Obtaining High Pest-resistant Tobacco Plants Carrying B.t. insecticidal Gene

To increase the expression level of CryIA(c) gene in transgenic plants, a plant expression vector pBinMoBc carrying the CryIA(c) gene under control of chimeric OM promoter and Ω factor was constructed. As a control, pBinoBc carrying the CryIA(c) gene with the CaMV 35S promoter was also constructed. The vectors were transferred into tobacco plants respectively via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. ELISA assay showed that the expression level of the CryIA(c) gene in pBinMoBc transgenic tobacco plants was 2.44-times that in pBinoBc transgenic tobacco plants, and it could be up to 0.255% of total soluble proteins. Bioassay showed that pBinMoBc transgenic tobacco plants had more notable insecticidal effect than pBinoBc transgenic tobacco plants. The above results showed that the chimeric OM promoter was a stronger promoter than CaMV 35S promoter that was widely used in plant genetic engineering, and this is very useful in pest-resistant plant genetic engineering.     

Obtaining transgenic rice resistant to rice fungal blast disease by controlled cell death strategy

The strategy of the two-component system,composed of Barnase and Barstar which encode RNase and a specific inhibitor to the RNase respectively, is adopted to obtain transgenic rice resistant to rice fungal blast disease. In this study, two chimeric promoters, induced by rice blast fungus pathogen (Magnaporthe grisea), are fused with Barnase respectively to construct two plant expression vectors, pWBNBS and pPBNBS together with the Barstar driven by CaMV 35S promoter. The resistance of the transgenic rice lines to rice blast fungus disease and rice blight disease are evaluated. The results show that (1) the expression of Barnase is induced in rice leaves when inoculated with the spores of Magnaporthe grisea; (2) the induced expression level of Barnase surpasses the level of Barstar, which elicits a similar hypersensitive response (HR) in the leaves, and the transgenic plant shows high resistance to the rice fungal blast disease; and (3) transgenic rice plants also show obvious resistance to rice bacterial blight disease. Taken together, these results suggest that the transgenic rice plants harboring this two-component system acquire relatively broad spectrum resistance against pathogens, especially high resistance to rice fungal pathogen.     

Influence of DNA methylation on transgene expression

DNA methylation plays an important role in gene expression in eukaryote. But DNA methylation of transgene usually leads to target gene silencing in plant genetic engineering. In this research, reporter gene b-glu- curonidase (GUS) gene ( uidA ) was introduced into tobaccos via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method, and the foreign uidA gene became inactive in some transgenic tobaccos. No mRNA of uidA was detected in these plants by Northern blotting analysis, and DNA methylation of promoter region was found. The results indicated that gene silencing might be caused by DNA methylation of promoter.     

TaNHX2基因植物表达载体的构建及在烟草中的表达

将TaNHX2基因重组于质粒pBIN438的CaMV 35S启动子下游,构建含TaNHX2基因的植物双元表达载体pBIN438-TaNHX2.采用农杆菌介导转化烟草(Nicotiana tobacum L.),获得含TaNHX2的转基因烟草植株.经PCR、RT-PCR分析表明,TaNHX2基因已整合到烟草中,并且得到表达.耐盐分析表明,外源基因TaNHX2提高了转基因植株的耐盐性.     

Rice transformation with a senescence-inhibition chimeric gene

A senescence-inhibition chimeric gene containing the specific promoter of SAG₁₂ and IPT gene was transferred into rice with the biolistic method. Results of PCR, Dot blotting and Southern blotting indicated that the chimeric gene had been integrated into rice genome. Analyses of GUS activity and cytokinin content in transgenic plants of rice and the observation of T₁ generation plant at grain formation stage indicated that the foreign gene was expressed.     

