Transgenes as probes for active chromosomal domains in mouse development

Embryonic development entails a well defined temporal and spatial programme of gene expression, which may be influenced by active chromosomal domains. These chromosomal domains can be detected using transgenes which integrate randomly throughout the genome, as their expression can be affected by chromosomal position. Position effects are probably exerted most strongly on transgenes that do not contain strong promoters, enhancers or other modulating sequences. Here we have systematically explored position effects using a transgene with the weak herpes-simplex-virus thymidine-kinase promoter, linked to the readily visualized lacZ indicator gene (HSV-TK-lacZ). Each transgenic fetus with detectable expression displayed a unique lacZ staining pattern. Thus expression of this construct is apparently dictated entirely by its chromosomal position, without any construct specificity. Furthermore the transgene is faithfully transmitted to subsequent generations, allowing for systematic mapping of changes in expression during development and in adult life. These results demonstrate that transgenes can indeed be powerful tools to probe the genome for active chromosomal regions, with the potential for identifying endogenous genes involved in organogenesis and pattern formation.     

PCR-based approaches for identification of multi-copy transgene integration sites in mouse genome

Transgenic mice have become one of the most im- portant resources in studying gene functions in vivo since the technology was established in the 1980s[1―3]. So far, most of the transgenic mice were generated by DNA microinjection into fertilized eggs, in…     

Genetically engineered organisms for bioremediation of pollutants in contaminated sites

Environmental pollution is a major problem which affects biodiversity, public health and ecosystems worldwide. This issue cannot currently be solved using conventional technology because these treatments are expensive, ineffective and time consuming. Conventional methods focus unduly on the separation, rather than the destruction of contaminants. The use of genetically engi- neered organisms for bioremediation would be an envi- ronmentally-friendly and cost-effective alternative for the management and remediation of pollutants in contaminated sites. Different types of genetically engineered microbes have been developed through recombinant DNA and RNA technologies, these have been utilized for the removal of heavy metals and toxic substances from contaminated sites. Transgenic plants can also mobilize or degrade chlorinated solvent, xenobiotic compounds, explosives and phenolic substances. A symbiotic relationship between genetic engineered microbes and transgenic plants can enhance the effectiveness of bioremediation of contaminated sites. This review examines recent developments in the use of genetically engineered microbes and transgenic plants forthe bioremediation of contaminated sites. This review will also identify the environmental factors which influence bioremediation by genetically engineered microbes and transgenic plants as well as suggesting future directions for research in these areas.     

Novel developmental specificity in the nervous system of transgenic animals expressing growth hormone fusion genes

The development of methods for introducing foreign genes into the germ line of mice provides an approach for studying mechanisms underlying inducible and developmental gene regulation. Transgenic animals expressing foreign genes have thus been used to test models of the role played by specific DNA sequences in determining cell-specific expression. Results from these experiments suggest that tissue-specific expression is the consequence of a cis-acting regulatory sequence. However, these results do not exclude the possibility that cell-specific expression of some genes might be 'coded' by combinations of regulatory elements. We have previously described the production of transgenic mice from eggs microinjected with metallothionein-I/growth hormone (MGH) fusion genes, and now demonstrate that the juxtaposition of sequences from two different genes can be deciphered by cells to generate novel tissue specificities. Although expression of the endogenous metallothionein and growth hormone genes has not been detected in neuronal cells, transgenic mice clearly express an MGH fusion gene in a restricted subset of neurones. These results suggest a model in which tissue-specific patterns of expression of certain genes are determined by combinations of cis-acting regulatory sequences.     

