The Soybean GH 2 / 4 Gene That Encodes a Glutathione S - Transferase Has a Promoter That 1 s Activated by a Wide Range of Chemical Agents ’

Transcriptional activation of the soybean (Glycine max) C H Z / 4 gene (also referred to as GmhspZ6-A) and increase in abundance of the C H Z / 4 mRNA (also referred to as pCE54) have been previously shown to occur following treatment of soybean seedlings with auxins, nonauxin analogs, heavy metals, and a variety of other agents. To determine whether the G H Z / 4 promoter is responsive to an array of different agents, we have analyzed the inducibility of the C H Z / 4 promoter fused to the p-glucuronidase reporter gene in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants. We have shown that a wide variety of chemical agents induce this promoter in a tissue-specific and concentration-dependent manner. In addition, we have used an affinity-purified antibody raised against recombinant G H Z / 4 protein to show that the G H Z / 4 protein increases in response to auxin application and is localized in the cytosol of soybean cells. Recombinant G H Z / 4 protein can be purified to homogeneity on a glutathione-agarose resin, and the purified protein has glutathione Stransferase activity when assayed with the substrate 1 -chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene.