Co-transformation to tobacco of Cre/lox site-specific recombination system and its precise recombination

For the temporally and spatially regulated expression of the barnase gene in plant, two kinds of plasmids with cre gene and its directly repeat recognition sitesiox from bacteriophage P1 were constructed and co-transformed into tobacco by agrobacterium mediated procedure. The transgenic plants were conformed by PCR analysis. The blocking fragment between the twolox directly repeat sites was excised by Cre protein in the transgenic plant genome. Cloning and sequencing the DNA fragment from the co-transformed plant DNA showed that the precise DNA excision occurred in transgenic tobacco genome directed by Cre/lox site-specific recombination.     

Co-transformation to tobacco of Cre/lox site-specific recombination system and its precise recombination

For the temporally and spatially regulated expression of the barnase gene in plant,two kinds of plasmids with cre gene and its directly repeat recognition sites lox from bacteriophage P1 were constructed and co-transformed into tobacco by agrobacterium mediated procedure.The transgenic plants were conformed by PCR analysis.The blocking fragment between the two lox directly repeat sites was excised by Cre protein in the transgenic plant genome.Cloning and sequencing the DNA fragment from the co-transformed plant DNA showed that the precise DNA excision occurred in transgenic tobacco genome directed by Cre/lox site-specific recombination.     

小鼠Bpi条件基因打靶载体的构建和鉴定

目的构建小鼠Bpi条件基因打靶载体,为建立Bpi条件基因打靶小鼠模型和深入研究Bpi基因功能奠定基础。方法采用Cre/LoxP系统,选择小鼠Bpi基因第2、3外显子作为条件性敲除的目的片段,并在其两侧插入LoxP位点;运用LA-PCR技术,以129品系小鼠ES细胞基因组DNA为模板分步扩增包括Bpi第2、3外显子(中间同源臂)和上游同源臂在内的3.1 kb基因片段以及下游同源臂4.9 kb基因片段;构建pBSKⅡ-5SLoxP和ploxPFRTNeo-3L重组质粒,将前者酶切产物(3.1 kb)与酶切后的ploxPFRTNeo-3L质粒相连获得Bpi条件基因打靶载体。结果经多个限制性内切酶酶切鉴定和测序证实,构建的pBSKⅡ-5SLoxP、ploxPFRTNeo-3L重组质粒和Bpi条件基因打靶载体结构正确,与设计相符。结论成功构建了小鼠Bpi条件基因打靶载体。     

表达FLP重组酶pCEP4-FLP载体的构建及其在FLP/FRT重组系统中的应用

构建重组载体pCEP4-FLP和pEF1a-FRT-stop-FRT-GFP,重组载体pEF1a-FRT-stop-FRT-GFP瞬时转染PK-15细胞24h后,再将重组载体pCEP4-FLP瞬时转染该细胞,利用荧光显微镜观察PK-15细胞GFP蛋白的表达情况,利用细胞流式技术统计绿色荧光蛋白表达效率.结果表明:重组载体pCEP4-FLP在细胞内能够表达FLP重组酶,并且表达的FLP重组酶能够识别FRT位点,删除两同向FRT位点间的DNA片段,为FLP/FRT位点特异性重组系统在转基因猪的应用奠定了基础.     

A hypersensitive site in hsp70 chromatin requires adjacent not internal DNA sequence

Nuclease-hypersensitive sites in chromatin exist at the 5' side of many eukaryotic genes. To gain some understanding of the molecular basis of these hypersensitive sites, we have now examined the pair of sites upstream of the Drosophila hsp70 gene in a series of plasmids that contain deletions in the hypersensitive region and have been transformed into yeast cells. Hypersensitive sites 5' to a Drosophila hsp70 gene are preserved when this gene is introduced into yeast by transformation. We find that a yeast strain containing a plasmid in which the deletion extends through the first hypersensitive site still displays the normal pair of hypersensitive sites, so DNA sequences over which the first hypersensitive site is centred are not required for hypersensitivity at this position and the site can form over a foreign DNA sequence juxtaposed against this deletion end point. Deletions progressing further into the region bracketed by the pair of 5' hypersensitive sites eliminate the first hypersensitive site and alter the downstream site. We propose that the hypersensitive sites are generated through the binding of a protein that renders flanking sequences more accessible to nucleases, perhaps by preventing normal chromatin packaging.     

