MALDI-Qq-TOF-MS and transient gene expression analysis indicated co-enhancement of β-1,3-glucanase and endochitinase by tMEK2 and the involvement of divergent pathways

A mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway has been demonstrated as a key pathway in plant defense against pathogen attacks. With proteomics approaches, we specifically studied activation events downstream of a MAPK kinase, tMEK2, in tomato. Overexpression of a constitutively activated tomato MAPK kinase gene (tMEK2^MUT) enhanced resistance of transgenic tomato lines to the virulent bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato. Pathogenesis-related genes, PR1b1, β-1,3-glucanase, and endochitinase were up-regulated by tMEK2^MUT. Two-dimensional electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry analysis of total soluble leaf proteins indicated that β-1,3-glucanase and endochitinase are among the up-regulated proteins in these transgenic plants. Co-expression studies using a transient gene expression system have indicated that β-1,3-glucanase and endochitinase genes up-regulated by tMEK2^MUT were down-regulated by different specific phosphatases through dephosphorylation of certain downstream signaling molecules. Our observations indicate that increased products of β-1,3-glucanase and endochitinase genes downstream of tMEK2 may play an important role in achieving disease resistance.     

Characteristics of phoxim-exposed gene transcription in the silk gland of silkworms

Silkworm (Bombyx mori), a model Lepidoptera insect, is an important economic insect. Its silk gland is the important organ for silk protein synthesis and secretion. Phoxim exposure causes deficient cocooning of silkworm and has become one of the major negative factors for the silk industry. To study the impact of phoxim exposure on silk gland, using gene chip technology, we examined differentially expressed genes in silk gland after silkworms were exposed to phoxim (4.0 μg/mL) for 24 h. Functional annotation, classification and KEGG signaling pathway analysis were performed. The results showed that out of 3206 genes detected in silk gland after phoxim exposure, 270 were differentially expressed significantly, including 249 up-regulated genes and 21 down-regulated genes. These differentially expressed genes related to apoptosis, detoxification and protein degradation were selected. Using qRT-PCR, the expression levels of 9 genes involved in apoptosis, detoxification and protein degradation were validated. In addition, the expression profiles of three related fibroin synthesis genes (Fib-H, Fib-L and P25) were analyzed. Our results showed that phoxim exposure induced apoptosis of silk gland cells and inhibition of fibroin synthesis. This may be the cause of deficient silkworm cocooning.     

小麦种质 Edinburgh-b 白粉菌侵染下的基因表达谱分析

 Edinburgh-b是从英国爱丁堡引进的小麦抗白粉病新种质,为了深入了解该种质的抗白粉病分子机制,本研究采用Agilent公司的4 SymboltB@ 44 k小麦表达谱芯片,以Edinburgh-b接种白粉菌0 h为对照,分析其在白粉菌胁迫下的基因表达谱。结果表明,在43 603个探针中筛选出差异表达探针5 835个,其中上调表达2 801个,下调表达3 034个。差异表达基因主要包括与代谢相关的酶类、转录因子、病程相关蛋白、防卫反应基因和信号传导因子等。Pathway分析显示苯丙烷类生物合成、水杨酸信号通路、茉莉酸生物合成、活性氧代谢等被激活,乙烯生物合成和生长素信号通路被抑制,推测水杨酸和茉莉酸信号通路共同参与了Edinburgh-b对白粉菌的防御反应。选取上调和下调表达共17个基因进行实时定量RT-PCR验证,表明基因芯片数据具有良好的重复性。     

