Functional analysis of cis-acting sequences regulating root-specific expression in transgenic tobacco

Two different length fragments, RSF1 and RSF2 which contained the cis-acting sequences of root-spe- cific gene TobRB7, were isolated from tobacco genome. The abilities of these fragments to direct root-specific expression were studied by fusing them to the β-glucuronidase (GUS) report gene with different directions. After the recombined vectors were transformed into tobacco, the expression pattern was performed by histochemical staining and the quantitative analysis of GUS activity. The data suggested that the cis-acting element of TobRB7 gene direct GUS expression not only as root-specific but also as bidirectional. In our studies, the short fragment, RSF2, performed stronger activity than RSF1 with any direction. The stronger activity of GUS expression was determined by reverse inserting of RSF1 or RSF2 than positive inserting.     

pACT E3质粒的构建及其在转基因烟草中的表达

将1个从棉花中分离的新的启动子ACT E3插入质粒pBI101,ACT E3与GUS基因融合，构建成pACT E3表达载体。通过农杆菌介导转化法将ACT E3/GUS融合基因导入烟草。GUS组织化学染色分析表明，在ACT E3启动子控制下，GUS基因仅在叶片及茎等组织中特异表达。     

Extracellular calmodulin acceleratesrbcS-GUS expression in suspension-cultured transgenic tobacco cell

The role of extracellular calmodulin in regulating expression of rbcS in darkness was examined. A suspension-cultured cell line was generated from the transgenic rbcS-GUS tobacco. It was demonstrated that purified calmodulin added to the media enhanced rbcS-GUS expression. The time course of expression of rbcS-GUS and that of the secretion of calmodulin in the suspended transgenic tobacco cells in darkness were very similar. Both showed initial increase followed by decline with maximum calmodulin secretion preceding maximum GUS expression. The addition of membrane-impermeable calmodulin antagonist W7-agarose inhibited the expression of rbcS-GUS in darkness, but this inhibitory effect was completely reversed by adding exogenous purified calmodulin. These results provide the first evidence that extracellular calmodulin accelerates rbcS gene expression.     

Sequence modification of merB gene and high organomercurial resistance of transgenic tobacco plants

Mercury pollution has caused severe damage to environment and great attention has been paid to its control. Phytoremediation may become one of the most efficient measures to recover the polluted soil since it is economical, highly efficient and friendly to environment. In this report, plant genetic engineering methods were employed to modify the DNA sequence of merB genes that catalyze the conversion of organomercurals into ionic mercury. The modified merBhe genes were introduced into tobacco by Agrobacterium, and the resultant transgenic plants were verified by Southern and Northern hybridization. High level of organomercurial resistance was detected on progenies of transgenic plants, some of which were resistant to PMA (phenyl mercury acetate) of 2.5 μmol/L whereas 0.1 μmol/L PMA killed the seedlings of wild-type tobacco in soiless culrure. With the increase of PMA concentration, the inhibition of the seedling growth became apparent. This result makes it possible to breed mercury-resistant tobacco for phytoremediation of mercury-polluted soil.     

Expression of human erythropoietin directed by mWAP promoter in mammary gland of transgenic mice

The present work has generated transgenic mice with a hybrid gene construct consisting of genomic sequences encodinghuman erythropoietin (hEPO) and governed by regulatory sequences of mousewhey acidic protein (mWAP). The construct proved effective by transient expression in lactating animal. After introducing hybrid gene construct into single-cell embryo via pronuclear microinjection, surviving embryo are reimplanted into pseudopregnant foster mother mouse. 58 mice of 86 generation zero mice obtained were identified to be positive by PCR-Southern blot and genomic DNA Southern blot methods. The integration rate is 67%.hEPO was expressed in the milk of 16 mice of 39 mice measured byhEPO ELISA kit The expression level gets over 15 μg/mL.     

Evaluation of transgenic tobacco expressing two insecticidal genes to delay resistance development ofHelicoverpa armigera

The resistance ratio ofHelicoverpa armigera to Cry1 Ac insecticidal protein fromBacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is 13.1- and 3.02-fold after 18 generations of selection by transgenic tobacco expressing Bt or two (Bt and CpTI) insecticidal protein genes, in which the average corrected mortality for each selection treatments is about 60%. The mortality of selected population by transgenic Bt gene tobacco is significantly lower than the control strain when fed on transgenic tobacco plants. The mortaltty of the selected population by transgenic two genes tobacco was not significantly different from the control strain. This is the first experiment under laboratory condition which has proved that transgenic two genes tobacco could significantly delay resistance development ofH. armigera compared with one gene.     

