The present invention relates to isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising the untranslated region of SEQ ID NO:2, which is functional as a promoter in plant plastids. The invention also relates to chimeric genes comprising SEQ ID NO:2 operatively linked to the coding sequence of a gene of interest and to plant transformation vectors comprising the chimeric genes of the invention. The invention further relates to transgenic plants, plant cells, plant seeds, plant tissues, or plant plastids comprising the chimeric genes.