Engineering <Emphasis Type="Italic">Deinococcus radiodurans</Emphasis> into biosensor to monitor radioactivity and genotoxicity in environment

Based on a genetically modified radioresistant bacteria Deinococcus radiodurans, we constructed a real time whole cell biosensor to monitor radioactivity and genotoxicity in highly radioactive environment. The enhanced green fluorescence protein （eGFP） was fused to the promoter of the crucial DNA damage-inducible recA gene from D. radiodurans, and the consequent DNA fragment （PrecA-egfp） carried by plasmid was introduced into D. radiodurans R1 strain to obtain the biosensor strain DRG300. This engineered strain can express eGFP protein and generate fluorescence in induction of the recA gene promoter. Based on the correlation between fluorescence intensity and protein expression level in live D. radiodurans cells, we discovered that the fluorescence induction of strain DRG300 responds in a remarkable dose-dependent manner when treated with DNA damage sources such as gamma radiation and mitomycin C. It is encouraging to find the widely detective range and high sensitivity of this reconstructed strain comparing with other whole cell biosensors in former reports. These results suggest that the strain DRG300 is a potential whole cell biosensor to construct a detective system to monitor the biological hazards of radioactive and toxic pollutants in environment in real time.     

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.     

dr1127： A novel gene of Deinococcus radiodurans responsible for oxidative stress

The functional analysis of dr1127,a novel gene in Deinococcus radiodurans was performed in this pa-per. The dr1127 gene was found occasionally in our microarray and 2-DE gel experiments. Mutation of the dr1127 gene decreased the γ-radiation and H2O2 resistance of D. radiodurans,and weakened the scavenging abilities of cell extracts for free radicals (superoxide anion,hydrogen peroxide,and hy-droxyl radical). Further oxidative damage assays demonstrated that the purified DR1127 protein of D. radiodurans could bind to double stranded DNA in vitro and protect DNA from oxidative damage in this way. These results suggest that the dr1127 gene is an important gene that can maintain γ-radiation and oxidative resistance in D. radiodurans and may take part in the oxidative stress process.     

Functional analysis of the sbcD （dr1921 ） gene of the extremely radioresistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans

In eukaryotes, the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 (MRN) complex, which resides at the crossroads of DNA repair and checkpoint signaling, rapidly forms prominent foci at damage sites following double-strand break (DSB) induction. This complex carries out the initial processing of the DSB ends. Mutations in the genes that encode components of this complex result in DNA-damage hypersensitivity, genomic in- stability, telomere shortening, and aberrant meiosis. Therefore, the MR proteins are highly conserved during evolution. The bacterial orthologs of Mre11 and Rad50 are the SbcD and SbcC proteins, respec- tively. Deinococcus radiodurans, an extremely radioresistant bacterium, is able to mend hundreds of radiation-induced DSBs. The SbcD and SbcC proteins were identified as the products of the Dr1921 and Dr1922 genes. Disruption of the sbcD gene, by direct reverse-orientation insertional mutagenesis tech- nology, remarkably increases the cells’ sensitivity to various types of DNA damaging agents, such as ionizing radiation, ultraviolet irradiation, hydrogen peroxide, and mitomycin C. We also provide evidence that the drSbcD protein plays an important role in both growth and DNA repair in this organ- ism, especially in repair of DSBs generated after cellular exposure to 6000 Gy of IR. These results demonstrate that the drSbcD protein plays an important role in DSBs repair in D. radiodurans.     

Heterologous Expression of Mycobacterium tuberculosis AgSSB in Pichia pastoris

The DNA fragment encoding matureMycobacterium tuberculosis major secretory protein Ag85B was inserted into thePichia pastoris secretory expression vector pHBM905A, under the control of theAOX1 promoter. The recombinant plasmid pHBM905A-85B linearized bySal I was introduced intoPichia pastoris strain GS115 by PEG1000 transformation method. After phenotype screening and PCR identification, the resulting GS115-pHBM905A-85B strain was cultivated and induced with methanol. The recombinant Ag85B protein in secreted form was attained with molecular weight of 35×10³ approximately detected by SDS-PAGE and Western blot. ELISA experiment proved that the protein had good antigen specificity. Secretory expression of recombinantM. tuberculosis Ag85B inP. pastoris will open a door to mass production of the protein in heterologous host and allow ready evaluation of its immunological function. Foundation item: Supported by the Key Scientific and Technological Project of Wuhan(301121028) Biography: LIU Yan(1971-), female, Ph. D candidate, research direction: vaccine against tuberculosis.     