转基因小鼠与肿瘤研究

转基因小鼠的出现有力地推动了肿瘤研究的发展。具有癌症倾向的转基因小鼠,是从DNA水平开展有关人类恶性肿瘤发生、生长、转移和防治研究的良好活休模型。肿瘤形成与控制细胞生长和分化的多种基因特别是癌基因、抑癌基因的遗传改变有关。在利用转基因小鼠进行实验研究时,对由相同结构基因建立的不同转基因小鼠家系在癌基因表达上的时空差异性,应当给予足够的重视。此外,实现转基因动物生产的专业化、产业化,将会加速我国生命科学领域中转基因动物应用研究的进程。     

Rearrangement of a chicken immunoglobulin gene occurs in the lymphoid lineage of transgenic mice

Immunoglobulin (Ig) and T-cell antigen receptor genes rearrange through identical heptamer-nonamer recognition sequences during entry of cells into the B or T lymphoid lineage. A similar enzymatic machinery may be used to perform these highly cell-specific events in these two types of lymphoid cells. We have investigated what the signal may be that triggers the rearrangement of one or other of the receptor genes in B or T cells. Mice from three transgenic lines carrying two, four or twenty copies of the unrearranged chicken lambda light-chain locus were analysed. In all three lines the chicken Ig transgene rearranges in B cells; in the line with 20 copies, a rearranged fragment can also be detected in thymus DNA. We conclude that the inserted chicken light-chain locus in its natural configuration contains target sequences that permit specific rearrangement in mouse lymphoid B cells, but that this precise differentiation step may be deregulated in thymic cells when the physiological level of relevant information is experimentally altered.     

Site-independent expression of the chicken beta A-globin gene in transgenic mice

The level of expression of exogenous genes carried by transgenic mice typically varies from mouse to mouse and can be quite low. This behaviour is attributed to the influence of the mouse chromatin near the site of transgene integration. This 'position effect' has been seen in transgenic mice carrying the human beta-globin gene. It was however, abolished when DNase I hypersensitive sites (normally found 65 to 44 kilobases (kb) upstream) were linked to the human beta-globin transgene. Thus, the upstream DNA (previously named a dominant control or locus activation region, now denoted a locus control region) conferred the ability to express human beta-globin at high levels dependent on copy number on every mouse carrying the construct. We report here an investigation of chicken beta A-globin gene expression in transgenic mice. A 4.5-kb fragment carrying the beta A-globin gene and its downstream enhancer, without any far upstream elements, is sufficient to ensure that every transgenic mouse expresses chicken globin messenger RNA at levels proportional to the transgene copy number. Thus the chicken DNA elements that allow position-independent expression can function in mice. In marked contrast to the human beta cluster, these elements are no farther than 2 kb from the gene. The location of the elements within the cluster demonstrates that position independence can be mediated by DNA that does not define a gene cluster boundary.     

In vivo enhancer analysis of human conserved non-coding sequences

Identifying the sequences that direct the spatial and temporal expression of genes and defining their function in vivo remains a significant challenge in the annotation of vertebrate genomes. One major obstacle is the lack of experimentally validated training sets. In this study, we made use of extreme evolutionary sequence conservation as a filter to identify putative gene regulatory elements, and characterized the in vivo enhancer activity of a large group of non-coding elements in the human genome that are conserved in human-pufferfish, Takifugu (Fugu) rubripes, or ultraconserved in human-mouse-rat. We tested 167 of these extremely conserved sequences in a transgenic mouse enhancer assay. Here we report that 45% of these sequences functioned reproducibly as tissue-specific enhancers of gene expression at embryonic day 11.5. While directing expression in a broad range of anatomical structures in the embryo, the majority of the 75 enhancers directed expression to various regions of the developing nervous system. We identified sequence signatures enriched in a subset of these elements that targeted forebrain expression, and used these features to rank all approximately 3,100 non-coding elements in the human genome that are conserved between human and Fugu. The testing of the top predictions in transgenic mice resulted in a threefold enrichment for sequences with forebrain enhancer activity. These data dramatically expand the catalogue of human gene enhancers that have been characterized in vivo, and illustrate the utility of such training sets for a variety of biological applications, including decoding the regulatory vocabulary of the human genome.     

