SERRATE coordinates shoot meristem function and leaf axial patterning in Arabidopsis

Leaves of flowering plants are determinate organs produced by pluripotent structures termed shoot apical meristems. Once specified, leaves differentiate an adaxial (upper) side specialized for light capture, and an abaxial (lower) side specialized for gas exchange. A functional relationship between meristem activity and the differentiation of adaxial leaf fate has been recognized for over fifty years, but the molecular basis of this interaction is unclear. In Arabidopsis thaliana, activity of the class I KNOX (KNOTTED1-like homeobox) genes SHOOTMERISTEMLESS (STM) and BREVIPEDICELLUS (BP) is required for meristem function but excluded from leaves, whereas members of the HD-Zip III (class III homeodomain leucine zipper) protein family function to promote both meristem activity and adaxial leaf fate. Here we show that the zinc-finger protein SERRATE acts in a microRNA (miRNA) gene-silencing pathway to regulate expression of the HD-Zip III gene PHABULOSA (PHB) while also limiting the competence of shoot tissue to respond to KNOX expression. Thus, SERRATE acts to coordinately regulate meristem activity and leaf axial patterning.     

Role of PHABULOSA and PHAVOLUTA in determining radial patterning in shoots

The upper side of the angiosperm leaf is specialized for efficient capture of sunlight whereas the lower side is specialized for gas exchange. In Arabidopsis, the establishment of polarity in the leaf probably requires the generation and perception of positional information along the radial (adaxial versus abaxial or central versus peripheral) dimension of the plant. This is because the future upper (adaxial) side of the leaf develops from cells closer to the centre of the shoot, whereas the future under (abaxial) side develops from cells located more peripherally. Here we implicate the Arabidopsis PHABULOSA and PHAVOLUTA genes in the perception of radial positional information in the leaf primordium. Dominant phabulosa (phb) and phavoluta (phv) mutations cause a dramatic transformation of abaxial leaf fates into adaxial leaf fates. They do so by altering the predicted sterol/lipid-binding domains of ATHB14 and ATHB9, proteins of previously unknown function that also contain DNA-binding motifs. This change probably renders the protein constitutively active, implicating this domain as a central regulator of protein function and the PHB and PHV proteins as receptors for an adaxializing signal.     

AGO1基因对拟南芥叶边缘锯齿状发育的影响

在拟南芥和水稻中Argonaute(AGO)蛋白是RNA介导的沉默复合体(RISC)的核心组分,在植物叶极性的分化方面具有重要的调节作用。实验根据AGO1基因序列设计一对特异引物,提取野生型拟南芥RNA作为模板,采用反转录PCR方法扩增出AGO1基因,并插入到克隆载体pGEM-T中。筛选鉴定后将AGO1连接到植物表达载体pBI121上,构建起植物表达载体pBI121-AGO1。并且利用农杆菌介导的方法转化拟南芥,通过抗性筛选,获得转基因植株。然后对转基因植株进行表型分析及AGO1蛋白的RT-PCR检测。通过对转基因拟南芥表达分析发现,与野生型拟南芥相比超表达AGO1蛋白的转基因拟南芥叶片明显呈锯齿状,说明AGO1基因影响拟南芥叶片发育。     

The heteromeric cyclic nucleotide-gated channel adopts a 3A:1B stoichiometry

Cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels are crucial for visual and olfactory transductions. These channels are tetramers and in their native forms are composed of A and B subunits, with a stoichiometry thought to be 2A:2B (refs 6, 7). Here we report the identification of a leucine-zipper-homology domain named CLZ (for carboxy-terminal leucine zipper). This domain is present in the distal C terminus of CNG channel A subunits but is absent from B subunits, and mediates an inter-subunit interaction. With cross-linking, non-denaturing gel electrophoresis and analytical centrifugation, this CLZ domain was found to mediate a trimeric interaction. In addition, a mutant cone CNG channel A subunit with its CLZ domain replaced by a generic trimeric leucine zipper produced channels that behaved much like the wild type, but less so if replaced by a dimeric or tetrameric leucine zipper. This A-subunit-only, trimeric interaction suggests that heteromeric CNG channels actually adopt a 3A:1B stoichiometry. Biochemical analysis of the purified bovine rod CNG channel confirmed this conclusion. This revised stoichiometry provides a new foundation for understanding the structure and function of the CNG channel family.     

