Expression of a reporter gene is reduced by a ribozyme in transgenic plants

A chimeric gene encoding a ribozyme under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter was introduced into transgenic tobacco plants. In vivo activity of this ribozyme, which was designed to cleave npt mRNA, was previously demonstrated by transient expression assays in plant protoplasts. The ribozyme gene was transferred into transgenic tobacco plants expressing an rbcS-npt chimeric gene as an indicator. Five double transformants out of sixteen exhibited a reduction in the amount of active NPT enzyme. To measure the amount of ribozyme produced, in the absence of its target, the ribozyme and target genes were separated by genetic segregation. The steady-state concentration…