Chrysanthemum is the most popular ornamental plant, after roses and lilies. The cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) promoter, which remains the most widely used promoter in dicotyledons, is a very strong promoter with sufficient effects in most crops. However, weak expression has often been reported in Chrysanthemum. Therefore, we searched for constitutive promoters available in Chrysanthemum. Based on the transcriptome analysis data of Chrysanthemum, nine constitutively expressed genes were selected, and each promoter region (1.0–3.0 kb) was isolated by genome walking. Only two of the nine promoters expressed GUS in tobacco and chrysanthemums. The major motif of the CmERF promoter (U41, 2060 bp) was related to the regulation of ethylene (ERELEE4) or gibberellin (PYRIMIDINEBOXOSRAMY1 and WRKY71OS). Similarly, the motif of the CmGA2 ox promoter (U47, 1060 bp) also contained gibberellin signaling factors, such as PRIMIDINEBOXHVEPB1 and WRKY71OS. Both promoters showed strong systemic expression in tobacco using GUS staining. Although weaker than in tobacco, significant expression was confirmed in the flowers and stems in chrysanthemum. The results of the GUS activity assay using chrysanthemum transformants showed that the transgenic line (#12) containing the U47 promoter had higher expression in all tissues than that containing the 35S-CaMV promoter. The U41 promoter was found to have a higher expression than the 35S-CaMV promoter in the stem.

In this study, conducted in living modified organism (LMO) isolation fields, we sought to develop environmental risk assessment procedures for identifying the potential effects on non-target above-ground insects and spiders within agroecosystems cultivated with vitamin A-enhanced transgenic soybean with tolerance to the herbicide glufosinate. To this end, we investigated insect/arachnid species diversities and population densities on vitamin A-enhanced transgenic soybean and non-GM soybean (Gwangan) grown in LMO quarantine areas of Kyungpook National University (Gunwi) and the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences (Jeonju). In total, 93,419 individual insects and arachnids, representing 65 families in 12 orders, were captured during the study. In Gunwi, totals of 17,110 and 17,627 individual insects and arachnids were collected from vitamin A-enhanced transgenic soybean and Gwangan, respectively, whereas in Jeonju, totals of 28,621 and 30,061 individuals were collected from vitamin A-enhanced transgenic soybean and Gwangan, respectively. Although we detected no significant differences among the population densities of insect pests, natural enemies, and other insects on vitamin A-enhanced transgenic soybean and Gwangan grown within the same field, the population densities of these insects were found to be higher in Jeonju than those in Gunwi. Throughout the study, analysis of variance indicated no significant differences (p<0.05) in insect/arachnid populations, and multivariate analysis indicated that the abundance and diversity of plant-dwelling insects were similar within the same fields.