Isolation of a strong matrix attachment region (MAR) and identification of its function in vitro and in vivo

Inclusion of MARs in transgene cassettes enhances their expression and reduces position-effect variations in the transgenic host. Four new MARs (TM2, TM3, AM1 and AM2) were isolated from tobacco and Arabidopsis by PCR method. The nuclei isolated from suspension- cultured cells of rice were used to prepare nuclear matrix. With a characterized MAR (TM1) as a positive control, the Matrix-MAR interactions were tested by an in vitro binding assay to identify the DNA sequences as MARs and their binding strength to nuclear matrix in vitro was compared. The results showed that TM2 and TM3 had stronger binding strength than TM1. To determine the functions of the four new MARs in vivo, binary vectors pBI121 carrying a uidA GUS reporter gene were modified with direct repeat MARs inserted on both sides of the reporter gene cassette and were transferred into tobaccos via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation procedure. Quantitative GUS assays of the transgenic tobaccos showed that when flanking a GUS reporter gene TM1, TM2, TM3 and AM1 increased uidA GUS gene expression level approximately 1.5-fold, 5-fold, 1.35-fold, 1.3-fold respectively and AM2 has no effect on gene expression. TM2 was found to be a strong MAR that could effectively increase gene expression level and could be used as an effective enhancing element to construct high efficient expression vectors. In this note the relations among the sequence features, binding strength in vitro and function in vivo of the five MARs were analyzed, and the potential significance of TM2 in plant genetic engineering was dis- cussed.     

Identification and analysis of ARS function of six plant MARs

Six plant MARs isolated from tobacco and Arabdiposis were investigated for their ARS activity in yeast. The results showed that among the six plant MARs, only TM1 and AM4 had strong ARS activity which was almost the same as that of ARS from yeast chromosome. In order to further identify the core region of the two MARs for the ARS activity, a series of subclones were created by PCR strategy, and the corresponding subclones were designated as TM1-1, TM1-2, TM1-3, AM4-1, AM4-2 and AM4-3, respectively. Our studies revealed that TMI-3 and AM4-3 not only had higher ARS activity, but also displayed higher transformation frequency, plasmid stability and growth rate compared to their intact MARs, TM1 and AM4. These data present an important clue for further elucidating the relationship between MAR and ARS.     

Increase of Expression Levels of Reporter Gene in Transgenic Tobaccos by Matrix Attachment Regions

The matrix attachment region (MAR) located downstream of Plastocyanin gene was isolated from the genome of pea. To study the effect of MARs on foreign gene expression in transgenic plants, T-DNA vector was constructed in which MARs flanked bothβ-glucuronidase(GUS) gene and selectable marker neomycin phosphotransferase (NPT-II) gene. The plant expression vectors were transferred into leaf discs via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation procedure. The result of GUS measurement showed that pea MAR could increase transgene expression level. The mean expression levels of GUS gene expression in population containing MARs could be increased twofold when compared with that of population without MARs.     

Structural analysis of the promoter of tomato 1-aminocyclopropane-l-carboxylate synthase 6 gene （Le-ACS6）

Ethylene plays an important role in the regulation of many growth and developmental processes of higher plants. In tomato, Le-ACS6, a member of the ACC synthase multigene family involved in system 1 ethylene biosynthesis during fruit ripening, is subject to negative feedback regulation by ethylene. To identify the cis-elements that are responsible for the negative feedback control, we established an in vitro transient assay system employing particle bombardment on mature-green tomato fruit pericarp to examine the expression of a luciferase （LUC） reporter gene driven by a 5＇-serially deleted Le-ACS6 promoter. The results localized putative cis-elements required for negative ethylene-response between -347 and -266 upstream from the translational start site ATG Several lines of stable transformation of the Le-ACS6 promoter and GUS reporter fusion gene containing internal deletion from -347 to -266 were generated. The expression pattern of the GUS reporter showed that removal of the nucleotides from -347 to -266 completely eliminated the response of the Le-ACS6 promoter to exogenous ethylene.     

Transformation of plant young proembryos by electroporation

It is first reported that plant young proembryos expressed exogenous reporter genes by electroporation. Young proembryos with 8–32 cells and globular proembryos with 250–400 cells could be isolated by enzymatic maceration combined with microdissection. After electroporation withGUS orGFP genes, the proembryos were cultured for 1–2 d in KM8p medium. At the field strength of electroporation 500–1500 V/cm, blue reaction of GUS or green fluorescence of GFP could be observed in the proembryos. The highest transient expression frequency of young proembryos (2.2%) was obtained at the field strength of 750 V/cm, whereas the highest frequency of globular proembryos (5.9%) was obtained at the field strength of 1 250 V/cm. Taking the proportion of transformed cells in the whole cells of proembryos as efficient transformation frequency, the efficient transformation frequency of the young proembryos was 7 times that of the globular proembryos.     