Construction of transposon-mediated baculovirus vector and expression of green fluorescent protein in insect cells and larvae

A transposon-shuttle vector Hanpvid was constructed by using wild-type genomic DNA fromHeliothis armigera nuclear polyhedrosis virus (HaNPV). It could replicate inE. coli cells as a large plasmid and remain infectious when being induced into insect cells. Hanpvid comprises HaNPV DNA and a transposon cassette which includes a miniF replicon, a kanamycin resistance gene (kan), lacZa and an attachment site for Tn7 (attTn7). Recombinant virus rHa-FaGP was obtained after transposition of a donor plasmid carrying green fluorescent protein gene (gfp) and polyhedrin gene (ocu) into attTn7. SDS-PAGE analysis shows that both gfp and ocu genes were highly expressed inHeliothis armigera cells. Green Hemolymphocytes can be seen under a fluorescent microscope 4 d after recombinant virus rHa-FaGP infected the third-instar larvae. The infected larvae show strong green fluorescence 6 d post infection.     

Construction of the glucose isomerase deficient strain ofStreptomyces M1033 by homologous recombination

After the establishment of the transformation conditions ofStreptomyces diastaticus No.7 Strain M1033, the integration plasmid pXW for homologous recombination, which contains a 600 bp fragment of incompleteGI (G138P. G247D) gene, has been constructed in order to realize the stable overexpression of theGI (G138P. G247D) which is valuable for large-scale industrial production. The Gigene’s disruption has been realized by pXW’s integration into M1033 chromosomes via homologous recombination andGI deficient strain ofStreptomyces M1033 has been obtained. The reliability of introduction of mutation has been proved by analysis of recombinant fragment and affirmance of existence of the mutation, as well as detection of the stability of the deficient strain.     

Cloning, sequencing and expression of a swine IgG H chain gene inE. coli

A DNA fragment about 1.5 kb has been isolated from spleen of adult Chinese swine by RT-PCR. The DNA fragment encodes immunoglobulin IgG H chain gene. Sequencing analysis showed that the DNA fragment is 1 425 bp long, complete CDS. The C region of the gene has been classified as Subclass Ig γ3, and is the same as reported by Sun et al., but V region of the present gene is 42 bp less by comparison. The gene has been ligated into expression vector pET-3b (NSEB)( - ). A protein about 52 ku has been expressed in E. coli with an expression level of about 21 % .     

An interspecies conserved antigen ofPlasmodium falciparum containing clusters of asparagine residues

An interspecies conservedPlasmodium asparagine rich antigen, designated as ARK26, was isolated by immunoscreeningP. falciparum genomic DNA expression library with mouse convalescent anti-P. yeolii serum. Partial DNA sequence analysis reveals that ARK26 contains clusters of asparagines and no randomly repeated amino acid sequence motifs are observed. A 65×10³ GST fusion protein is expressed by recombinant plasmid PGEX-5X-1 (ARK26) inE. coli C strain ABLE-K. Computer programs predict that two asparagine rich regions are among the possible antigenic epitopes of p37 encoded by ARK26. Interestingly, the sequence of ARK26 displays significant similarity to yeast and several other species’ mitochondrial genes, and its possible function is discussed. Supported by a fellowship offered by International Center for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology(ICGEB) Ma Donghui: born in 1969, Graduate student     

Efficacy of anti-CD20 chimeric Fab’ fragment on proliferation of B lymphoma cells

The variable domain of heavy chain (V_H) and light chain (V_L) genes of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody HI⁴⁷ were cloned from anti-CD20 ScFv expression vector pCANBTEcd20 by PCR and ligated into vector pYZF to construct chimeric anti-CD20 Fab’ fragment expression vector pYZFcd20. Chimeric anti-CD20 Fab’ fragment was expressed inE. coli 16C9 and purified by protein G affinity chromatography. Competitive inhibition assay showed that anti-CD20 Fab’ fragment inhibited binding of HI⁴⁷ to CD20 on the surface of Daudi cells. Results from MTT assay indicated that chimeric anti-CD20 Fab’ fragment inhibited the proliferation of Daudi cells, IC₅₀ = 69 μg/mL. Affinity of chimeric anti-CD20 Fab’ fragment was determined, K_a was about 8.9×10⁸ (mol/L)⁻¹.     

水稻基因整合平台系统供体质粒pURKMT的构建

提高水稻产量,改良稻米品质是育种学家广泛研究的课题．随着现代生物技术的发展,水稻已成为植物基因工程的重要研究对象．许多实验室已成功地建立了一系列供外源基因转化水稻的系统．但是这些转化系统主要应用Ｔｉ质粒衍生的载体,通过Ｔ－ＤＮＡ左右两端的序列将目的基...     