High frequency of unequal recombination in pseudoautosomal region shown by proviral insertion in transgenic mouse

The mammalian X and Y chromosomes, in contrast to the autosomes, pair during male meiosis only near the telomeres. Alleles localized in this region can undergo reciprocal exchange during meiosis. Because such sequences do not show strict sex-linked inheritance, they have been termed pseudoautosomal. In man, several DNA sequences have been described which show pseudoautosomal transmission and which are localized in the pairing region at the ends of the short arms of both the X and Y chromosomes (refs 6-9, and D. Page, unpublished results). We now show that the transgenic mouse strain, Mov-15, contains a single Moloney murine leukaemia virus (M-MuLV) genome in its germline, and genetic evidence indicates that the provirus is integrated into the pseudoautosomal region of the sex chromosome. Proviral copies are lost or gained in 7% of male meioses in this strain, and mouse sequences flanking the provirus are tandemly repeated and highly variable. We conclude that unequal recombination events occur with high frequency in the pairing region, possibly because of the presence of repeated sequences.     

基因表达系统与转基因动物乳腺反应器

出于研究、医疗或工业目的，常常需要大量置备各种生物活性蛋白质，为此已经建立了多种基因工程表达系统，如微生物发酵系统、真核细胞培养系统、转基因植物表达系统和转基因动物表达系统等。近几年，利用转基因动物作为生物反应器由乳汁中生产蛋白药物的研究取得了很大进展，有多种动物可被用于转基因。基本过程是将基因构件显微注射到单细胞期受精卵，基因构件以一定几率整合到受体基因组中。通常转基因和其表达模式可忠实地遗传。许多蛋白将以高浓度低成本由转基因家畜的奶中生产。这些转基因动物与传统的动物细胞培养和细菌发酵技术相比尤显高效。乳腺能完成包括二硫桥形成、酰胺化、羧基化和糖基化在内的翻译后修饰，１头转基因羊就是１套发酵罐。据预测，到２０１０年由转基因动物生产的蛋白药物占全部基因工程药物的比率将增长到９５％以上。     

Can transgenic rice cause ecological risks through transgene escape?

Alien transgene escape from genetically engineered rice to non-transgenic varieties or close wild relatives (including weedy rice) may lead to unpredictable ecological risks. However, for transgene escape to occur three conditions need to be met: (i) spatially, transgenic rice and its non-transgenic counterparts or wild relatives should have sympatric distributions; (ii) temporally, the flowering time of transgenic rice and the non-transgenic varieties or wild relatives should overlap; and (iii) biologically, transgenic rice and its wild relative species should have such a sufficiently close relationship that their interspecific hybrids can have normal generative reproduction. This paper presents research data on the geographic distribution, flowering habits, interspecific hybridization, and gene flow of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) and its closely related wild relatives containing the AA genome. The objective is to estimate the possibility of transgene escape to non-transgenic rice varieties and wild relatives of rice, which may result in unpredictable ecological risks.     

同时检测小鼠微小病毒(MVM)和小鼠细小病毒(MPV)的荧光定量PCR的建立及应用

目的 建立同时检测小鼠微小病毒(MVM)和小鼠细小病毒(MPV)的荧光定量PCR方法,并进行初步应用。方法 比对NCBI上发表的MVM和MPV基因组序列,设计1对引物和探针,可同时检测MVM和MPV。考察MVM-MPV引物探针的特异性和灵敏度,并对178份清洁级小鼠粪便DNA样本进行检测。结果 MVM-MPV荧光定量PCR方法最佳线性范围为109～104拷贝/μL,标准曲线的线性关系良好,R2值可达0.99,灵敏度为101拷贝/μL,特异性强。应用MVM-MPV探针对178份小鼠粪便DNA检测,结果为2份阳性样本,经MVM、MPV特异性探针鉴定,2份阳性样本均为MPV感染。阳性样本经全基因组测序后与NCBI网站上MPV(NC_001630.1)序列比对,一致率为96%。结论 建立的MVM-MPV荧光定量PCR方法,能够有效快速地同时检出小鼠细小病毒和小鼠微小病毒。     

