油菜素内酯参与调控植物生长发育与抗逆性的机制及其育种应用研究

油菜素内酯（brassinosteroids,BRs）是一类重要的植物促生激素,参与调控植物生长发育。最近的研究表明,BRs能增加作物产量和增强作物抗逆性。在BRs信号转导过程中,蛋白激酶的磷酸化功能与转录因子的磷酸化和脱磷酸化过程是BRs信号重要的生化调控机制,其中起始BRs信号由胞外向胞内转导的蛋白激酶BRI1和 BAK1,以及BRs信号下游调控不同性状基因表达的转录因子BZR1和BZR2/BES1,是BRs信号途径中关键的功能基因。基于重要蛋白激酶和转录因子的蛋白结构和功能分析,通过不同氨基酸功能位点的基因定点突变和修饰技术,能实现BRs信号途径的功能研究与植物性状改良,从而提高植物对环境的适应性。综述了BRs信号途径与植物生长发育和环境胁迫的研究,期望为植物分子育种提供很好的借鉴。     

马铃薯油菜素内酯信号激酶基因StBSKs的克隆与序列分析

油菜素内酯是一种参与调控植物生长发育和环境抗性的植物激素,BSKs是BR信号通路中重要的信号转导激酶。以马铃薯为试验材料,通过同源序列检索分析设计特异性引物,采用RT-PCR技术克隆得到BSK基因家族的7个基因,分别命名为StBSK1、StBSK2、StBSK3、StBSK4、StBSK5、StBSK6和StBSK7。其CDS全长分别为1 497、1 479、1 464、1 461、1 476、1 476和1 476 bp,分别编码498、492、487、486、491、491和491个氨基酸。生物信息学分析表明,StBSKs蛋白的等电点为5.14~6.37,均呈弱酸性;这7个蛋白均无跨膜结构域和信号肽;氨基酸序列比对发现,StBSKs蛋白的氨基酸序列在N端存在较大差异。系统进化树分析发现,StBSKs蛋白与同科物种的亲缘关系更近。本研究结果丰富了对马铃薯油菜素内酯信号激酶StBSKs基因的认知,也为进一步深入研究StBSKs的基因功能奠定基础。     

Perception of brassinosteroids by the extracellular domain of the receptor kinase BRI1

An assay was developed to study plant receptor kinase activation and signaling mechanisms. The extracellular leucine-rich repeat (LRR) and transmembrane domains of the Arabidopsis receptor kinase BRI1, which is implicated in brassinosteroid signaling, were fused to the serine/threonine kinase domain of XA21, the rice disease resistance receptor. The chimeric receptor initiates plant defense responses in rice cells upon treatment with brassinosteroids. These results, which indicate that the extracellular domain of BRI1 perceives brassinosteroids, suggest a general signaling mechanism for the LRR receptor kinases of plants. This system should allow the discovery of ligands for the LRR kinases, the largest group of plant receptor kinases.     

MAP激酶在植物信号传递网络中的功能

促分裂素原活化蛋白激酶(mitogen-activated protein kinases,MAP激酶,MAPK)链是真核生物信号传递网络中的重要途径之一.MAPK链由3类蛋白激酶MAP3K-MAP2K-MAPK组成,通过依次磷酸化将上游信号传递至下游应答分子.本文主要阐述MAPK链在植物的逆境反应、抗病反应和激素调控等信号传递网络中的功能.     