利用番茄U3snRNA基因上游启动区构建植物表达载体及对烟草的转化

利用番茄U3snRNA基因上游启动区和ACC合成酶反义RNA-核酶嵌合基因DNA片段,构建含U3snRNA基因上游启动区-ACC合成酶的反义RNA-核酶嵌合序列的表达载体,重组于植物双元表达载体pGA643中,得到pGU3R.用三亲融合法导入农杆菌LBA4404中,采用叶盘法转化烟草,诱导再生小植株,获得了卡那霉素的抗性植株.提取抗性植株总DNA,通过PCR、PCRSouthern杂交检测并分别用启动区序列和ACC合成酶的反义RNA-核酶嵌合序列作探针,通过Southern杂交检测,已筛选出整合有外源基因的转化植株.为进一步研究U3snRNA上游启动区增强反义RNA-核酶基因的表达奠定了基础.     

Ubi1 intron-mediated enhancement of the expression of Bt cry1Ah gene in transgenic maize (Zea mays L.)

The cry1Ah gene was one of novel insecticidal genes cloned from Bacillus thuringiensis isolate BT8. Two plant expression vectors containing cry1Ah gene were constructed. The first intron of maize ubiqutin1 gene was inserted between the maize Ubiquitin promoter and cry1Ah gene in one of the plant expressing vectors (pUUOAH). The two vectors were introduced into maize immature embryonic calli by microprojectile bombardment, and the reproductively plants were acquired. PCR and Southern blot analysis showed that foreign genes had been integrated into maize genome and inherited to the next generation stably. The ELISA assay to T1 and T2 generation plants showed that the expression of Cry1Ah protein in the construct containing the ubi1 intron (pUUOAH) was 20% higher than that of the intronless construct (pUOAH). Bioassay results showed that the transgenic maize harboring cry1Ah gene had high resistance to the Asian corn borers and the insecticidal activity of the transgenic maize containing the ubi1 intron was higher than that of the intronless construct. These results indicated that the maize ubi1 intron can enhance the expression of the Bt cry1Ah gene in transgenic maize efficiently     

拟南芥ACOS5基因启动子的克隆和表达载体构建

花药组织特异性启动子在花药发育的分子遗传学中有重要的研究价值.采用PCR方法克隆了1kb长度的ACOS5基因启动子,并将其连入含有GFP基因的拟南芥表达载体p1300中.电激转化农杆菌GV3101后,通过农杆菌介导转化拟南芥,获得转基因植株.显微观察显示,转基因植物花药只在绒毡层中有荧光表达.这说明ACOS5基因启动子可以在拟南芥花药中驱动外源GFP基因的特异性表达.     

通过遗传转化获得含多基因的水稻转基因纯合植株

利用基因枪法将含有4个不同基因的3个质粒共转化由粳稻品种鄂宜105号和鄂晚5号种子胚诱导的愈伤组织（5－10d龄）。从轰击的986块愈合组织中共再生出169株独立的转基因水稻植株（转化率为17％）。PCR／Southern blot分析显示70％以上的转基因植株含有所有4个基因。GUS组织化学分析、Western blot和或RT－PCR分析表明所有4个基因的共表达率为70％。未观察到任何质粒在整合中存在优势,转基因拷贝数也与基因表达量无关。遗传分析证实外源基因在后代植株中大多以孟德尔方式遗传。从其R1代为3：1孟德尔方式遗传的后代R2代植株中,鉴定含有3个或4个不同基因的转基因纯合植株系。PCR／Southern blot分析证实了这些转基因纯合植株系。这些系的植株具有相似的外源基因表达量。我们证实通过基因枪介导的共转化,结合常规育种方法筛选可以获得含多基因的转基因水稻纯合植株。这项技术为利用基因同时改良作用多个性状提供了一种途径。     

Disease-tolerance of transgenic tobacco plants expressing Ah-AMP gene of Amaranthus hypochondriacus

An antimicrobial peptide gene from Amaranthus hypochondriacus, Ah-AMP, was amplified by PCR and cloned. Sequence analysis results revealed that this gene is 261 bp in length encoding a precursor polypeptide of 87 amino acid residues. Ah-AMP gene was inserted in the binary vector pBin438 to construct a plant expression vector pBinAH916. Leave explants of Nicotiana tabacum var. SR1 were transformed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404 harboring the above expression vector. Results from PCR, Southern and Northern blot analyses confirmed that the Ah-AMP gene had been integrated into the tobacco genome and was transcribed at mRNA level. Two bacterial-resistant transgenic plants were selected by inoculating the plants with Pseudomonas solanacearum and statistic analysis of two T1 lines showed that the resistance increased by 2.24 and 1.62 grade and the disease index decreased by 49.6% and 37.3% respectively when compared with the non-transformed control plants SR1. The results from challenging the plants with inoculums of Phytophthora parasitica showed that the symptom development was delayed and disease index was significantly reduced. These results suggest that Ah-AMP gene may be a potentially valuable gene for genetic engineering of plant for disease-resistance.     

