Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) protein gene regulation during Arabidopsis seed maturation

This paper reviews part of our studies on gene regulation during the Arabidopsis seed maturation phase. Essentially, three complementary strategies have been used. The first one consisted in identifying genes expressed during this period by random sequencing of EST from a dry seed cDNA library and by comparing their frequency with that in an immature cDNA library. The second strategy focused on the detailed analysis of the expression of a specific group of genes coding for the class I LEA proteins, the Em genes, and analysis of their promoter. Finally we evaluated the expression of a number of LEA gene in various regulatory mutants, including abi3, lec1 and abi5. Altogether, our results illustrate the complexity of expression patterns and the interaction of various factors to define several distinct regulatory pathways.