Expression of the intact C<Subscript>4</Subscript> type<Emphasis Type="Italic">pepc</Emphasis> gene cloned from maize in transgenic winter wheat

Maize intact C4-pepc gene was amplified through LA-PCR and successfully sub-cloned into modified vector pGreen0029 to form a stable expression construct named as pBAC214 (12 kb), which contains CaMV 35S promoter driven bar gene as selection marker. Comparing the cloned DNA sequences (6.7 kb) with published maize C4-pepc gene (GenBank accession E17154) sequences, the identity of DNA sequence alignment is 98.96%. There are only 49 differences between these two intact DNA sequences, of which 13 occur in the region of promoter, 18 in introns, and 18 in exons. The homology of mRNA sequence alignment is 99.38%, and the putative amino acids sequence identity is 99.38%. There are only 15 differences between these two mRNA, and these differences bring 4 sites mutant on the putative amino acids of PEPC protein. Through biolistic bombardment of PDS1000/He system, expression vector pBAC214 has been transformed into winter wheat. Southern blotting results show that the intact C4-pepc gene has been integrated into genome of winter wheat. SDS-PAGE analysis of leaf soluble protein in transgenic wheat showed that the intact C4opepc gene was well transcribed, spliced and translated as in maize. The enzyme activity of leaf PEPC in transgenic wheat has been detected. The activities of leaf PEPC increased over 3-5 times in some transgenic plants. The data of photosynthesis rate and transpiration rate of transgenic wheat flag leaves showed that the C4-pepc gene can increase the photosynthesis rate and transpiration rate of transgenic wheat.     

Isolation of a pollen specific promoter in tritordeum

The promoter is a cis-acting element in regulating gene expression. A promoterless plasmid containing UidA gene was transformed into tritordeum by barmbadment. Histochemical analysis of various tissues in transgenic tritordeum was carried to examine tissue-specific expression of GUS(beta-glucuronidase) activity. The pollen-specific promoter was trapped and identified successfully in a transformant line. PCR(polymerase chain reaction) method was used to isolate this pollen-specific promoter. By sequencing and analyzing the amplified fragment from PCR, a part of UidA gene and a flanking sequence were obtained. Some essential elements of plant promoters were found in the sequence. To determine the function of it, the cloned fragment was fused with UidA gene, then cloned and transformed into Triticum durum. The transgenic plant transformed by this vector showed GUS expression only in pollen. Therefore a pollen-specific promoter was isolated successfully.     

Expression of lysine-rich protein gene and analysis of lysine content in transgenic wheat

Expression vector pBPC102, which carries winged bean lysine-rich protein (wblrp) gene and dihydropicolinate synthase (DHDPS) gene, was transferred into hexaploid winter wheat cv. Jinghua No.l, Jing411, You899 and Yangnongl5 explants of immature inflorescence and immature embryos by particle bombardment. More than 100 transgenic plants were obtained under the selection of s-(2-aminoethyl)-L-cysteine (AEC). Confirmed transgenic plants of To and TI generation by PCR and PCR-Southern blotting analyses showed successful integration of wblrp gene into wheat genome. Analysis of transgenic plant lines of T2 by Northern dot-blotting showed good expression of wblrp gene in offspring seed. The content of free lysine in leaves, contents of bound lysine and total proteins in seeds of T2 transgenie wheat lines were determined and analyzed. Among 34 tested transgenic lines, levels of free lysine content in leaves of 9 transgenic lines are 2~3times higher than un-trans-formed wild-type cultivars. Among 17 analyzed transgenic lines, bound lysine content of 4 transgenic lines is more than 10% higher than that of wild-type cultivars. Our research suggests that introducing wblrp gene into wheat is an effective way to improve its nutrition quality.     

