In Flaveria pringlei, a C3 plant, P protein of the glycine-cleavage system is encoded by a small gene family consisting of at least five transcriptionally active genes. We have cloned and sequenced two of these genes, gdcsPA and gdcsPB, and provide the first detailed report on the complete structure of eukaryotic gdcsP genes. Based on the lengths of exons and intervening sequences, the P-protein genes can be subdivided into two parts. In both cases the N-terminal region consists of one very long exon followed by a long intron. In contrast, the C-terminal parts show a complex mosaic structure of relatively small exons and introns. A highly conserved leucine-zipper motif was identified, which is supposed to participate in the assembly of the glycine decarboxylase multienzyme complex. The transcript derived from the gdcsPA sequence corresponds perfectly to a leaf cDNA isolated earlier. Reverse-transcriptase PCR experiments show that both genes are preferentially active in leaves. Stems contain distinctly less P protein mRNA and the relative level in roots is very low but still clearly detectable. In all three organs, but most significantly in roots, the gdcsPA transcript level is distinctly higher than that of gdcsPB. Analysis of promoter-beta-glucuronidase fusions in transgenic tobacco suggests that far-upstream elements enhance the transcriptional activity of both genes in leaves relative to stems. The analysis of distal gdcsPA promoter deletions reveals the presence of regulatory elements acting with a distinct organ preference and indicates their approximate location.