Application of a nuclear localization signal gene in transgene mice

Efficient gene transfer by cytoplasm co-injection will offer a powerful means for transgenic animals. Using co-injection in cytoplasm, two independent gene constructs, including bovine α-s1-casein-hG-CSF and a mammal expression vector expressing a nuclear localization signal (mNLS), were introduced into fertilized mouse eggs. The target gene construct was docked into host nucleus probably by the nuclear localization signal. Transgene mice have been obtained at 58% (29/50) of integration ratio. Expression level of the positive transgene mice was detected by Western blotting. Maximal expression of human G-CSF was estimated about 540 mg/L of milk. The expression ratio was up to 75% (9/12). The results here have important practical implications for the generation of mammary gland bioreactors and other transgene studies. Co-injection of a target gene with an expression vector of a mammal nuclear localization signal by cytoplasm appears to be a useful, efficient and easy strategy for generating transgenic animals, which may be able to substitute the routine method of pronucleus-injection of fertilized eggs.     

Maternal inhibition of hepatitis B surface antigen gene expression in transgenic mice correlates with de novo methylation

Differential modifications of the genome during gametogenesis result in a functional difference between the paternal and maternal genomes at the moment of fertilization. A possible cause of this imprinting is the methylation of DNA. The insertion of foreign DNA into transgenic mice allows the tagging of regions that are differentially methylated during gametogenesis. We describe here a transgenic mouse strain in which the expression of the hepatitis B surface antigen gene is irreversibly repressed following its passage through the female germ line. This inhibition is accompanied by the methylation of all the HpaII and HhaI sites within the foreign gene, which we have shown to be integrated into a site on chromosome 13. The irreversibility reported here contrasts with what is found with other transgenic mice sequences which are reversibly methylated after passage through the male or female germ line, though in both cases methylation appears to be important in the imprinting process.     

Specific expression of a foreign beta-globin gene in erythroid cells of transgenic mice

The globin gene family represents an attractive system for the study of gene regulation during mammalian development, as its expression is subject to both tissue-specific and temporal regulation. While many aspects of globin gene structure and expression have been described extensively, relatively little is known about the cis-acting DNA sequences involved in the developmental regulation of globin gene expression. To begin to experimentally define these regulatory sequences, we have taken the approach of introducing cloned globin genes into the mouse germ line and examining their expression in the resulting transgenic animals. Here we describe a series of transgenic mice carrying a hybrid mouse/human adult beta-globin gene, several of which express the gene exclusively or predominantly in erythroid tissues. These studies demonstrate that regulatory sequences closely linked to the beta-globin gene are sufficient to specify a correct pattern of tissue-specific expression in a developing mouse, when the gene is integrated at a subset of foreign chromosomal positions.     

A genetic link between co-suppression and RNA interference in C. elegans

Originally discovered in plants, the phenomenon of co-suppression by transgenic DNA has since been observed in many organisms from fungi to animals: introduction of transgenic copies of a gene results in reduced expression of the transgene as well as the endogenous gene. The effect depends on sequence identity between transgene and endogenous gene. Some cases of co-suppression resemble RNA interference (the experimental silencing of genes by the introduction of double-stranded RNA), as RNA seems to be both an important initiator and a target in these processes. Here we show that co-suppression in Caenorhabditis elegans is also probably mediated by RNA molecules. Both RNA interference and co-suppression have been implicated in the silencing of transposons. We now report that mutants of C. elegans that are defective in transposon silencing and RNA interference (mut-2, mut-7, mut-8 and mut-9) are in addition resistant to co-suppression. This indicates that RNA interference and co-suppression in C. elegans may be mediated at least in part by the same molecular machinery, possibly through RNA-guided degradation of messenger RNA molecules.     

外源基因在转基因动物乳腺中的特异性表达研究

动物基因工程研究最大的突破就是转基因动物研究的进展,自八十年代初第一批转基因小鼠问世以来,转基因动物的研究已从方法学研究步入了应用性研究阶段,转基因动物除作为研究工具广泛应用于发育生物学、免疫学、遗传学以及医学等生命科学领域外,外源基因在转基因动物的特异性表达,尤其是在乳腺的表达,又可将转基因用作生物反应器进行了生物活性蛋白的生产而于商业生产,在转基因动物乳腺的特异性表达研究中,寻找乳蛋白基因调控