Efficient transformation and expression of gfp gene in the edible mushroom Pleurotus nebrodensis

An efficient transformation method mediated by PEG-protoplasts was developed for the newly commercial edible mushroom Pleurotus nebrodensis. Two plasmids were used to co-transform protoplasts of P. nebrodensis. One plasmid is pAN7-1 containing a positive selectable marker gene hph conferring hygromycin B resistance. Another plasmid is pBlue-GFP containing a reporter gene gfp conferring green fluorescent protein. PCR and Southern blot analysis showed that hph gene or/and gfp gene were integrated into the genome of P. nebrodensis transformants. The transformation efficiency of the positive selectable marker gene hph was 3 transformants per microgram of plasmid pAN7-1 DNA, which was about 30 times higher than that previously reported in thoroughly studied Pleurotus species such as Pleurotus ostreatus. The transformation efficiency of the reporter gene gfp was 9 transformants per microgram of plasmid pBlu-GFP DNA. The co-transformation efficiency was 23.68%. This is the first report that a ＂reporter＂ gene, green fluorescent protein gene can be successfully stably exoressed in this Pleurotus species.     

SCFP,a novel fiber-specific promoter in cotton

To investigate the expression pattern of GhSCFP which was isolated from cotton fiber cDNA library, a 1006 bp upstream fragment of the gene was cloned by chromosome walking and fused to GUSand GFP respectively. Histochemical GUS and GFP fluorescence analysis revealed that the expression of the report genes driven by the promoter sequence was detectable only in outer layer cells during the seed development in the transgentic tobaccos. In transgenic cotton, strong GUS activity was observed in spherical protrusions on 0 dpa （days post anthesis） ovule surface, and in the 2-36 dpa fiber cells, while no GUS signals were detected in the root, leaves, stem, corolla, anther and stigma. Our data demonstrated that GhSCFP upstream sequence is a cotton fiber-specific promoter and this promoter will be useful in the molecular research on fiber cell development and in cotton fiber improvements by genetic modification.     

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.     

S 100A8 mediates the activation of P65/HLA- B/S 100A8/BCL-2/Caspase-9 （-3） pathway in laryngeal carcinogenesis

S100 calcium binding protein A8 （S100A8）, a possible novel member of NF-kappa B signal pathway in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma （LSCC）, interacts with human leukocyte antigen B （HLA-B） which carries an NF-kappa B binding site within the enhancer A. The objective of this study was to explore the molecular mechanism of S100A8 in laryngeal carcinogenesis. RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry staining were applied to evaluate the expression levels of IKKα, P65, REL-B, S100A8, APAF-1 and BCL-2 genes. The signal transduction passway in which S100A8 might participate was explored by RNA interference. Flow cytometry, TUNEL assay and cell invasion in vitro were used to detect the biological behavior of Hep2 cells induced by S100A8 gene. Our results showed that high expression of S100A8 was related to tumorigenesis in LSCC and negatively correlated with the degree of differentiation, indicating that S100A8 gene could inhibit apoptosis and promote metastasis in LSCC. Additionally, the suppression of S100A8 by RNA interference down-regulated BCL-2 but not APAF-1, P65 and IKKα, while, the suppression of P65 could significantly down-regulate the expression of S100A8 gene. In conclusion, S100A8 plays an important role in P65/HLA-B/S100A8/BCL-2/Caspase-9 （-3） pathway in laryngeal carcinoma.     

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-specific 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.     

苦荞CCT基因家族生物信息学及表达分析

CCT转录因子在调控植物花期、生长发育及抗非生物胁迫等方面发挥着重要的功能。本研究以拟南芥AtCCT基因家族为参考序列,利用本地BLAST并结合保守结构域等生物信息学工具,筛选出苦荞FtCCT基因家族成员,并对其理化性质、染色体分布、基因结构、系统进化及表达水平进行分析。结果显示:从苦荞中共鉴定出35个FtCCT基因,含1-8个内含子;编码蛋白有117-753个氨基酸残基,等电点为4.96-9.51,均为亲水性蛋白。染色体定位分析表明,这些基因在8条染色体上均有分布。苦荞FtCCT基因家族含有10个保守基序和5个保守结构域,且都含有CCT保守结构域。系统进化分析表明,苦荞的FtCCT基因家族与拟南芥一样可分为3个亚家族,其中CMF亚家族的成员最多。35个FtCCT基因在苦荞根、茎、叶和花中的表达水平具有差异性,在叶和花中具有高表达量的成员较多,只有少数的成员在根和茎中高表达。本研究为进一步解析CCT基因调控苦荞花期及生长发育奠定基础。     

Molecular cloning, in vitro expression and enzyme activity analysis of violaxanthin de-epoxidase from Oryza sauva L.

