480

GATTTTGTTT TAGCTTTGAT CAATGAAATA AATCTCGTTC AACCCAACCA TCAGGCTCTT 540

TCATATTCAT TTTGACGACT ATATATACAT AATCGTACAA ACTATTCGGT TAACTAATCT 600

ACAGAAAGTC GGAGTTAGCT AGAGATTGTC AAGGAGGAGG AGATCATACA CCTAATTTTG 660

AAGCTGATTC TTCATCTATG ATTTCGAGTT TTGACTTGAT TTGGCTCTTC GATATTCGAA 720

ATTAAATGCC TCAATGCCTC CAAAGTGCTC TCTACTTGCG GGTGGACCTA CAAAACTAGG 780

CAAACAGGTG CAAAAAACAT GTGTTTACAC GTCCATGTTA TCTTGCATTG GCCCATGTTT 840

TCTGCATTGT AAATCTTTCC CCAAACACAT AGTTAGACGA AGTCGATAAT CTAGCACCAT 900

CAAATCAATA ACACGAGCAA ATAATAAAGT AAATAGTGAA ACCATGAAGC CTAATTGGTC 960

GAGTGGAGCT GAAAGCTTTC ATCGGTATCG AACCCAACCC CCCCTGCTAC GAAACTTAAA 1020

AATGGGTTAC GCTATTACAC TCGATAGAAC TGATGAAACG CAACGATTGT TAAGTAACCA 1080

TTTTGCAGAA ACGATAATTG ACAAGTGACC ATTTGGATAA ATGACCAGGG AAAATACAAG 1140

TGGCGAGTGC TGACATAATA AACCGAATGC GGGCGTTACC ATCCAATTTT A 1191 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 5:

(l) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 1371 base pairs

(B) TYPE: nucleic acid

(C) STRANDEDNESS: double

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA

(in) HYPOTHETICAL: NO

(lv) ANTI-SENSE: NO

(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: Linum usitatissimum

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 5: CGACAACCAT TCAATTCAAA AGTTTTTCCA ATTTCCATTT CCTCATCTGC CTTACCCATA 60

AATCTCGACG GACACCAAAA AACTCAGCCA GCTTGCCCCC AAACAACAGC -GCAGAAAAAC 120 CTTCAACAAC AATGGCTCTC AAGCTCAACC CAGTCACCAC CTTCCCTTCA ACACGCTCCC 180