Characterization of a PDR type ABC transporter gene from wheat （Triticum aestivum L.）

DON, as a virulence factor, plays an important role in the infection of Fusarium graminearum in wheat. The infection ability of F. graminearum depends on its capacity of producing DON. The production of DON by F. graminearum is significantly decreased in the wheat varieties with scab resistance. In this study, GeneChip analysis indicated that an EST encoding an ATP-binding cassette （ABC） transporter was up-regulated by 45 times in a wheat landrace Wangshuibai, which is resistant to DON accumulation. A pair of EST-derived primers were designed based on the EST sequence, and a clone was then isolated from a wheat genomic DNA TAC library. The TAC clone was sequenced using chromosome walking and gene prediction was conducted using Softberry. A cDNA clone of this gene was subsequently isolated from Wangshuibai induced by DON using gene-specific primers designed according to the untranslated sequence of the gene. The genome size of the gene is 7377 bp, consisting of 19 exons with coding sequences of 4308 bp. It encodes a protein with 1435 amino acid residues and the calculated molecular weight is about 161 kD. BLAST analysis indicated that the gene may belong to pleiotropic drug resistance （PDR） sub-family, and hence designated as TaPDR1 （Triticum aestivum pleiotropic drug resistance）. TaPDR1 was located on chromosome 5A of wheat using nullisomic-tetrasomic lines of Chinese Spring. TaPDR1 was up-regulated by induction of both DON and F. graminearum. Expression patterns of TaPDR1 were different in wild-type Wangshuibai and the fast-neutron induced Wangshuibai mutant lacking FHB1, a major QTL of FHB resistance and DON resistance in chromosome arm 3BS. These results suggested that TaPDR1 might be a candidate gene responsible for DON accumulation resistance. The expression profile showed that TaPDR1 expression was neither induced by hormones typically involved in biotic stress, such as JA and SA, nor by abiotic stresses, such as heat, cold, wounding and NaCI. However, TaPDR1 expression was regulated by Al^3＋ and [Ca^2＋], indicating that [Ca^2＋]1 might mediate the signal of TaPDR1 expression.     

Regulatory effect of cotton leaf curl virus AC2 on virion sense promoter

The AC2 gene of cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV) was obtained by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) . The total DNA of the CLCuV infected tomato leaves was used as template, and the amplified DNA fragment was inserted into a cloning vector. Transient expression vectors were constructed by inserting the AC2 gene into downstream region of CaMV 35S promoter. These constructs were delivered into tobacco and cotton leaf cells for transient expression by particle bombardment. The results indicated that the virion sense promoter was activated by AC2 and its activity increased remarkably. However, the activity of transactivated virion sense promoter was still lower than that of the complementary sense promoter. The expression pattern of transactivated virion sense promoter was similar to that of the complementary sense promoter, namely with high activity in both mesophyll and vascular tissues. The possibility of application of AC2 in plant genetic manipulation was also explored.     

GCC box in<Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis PDF1.2</Emphasis> promoter is an essential and sufficient cis-acting element in response to MeJA treatment

The expression of Arabidopsis PDF1.2 gene isregulated by jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene (ET). It also has been well documented that GCC box is an element responsive to ET, however, the responsive mechanism of JA in such plant defense gene expression is unclear. In this paper, the authors define the essential cis-acting element in PDF1.2 promoter responsive to methyl jasmonate (MeJA) through fragment deletions and site-directed mutageneses combiningAgrobacterium-mediated transient reporter gene expression in tobacco leaves. Firstly, the MeJA inducible expression o fPDF1.2 was confirmed by using the upstream -1.86 kb fragment of PDFI.2 gene. Secondly, the upstream -300— -243 bp fragment of the promoter was evidenced to respond to MeJA. To further characterize this promoter region, three point mutations were introduced into the -300— -243 bp fragment of the promoter. This result showed that the mutation of GCC box abolished MeJA induction, whereas the mutations of the G box-like and the imperfect palindrome sequence did not significantly decrease MeJA inducible effect, indicating that GCC box in PDFI.2 is essential for MeJA induction. The sufficient responsiveness to MeJA of this GCC box was further investigated by 4xGCC fused upstream to the CaMV 35S minimal promoter. This result suggested that the fused promoter was able to activate reporter gene expression in response to MeJA. Thus these results indicate that the GCC box in PDFI.2 is an essential and sufficient element to confer MeJA induction.     