The violaxanthin de-epoxidase gene was cloned from rice (Oryza sauva subsp japonica). The full length of the cDNA is 1887 bp, encoding a 446-amino acids protein with the transit peptide of 98 amino acids. The bacterial expression vector pET-Rvde was constructed and the expression quantity of the exogenous protein increased with the induction time by 0.4 mmol/L IPTG. Its molecular weight was similar with that of the native VDE. Western blotting indicated that the expressed protein has immunological reaction with the VDE polyclonal antibody. The absorbance spectrum together with xanthophyll pigments quantification by HPLC demonstrated that the expressed VDE has its enzyme activity, which can de-epoxidate violaxanthin into antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin in vitro.     

Construction and characterization of partiallyntrC-deleted mutants inAlcaligenes faecalis

To study the effect of ntrC gene product on the expression and regulation of other important nitrogen-fixing genes in Alcaligenes faecalis, partially ntrC-deleted mutants of A. faecalis have been generated. To start with, the ntrC gene of A. faecalis was cloned into a suicide plasmid pSUP202 to create a recombinant plasmid pSUM1. The ntrC gene in pSUM1 was then replaced by a lacZ-Km^r fragment resulted in the generation of a plasmid pSUM2. The lacZ fragment in pSUM2 was further removed and a plasmid pSUM3 produced. As a second step, the plasmid pSUM2 or pSUM3 was introduced into the wild type of A. faecalis A1501 by conjugation and two partially ntrC-deleted mutants A15CM1 (ntrC∷lacZ) and A15CM2 (ntrC ^- ) were obtained. To understand the regulatory effect of the NtrC on the expression of nifH and nifA, a nifH-lacZ gene or a nifH-lacZ gene was introduced into the ntrC^- mutant by conjugation. The results indicated that: (ⅰ) although the ntrC^-mutant was nif ⁺ , its nitrogen fixation activity was only 20% that of the wild type; (ⅱ) the ntrC^- mutant failed to grow on the medium containing nitrate as a sole nitrogen source; (ⅲ) the regulation of ntrC gene expression did not require its own product; (ⅳ) the expression of nifH in A . faecalis was positively regulated by the ntrC. Deletion of the ntrC resulted in the reduction of nifH expression or even totally inactivated nitrogen fixation; (ⅴ) there was no obvious influence on the expression of nifA in A. faecalis if the ntrC gene was deleted.     

Molecular cloning, expression and biochemical property analysis of AtKP1, a kinesin gene from Arabidopsis thaliana

Kinesins are common in a variety of eukaryotic cells with diverse functions. A cDNA encoding a member of the Kinesin-14B subfamily is obtained using 3＇-RACE technology and named AtKP1 （for Arabidopsis kinesin protein 1）. This cDNA has a maximum open reading frame of 3.3 kb encoding a polypeptide of 1087 aa. Protein domain analysis shows that AtKP1 contains the motor domain and the calponin homology domain in the central and amino-terminal regions, respectively. The carboxyl-terminal region with 202 aa residues is diverse from other known kinesins. Northern blot analysis shows that AtKP1 is widely expressed at a higher level in seedlings than in mature plants. 2808 bp of the AtKP1 promoter region is cloned and fused to GUS. GUS expression driven by the AtKP1 promoter region shows that AtKP1 is mainly expressed in vasculature of young organs and young leaf trichomes, indicating that AtKP1 may participate in the differentiation or development of Arabidopsis thaliana vascular bundles and trichomes. A truncated AtKP1 protein containing the putative motor domain is expressed in E. coil and affinity-purified. In vitro characterizations indicate that the polypeptide has nucleotide-dependent microtubule-binding ability and microtubule-stimulated ATPase activity.     

菠菜乙醇酸氧化酶基因家族的鉴定及表达分析

在菠菜全基因组中鉴定了菠菜(Spinacia oleracea L.)乙醇酸氧化酶(GLO)家族成员,并对其理化性质、亚细胞定位、基因结构、保守基序、同源关系及基因表达进行了分析,发现菠菜中存在5个SoGLOs蛋白,通过进化树分析,菠菜GLO蛋白与甜菜GLO蛋白亲缘关系较近.通过基因结构分析发现该家族基因由9～11个外显子构成.实时荧光定量聚合酶链式反应(qRT-PCR)结果表明:硝态氮仅能短期诱导SoGLOs的表达,而铵态氮可以持续抑制SoGLOs的表达,从而影响菠菜草酸的含量.在胁迫处理后,SoGLOs的表达均有明显变化,SoGLO1,SoGLO3和SoGLO5对盐胁迫的响应最明显,SoGLOs可能在菠菜的抗盐、耐高温、耐寒、抗旱以及抗氧化过程中起作用.植物激素的喷施普遍使SoGLOs的表达在短时间内增加,这可能引起菠菜体内草酸的快速积累.