Kunitz trypsin inhibitor genes are differentially expressed during the soybean life cycle and in transformed tobacco plants.

We investigated the structure, organization, and developmental regulation of soybean Kunitz trypsin inhibitor genes. The Kunitz trypsin inhibitor gene family contains at least 10 members, many of which are closely linked in tandem pairs. Three Kunitz trypsin inhibitor genes, designated as KTi1, KTi2, and KTi3, do not contain intervening sequences, and are expressed during embryogenesis and in the mature plant. The KTi1 and KTi2 genes have nearly identical nucleotide sequences, are expressed at different levels during embryogenesis, are represented in leaf, root, and stem mRNAs, and probably do not encode proteins with trypsin inhibitor activity. By contrast, the KTi3 gene has diverged 20% from the KTi1 and KTi2 genes, and encodes the prominent Kunitz trypsin inhibitor found in soybean seeds. The KTi3 gene has the highest expression level during embryogenesis, and is also represented in leaf mRNA. All three Kunitz trypsin inhibitor genes are regulated correctly in transformed tobacco plants. Our results suggest that Kunitz trypsin inhibitor genes contain different combinations of cis-control elements that program distinct qualitative and quantitative expression patterns during the soybean life cycle.