Interactions between the nuclear matrix proteins and the 5′-flankingcis-acting elements of the human ε-globin gene

An erythroid-specific nuclear matrix protein (termed ε-NMP_k) in K562 cells, which can specifically bind to the positive stage-specific regulatory element (ε-PRE II, - 446 - 419 bp) upstream of the human ε-globin gene, has been identified by using gel mobility shift assay. Meanwhile, Southwestern blotting assay showed that the nuclear matrix protein ε-NMP_k in K562, cells may be composed of two polypeptides (∼ 40 ku). In addition, it is observed in the gel mobility shift assay that the nuclear matrix proteins from K562, HEL and Raji cells can bind to the silencer DNA (- 392 - 177 bp) in the 5′-flanking sequence of human ε-globin gene respectively. However, the shift band K detected in K562 cells is different from shift band H/R in HEL and Raji cells, suggesting that a common nuclear matrix protein may exist in HEL and Raji cells. Results show that the nuclear matrix protein may play an important role in the regulation of the human ε-globin gene expression.     

Construction of chimeric inducible promoters by elicitors of rice fungal blast pathogen and their expression in transgenic rice

The promoter fragments of wheatGstA1 and potatoGst1 have been amplified by PCR, cloned and fused respectively to the minimal promoter sequence of rice actin gene (Act1)) and its 5′ untranslated leader sequence together withGUS. The constructs with 2 chimeric promoters (WGA and PGA) have been transferred into rice in order to analyze their inducibility patterns in transgenic rice plants. The results show that: WGA and PGA are both inducible by elicitors ofPyricularia oryzae in transgenic rice cells; the intron I of riceAct1 gene is important for the heterogenic expression of monocot and dicot promoter elements in rice; and theAct1 minimal promoter and its 5′ untranslated leader sequence produced low level background expression in rice.     

Tissue-specific expression of glutathione S-transferases induced by 2-tridecanone or quercetin in cotton bollworms, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner)

The tissue-specific expression of glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) in the cotton bollworm and the expression level induced by 2-tridecanone and quercetin were examined using the methods of biochemistry and the quantitative PCR. The relative expression level of GST mRNA was unanimous with the GSTs activity conjugaging with 1-chloro-2, 4-dimitro-benzene (CDNB) in fat bodies, midguts, heads and integuments of cotton bollworms. The GSTs activity in fat bodies was the highest, then midguts, heads and integuments in turn, which was in consistent with the relative expression level of GST mRNA. The specific activity of GSTs and the relative expression level of GST mRNA could be significantly induced by 2-tridecanone and quercetin, and after the induction the order of the GSTs activity and the relative expression level of GST mRNA in the above four tissues in cotton bollworms was not different from the control. The induction of GSTs by 2-tridecanone was stronger than by quercetin in all four tissues, which was in accordance with the relative expression level of GST mRNA. It suggested that the increase of GSTs activity induced by plant allelochemicals was associated with the elevated expression of GST mRNA in cotton bollworms.     

Time course of foreign gene integration and expression in transgenic fish embryos

Using a nuclear transplantation approach, the integration and expression of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene in the embryogenesis of transgenic loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus Cantor) have been studied. TheGFP gene expression is first observed at the gastrula stage, which is consistent with the initiation of cell differentiation of fish embryos. The time course of the foreign gene expression is correlated with the regulatory sequences. The expression efficiency also depends on the gene configuration: the expression of pre-integrating circular plasmid at early embryos is higher than that of the linear plasmid. The integration of theGFP gene is first detected at the blastula stage and lasts for quite a long period. When two types of different plasmids are co-injected into fertilized eggs, the behavior of their integration and expression is not identical.     

Expression ofChlamydomonas actin-gfp fusion gene in tobacco suspension cell and polymerization of the actin-gfp proteinin vitro

The fusion gene of actin (cDNA ofChlamydomonas reinhardtii) and green fluorescence protein (gfp) had been constructed into two expression vectors which could be expressed inE. coli and tobacco suspension cells BY2. The correct expression was observed inE. coli and BY2 with a fluorescence microscopy. The fusion protein, which took part in the membrane skeleton, was mainly located peripherally along the membrane, specially the fusion protein was distributed around nucleus and cell plate, while the fusion protein also forms F-actin in the cell. The fusion protein was purified from Bl21plus by ammonium sulfate fractionation, ion exchange chromatography and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. The purified production could polymerize into F-actin when the actin polymerizing buffer was added. It was demonstrated that the characteristics and function of actin inChlamydomonas was similar with those of animals and higher plants.     

Correction of RNA aberrant splice increases foreign gene expression in transgenic mice

Transgenic mice with mammary gland secreting human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) were produced using mice whey acid protein gene promoter. It was found that there was very low expression level in mammary gland. Human G-CSF cDNA was obtained by RT-PCR from transgenic mice mammary gland. Sequence analysis showed that this G-CSF gene deleted the 4th exon, and compared with human G-CSF genomic DNA, there were donor and acceptor splice sites in the deletion fragment. It was considered that the 3rd and 4th introns also delete in G-CSF fragment. The transgenic construct was corrected by deleting the 3rd and 4th introns to construct the minigene, which was used to produce transgenic mice by microinjection. Northern blot showed that G-CSF expression using the new construct increased 5.4 times as that before in transgenic mice. The results suggested that it was possible that RNA aberrant splice result in low expression in transgenic mice.     

