Epigenetic inheritance in plants

The function of plant genomes depends on chromatin marks such as the methylation of DNA and the post-translational modification of histones. Techniques for studying model plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana have enabled researchers to begin to uncover the pathways that establish and maintain chromatin modifications, and genomic studies are allowing the mapping of modifications such as DNA methylation on a genome-wide scale. Small RNAs seem to be important in determining the distribution of chromatin modifications, and RNA might also underlie the complex epigenetic interactions that occur between homologous sequences. Plants use these epigenetic silencing mechanisms extensively to control development and parent-of-origin imprinted gene expression.     

Speciation- induced heritable cytosine methylation changes in polyploid wheat

To study possible epigenetic changes accompanying polyploid speciation, genomic DNA from natural polyploid wheats and their putative diploid progenitors were digested with a pair of isoschizomers Hpa II / Msp I and hybridized to 21 different types of low-copy DNA sequences. It was found that cytosine methylation changes were abundant in natural polyploid wheats after their speciation. The hybridization of the same set of sequences to a synthetic hexaploid wheat along with its parental lines indicated that the extensive DNA methylation changes already existed in the early generations (S5, S6 and Sy) of this plant. Moreover, the high similarity of the changed restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns among three randomly chosen individual plants suggested that the methylation changes occurred even earlier, and/or were of a nonrandom nature. The changed patterns were stably inherited in the three successive selfed generations. Though methylation changes are probably a genome-wide occurrence, they appeared to be confined to the specific types of DNA sequences. The possible implications of the rapid and extensive cytosine methylation changes for several attributes of allopolyploid genome evolution, such as genetic diploidization and gene diversification, are discussed .     

植物应答高温和干旱胁迫组学研究进展

 近20多年来,基于高通量分析的系统生物学研究飞速发展,组学研究不断拓展。组学研究涉及核酸、蛋白、代谢物、表型等各个层次,包括基因组学、转录组学、蛋白组学、代谢组学等一系列组学技术。非生物环境胁迫严重影响植物的生长发育,植物组学的技术方法有助于研究植物对非生物环境胁迫的应答机制。高温和干旱是全球气候变化的两个重要表征,亦是最可能同时出现的两个因子。本文综述基因组学、蛋白组学与代谢组学等组学技术用于分析植物应答高温和干旱胁迫的研究进展,以期为植物应答高温和干旱胁迫研究的未来发展提供参考。     

盐胁迫下植物质膜H+-ATPase研究进展

质膜H -ATPase在植物细胞的跨膜物质转运、胞内pH值调节以及植物对环境胁迫的响应等诸多方面具有重要作用,是植物生命活动过程的主宰酶.盐胁迫是影响植物生长发育的主要环境因子,植物质膜H -ATPase活性的调节是植物适应盐环境、提高耐盐性的重要细胞机理.综述了植物质膜H -ATPase活性变化及其调节机理对盐胁迫响应的研究状况,对质膜H -ATPase活性调节机理研究中仍未解决的问题进行了展望.     

Transgeneration memory of stress in plants

Owing to their sessile nature, plants are constantly exposed to a multitude of environmental stresses to which they react with a battery of responses. The result is plant tolerance to conditions such as excessive or inadequate light, water, salt and temperature, and resistance to pathogens. Not only is plant physiology known to change under abiotic or biotic stress, but changes in the genome have also been identified. However, it was not determined whether plants from successive generations of the original, stressed plants inherited the capacity for genomic change. Here we show that in Arabidopsis thaliana plants treated with short-wavelength radiation (ultraviolet-C) or flagellin (an elicitor of plant defences), somatic homologous recombination of a transgenic reporter is increased in the treated population and these increased levels of homologous recombination persist in the subsequent, untreated generations. The epigenetic trait of enhanced homologous recombination could be transmitted through both the maternal and the paternal crossing partner, and proved to be dominant. The increase of the hyper-recombination state in generations subsequent to the treated generation was independent of the presence of the transgenic allele (the recombination substrate under consideration) in the treated plant. We conclude that environmental factors lead to increased genomic flexibility even in successive, untreated generations, and may increase the potential for adaptation.     