TCAACAACTT CTCCTCCAGA TCTCCTCGCA CCTTTCTCAT GGCTGCTTCC ACTTTCAGTT 240

CCACCTCCAC CAAGGAGGCT GAAGCTAAAG AAGTCACATG GACCACCAAA AGAGGTGCAT 300

ATGCAAGTGA CCCATTCCAT GCCCCCACAG GAAGCTGGGA GATATTTAAG TCTCTGGGAA 360

GGTTGGGGCT GAGGGATGTT CTTATTTCGC ACCTGAAGCC AGTTGAGAAA TGCTGGCAGC 420

CACAGGATTT CCTGCCCGAA CCTGAGTCGG ATGGGTTCGA GGAGCAAGTG AAGGAGCTCA 480

GGGCAAGGGC CAAAGAACTG CCCGATGACT ATTTTGTTGT GCTGGTTGGG GATATGATCA 540

CCGAAGAAGC TCTGCCGACT TACCAGACAA TGCTCAACAC CCTTGACGGG GTGAGGGACG 600

AGACTGGAGC CAGCCTTACG CCGTGGGCAA TCTGGACAAG GGCGTGGACC GCTGAAGAGA 660

ATAGGCACGG TGACCTTCTC AACAAGTATC TATACCTCTC TGGAAGGGTG GACATGAGGC 720

AAATTGAAAA GACCATTCAG TATCTCATCG GCTCTGGAAT GGATCCAAAA ACAGAAAACA 780

ACCCCTACCT CGGTTTCATC TACACCTCAT TCCAAGAGAG GGCAACGTTC ATCTCCCACG 840

GAAACACAGC CAGACTCGCC AAGGACCATG GGGACATGAA GCTGGCGCAG ATCTGCGGGA 900

TCATCGCAGC AGACGAGAAA CGGCACGAAA CCGCATACAC CAAGATCGTC GAGAAGCTCT 960

TCGAGATCGA CCCTGACGGT ACAGTGCTGG CACTGGCGGA CATGATGAGG AAGAAGATAT 1020

CGATGCCCGC CCACTTGATG TACGATGGAG AAGACGACAA CCTCTTCGAC AATTACTCGT 1080

CAGTCGCTCA ACGCATCGGG GATACTGCCA AGGATTATGC CGATATCCTG GAGTTCCTGG 1140

TGGGGAGGTG GAAAGTGGAT GCTTTTACGG GGCTTTCCGG GGAAGGGAAC AAAGCTCAGG 1200

ATTTTGTCTG CGGGCTTCCT GCGAGGATTC GAAAGTTGGA GGAGAGGGCT GCGGGGAGGG 1260

CAAAGCAAAC GTCGAAATCT GTCCCGTTCA GCTGGATCTT CAGCAGAGAA TTGGTACTCT 1320

AATGGAGTTT GCTTGAGAGT AGAGTGTGGA ATGATTGGAG TATGATGGCA T 1371 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 6:

(l) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 24 base pairs

(B) TYPE: nucleic acid

(C) STRANDEDNESS: single

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(11) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (ill) HYPOTHETICAL: NO

(lv) ANTI-SENSE: YES

(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: Lmum usitatissimum

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 6: GAAATGCCAT CATACTCCAA TCAT 24

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 7:

(l) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 24 base pairs

(B) TYPE: nucleic acid

(C) STRANDEDNESS: single

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ll) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA

(m) HYPOTHETICAL: NO

(lv) ANTI-SENSE: NO

(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: Lmum usitatissimum

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 7: GAACCTTCAA CAACAATGGC TCTC 24

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 8:

(l) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 44 base pairs

(B) TYPE: nucleic acid

(C) STRANDEDNESS: single

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ll) MOLECULE TYPE: CDNA

(ill) HYPOTHETICAL: NO

(lv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (vi ) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: Lmum usitatissimum

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 8:

CCTTCAACAA CAATGGCTCT CAAGCTCAAC CCAGTCACCA CCTT 44

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 9:

(l) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 50 base pairs

(B) TYPE: nucleic acid

(C) STRANDEDNESS: single

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(11) MOLECULE TYPE: CDNA

(m) HYPOTHETICAL: NO

(IV) ANTI-SENSE: YES

(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: Linum usitatissimum

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 9:

GGAGAAGTTG TTGAGGGAGC GTGTTGAAGG GAAGGTGGTG ACTGGGTTGA 50

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 10:

(1) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 20 base pairs

(B) TYPE: nucleic acid

(C) STRANDEDNESS: single

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ll) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA

(in) HYPOTHETICAL: NO

(lv) ANTI-SENSE: YES

(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: Linum usitatissimum (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 10: TTGGTGGAGG TGGAACTGAA 20

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 11:

(l) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 21 base pairs

(B) TYPE: nucleic acid

(C) STRANDEDNESS: single

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(11) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA

(in) HYPOTHETICAL: NO

(lv) ANTI-SENSE: YES

(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: Linum usitatissimum

(XI) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 11: AGCTAAAGAA GTCACATGGA C 21

REFERENCES OF INTEREST TO THE PRESENT INVENTION

l.An,G., Ebert, P. R. , Mitra, A., and Ha, S. B. 1988. Binary vectors, in: S. B. Gelvin, R. A. Schilperoort and D. P. S. Verma (Eds.), Plant Molecular Biology Manual, Kluwer Academic. Pp A3: 1-19.

2.Basiran N., Armitage, P., Scott, R. J. , and Draper, J. 1987. Genetic transformation of flax ( Linum usi ta tissimum) by Agrobacteria tumefaciens : regeneration of transformed shoots via a callus phase. Plant Cell Reports 6:396-399.

3. Bennett, J. 1993. Genes for crop improvement. In Genetic Engineering, Vol. 15. J. K. Setlow (ed.). Plenum Press, NY. Pp.165-189.

4. Chen ZL, Schuler MA, Beachy RN. 1986. Functional analysis of regulatory elements in a plant embryo- specific gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1986 83:8560- 8564.

5. Datla, R.S.S., Hammerlindl, J.K., Panchuck, B.,

Pelcher, L.E., and Keller, W. 1992. Modified binary plant transformation vectors with the wild-type gene encoding NPTII. Gene 211:383-384.

