The gene fatty acid desaturase 2 (FAD2) exists in multiple copies in the Brassica napus genome and encodes an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of oleic acid to linoleic acid. In the present study, we characterized the regulatory region controlling the expression of an FAD2 gene located on chromosome C5 of Brassica napus and named it BnFAD2-C5. A long intron was found within the 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) of the BnFAD2-C5 gene. This intron, compared with an intron-less control, conferred up to a sixfold increase in green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression in transgenic Arabidopsis, t...
