利用CRISPR/Cas9技术创建OsCOL9水稻突变体

CRISPR/Cas9系统可对植物的内源基因进行有效定点编辑,为作物的遗传育种提供了新的方向。以感病水稻品种丽江为材料,抗病基因OsCOL9为靶基因,探索该系统对水稻内源基因定点编辑效率以及获得有研究意义的突变体。OsCOL9基因CDS序列全长1 266 bp,编码一个422 aa蛋白,分子量大小约为45.6 k Da,蛋白质结构的N端含有B-box结构域,C端含有CCT(CONSTANS、CONSTANS-Like、TOC1)结构域。设计4个长20 nt的guide RNAs(gRNAs)靶点,靶向编辑OsCOL9基因的CDS起始区域以及外显子的末端,分别由U3、U6a、U6b以及U6c启动子驱动,提取T1转基因植株的基因组DNA并对编辑位点附近的DNA片段进行序列分析。结果表明,T1材料中OsCOL9的碱基缺失数最多可达59 bp,突变次数最多可达11次,取得较好的基因编辑效果。同时本试验出现了脱靶效应,因此着重探讨了降低脱靶效应的方法。由于CRISPR/Cas9系统在进行基因编辑时没有外源基因的导入,加上该技术的快捷、简便,对生物技术与传统育种的结合具有重要实践意义。     

Reduction in cadmium accumulation in japonica rice grains by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing of OsNRAMP5

Cadmium (Cd) intake is harmful to human health and Cd contamination in rice grains represents a severe threat to those consuming rice as a staple food. Knockout of Cd transporters is a promising strategy to reduce Cd accumulation in rice grains. OsNRAMP5 is the major transporter for Cd and manganese (Mn) uptake in rice. Nevertheless, it is uncertain whether knockout of OsNRAMP5 is applicable to produce low Cd rice without affecting plant growth and grain yield. In this study, we adopted CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing technology to knock out OsNRAMP5 in two japonica varieties. We generated three independent transgene-free osnramp5 mutants and investigated the effect of osnramp5 mutations on Cd accumulation and plant growth. Hydroponic experiments showed that plant growth and chlorophyll content were significantly reduced in osnramp5 mutants at low Mn conditions, and this defective growth in the mutants could be fully rescued by supply of high levels of Mn. Cd and Mn accumulation in both roots and shoots was markedly reduced in the mutants compared to that in wild-type plants. In paddy field experiments, although Cd in flag leaves and grains was greatly reduced in osnramp5 mutants, some agronomic traits including plant height, seed setting rate, and grain number per panicle were affected in the mutants, which ultimately caused a mild reduction in grain yield. The reduced plant growth in the mutants can be attributed to a marked decrease in Mn accumulation. Our results reveal that the manipulation of OsNRAMP5 should be treated with caution: When assessing the applicability of osnramp5 mutants, soil pH and soil water content in paddy fields need to be taken into consideration, since they might affect the levels of available Mn in the soil and consequently determine the effect of the mutation on grain yield.     

Sublytic C5b-9 induces protective autophagy in cultured podocytes

AIM: In podocytes, autophagy occurs at a high basal level and dysregulated autophagy is associa-ted with a variety of podocytopathies. This paper is to investigate the role of autophagy in sublytic C5b-9-induced podocyte injury. METHODS: Sublytic complement C5b-9 stimulation was used as an in vitro model. Autophagosomes were confirmed using monodansylcadaverine (MDC) staining. Immunoblotting was used to measure the change of autophagy-related markers. Cellular morphological changes were observed by Wright-Giemsa staining. Immunofluorescence staining and confocal microscopy were used to detect the expression and distribution of nephrin. The cell viability was assessed by methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay. The cell apoptosis was assessed by Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/PI staining. RESULTS: For ensuring sublytic complement injury, the maximal amounts of anti-podocyte antiserum and 160×-diluted normal human serum were used without inducing cell lysis (defined as >5% LDH release). Sublytic C5b-9 promoted autophagy of podocytes in vitro. The proautophagic effect of sublytic C5b-9 manifested in the form of accumulated MDC-labeled vesicles and enhanced the expression of LC3-Ⅱ. Autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenosine (3-MA) promoted sublytic C5b-9-induced podocyte morphological abnormalities. Compared with the sublytic C5b-9-injured podocytes, 3-MA exposure further decreased the expression of nephrin. 3-MA enhanced sublytic C5b-9-induced podocyte apoptosis. CONCLUSION: Sublytic C5b-9 attack induces autophagy, which may play a protective role against complement-mediated podocyte injury.     