6. Datla, R., Anderson, J. W., and Selvaraj , G. 1997. Plant promoters for transgene expression. Biotech. Ann. Rev. (In press) .

7.Dehesh K, Jones A, Knutzon DS, Voelker TA. 1996.

Production of high levels of 8:0 and 10:0 fatty acids in transgenic canola by overexpression of Ch FatB2, a thioesterase cDNA from Cuphea hookeriana. Plant J 9:167-172.

8. Dellaporta, S.L., Wood, J. , and Hicks J.B. 1983. A plant DNA mini preparation: version II. Plant Mol. Biol. Rep. 1:19-21.

9.de Silva, J. , Robinson, S. J. , and Safford, R. 1992. The isolation and functional characterization of a B . napus acyl carrier protein 5' flanking region involved in the regulation of seed storage lipid synthesis. Plant Mol. Biol. 18:1163-1172.

10. Gait, M. J. 1984. Oligonucleotide .Synthesis-A Practical Approach. IRL Press, Oxford. 11. Hitz WD, Mauvis CJ, Ripp KG, Reiter RJ, DeBonte L, Chen, Z. 1995. The use of cloned rapeseed genes for cytoplasmic fatty acid desaturases and the plastid acyl-ACP thioesterase to alter relative levels of polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids in rapeseed oil. Proc. 9th International Cambridge Rapeseed Congress, UK. Pp 470-472.

12.Horsch, R. B., Fry, J. E., Hoffmann, N. L.,

Eichholtz, D., Rogers S. G., and Fraley R. T. 1985. A simple and general method for transferring genes into plants. Science 227:1229-1231.

13.Jefferson, R. A. 1987. Assaying chimeric genes in plants: the GUS gene fusion system. Plant Mol. Biol. Rep. 5:387-405.

14. Jones A, Davies HM, Voelker TA. 1995. Palmitoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) thioesterase and the evolutionary origin of plant acyl-ACP thioesterases . Plant Cell 7:359-371.

15. Kinney, AJ. 1997. Development of genetically engineered oilseeds, in: JP Williams, MU Khan, and NW Lem(Eds.), Physiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology of Plant Lipids, Kluwer Academic Publ . Pp 298-300.

16. Knutzon, D. S., Thompson, G. A., Radke, S. E.,

Johnson, W. B., Knauf, V. C, and Kridl, J. C. 1992. Modification of Brassica seed oil by antisense expression of a stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase gene. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 89:2624- 2628.

17.Koncz, C, and Schell, J. 1986. The promoter of TL- DNA gene 5 controls the tissue-specific expression of chimeric genes carried by a novel type of Agrobacterium binary vector. Mol. Gen. Genet. 204:383-396.

18.Mlynarova, L., Bauer, M., Nap, J.-P., and Pretova, A. 1994. High efficiency Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer to flax. Plant Cell Reports 13:282-285.

19.Moloney, M. M. and van Rooijen, G. J. H. (1996)

Recombinant proteins via oleosin partitioning. Inform 7:107-113. 20.Moloney, M. M. , Walker, J. M., and Sharma K. K. 1989. High efficiency transformation of Brassica napus using Agrobacterium vectors. Plant Cell Rep. 8:238-242.

21.0chman, H., Ayala, F. J. , and Hartl, D. L. 1993. Use of polymerase chain reaction to amplify segments outside boundaries of known sequences. Meth. Enzymol. 218:309-321.

22. Rowland, G. G., McHughen, A., Gusta, L. V., Bhatty, R. S., MacKenzie, S. L., and Taylor, D. C. 1995. The application of chemical mutagenesis and biotechnology to the modification of linseed. Euphytica 85:317-321.

23.Sanger, F. , Nickler, S., and Coulson, A. R. 1977. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 74:5463-5467.

24. Sambrook, J. , Fritsch, E.F., and Maniatis, T. 1989. Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY.

25. Singh, S., McKinney, S., and Green, A. 1994.

Sequence of a cDNA from Linum usi ta tissimum encoding the stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase. Plant Physiol . 104:1075.