植物中的DREB类转录因子

DREB转录因子属于AP2/EREBP转录因子家族.AP2/EREBP转录因子是特异存在于植物中,与植物发育密切相关的一类转录因子的总称.该家族有五个亚家族,其家族成员的蛋白质序列均含有保守的AP2 domain.其中,DREB转录因子特异地与DRE顺式作用元件相结合,在调节低温,干旱和高盐等胁迫反应时具有重要作用.一个DREB转录因子可以调控下游的多个抗逆基因,从而使植物产生抗逆性.植物抗逆反应是一个非常复杂的过程,目前人们对其信号转导正在进行进一步的探究.     

Spontaneous epigenetic variation in the Arabidopsis thaliana methylome

Heritable epigenetic polymorphisms, such as differential cytosine methylation, can underlie phenotypic variation. Moreover, wild strains of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana differ in many epialleles, and these can influence the expression of nearby genes. However, to understand their role in evolution, it is imperative to ascertain the emergence rate and stability of epialleles, including those that are not due to structural variation. We have compared genome-wide DNA methylation among 10 A. thaliana lines, derived 30 generations ago from a common ancestor. Epimutations at individual positions were easily detected, and close to 30,000 cytosines in each strain were differentially methylated. In contrast, larger regions of contiguous methylation were much more stable, and the frequency of changes was in the same low range as that of DNA mutations. Like individual positions, the same regions were often affected by differential methylation in independent lines, with evidence for recurrent cycles of forward and reverse mutations. Transposable elements and short interfering RNAs have been causally linked to DNA methylation. In agreement, differentially methylated sites were farther from transposable elements and showed less association with short interfering RNA expression than invariant positions. The biased distribution and frequent reversion of epimutations have important implications for the potential contribution of sequence-independent epialleles to plant evolution.     

逆境胁迫下水稻蛋白质组学研究进展

水稻在生长发育过程中要面对各种非生物胁迫如干旱、高盐、温度、重金属和生物胁迫如病虫害等,通过观察水稻在各种胁迫条件下的蛋白质组表达情况,动态分析水稻的蛋白质组变化,对新逆境相关蛋白质进行分离与功能鉴定,这不仅能揭示参与胁迫耐受的蛋白质翻译后调控机制,而且可以增进对耐受胁迫分子机理的认识.综述了水稻应答逆境胁迫蛋白质组学研究的最新研究进展,探讨了存在的主要问题.     

耐盐木霉ST02对番茄种子和幼苗盐耐受能力的影响

木霉菌能够促进植物对盐胁迫的耐受性,研究选用耐盐木霉选择培养基筛选获得的木霉菌株ST02,对其耐盐活性进行检测,具有较强耐盐活性.用ST02木霉菌株的孢子悬液对番茄种子和幼苗进行处理,分析木霉处理对盐胁迫条件下番茄种子萌发,幼苗生长和耐盐生理生化的影响.结果显示:ST02孢子悬液促进NaCl胁迫下番茄种子的发芽率和发芽势,提高200 mmol/L NaCl胁迫下番茄幼苗的存活率、株高和鲜重,以及番茄幼苗的叶绿素含量和净光合速率,影响番茄幼苗的离子渗漏率和丙二醛(malondialdehyde,MDA)含量,提高超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)和过氧化氢酶(CAT)等抗氧化酶的活性.说明木霉ST02孢子悬液处理能够通过提高植物的抗氧化防御反应促进番茄对NaCl胁迫的耐受性.     