Characterization of the flagellar biosynthesis regulatory geneflbD inAzospirillum brasilense

A flagellar gene cluster fragment includingflbD ofAzospirillum brasilense was cloned and sequenced. TheflbD mutant strain was found to be nonmotile—losing both polar and lateral flagella (Fla⁻Laf⁻). Motility and flagella were regained by complementation with plasmid-borne multicopyflbD, but altered with larger swarming circle and fewer lateral flagella on the semisolid plate. This result indicated that FlbD plays an important role in the regulation of both polar and lateral flagellar biosynthesis inA. brasilense.     

Cloning, sequencing and function ofsanB, a gene related to nikkomycin biosynthesis ofStreptomyces ansochromogenes

A 6.0 kb DNA fragment related to nikkomycin biosynthesis was cloned from nikkomycin-producingStreptomyces ansochromogenes 7100. Sequence analysis showed that the 1.9 kbTth111 I fragment, a part of the 6.0 kb DNA fragment, contains one complete ORF designatedsanB (GenBank accession No. AF224501), which is composed of 1740 bp encoding a protein consisting of 580 amino acid residues. Its start codon is GTG at 100 bp position and stop codon is TGA at 1840-bp position. Database searching indicated that the deduced protein ofsanB is homologous to the histidinol-phosphate aminotransferase inStreptomyces coelicolor with 31% identities and 47% positives. Gene disruption was performed to study the function ofsanB. It was found that disruptants ofsanB lost the ability to synthesize nikkomycin, which reveals thatsanB is a novel gene essential for nikkomycin biosynthesis.     

High expression of a rice homeobox inE. coli

Homeotic genes share a characteristic DNA segment, the homeobox, which encodes a defined domain of the homeotic protein-homeodomain which seems to mediate the binding to specific DNA sequences, whereby the homeotic protein exerts a gene regulatory function. In this study, the homeodomain encoded by the OSIH-1 (designated fromOryza sativa-Indica homeobox-1) homeobox of rice was overproduced in a expression vector inE. coli, as a form of inclusion body and analyzed by Western blotting and crossed-immunoreaction. Crossed-immunoreaction studies among OSIH-1, Kn-1 and Quox-1 indicate all three are homologous at the protein level. The OSIH-1 homeodomain is then to identify the homeotic target genes. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (#39570370) Biography: CHENG Xing-guo (1973-), male, Graduate student.     

Cloning and sequencing of cDNA fragment of gene of wheat (Triticum aestivum. L) induced by dehydration

cDNA fragment of the gene (dehydration induced,di1) of wheat (Triticum aestivum. L) induced by 30% PEG-6000 (−1.13 MPa) treatment was isolated with mRNA differential display technique. Northern blot analysis showed that the expression ofdi1 gene improved at 10 h reached the highest at 48 h under 30% PEG-6000 treatment. cDNA fragment ofdi1 gene has been cloned and sequenced (211 bp). DNA sequence analysis shows that there is no homologue in GenBank todi1 cDNA.     

Characterization of Halomonas Varabilis Strain HTG7 Conferring Glyphosate Resistance

Bcterial strain HTG7 is isolated from extremely glyphosate-polluted soil. It is identified as Halomonas Varabilis. It can tolerate in 500m mol/L glyphosate concentration. Physiological characterization of strain HTG7 shows that the optimum pH and temperature are 7.0 and 30℃, respectively. It grows well in the NaCl concentrations ranging from 0% to 10%. A plasmid pACYC184 carrying a 3.5kb DNA fragment, which confers increased glyphosate tolerance, is cloned. The DNA fragment is able to complement with an E coli auxotrophic aroA mutant.     

Improving DNA damage repair ability ofE. coli to UV-radiosensitivity by DNA-mediated gene transfer of low energy ion beam

Using calcium chloride method of transfer gene as control, a new technique of transferring gene by low energy ion beam has been applied to the study of improving DNA damage repair ability ofE. coli to UV-radiosensitivity. The genome DNA pieces ofDeinococcus radiodurans, as “foreign” genetic materials, were introduced into the UV-radiosensitive strains ofE. coli by implantation of 20 keV Ar⁺ at doses ranging from 1 × 10¹⁵ to 2 × 10¹⁵ ions/cm². Results show that the transfected strains present higher UV-radioresistance than that of un-transfected ones and start ones. The survival rate of transfected strains and their unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) ability is increased, indicating that the transfer gene is a success.     

关于矩阵方程AXB-C=0的最佳逼近解的一个注记

举反例说明：对于矩阵的2-范数，存在矩阵A，B和C，使得A^†CB^†不是矩阵方程AXB-C=0的最佳逼近解，其中A^†和B^†分别是A和B的Moore-Penrose逆.