26. Taylor, D. C, Barton, D. L., Rioux, K. P., Reed, D. W., Underhill, E. W., MacKenzie, S. L., Pomeroy, M. K., and Weber, N. (1992). Biosynthesis of acyl lipids containing very-long chain fatty acids in microspore-derived and zygotic embryos of Brassica napus L, cv. Reston. Plan t Physiol . 99:1609-1618.

27.Topfer, R. , Martini, N., and Schell, J. 1995. Modification of plant lipid synthesis. Science 268:681-686.

28. arner, S. A. J. , Scott, R. , and Draper, J. 1993. Isolation of an asparagus intracellular PR gene (AoPRl ) wound-responsive promoter by the inverse polymerase chain reaction and its characterization in transgenic tobacco. Plant J. 3:191-201.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. Isolated and purified deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), characterized in that said DNA includes a sequence according to SEQ ID NO:l or SEQ ID NO: 2, or a sequence that is substantially homologous thereto.

2. Isolated and purified deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), characterized in that said DNA includes a sequence according to SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4, or a sequence that is substantially homologous thereto or that is a part of SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4.

3. A vector for introducing at least one gene into plant cells, characterized in that said vector contains a promoter having a sequence according to SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4, or a sequence that is substantially homologous thereto, or that is a part of SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4.

4. A vector according to claim 3, characterized by further including at least one gene under expression control of said promoter.

5. Plasmid pCDC220 (ATCC 98192).

6. Plasmid pCDC214 (ATCC 98193) .

7. An isolated and purified gene expression cassette characterized by containing a sequences selected from SEQ ID NO:l, SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ ID NO:3 and SEQ ID NO:4, or a sequence that is substantially homologous thereto, or that is a part of said sequence.

8. A plant characterized by having a genome containing an introduced nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID N0:1, SEQ ID N0:2, SEQ ID N0:3 or SEQ ID N0:4, or a sequence that is substantially homologous thereto, or that is a part of SEQ ID NO:l, SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4.

9. A plant seed characterized by having a genome containing an introduced nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID N0:1, SEQ ID N0:2, SEQ ID N0:3 or SEQ ID N0:4, or a sequence that is substantially homologous thereto, or that is a part of SEQ ID N0:1, SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ ID N0:3 or SEQ ID NO: 4.

10. A plant as claimed in 8, characterized by exhibiting an alteration of an endogenous characteristic or an addition of a new characteristic compared to a genomically-unmodified plant of the same genotype.

11. A plant seed as claimed in 9, characterized by exhibiting an alteration of an endogenous characteristic or an addition of a new characteristic compared to a genomically-unmodified plant seed of the same genotype.

12. A method of producing transgenic plant by introducing a gene into a genome of said plant under control of a promoter, characterized in that said promoter is of SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4, or a sequence that is substantially homologous thereto, or that is a part of SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4 and that the said gene could of SEQ ID NO:l, SEQ ID NO: 2, or a sequence that is substantially homologous thereto, or that is a part of SEQ ID N0:1, SEQ ID N0:2.

13. A method according to claim 12, characterized in that said plant is flax.

14. A method of producing a transgenic plant seed by introducing a gene into a genome of a plant under control of a promoter to produce a transgenic plant, growing said plant and obtaining transgenic seeds therefrom, characterized in that said promoter is of SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4, or is a sequence that is substantially homologous thereto, or that is a part of SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4, and that the said gene could of SEQ ID N0:1, SEQ ID NO: 2, or a sequence that is substantially homologous thereto, or that is a part of SEQ ID N0:1, SEQ ID N0:2.

15. A method of claim 14, characterized in that said plant is selected from flax, canola and tobacco.

16. A DNA sequence characterized in that the sequence is substantially homologous to at least a part of SEQ ID N0:1, SEQ ID N0:2, SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4, and in that said sequence has been isolated or characterized using sequence information from SEQ ID N0:1, SEQ ID N0:2, SEQ ID N0:3 or SEQ ID NO:4.

17. A method of changing fatty acids of membrane and storage lipids of plants, characterized by introducing an antisense or sense construct based on SEQ ID N0:1, SEQ ID N0:2, SEQ ID N0:3 or SEQ ID N0:4 into a plant transformation vector, using the vector to transform the genome of a plant or plant seed, and then growing the plant or plant seed and extracting membrane or storage lipids from the plants or plant seeds.