单子叶植物的FLP/frt位点特异性重组系统的构建

来自于啤酒酵母2?μm质粒的FLP/frt位点特异性重组系统可用于转基因植物（细胞）筛选完成后去除选择标记基因.水稻肌动蛋白actin基因启动子和玉米泛素ubiquitin基因启动子可有效驱动单子叶植物中外源基因的转录.为培育去除选择标记基因的抗盐耐旱单子叶转基因植物，构建了适合于单子叶植物的FLP/frt位点特异性重组系统. 该系统由含有FLP重组酶基因的植物表达载体pCAMBIA3300 Ubi FLP bar和含有frt位点的植物双抗（抗除草剂、抗盐耐旱）表达载体pCAMBIA1300 Ubi TsPPase frt als frtm以及pCAMBIA1300 Actin1 AtNHX1 frt als frtm组成.     

Filamentous phage integration requires the host recombinases XerC and XerD

Many bacteriophages and animal viruses integrate their genomes into the chromosomal DNA of their hosts as a method of promoting vertical transmission. Phages that integrate in a site-specific fashion encode an integrase enzyme that catalyses recombination between the phage and host genomes. CTX phi is a filamentous bacteriophage that contains the genes encoding cholera toxin, the principal virulence factor of the diarrhoea-causing Gram-negative bacterium Vibrio cholerae. CTX phi integrates into the V. cholerae genome in a site-specific manner; however, the approximately 6.9-kilobase (kb) CTX phi genome does not encode any protein with significant homology to known recombinases. Here we report that XerC and XerD, two chromosome-encoded recombinases that ordinarily function to resolve chromosome dimers at the dif recombination site, are essential for CTX phi integration into the V. cholerae genome. The CTX phi integration site was found to overlap with the dif site of the larger of the two V. cholerae chromosomes. Examination of sequences of the integration sites of other filamentous phages indicates that the XerCD recombinases also mediate the integration of these phage genomes at dif-like sites in various bacterial species.     

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.     

运动发酵单胞菌RecET重组系统的构建及应用

为了提高外源基因整合到染色体的效率,在已构建的运动发酵单胞菌-大肠杆菌穿梭载体基础上,构建了RecET表达质粒pSUZM3a-RecET.选取乙醇脱氢酶Ⅰ(adhA)基因作为靶基因,四环素抗性基因(Tcr)作为筛选标记基因,检测RecET重组系统在Z.mobilis中进行基因重组的可行性.将两端带有60bp adhA基因同源臂的四环素抗性基因片段电击转化含有RecET重组系统表达质粒的运动发酵单胞菌ZM4,获得adhA基因缺失突变菌株.对突变菌株adhA基因的PCR产物进行测序发现,adhA基因已被置换为四环素抗性基因.上述结果表明:RecET重组系统在运动发酵单胞菌中具有高效、便捷和可操作性,只需60bp同源臂即可完成同源重组.     

Uncoupling of the recombination and topoisomerase activities of the gamma delta resolvase by a mutation at the crossover point

In several well-characterized site-specific recombination systems it has been shown that, for efficient recombination, the two recombining sites must have identical DNA sequences across the region between the staggered points of exchange. The precise DNA sequence of this overlap region, however, appears to be of little importance (with the exception of one position in the loxP site of bacteriophage P1 (ref. 6]. In this report we characterize a mutant recombination site for the site-specific recombination enzyme gamma delta resolvase (encoded by the gamma delta transposon), in which the dinucleotide at the crossover point is changed from AT to CT. Our results indicate that identity of the two overlap regions is not sufficient for recombination. Although resolvase binds normally to the mutant site and induces the structural deformation characteristic of the wild-type recombination site, catalysis at the crossover point (cutting and rejoining of DNA strands) is effectively limited to just one of the two strands, allowing resolvase to act as a topoisomerase but not as a recombinational enzyme.     

Direct role of the himA gene product in phage lambda integration

The integration of phage lambda into the Escherichia coli chromosome is accomplished by a site-specific recombination between two unique DNA sequences (attB on the bacterial genome and attP on the phage; reviewed in refs 2, 3) and requires proteins encoded by both the bacterium and the phage. Genetic and biochemical studies have shown that bacterial strains mutant in the himA gene, located at 38 min on the E. coli map, are defective in the activity of the host-encoded component. They are, moreover, defective for the growth of bacteriophage Mu, for precise excision of transposable antibiotic resistance determinants and for the synthesis of the lambda int gene product. We now show that the himA gene product (phimA) is not solely a regulator of genes involved in integration but is one of two host polypeptides required for integrative recombination.     