野生甜瓜‘云甜-930’与白粉病菌互作的基因表达特征

 利用cDNA-AFLP技术, 对甜瓜抗白粉病品种‘云甜-930’在接种Podosphaera xanthii生理小种2F.后的基因表达谱进行分析。256对引物共产生188个具良好多态性的转录本(TDF), 其中109个上调表达, 79个下调表达。经过对差异片段的回收、克隆、测序分析, 最终得到60个EST。Blastx比对和功能分类分析表明, 参与物质合成与代谢的属第一大类, 占48%, 其他主要涉及物质运输(12%)、防御系统(12%)、转录调控(8%)、能量代谢(8%)、信号转导(4%)等, 7条EST(8％) 与未知功能蛋白同源性较高。选取与代谢、抗病防御、信号转导及蛋白转运等相关的4个差异基因TDF12(SEH)、TDF67(SAMDC)、TDF76(CDPK)和TDF82(PDR8)进行qRT-PCR验证, 结果显示其表达模式符合cDNA-AFLP表达谱, 同时表明这些基因可能参与了甜瓜与白粉病菌的互作过程。     

几种代谢酶基因与柑橘全爪螨对双甲脒抗性的关系

为了明确羧酸酯酶(carboxylesterase,CarE)基因、谷胱甘肽S-转移酶(glutathione S-transferases,GST)基因和过氧化氢酶(catalase,CAT)基因与柑橘全爪螨Panonychus citri对双甲脒抗性的关系,通过BLAST检索,从柑橘全爪螨转录组数据库中对这3种代谢酶抗性相关基因进行鉴定,并采用RPKM法对双甲脒抗性品系和敏感品系代谢抗性相关基因进行表达差异分析,对差异较大的基因作定量PCR检测.基因差异性分析发现,抗性品系中有9条CarE基因、12条GST基因及6条CAT基因表达量发生上调,13条CarE基因、12条GST基因和3条CAT基因表达量发生下调;Pc29773nrt、Pcl7807nlg和Unigene31477为上调倍数最高的3个基因,其log2 ratio (RS/SS)分别为12.95、10.81、10.01.定量分析显示,Pc29773 nrt、Pcl7807nlg和Unigene31477的上调倍数分别为3.72、2.03和3.09,Pc29773 nrt和Unigene31477上调显著.研究表明柑橘全爪螨Pc29773nrt和Unigene31477上调与其对双甲脒的抗性相关.     

基于转录组分析的哈茨木霉thga3基因功能研究

哈茨木霉Trichoderma harzianum Th-33的Ⅲ型Gα亚基Thga3可能参与调控木霉菌的生长、产孢、几丁质酶活性、疏水性等生物学过程。为进一步明确其功能,本研究采用Hiseq2500（Illumina）测序平台,对野生菌Th-33和thga3基因敲除突变株△thga3进行转录组测序,分析其G蛋白信号系统、细胞壁降解酶类和产孢相关基因的差异表达。与野生菌相比,△thga3有3个G蛋白偶联受体基因发生下调表达,3个几丁质酶基因以及产孢调控基因brlA下调表达,1个G蛋白信号调控蛋白RGS1上调表达。推测thga3可能通过调控brlA的表达正调控产孢;通过调控疏水蛋白基因Tha_09745的表达调控菌丝疏水性。此外,通过调控几丁质酶基因的表达、G蛋白信号网络中其他蛋白的表达,影响菌株的拮抗和重寄生能力以及其他生物学特性。本研究为进一步探索G蛋白信号途径调控木霉菌生防特性及其机制奠定了基础。     