利用CRISPR/Cas9和λ-Red级联技术构建产肠毒素大肠杆菌LT敲除菌株

本研究旨在利用CRISPR/Cas9和λ-Red级联的技术对产肠毒素大肠杆菌（enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli，ETEC）K88的热不稳定性肠毒素（heat-labile toxin，LT）基因进行无痕敲除并获得K88 LT^-缺陷菌株。通过序列比对获取LT两端同源序列，并构建包含LT边界、氯霉素筛选标记、sgRNA和LT同源臂的供体片段；将供体片段转化至ETEC K88，同时分别利用λ-Red同源重组系统和CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑系统，对LT基因进行敲除；通过PCR验证获得了K88 LT^-缺陷菌株，并通过试验测定了敲除菌株的溶血能力和生长曲线。结果显示，λ-Red同源重组系统可成功地将LT基因替换为相应的供体片段，CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑系统可高效地对筛选标记进行删除，最终通过λ-Red和CRISPR/Cas9结合的基因编辑系统可成功对ETEC K88的LT基因进行无痕敲除。体外试验结果表明，K88 LT^-缺陷菌株的溶血能力丧失，并且生长速度比野生型菌株减缓，LT可能和ETEC K88的致病能力和生长性能有关。表明λ-Red和CRISPR/Cas9级联的基因敲除方法可用于LT毒素基因及其他一些大肠杆菌基因的敲除。K88 LT^-缺陷菌株的构建为下一步研究LT毒素的致病机制奠定基础。     

茶树咖啡碱合成酶CRISPR/Cas9基因组编辑载体的构建

CRISPR/Cas9技术是一门新兴的基因组定点编辑技术,具有操作简单、高效的优点,可轻松实现对目标基因的敲除、替换和定点突变等操作。该技术刚诞生,就受到了全球生命科学领域研究者的关注,不到3年的时间就已经成功应用于多种动、植物当中。然而CRISPR/Cas9技术在茶树中的应用面临载体构建问题,本文以茶树咖啡碱合成酶为例,联合采用常规PCR、Overlapping PCR和Golden Gate Cloning技术,构建了包含茶树咖啡碱合成酶双靶点的CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑载体,为CRISPR/Cas9介导的基因组编辑技术在茶树中的应用奠定了坚实基础。     

黑花生“中花9号”的施肥效应研究

在露地栽培条件下,设置5个复合肥施用量处理,探讨使用万植牌有机无机复合肥(N-P-K=15-15-15)栽培黑花生"中花9号"的适宜施肥量。结果表明:三峡库区采用万植牌有机无机复合肥露地栽培"中花9号"的适宜施肥量为40kg/667m~2,荚果产量可达249.5 kg/667m~2,饱果产量218.0 kg/667m~2,籽仁产量170.3 kg/667m~2,饱满籽仁产量可达126.6 kg/667m~2。     

Preliminary study of endocytosis-related gene mRSD-9

AIM: To study the function of the gene mRSD-9 . METHODS: The techniques of immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence were applied to verify the interaction between mRSD-9 and endophlin 3. The ATP/GTP combined experiment and the clathrin releasing experiment were conducted to investigate the effect of mRSD-9 on endocytosis. RESULTS: Expressed Myc-mRSD-9 was precipitated by Flag-endophilin 3. Conversely, the expressed Flag-endophilin 3 was also precipitated by Myc-mRSD-9. Under laser scanning confocal microscope, mRSD-9-GFP fusion protein and endophilin 3-RFP fusion protein were observed to co-localize in CHO cells. The combination of mRSD-9 protein with ATP/GTP was found and was specific because no combination was detected using mutant ΔmRSD-9. In empty vector transfected group, the quantity of transferrin in red fluorescent expressed cells was roughly the same as the untransfected cells. In pDsRed1-N1-mRSD-9 transfected group, the quantity of transferrin in mRSD-9 protein expressed cells was obviously reduced. In pDsRed1-N1-ΔmRSD-9 transfected group, the quantity of transferrin in ΔmRSD-9 protein expressed cells was significantly increased. CONCLUSION: The protein coded by mRSD-9 gene can suppress endocytosis of transferrin.     

拟南芥AtWNK9基因的定位及表达分析

AtWNK9为拟南芥WNK（With no lysine kinase）激酶家族成员，其功能尚不清楚.采用生物信息学和生物学实验相结合的方法，对AtWNK9蛋白结构、亚细胞定位、启动子元件、基因表达模式进行了分析.研究发现，AtWNK9定位在细胞核中；该基因在拟南芥根中高效表达，其表达受ABA，NaCl、葡萄糖、热和冷等非生物胁迫处理强烈诱导.结果表明，AtWNK9为非生物胁迫反应相关基因，并可能参与根的生长发育.     

3株H9亚型禽流感病毒的分离与鉴定

为了获得H9亚型禽流感病毒(AIV)流行毒株并掌握流行毒株的分子特征和致病性,采用病毒分离、血凝性试验、鸡胚半数感染量(EID₅₀)测定、HA基因序列分析、致病性试验、交叉保护性试验等对3份临床疑似H9亚型AIV感染病料进行了研究。结果:3份临床病料样品可引起10日龄SPF鸡胚规律性死亡,3株分离毒株对1%鸡红细胞的凝集效价分别10log₂、11log₂和10log₂;对SPF鸡胚的EID₅₀分别为10^-8.83/mL、10^-9.50/mL和10^-9.0/mL;与2018年上海分离毒株亲缘关系较近,进化树处于同一分支;对SPF雏鸡的发病率分别为80%、100%和90%;均未引起SPF雏鸡死亡;彼此之间具有100%的交叉保护率,商品化禽流感(H9亚型)灭活疫苗对3株分离毒株的保护率分别为100%、90%和100%。本试验成功分离鉴定到了3株低致病性H9亚型AIV流行毒株,并证实当前商品化疫苗对H9亚型AIV流行毒株仍具有较好的保护效果。