A large scale screen for genes （3rd chromosome） related to Wingless signaling pathway

A wing specific F 1 genetic screen was carried out using the powerful Drosophila genetic system, combined with yeast FRT/FLP and GAL4/UAS system. Form the wing phenotypes and germline clone embryonic cuticle phenotypes observed in these mutant alleles, a number of mutant alleles of known or unknown genes were isolated. Among them, fifteen mutant alleles related to Wingless signal transduction were further isolated; the arm of these mutations located were determined, and their location in the chromosome were roughly mapped.     

Direct estimation of per nucleotide and genomic deleterious mutation rates in Drosophila

Spontaneous mutations are the source of genetic variation required for evolutionary change, and are therefore important for many aspects of evolutionary biology. For example, the divergence between taxa at neutrally evolving sites in the genome is proportional to the per nucleotide mutation rate, u (ref. 1), and this can be used to date speciation events by assuming a molecular clock. The overall rate of occurrence of deleterious mutations in the genome each generation (U) appears in theories of nucleotide divergence and polymorphism, the evolution of sex and recombination, and the evolutionary consequences of inbreeding. However, estimates of U based on changes in allozymes or DNA sequences and fitness traits are discordant. Here we directly estimate u in Drosophila melanogaster by scanning 20 million bases of DNA from three sets of mutation accumulation lines by using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography. From 37 mutation events that we detected, we obtained a mean estimate for u of 8.4 x 10(-9) per generation. Moreover, we detected significant heterogeneity in u among the three mutation-accumulation-line genotypes. By multiplying u by an estimate of the fraction of mutations that are deleterious in natural populations of Drosophila, we estimate that U is 1.2 per diploid genome. This high rate suggests that selection against deleterious mutations may have a key role in explaining patterns of genetic variation in the genome, and help to maintain recombination and sexual reproduction.     

Unusual sequences in the murine immunoglobulin mu-delta heavy-chain region

The delta heavy (H) chain of mouse immunoglobulin D (IgD) is unusual both in its structure and in its differential expression relative to immunoglobulin M (IgM; reviewed in ref. 1). The region of DNA between IgM and IgD H-chain constant-region genes is probably implicated in this control. So far only fragments of the area have been sequenced. Now, however, we present the complete sequence as well as the sequence of the introns of the C delta gene. We have found several interesting features (Fig. 1), including an open reading frame (ORF) between Cmu and C delta which encodes 146 amino acids that might represent a previously unsuspected domain-like protein; three blocks of simple repetitive sequences; a 162-base pair (bp) unique-sequence inverted repeat; and a domain-like pseudogene in the large intron of C delta. We have not found, however, any sequence 5' of C delta resembling the switch (S) recombination sequences associated with class switching in other heavy chains. Moreover, we have determined the 3' deletion end point of an IgD-producing myeloma and find no sequences reminiscent of switch sites nearby.     

Recombination signal sequences restrict chromosomal V(D)J recombination beyond the 12/23 rule

The genes encoding the variable regions of lymphocyte antigen receptors are assembled from variable (V), diversity (D) and joining (J) gene segments. V(D)J recombination is initiated by the recombinase activating gene (RAG)-1 and -2 proteins, which introduce DNA double-strand breaks between the V, D and J segments and their flanking recombination signal sequences (RSSs). Generally expressed DNA repair proteins then carry out the joining reaction. The conserved heptamer and nonamer sequences of the RSSs are separated by non-conserved spacers of 12 or 23 base pairs (forming 12-RSSs and 23-RSSs). The 12/23 rule, which is mediated at the level of RAG-1/2 recognition and cutting, specifies that V(D)J recombination occurs only between a gene segment flanked by a 12-RSS and one flanked by a 23-RSS. Vbeta segments are appended to DJbeta rearrangements, with little or no direct Vbeta to Jbeta joining, despite 12/23 compatibility of Vbeta 23-RSSs and Jbeta12-RSSs. Here we use embryonic stem cells and mice with a modified T-cell receptor (TCR)beta locus containing only one Dbeta (Dbeta1) gene segment and one Jbeta (Jbeta1) gene cluster to show that the 5' Dbeta1 12-RSS, but not the Jbeta1 12-RSSs, targets rearrangement of a diverse Vbeta repertoire. This targeting is precise and position-independent. This additional restriction on V(D)J recombination has important implications for the regulation of variable region gene assembly and repertoire development.