DNA甲基化敏感扩增多态性技术及其在作物遗传研究中的应用

DNA甲基化是表观遗传修饰的基本方式之一,在调控植物基因表达、抵御逆境胁迫、防御外源基因侵入等方面具有重要作用,随着对DNA甲基化研究的深入,在AFLP技术基础上衍生的DNA甲基化敏扩增多态性技术（MSAP）,以其高通量、高多态性、低成本、易操作等优点,在作物遗传育种研究的各个领域得到广泛应用。本文综述了该技术的基本原理与操作,及其在作物遗传研究中的应用现状。     

植物基因工程中的转基因沉默机制

植物转基因沉默可以发生在染色体DNA、转录和转录后三种不同的层次上,转录水平基因沉默机制涉及DNA甲基化、位置效应、重复序列、同源序列等作用。转录后水平基因沉默机制常用RNA域值模型、异常RNA模型、双链RNA模型、未成熟翻译终止模型等解释。目前没有一种通用的模型可以解释所有的转基因沉默现象,但不同模型从不同方面解释了转基因机制的某些方面。     

拟南芥AtHHR3响应热胁迫应答的初步分析

拟南芥基因AtHHR3编码一个RING结构域的E3连接酶,通过生物信息学分析发现其可能参与植物热胁迫相关的应答.为了探索其具体的功能,构建了AtHHR3互补株系,并在DNA水平和转录水平分别鉴定了AtHHR3互补株系,用RT-PCR技术分析了AtHHR3在热处理条件下基因表达的变化情况.在热胁迫下分析了野生型、突变体athhr3、回复株系幼苗存活以及种子萌发的表型变化情况,发现突变体athhr3表现出对热胁迫的耐受性,并检测了热胁迫下不同株系的HSF、HSP等热相关基因的转录水平的变化,初步的研究表明拟南芥基因AtHHR3负调控植物对热胁迫的耐受性.     

胁迫与植物细胞壁关系研究进展

概述水分亏缺,重金属和营养缺乏等对植物所产生的胁迫表现及其与细胞壁伸展生长,细胞壁中某些主要成分如过氧化物酶和松弛酶等变化关系的研究成果,多种胁迫对植物细胞壁的影响主要表现在对细胞壁结构完整性的影响,细胞壁酶影响细胞壁多聚体的网络形成和解聚,细胞壁结构的生化修饰与基因表达有关,认为研究植物在胁迫下的生长受抑机制和耐性机制有助于常规育种,应用遗传工程,细胞工程等创造 出不同细胞壁结构的遗传突变体将是今后努力的方向。     

油橄榄叶提取物对铅中毒小鼠肌肉组织DNA甲基化水平及抗氧化能力的影响

目的:探讨油橄榄叶提取物(OLE)对铅中毒小鼠肌肉组织DNA甲基化水平和抗氧化能力的影响.方法:选健康小鼠,每日灌胃醋酸铅溶液的同时灌胃不同剂量的OLE进行治疗,连续用药30d,检测肌肉组织DNA甲基化水平、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、谷胱苷肽过氧化物酶(GSH-PX)活性和丙二醛(MDA)含量.结果:与模型对照组相比,小鼠灌胃OLE后肌肉DNA甲基化水平和MDA含量降低,SOD和GSH-PX活性升高.结论:OLE对铅中毒小鼠有一定的疗效,能影响肌肉组织DNA甲基化水平和抗氧化能力,阻止铅对肌肉的毒性.     

Biogenic nanostructured silica

Silicon is by far the most abundant element in the earth crust and also is an essential element for higher plants, yet its biology and mechanisms in plant tolerance of biotic and abiotic stresses are poorly understood. Based on the molecular mechanisms of the biosilicification in marine organisms such as diatoms and sponges, the cell wall template-mediated self-assembly of nanostructured silica in marine organisms and higher plants as well as the related organic molecules are discussed. Understanding of the templating and structure-directed effects of silicon-processing organic molecules not only offers the clue for synthesizing silicon-based materials, but also helps to recognize the anomaly of silicon in plant biology.