小盐芥(Thellungiella salsuginea)CBF1基因的克隆

CBFs （ CRT/DRE-binding factor ）是结合DNA顺式元件CCGAC的转录因子．拟南芥中CBFs由一个小的基因家族编码,包括3个成员：CBF1、CBF2和CBF3,它们在植物抗逆性调控中起重要作用．为了获得高度耐盐耐旱的转基因植物,我们以盐生植物小盐芥为材料,依据拟南芥中CBF1的序列信息设计引物,扩增出小盐芥中CBF1的部分序列,然后使用SMART^TM RACE等方法,从小盐芥中克隆到全长的CBF1 cDNA序列,进而重组到植物表达载体中,为植物抗逆基因工程提供了有用基因．     

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.     

一种带有表型标记基因的诱导型抗旱植物表达载体的构建

为了克服组成型表达转录因子基因影响转基因植物性状的缺点,并构建一种具有级联放大作用并带有表型标记的诱导型植物双价表达载体。研究采用PCR方法从拟南芥克隆获得冷诱导转录因子CBF3基因,蜡质合成相关WIN1基因,干旱诱导RD29A基因启动子和冷诱导的LEA14基因启动子,并用CBF3转录因子所调控的下游RD29A基因启动子和LEA14基因启动子分别驱动CBF3基因和W1N1基因表达,构建了双价植物表达载体RD29AP-CBF3／LEA14P—WIN1／pcAMBIA2201。我们预测在转基因植物中,该表达系统可在干旱等逆境信号存在条件下,通过级联放大的方式诱导表达,在增加植物抗逆性的同时,增加叶片表层蜡质的积累,从而易于表型识别。本研究为利用花粉管通道法转化棉花,提高抗逆转基因棉花田间筛选的效率奠定了基础。     

Generation of transgenic wheat resistant to wheat yellow mosaic virus and identification of gene silence induced by virus infection

The plasmid containing the promoter Act1, the coat protein (cp) gene of wheat yellow mosaic virus (WYMV) and the selectable bar gene, was delivered via particle bombardment, directly into immature embryos of a wheat cultivars. PCR and PCR-RFLP were employed to screen the existence of the cp gene in T0 and T1 generations. Seeds from the positive T1 plants were sowed in fields heavily contaminated with WYMV to detect their resistance. In field trial of virus infection, one of the transgenic wheat lines, P8-T2, exhibited highly disease-resistance. Western blot and RT-PCR analysis showed that the expression level of cp gene in the resistant transgenic line was reduced greatly compared to those susceptible to WYMV infection. This provided evidence to presume that the resistance obtained by the transgenic wheat line was stimulated by the mechanism of the virus induced gene silencing.     

Expression analysis ofgdcsP promoter from C3-C4 intermediate plantFlaveria anomala in transgenic rice

ThegdcsP promoter isolated from C₃-C₄ intermediate plantFlaveria anomala was fused to the β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene. The chimeric gene was inserted into the binary vector pBin19 and introduced into the rice (Oryza sativa L.) cv. 8706 byAgrobacteriummediated gene transfer. GUS activity can be detected in leaf, leaf sheath, stem and root tissues via fluorometric GUS assay. However, no GUS activity was found in mature endosperm. Histochemical localization revealed that GUS expression was exclusively restricted to vascular tissues in transgenic plants. This promoter also showed spatial-temporal expression patterns that GUS expression declined significantly with the maturity of plants. These expression patterns make thegdcsP promoter extremely valuable in the applied biotechnology that needs target gene expression restricted to vascular 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.