Tissue-specific expression of a pea legumin gene in seeds of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia

A 3.4-kilobase genomic DNA fragment from Pisum sativum L. containing the LegA gene, which encodes a major legumin storage protein, was transferred to Nicotiana plumbaginifolia using an Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain containing the Bin 19 binary vector system. Northern hybridisation analysis of legA-transformed plants demonstrated that legumin-specific RNA was present in developing seeds but not in developing leaves. Legumin protein was immunologically detected in the mature seeds of legA-transformed plants, and was present as the correct-size protein composed of disulphide-bonded polypeptides. It is concluded that the transferred pea genomic fragment contains all the information necessary for seed-specific expression of the legA gene, and for correct processing of the primary transcript and the precursor legumin protein.