Chemical-inducible gene expression systems for plants-a review†

Abstract

Chemical-inducible expression systems, or ‘gene switches’, provide an opportunity for the temporal, spatial and quantitative control of genetically engineered traits. This review describes molecular and chemical aspects of several gene switches which have appeared in the literature and a novel unpublished system. Molecular components from plant, bacterial, fungal, insect and mammalian sources have all been utilised to develop gene switches. A brief description of the underlying principle of each approach and some detail of how they perform in transgenic plants is given. Although gene switch systems have utility for fundamental and applied research, particular reference is given to those systems with potential for application in agriculture. © 1998 Society of Chemical Industry