饥饿胁迫下黑肩绿盲蝽转录组分析及S6K基因功能分析

为扩大黑肩绿盲蝽Cyrtorhinus lividipennis的人工繁殖规模,利用RNA-seq技术对饥饿胁迫2 d的黑肩绿盲蝽雌成虫进行转录组测序分析,筛选参与生殖调控的相关信号通路,挖掘直接或者间接影响生殖的相关基因,采用实时荧光定量PCR（real-time fluorescence quantification PCR,qRT-PCR）对筛选的相关基因进行验证,并通过试验分析沉默S6K基因和饥饿处理对黑肩绿盲蝽生殖的影响。结果显示,与取食褐飞虱Nilaparvata lugens卵（CK）的黑肩绿盲蝽相比,饥饿处理2 d的黑肩绿盲蝽雌成虫有11 675个基因差异表达,其中有4 264个基因表达量上调,7 411个基因表达量下调。共筛选到7条与生殖调控相关的信号通路和6个与生殖调控相关的基因,除TSC2基因表达量上调外,其他S6K、INSR、Akt、HSP70-1、HSP70-2五个与生殖相关基因的表达量在7条生殖相关信号通路中均下调。qRT-PCR检测结果与转录组测序结果一致,说明转录组分析结果可靠。沉默S6K基因后,黑肩绿盲蝽雌成虫脂肪体和卵巢蛋白质含量、Vg基因表达量、雌成虫产卵量和Vg含量较对照显著降低。此外,饥饿处理2 d后黑肩绿盲蝽雌成虫产卵量也较对照显著减少。表明饥饿胁迫后黑肩绿盲蝽雌成虫的生殖相关通路可能受多个信号通路调控,S6K表达量下降显著影响黑肩绿盲蝽的生殖。     

甲基营养型芽胞杆菌G-1抗菌肽的分离及抑菌作用研究

为探索甲基营养型芽胞杆菌Bacillus methylotrophicus G-1抑制番茄灰霉病菌的作用机制，采用HPLC、LC-MS等对其分泌的抗菌肽进行分离鉴定，通过扫描电镜观测抗菌肽对番茄灰霉病菌菌丝形态影响，借助RNA-seq研究抗菌肽处理番茄灰霉病菌3、5 d后的差异表达基因。研究结果表明：甲基营养型芽胞杆菌G-1产生的抗菌肽主要为伊枯草菌素A。经菌株G-1抗菌肽处理后，番茄灰霉病菌菌丝生长异常，菌体畸形肿胀，内溶物外渗。基因差异表达分析表明，有40个基因在2个时期均差异表达。GO、KEGG富集分析发现，与萜烯合酶、氨基酸跨膜转运相关的15个基因在各时期均上调表达，与细胞表面受体信号通路、氧化还原酶、果胶裂解酶、单加氧酶等有关的25个基因在各时期均下调表达，其中编码琥珀脱氢酶（SDH）的Bcin02g06840基因及编码3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酸辅酶A还原酶（HMGR）的Bcin04g04450基因表达量显著下调。经qRT-PCR验证，8个差异表达基因的表达模式变化与转录组测序分析结果一致。研究表明菌株G-1抗菌肽可能通过抑制番茄灰霉病菌细胞膜组分中SDH、HMGR的合成抑制菌丝及孢子的生长。     

Characterization of phenotypic variants of Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis isolated from Capsicum annuum

Phenotypic variants of Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm) were isolated from pepper fields and from pepper seeds during quarantine inspections. All strains isolated from pepper (pepper isolates) produced orange-coloured colonies with lower mucoidy than typical Cmm strains isolated from tomato (tomato isolates). However, the results of ELISA, fatty acid analysis, 16S rDNA sequencing, and PCR analysis showed that all pepper isolates were similar enough to be identified as Cmm. In addition to phenotypic variations, the pepper isolates showed different pathogenic and genetic characteristics from tomato isolates from the USA, Europe, or other countries. They could be clearly distinguished in terms of pathogenicity, as they showed increased pathogenicity to pepper but reduced pathogenicity to tomato. Tomato isolates caused strong wilting and canker in tomato, but caused only canker and no wilting in pepper and bell pepper. However, pepper isolates caused no wilting, even in tomato, and only caused canker in the three host plants. In addition, compared to tomato isolates, pepper isolates showed increased colonization efficiency and caused a greater reduction in shoot dry weight in pepper. Pepper and tomato isolates could be separated into two groups according to host origin on the basis of 16S rDNA and ITS sequence analysis. They also showed different rep-PCR genomic fingerprints. All pepper isolates showed higher cellulase activity than tomato isolates on M9CMC plates. However, two plasmid-borne virulence genes of Cmm, pat-1, and celA, were not detected in any pepper isolates by PCR. Furthermore, PCR for pathogenicity-related genes located on a pathogenicity island (PAI) revealed that all tomato isolates were positive for these genes, whereas the pepper isolates did not show any PCR products for the chpC, chpG, ppaA, or tomA genes. Therefore, we suggest that the pepper isolates may represent a separate Cmm population that has evolved within the limits of this host.     