接头分子在TLRs信号传导中的作用研究进展

接头分子在Toll样受体(Toll like receptors,TLRs)识别病原相关分子模式或损伤相关分子模式、发动和调节先天与后天免疫反应的信号传导网络中发挥着重要的生物学作用,与Toll样受体相结合后,其下游激酶和转录因子传导信号,激活细胞内核转录因子调控作用元件。TLRs接头分子的共同特征是含有TIR结构域,不同TLRs家族成员可依赖于一个或多个接头分子传导信号。对目前已确认的MyD88、MAL/TIRAP、TRIF、TRAM和SARM 5种接头分子在TLRs信号传导途径中的调控作用进行综述,以期为研究接头分子在TLRs信号传导中的作用机制提供参考。     

G protein signalling involved in host recognition and mycoparasitismrelated chitinase expression in Trichoderma atroviride

Mycoparasitic species of Trichoderma are commercially applied as biological control agents against various fungal pathogens. The mycoparasitic interaction is host specific and includes recognition, attack and subsequent penetration and killing of the host. Investigations on the underlying events revealed that Trichoderma responds to multiple signals from the host (e.g. lectins or other ligands such as low molecular weight components released from the host's cell wall) and host attack is ac…     

Brassinosteroids regulate dissociation of BKI1, a negative regulator of BRI1 signaling, from the plasma membrane

Brassinosteroids, the steroid hormones of plants, are perceived at the plasma membrane by a leucine-rich repeat receptor serine/threonine kinase called BRI1. We report a BRI1-interacting protein, BKI1, which is a negative regulator of brassinosteroid signaling. Brassinosteroids cause the rapid dissociation of BKI1-yellow fluorescent protein from the plasma membrane in a process that is dependent on BRI1-kinase. BKI1 is a substrate of BRI1 kinase and limits the interaction of BRI1 with its proposed coreceptor, BAK1, suggesting that BKI1 prevents the activation of BRI1.     

Activated signal transduction kinases frequently occupy target genes

Cellular signal transduction pathways modify gene expression programs in response to changes in the environment, but the mechanisms by which these pathways regulate populations of genes under their control are not entirely understood. We present evidence that most mitogen-activated protein kinases and protein kinase A subunits become physically associated with the genes that they regulate in the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) genome. The ability to detect this interaction of signaling kinases with target genes can be used to more precisely and comprehensively map the regulatory circuitry that eukaryotic cells use to respond to their environment.     

植物LRR类受体蛋白激酶的研究进展

植物中富亮氨酸重复片断类受体蛋白激酶(LRR RLK)属于跨膜类受体蛋白激酶,由胞外LRR结构域、单次跨膜区以及胞内激酶结构域三部分组成。在不同植物中,LRR RLK作为信号识别受体参与CLV、BR、Ax21等信号转导过程,在植物生长发育、激素调节以及逆境应答反应等方面中发挥重要的作用。综述了近年来LRR RLK的相关调控功能及其作用机制的研究进展,并为进一步探索LRR RLK的功能及应用提供参考。     

Extrusion of cells with inappropriate Dpp signaling from Drosophila wing disc epithelia

Decapentaplegic (Dpp) is a signaling molecule that controls growth and patterning of the developing Drosophila wing. Mutant cells lacking Dpp signal transduction have been shown to activate c-Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK)-dependent apoptosis and to be lost from the wing disc epithelium. These observations have led to the hypothesis that Dpp promotes cell survival by preventing apoptosis. Here, we show that in the absence of JNK-dependent apoptosis, mutant cells lacking Dpp signal transduction can survive; however, they are still lost from the wing disc epithelium. This loss correlates with extensive cytoskeletal changes followed by basal epithelial extrusion. We propose that Dpp promotes cell survival within disc epithelia by affecting cytoskeletal organization.     

Specific expression of a tyrosine kinase gene, blk, in B lymphoid cells

Several pathways of transmembrane signaling in lymphocytes involve protein-tyrosine phosphorylation. With the exception of p56lck, a tyrosine kinase specific to T lymphoid cells that associates with the T cell transmembrane proteins CD4 and CD8, the kinases that function in these pathways are unknown. A murine lymphocyte complementary DNA that represents a new member of the src family has now been isolated and characterized. This complementary DNA, termed blk (for B lymphoid kinase), specifies a polypeptide of 55 kilodaltons that is related to, but distinct from, previously identified retroviral or cellular tyrosine kinases. The protein encoded by blk exhibits tyrosine kinase activity when expressed in bacterial cells. In the mouse and among cell lines, blk is specifically expressed in the B cell lineage. The tyrosine kinase encoded by blk may function in a signal transduction pathway that is restricted to B lymphoid cells.     

