T-DNA transfer and integration as a tool for insertional mutagenesis in the taxol-producing fungus

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated DNA transformation method was applied to transform Nodulisporium sylviforme fusant HDF-68, a taxol-producing fungus. We constructed a binary vector pBI121-43 carrying a hygromycin-resistant gene cassette between the right and left borders of T-DNA. Optimal co-cultivation of N.sylviforme with A.tumefaciens containing pBI121-43 led to 110～130 hygromycin-resistant transformants per million conidia. Putative transformants were found to be mitotically stable. The molecular analysis of transformants demonstrated the random integration of single copy of the T-DNA into the host genome. This transformation system serves as a basic tool for insertional mutagenesis in N.sylviforme fusant HDF-68, and the development of such system lays a solid foundation for constructing high-yied gene engineering strain and clarifying taxol biosynthesis pathway in this fungus.     

Isolation and characterization of rice lesion mimic mutants from a T-DNA tagged population

A rice ( Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica cv. Nipponbare) T-DNA tagged population consisting of about 7000 individual lines was generated and screened for rice lesion mimic mutants in the T1 generation. Ten lines were found to develop spontaneous lesions in the absence of pathogen infection and displayed distinct lesion phenotypes. These mutants were tentatively designated as lm1 -lm10 (for lesion mimic), respectively. Lesion formation of lm mutants was developmentally regulated, and all the mutants showed stunted growth and reduced fertility. Genetic analysis demonstrated that all the mutations were recessive, and five partially fertile mutants (lm4-lm8) were derived from different loci. Mimic lesions occurring on the leaves of lm mutants resulted from cell death as revealed by trypan blue staining. Six of them ( lm3 -lm8 ) exhibited enhanced resistance to five bacterial blight isolates, indicating their wide-spectrum resistance to this pathogen. These results imply that some lesion mimic mutations of rice might be involved in disease resistance signaling pathways,and that isolation of these mutated genes may be useful for elucidating molecular mechanisms of plant disease resistance. Among the mutants, only one mutant, lm6, was preliminarily shown to cosegregate with the inserted T-DNA in its T1 generation, making it feasible to isolate the gene responsible for the phenotype of this mutant.     

Involvement of a cytoplasmic glyceraldehyde-3- phosphate dehydrogenase GapC-2 in low-phosphate- induced anthocyanin accumulation in Arabidopsis

Phosphorous is one of the essential mineral elements for plant growth and development.Typically, the shoots of plant seedlings usually turn a dark-brown or purple colour under low-Pi stress. Using protein 2-D gel and peptide mass fingerprinting mapping (PMF) methods, a cytoplasmic glyceralde-hyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase GapC-2 was identified as a low-Pi responsive protein in Arabidopsisplants. Expression of AtGapC-2 protein was significantly decreased after 4 d of low-Pi stress. Two in-dependent T-DNA insertion lines of GapC-2 gene (At1g13440) showed a hypersensitive phenotype inresponse to low-Pi stress compared with wild type plants, while the transgenic complementation linesof the mutants showed a similar phenotype to the wild type. These results indicate that AtGapC-2 mayplay an important role in Arabidopsis responses to low-Pi stress, possibly by regulation of glycoly-sis-associated "Pi-pool" and accumulation of anthocyanin pigments in plants.