Isolation of differentially expressed genes during interactions between tomato cells and a protective or a non-protective strain of Fusarium oxysporum

Pathogenic isolates of Fusarium oxysporum applied on a non-host plant species, as soil-borne non-pathogenic isolates, are able to protect this plant against pathogenic strains inducing wilts. Several modes of action contribute to the biocontrol activity of these protective strains; however the genetic basis of the biocontrol mechanisms is far from being understood. The aim of this study was to identify genes involved in biocontrol activity of F. oxysporum using an original model made of Fom24, a strain protective on tomato and its mutant rev157 which has lost its protective capacity. A Rapid Subtractive Hybridization (RaSH) approach was chosen to identify genes up-regulated in the protective or in the non-protective interaction when germinated conidia of either Fom24 or rev157 are confronted to tomato cell cultures. A total of 86 up-regulated sequences were generated, 42 and 44 from the protective and the non-protective interaction respectively. Homology searches led to identification of both plant and fungal genes that were grouped according to their putative functions. Among plant genes, those involved in plant response to stresses were the most abundant. Expression profiles of genes homolog to a basic endochitinase, a ferredoxine-NADP(H) reductase (FNR), an ATP synthase and the RPM1-interacting protein 4 (RIN4) were confirmed by Northern blotting. A large proportion of fungal sequences were encoding genes of unknown function; among other, those involved in response to oxidative stress and a gene putatively encoding an enolase are the most promising to further study their potential role in the protective interaction between F. oxysporum and tomato.     

基于转录组测序解析干旱胁迫对祁连山黄参基因表达的调控

以栽培2个月的黄参为试材,设置对照（土壤相对含水量70%~80%）和适度干旱胁迫（土壤相对含水量55%~60%）处理,利用高通量转录组测序BGISEQ-500平台,对测序结果进行基因功能注释、差异表达基因(DEGs, differentially expressed genes)筛选。结果表明：(1)获得的68193条Unigene中,分别有34230(50.20%)、34170(50.11%）、31727(46.53%)、27701(40.62%)、27092(39.73%)和22793(33.42%)个Unigene分别被分配到NCBI非冗余蛋白(NR)、eggNOG(基因的进化谱系, Evolutionary genealogy of genes: Non\|supervised Orthologous Groups)、基因本体(Gene ontology,GO)、Pfam (Protein family)、SwissProt (Reviewed protein sequence database)和KEGG (Kyoto encyelopedia of genes and genomes)六大功能数据库。(2)DEGs分析显示,黄参块状根和叶中分别有10674个和13402个DEGs;GO富集结果表明,根和叶中的DEGs功能部位中的分布基本一致,主要富集在生物过程、DNA的复制和翻译调控、氧化还原过程、蛋白质磷酸化、防御响应等;KEGG富集分析表明,根中DEGs显著富集在苯丙烷类生物合成、半乳糖代谢、半胱氨酸和甲硫氨酸代谢、淀粉和蔗糖代谢、植物-病原菌相互作用、植物激素信号转导等途径,叶中DEGs则主要富集在半乳糖代谢、淀粉和蔗糖代谢、苯丙烷类生物合成、戊糖、葡萄糖醛酸转换、植物激素信号转导等途径,说明淀粉和蔗糖代谢、半乳糖代谢、苯丙烷类生物合成途径、植物激素信号转导途径在黄参应对干旱胁迫中起重要作用。干旱胁迫影响黄参不同器官中差异基因的表达,为解析黄参耐受干旱的生物学途径、黄参药效成分的生物合成和分子机制提供了理论依据。