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 ubiqutinl 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 CrylAh protein in the construct containing the ubil 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 ubil intron was higher than that of the intronless construct. These results indicated that the maize ubil intron can enhance the expression of the Bt cry1Ah gene in transgenic maize efficiently     

Identification of a bi-directional promoter from Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus

A bi-directional promoter of Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV) was obtained with the total DNA from TYLCCNV isolate Y10 infected tobacco leaves as a template. Plant expression vectors were constructed by fusing the amplified DNA fragment with the gus gene and nopaline terminator in different orientations. The vectors containing promoter fragments were transferred into leaf cells and plant stems of Nicotiana benthamiana by Agrobacterium-mediated method. Transient expression results showed that both the complementary and virion-sense promoters could drive the gus gene to express, and the GUS activity of the complementary-sense promoter was stronger than that of the virion-sense. Co-expression of the vector containing βC1 gene of TYLCCNV DNAβ with the vector containing a bi-directional promoter revealed that the βC1 protein has no impact on expression of either the virion- or the complementary-sense promoter.     

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     

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.     

Genetic and physical finemapping of the Sc locus conferring indica-japonica hybrid sterility in rice （Oryza sativa L.）

Hybrid sterility is a major hindrance to utilizing the heterosis in indica-japonica hybrids. To isolate a gene Sc conferring the hybrid sterility, the locus was mapped using molecular markers and an F2 population derived from a cross between near isogenic lines. A primary linkage analysis showed that Sc was linked closely with 4 markers on chromosome 3, on which the genetic distance between a marker RG227 and Sc was 0.07 cM. Chromosome walking with a rice TAC genomic library was carried out using RG227 as a starting probe, and a contig of ca. 320 kb covering the Sc locus was constructed. Two TAC clones, M45EI4 and M90J01 that might cover the Sc locus, were partially sequenced. By searching the rice sequence databases with sequences of the TACs and RG227 a japonica rice BAC sequence, OSJNBb0078P24 was identified. By comparing the TAC and BAC sequences, six new PCR-based markers were developed. With these markers the Sc locus was further mapped to a region of 46 kb. The results suggest that the BAC OSJNBb0078P24 and TAC M45EI4 contain the Sc gene. Six ORFs were predicted in the focused 46-kb region.     

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated Transformation of CryⅠA(b) gene to Trichoderma harzianum

In this study, Cry ⅠA(b) gene was successfully transferred into the biocontrol fungus Trichoderma harzianum with an efficiency of 60-180 transformants per 10^6 spores by using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Putative transformants were analyzed to test the presence of Cry ⅠA(b) gene by Southern blot. Most transformants contained a single T-DNA copy. RT-PCR analysis showed that the Cry ⅠA(b) gene was transcribed. Antifungal activities and insecticidal activities of the transformants were examined. There was no obvious difference in antifungal activities between the transformants and their wild strains. The modified mortalities of the transformants T1 and T2 were 69.57% and 91.30%, respectively. The tranformation system mediated by A. tumefaciens proved to be a powerful tool for the filamentous fungi transformation and functional genomic study with its high transformation frequency, simplicity of T-DNA integration, and genetic stability of transformants.     

Functional analysis of the larval serum protein gene promoter from silkworm <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bombyx mori.</Emphasis>

The regulation region of larval serum protein gene, Bombyx mori. (BmLSP), consisting of the first intron, the first exon, the central promoter region and 5′-upstream region, is cloned from genomic DNA from the silkworm va-riety of Suju譓inghu. Using PCR and restriction endonu-clease methods, a series of luciferase reporter plasmids, driven by different length of BmLSP promoters, are con-structed. Via the transient expression system in BmN cells, the effects of the regulation elements and foreign insect hor-mones on the BmLSP promoter activity are investigated. The results demonstrate that the promoter activity of BmLSP is 5.8- or 4.4-fold higher than that of BmLSPs whose first in-tron or the element in 5′-upstream region harboring the homologous sequence with the first intron of light-chain fib-roin gene (EHIF) is deleted, respectively, suggesting that both the first intron and EHIF contain the main positive cis-acting elements. However, the inactive mariner transposable ele-ment (MTE) in 5′-upstream region presents a negative effect. Furthermore, the effects of juvenile hormone analogue (JHA) on the BmLSP promoter activity show a typical dose-dependent manner, that is, low concentration treat-ments increase the BmLSP promoter activity and high con-centration treatments decrease it. Meanwhile, insect ecdy-sone (MH) treatments present no significant effect.     

