Abstract:Hevein has been found to be an essential element in coagulation of rubber particles in latex of rubber trees. In a previous study, we cloned a 1 241-bp fragment of a 5‘ upstream region of the hevein gene by genome walking. This fragment was analyzed by a 5‘ end nested deletion method in the present study, fused with a uidA (gus) gene to produce a series of tested constructs, which were transferred into C-serum of latex and the Gus activities were detected. Results showed that the fragment from −749 to −292 was sufficient for expression of gus gene in latex, and the fragment from −292 to −168 was crucial in response to abscisic acid inducement. In a transient transgenic test of rubber leaf with particle bombardment, construct Hev749 conferred gus-specific expression in veins, in which the latex tubes mainly distributed. This implies that the fragment from −749 to −292 was laticiferous-specific.