基于基因表达谱芯片杂交分析Lamprey-PHB2转染前后Chang liver细胞的基因表达差异

选取了10个物种与本课题组前期克隆得到的东北七鳃鳗抗增殖蛋白2(Lm-PHB2)进行氨基酸序列相似性对比,检测PHB2基因进化水平,结果表明各物种的PHB2氨基酸序列在PHB结构域处高度保守,但在N-端和C-端氨基酸序列保守性较低.将重组质粒pEGFP-N1-Lm-PHB2瞬时转染入张氏肝(CHL)细胞后,利用基因表达谱芯片技术分析基因的表达差异.结果显示CHL细胞中共有270条显著差异表达基因,其中显著上调基因共141条,显著下调基因共129条,涉及细胞信号转导、细胞周期调节、细胞增殖、细胞代谢和细胞凋亡等多个方面.通过实时荧光定量聚合酶链式反应(PCR)对基因表达谱芯片分析结果进行验证,结果显示转染pEGFP-N1-Lm-PHB2质粒后,细胞周期基因CDC25C、氧化应激相关基因(CAT,SOD,GST)和抗细胞凋亡基因HAX1均有显著性差异.     

Direct homeodomain-DNA interaction in the autoregulation of the fushi tarazu gene.

A major problem in the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms governing development is the distinction between direct and indirect regulatory interactions among developmental control genes. In vivo studies have indicated that the Drosophila segmentation gene fushi tarazu (ftz) directly or indirectly autoregulates its expression. Here we describe a generally applicable experimental approach which establishes a direct in vivo interaction of the homeodomain protein ftz with the ftz cis-autoregulatory control region. In vitro studies have shown that the DNA-binding specificity of the ftz homeodomain can be changed by a single amino-acid substitution in the recognition helix (Gln 50----Lys). Whereas wild-type ftz homeodomain binds preferentially to a CCATTA motif, the mutant homeodomain (ftzQ50K) recognizes a GGATTA motif. We now find that the in vivo activity of an ftz autoregulatory enhancer element is reduced by mutations of putative ftz-binding sites to GGATTA. This down-regulatory effect is specifically suppressed in vivo by the DNA-binding specificity mutant ftzQ50K. These results establish a direct positive autoregulatory feedback mechanism in the regulation of this homeobox gene.     

大鼠肝再生相关基因MafF的分子进化研究

Maf家族是碱性亮氨酸拉链(the basic leucine zipper,bZip)转录因子的一个亚群,是v-maf癌蛋白类似物.它可以通过结合不同的底物来调节下游基因的表达.cDNA Microarray结果显示,小Maf家族成员MafF在大鼠部分肝切除后表达水平迅速升高.为了详细研究该基因的特性,我们采用生物信...     

植物中miR160/miR167/miR390家族及其靶基因研究进展

microRNA(miRNA)是真核生物中广泛存在的一类长21～23个核苷酸的非编码RNA分子,通过与靶基因mRNA的特异结合调节基因转录后表达,在调控细胞周期、生物体发育时序等方面起重要作用。miR160、miR167和miR390 3个miRNAs家族均为靶向ARF(Auxin Response Factor)基因家族,预示着它们在行使调控功能的过程中既有相似性又有特异性。笔者详细阐述了miR160/miR167/miR390在植物发育过程中的调控作用及与其靶基因之间的相互调控关系,发现miR160/miR167/miR390均在植物生长发育过程中发挥重要的作用,但miR160则侧重于调控胚胎和根的发育,miR167侧重于调控植物花和果实的发育,而miR390则对植物横向器官的发育具有调控作用,并且,miR160/miR167/miR390与其靶基因之间存在反馈调节作用。