Comparative proteomics analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">OsNAS1</Emphasis> transgenic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica napus</Emphasis> under salt stress

Salt stress is one of the major abiotic stresses in agricultural plants worldwide. We used proteomics to analyze the differential expression of proteins in transgenic OsNAS1 and non-transformant Brassica napus treated with 20 mmol/L Na₂CO₃. Total protein from the leaves was extracted and separated through a high-resolution and highly repetitive two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) technology system. Twelve protein spots were reproducibly observed to be upregulated by more than 2-fold between transgenic and non-transformant B. napus. These 12 spots were digested in-gel with trypsin and characterized by matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) to obtain the peptide mass fingerprints. Protein database searching revealed that 5 of these proteins are involved in salt tolerance: dehydrogenase, glutathione S-transferase, peroxidase, 20S proteasome beta subunit, and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase. The potential functions of these identified proteins in substance and energy metabolism, stress tolerance, protein degradation, and cell defense are discussed. The salt tolerance of the transgenic rapeseed was significantly improved by the introduction of the OsNAS1 gene from Brazilian upland rice of Oryza sativa (cv. IAPAR 9).     

Attractiveness of tobacco volatiles induced by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Helicoverpa armigera</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Helicoverpa assulta</Emphasis> to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Campoletis chlorideae</Emphasis>

The attraction of Helicoverpa armigera-and Helicoverpa assulta-induced and mechanical damage-induced tobacco volatiles to Campoletis chlorideae was investigated, and the induced volatiles were analyzed. In windtunnel, C. chlorideae was strongly attracted by herbivoreinduced tobacco volatiles. Mechanically damaged tobacco leaves, whether treated with caterpillar regurgitant or water,were more attractive to the parasitoid than undamaged tobacco leaves. GC-MS analysis revealed that only 4 compounds were released from undamaged tobacco leaves,whereas 13 compounds were commonly emitted from herbivore-infested and mechanically damaged tobacco leaves.Compound β-pinene was specifically induced by the infestation of H. armigera, and (Z)-3-hexenal was only induced by the infestation of H. armigera and H. assulta, whereas hexyl acetate was only induced by mechanical damage. Tobacco leaves infested by H. armigera and H. assulta released larger amounts of volatiles than undamaged tobacco leaves did.Tobacco leaves treated with artificial damage plus caterpillars regurgitant or water emitted the same levels of volatiles,which were higher than that emitted by undamaged tobacco leaves. The emission amounts of single compounds were also different between differently treated plants. The differences were large between herbivore-induced and mechanical damage-induced compounds, and small between H. armigeraand H.assulta-induced compounds, and among compounds emitted from mechanically damaged plants treated with water or caterpillar regurgitant.     

Cloning and expression of <Emphasis Type="Italic">AtPLC6</Emphasis>, a gene encoding a phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis thaliana</Emphasis>

A full-length cDNA clone corresponding to a putative phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C(PIPLC) was isolated from Arabidopsis thaliana by screening a cDNA library and using RT-PCR strategy.The cDNA,designated AtPLC6,encodes a putative polypeptide of 578 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 66251.84 D and a pI of 7.24. The sequence analysis indicates that the polypeptide contains X, Y, EF-hand and C2 domains.The overall structure of putative AtPLC6 protein, like other plant PI-PLCs,is most similar to that of mammalian PLCδ The recombinant AtPLC6 protein expressed in E. coil was able to hydrolyze phosphatidylinositol 4,5-biophosphate (PIP2) to generate inositol 1,4,5-trisphate (IP3) and 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG).The protein hydrolyzes PIP2 in a Ca^2 -dependent manner and the optimum concentration of Ca^2 is 10μmol/L.These results suggested that AtPLC6 gene encodes a genuine PIPLC.Northern blot analysis showed that the AtPLC6 gene is expressed at low level in all examined tissues, such as roots,stems,leaves,flowers,siliques and seedlings under normal growth conditions.The gene is strongly induced under low temperature and weakly induced under various stresses,such as ABA, high-salt stress and heat. These results suggested that AtPLC6 might be involved in the signal-transduction pathways of cold responses of the plants.