Combination of H-box [CCTACC(N)7CT] and G-box (CACGTG) cis elements is necessary for feed-forward stimulation of a chalcone synthase promoter by the phenylpropanoid-pathway intermediate p-coumaric acid.

The phenylpropanoid pathway intermediate p-coumaric acid (4-CA) stimulates expression of the bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) chalcone synthase (malonyl-CoA:4-coumaroyl-CoA, EC 2.3.1.74) chs15 gene promoter in electroporated protoplasts of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). We have analyzed the effects of 5' deletions, mutations, and competition with promoter sequences in trans on the expression of a chs15 promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene fusion in elicited alfalfa protoplasts. Two distinct sequence elements, the H-box (consensus CCTACC(N)7CT) and the G-box (CACGTG), are required for stimulation of the chs15 promoter by 4-CA. Furthermore, a 38-base-pair chs15 promoter sequence containing both cis elements conferred responsiveness to 4-CA on the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S minimal promoter. The H-box and G-box in combination establish the complex developmental pattern of chs15 expression and are also involved in stress induction. Hence, potential internal pathway regulation through feed-forward stimulation by 4-CA operates by modulation of the signal pathways for developmental and environmental regulation.