Expression of rabbit defensin NP-1 gene in transgenic tobacco plants and its activity against bacterial wilt

A cDNA-derived 200 bp fragment encoding a rabbit defensin NP-1 mature peptide was ligated into the GUS-less pBH21 to yield pBIC-35NP1. Tobacco leaf discs were genetically transformed with anAgrobacterium tumefaclens strain harbouring pBIC-3SNP1. Northern blot analysis showed that the defensin NP-1 expression cassette was normally transcribed in transgenic plants. Resistance tests demonstrated that expression of native defensin NP-1 can confer partial resistance to the bacterial wilt pathogen,Ralstonia solanacearum.     

Tissue-specific expression of glutathione S-transferases induced by 2-tridecanone or quercetin in cotton bollworms, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner)

The tissue-specific expression of glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) in the cotton bollworm and the expression level induced by 2-tridecanone and quercetin were examined using the methods of biochemistry and the quantitative PCR. The relative expression level of GST mRNA was unanimous with the GSTs activity conjugaging with 1-chloro-2, 4-dimitro-benzene (CDNB) in fat bodies,midguts, heads and integuments of cotton bollworms. The GSTs activity in fat bodies was the highest, then midguts, heads and integuments in turn, which was in consistent with the relative expression level of GST mRNA. The specific activity of GSTs and the relative expression level of GST mRNA could be significantly induced by 2-tridecanone and quercetin, and after the induction the order of the GSTs activity and the relative expression level of GST mRNA in the above four tissues in cotton bollworms was not different from the control.The induction of GSTs by 2-tridecanone was stronger than by quercetin in all four tissues, which was in accordance with the relative expression level of GST mRNA. It suggested that the increase of GSTs activity induced by plant allelochemicals was associated with the elevated expression of GST mRNA in cotton bollworms.     

枯草芽孢杆菌表达系统及其启动子的研究进展

枯草芽孢杆菌(Bacillus subtilis)是工业应用中一种重要的模式菌株,具有非致病性、遗传背景清晰、分泌蛋白能力强、容易分离培养等特性,是异源蛋白表达和分泌的理想宿主。高效可控的启动子是实现外源蛋白高效表达的关键因素之一。根据诱导机制,启动子可分为组成型启动子、诱导型启动子、自诱导启动子和时期特异性启动子。本文介绍了枯草芽孢杆菌表达系统、芽孢杆菌σ因子类型及枯草芽孢杆菌启动子的结构,比较了常用启动子的优缺点,总结了新启动子克隆和改造及生物信息学预测启动子的方法,并对枯草芽孢杆菌启动子未来的研究方向进行展望,为进一步研究启动子的结构和功能及工业生产外源蛋白奠定基础。     

CMV启动子克隆及其在植物体内的表达

根据细胞肥大病毒CMV启动子基因序列设计引物,PCR扩增目的基因后,利用基因重组技术成功构建具有Kan抗性和GUS intron报告基因的植物表达载体LpPCG,并将重组质粒转化到烟草叶片中.通过CMV启动子指导的GUS intron基因在烟草叶片内的瞬时性表达,比较了其植物表达特性.结果表明:CMV启动子可启动GUS在植物体内的表达,其表达活性相当于2×35S启动子的(80.4±26.6)％.     

Cloning and expression analysis ofMBLL cDNA

Thembl (muscleblind) gene ofDrosophila encodes a nuclear protein which contains two Cys₃His motifs. The mutation ofmbl gene will disturb the differentiation of all theDrosophila’s photoreceptors. Primers have been designed according to human EST086139, which is highly homologous tombl gene. Human fetal brain cDNA library has been screened and a novel cDNA clone has been obtained. The 2595 bp cDNA, designatedMBLL (muscleblind-like), contains an open reading frame which encodes 255 amino acids and has 4 Cys₃His motifs (GenBank Acc. AF061261). The amino acids sequence shares high homology toDrosophila’s mbl. The Northern blot and RNA dot blot hybridization of 43 human adult tissues and 7 fetal tissues show thatMBLL is a widely expressed gene, but the expression amounts differ in these tissues.     

Construction of a new plant expression vector containing two insect resistant genes and its expression in transgenic tobacco plants

A new plant expression vector (pBS29K-BA) containing two insect resistant genes, a synthetic chimeric gene BtS29K encoding the activated insecticidal protein Cry1Ac and a gene API-BA encoding the arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia L.) proteinase inhibitor (API) A and B, is constructed. Transgenic tobacco plants expressing these two genes are obtained through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of tobacco leaf discs. The average expression levels of Cry1Ac and API-BA proteins in transgenic plants are of 3.2 μg and 4.9 μg per gram fresh leaf respectively. The results of insecticidal assay of transgenic plants indicate that the pBS29K-BA transformed plants are more resistant to insect damage than the plants expressing the Cry1Ac gene or API-BA gene alone.