A putative Ca2+ and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase required for bacterial and fungal symbioses

Legumes can enter into symbiotic relationships with both nitrogen-fixing bacteria (rhizobia) and mycorrhizal fungi. Nodulation by rhizobia results from a signal transduction pathway induced in legume roots by rhizobial Nod factors. DMI3, a Medicago truncatula gene that acts immediately downstream of calcium spiking in this signaling pathway and is required for both nodulation and mycorrhizal infection, has high sequence similarity to genes encoding calcium and calmodulin-dependent protein kinases (CCaMKs). This indicates that calcium spiking is likely an essential component of the signaling cascade leading to nodule development and mycorrhizal infection, and sheds light on the biological role of plant CCaMKs.     

Redox regulation of germline and vulval development in Caenorhabditis elegans

In vitro studies have indicated that reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the oxidation of signaling molecules are important mediators of signal transduction. We have identified two pathways by which the altered redox chemistry of the clk-1 mutants of Caenorhabditis elegans acts in vivo on germline development. One pathway depends on the oxidation of an analog of vertebrate low density lipoprotein (LDL) and acts on the germline through the Ack-related tyrosine kinase (ARK-1) kinase and inositol trisphosphate (IP3) signaling. The other pathway is the oncogenic ras signaling pathway, whose action on germline as well as vulval development appears to be modulated by cytoplasmic ROS.     

Rewiring MAP kinase pathways using alternative scaffold assembly mechanisms

How scaffold proteins control information flow in signaling pathways is poorly understood: Do they simply tether components, or do they precisely orient and activate them? We found that the yeast mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase scaffold Ste5 is tolerant to major stereochemical perturbations; heterologous protein interactions could functionally replace native kinase recruitment interactions, indicating that simple tethering is largely sufficient for scaffold-mediated signaling. Moreover, by engineering a scaffold that tethers a unique kinase set, we could create a synthetic MAP kinase pathway with non-natural input-output properties. These findings demonstrate that scaffolds are highly flexible organizing factors that can facilitate pathway evolution and engineering.     

植物MAPK级联途径及其功能研究进展

促分裂原活化蛋白激酶(Mitogen Actived Protein Kinase,MAPK)是一种蛋白激酶,蛋白激酶又称蛋白磷酸化酶,其可通过将ATP上的磷酸基团转移到底物蛋白质氨基酸残基上,来催化底物蛋白质磷酸化。MAPK级联途径广泛存在于真核生物中。植物中的MAPK级联途径与动物和酵母类似,都包括MAPKKK、MAPKK和MAPK 3种蛋白激酶。大量的研究表明,植物中的MAPK级联途径不仅能被多种生物与非生物胁迫所激活,同时也参与激素信号转导以及植物的生长发育进程。文章就植物中MAPK级联途径及其功能的研究情况进行了综述,并展望了相关研究的发展趋势。     

Regulation of brassinosteroid signaling by a GSK3/SHAGGY-like kinase

GSK3/SHAGGY is a highly conserved serine/threonine kinase implicated in many signaling pathways in eukaryotes. Although many GSK3/SHAGGY-like kinases have been identified in plants, little is known about their functions in plant growth and development. Here we show that the Arabidopsis BRASSINOSTEROID-INSENSITIVE 2 (BIN2) gene encodes a GSK3/SHAGGY-like kinase. Gain-of-function mutations within its coding sequence or its overexpression inhibit brassinosteroid (BR) signaling, resulting in plants that resemble BR-deficient and BR-response mutants. In contrast, reduced BIN2 expression via cosuppression partially rescues a weak BR-signaling mutation. Thus, BIN2 acts as a negative regulator to control steroid signaling in plants.