Unique Architecture of the Plastid Ribosomal RNA Operon Promoter Recognized by the Multisubunit RNA Polymerase in Tobacco and Other Higher Plants

Expression of the plastid rRNA operon (rrn) during development is highly regulated at the level of transcription. The plastid rrn operon in most higher plants is transcribed by the plastid-encoded RNA polymerase (PEP), the multisubunit plastid RNA polymerase from PrrnP1, a σ(70)-type promoter with conserved −10 and −35 core promoter elements. To identify functionally important sequences, the tobacco PrrnP1 was dissected in vivo and in vitro. Based on in vivo deletion analysis, sequences upstream of nucleotide −83 do not significantly contribute to promoter function. The in vitro analyses identified an essential hexameric sequence upstream of the −35 element (GTGGGA; the rRNA operon upstream activator [RUA]) that is conserved in monocot and dicot species and suggested that the −10 element plays only a limited role in PrrnP1 recognition. Mutations in the initial transcribed sequence (+9 to +14) enhanced transcription, the characteristic of strong promoters in prokaryotes. We propose that σ interaction with the −10 element in PrrnP1 is replaced in part by direct PEP-RUA (protein–DNA) interaction or by protein–protein interaction between the PEP and an RUA binding transcription factor.