Ultrastructural and Extracellular Protein Changes in Cell Suspension Cultures of Populus euphratica Associated with Low Temperature-induced Cold Acclimation

Populus euphratica Olive is the only tree species that can grow in the saline land and also survive cold winters in northwest China, and it plays a very important role in stabilizing the vulnerable ecosystem there. A cell suspension culture was initiated from callus derived from plantlets of Populus euphratica. Cold acclimation was induced (LT50 of-17.5 ℃) in cell suspension at 4-5 ℃ in the dark for 30 days and the freezing tolerance increased from LT50 of-12.5 ℃ in nonacclimated cells to LT50 of-17.5 ℃ in cold-acclimated cells. Microvacuolation, cytoplasmic augmentation and accumulation of starch granules were observed in cells that were cold-acclimated by exposure to low temperatures. Several qualitative and quantitative changes in proteins were noted during cold acclimation. Antibodies to carrot extracellular (apoplastic) 36 kD antifreeze protein did not cross react on immunoelectroblots with extracellular proteins in cell suspension culture medium of Populus euphratica, indicating no common epitopes in the carrot 36 kD antifreeze protein and P euphratica extracellular proteins. The relationship of these changes to cold acclimation in Populus euphratica cell cultures was discussed.     

Constitutive expression of sense &; antisense <Emphasis Type="Italic">PtAP3</Emphasis>, an <Emphasis Type="Italic">AP3</Emphasis> homologue gene of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Populus tomentosa</Emphasis>, affects growth and flowering time in transgenic tobacco

To analyze the function of PtAP3, an APETALA3 （AP3） homologue gene isolated from Populus tomentosa Carr., the full length sequence （1797 bp） and a fragment （870 bp） of PtAP3 were fused to a CaMV 35S promoter of pBI121 to generate the sense and antisense constructs of PtAP3. These constructs were transformed into tobacco by Agrobacterium infection of leaf disks and selection on kanamycin medium. Some sense and antisense transgenic tobacco plants were obtained by PCR and Southern blot analysis. Great phenotypic differences in transgenic tobacco plants were observed. Almost all of sense PtAP3 to transgenic tobaccos showed a higher growth rate than those of antisense transformants and a few developed pregnancy earlier than wild type seedlings and antisense transformants under the same conditions.     

Expression of a Carrot Antifreeze Protein Gene in Escherichia coli

The recombinant expression vectorpET43. lb-AFP, which contains full encoding region of a carrot 36 kD antifreeze protein (AFP) gene was constructed. The recombinant was transformed into expression host carrying T7 RNA polymerase gene (DE3 lysogen) and induced by 1 mmol. L-1 IPTG (isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactoside) to express 110 kD polypeptide of AFP fusion protein.The analysis of product solubility revealed that pET43. 1b-AFP was predominately soluble, and the expressed amount reached the maximum after the IPTG treatment for 3 h.     

Transgenic sterility in Populus: expression properties of the poplar PTLF, Agrobacterium NOS and two minimal 35S promoters in vegetative tissues

Transgenic sterility is a desirable trait for containment of many kinds of transgenes and exotic species. Genetically engineered floral sterility can be imparted by expression of a cytotoxin under the control of a predominantly floral-tissue-specific promoter. However, many otherwise desirable floral promoters impart substantial non-floral expression, which can impair plant health or make it impossible to regenerate transgenic plants. We are therefore developing a floral sterility system that is capable of attenuating undesired background vegetative expression. As a first step towards this goal, we compared the vegetative expression properties of the promoter of the poplar (Populus trichocarpa Torr. & Gray) homolog of the floral homeotic gene LEAFY (PTLF), which could be used to impart male and female flower sterility, to that of three candidate attenuator-gene promoters: the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S basal promoter, the CaMV 35S basal promoter fused to the TMV omega element and the nopaline synthase (NOS) promoter. The promoters were evaluated via promoter::GUS gene fusions in a transgenic poplar hybrid (Populus tremula L. x P. alba L.) by both histochemical and fluorometric GUS assays. In leaves, the NOS promoter conveyed the highest activity and had a mean expression level 5-fold higher than PTLF, whereas the CaMV 35S basal promoter fused to the omega element and the CaMV 35S basal promoter alone directed mean expression levels that were 0.5x and 0.35x that of PTLF, respectively. Differential expression in shoots, leaves, stems and roots was observed only for the NOS and PTLF promoters. Strongest expression was observed in roots for the NOS promoter, whereas the PTLF promoter directed highest expression in shoots. The NOS promoter appears best suited to counteract vegetative expression of a cytotoxin driven by the PTLF promoter where 1:1 toxin:attenuator expression is required.     

杨树皮储藏蛋白基因启动子的克隆和功能研究

杨树树皮储藏蛋白BSP是类似种子储藏蛋白的氮素储藏物 ,冬季在韧皮部薄壁细胞中大量积累 ,是落叶树氮代谢中的重要成分。为了研究BSP基因启动子在转基因植物中的表达特性 ,探索其在植物基因工程研究中潜在的应用价值 ,我们用PCR方法从美洲黑杨基因组中DNA扩增得到了BSA启动子片段。与GUS基因融合构建中间载体后 ,转化烟草 ,获得了一批PCR检测为阳性的转化再生植株。经GUS组织化学检测 ,发现若干转基因烟草的茎和叶柄韧皮部以及叶脉都呈GUS染色阳性 ,初步证明杨树BSP基因启动子确有韧皮部表达特性 ,可介导GUS基因在转基因烟草韧皮部特异表达。     

微弹介导的火炬松遗传转化

本文建立了一个微弹介导的火炬松遗传转化系统。这个系统解决了火炬松遗传转化过程中存在的许多困难。运载抗虫基因的质粒载体经微弹转化法进入火炬松成熟合子胚,然后在添加了卡那霉素的培养基上从转化的成熟胚上诱导出有器官发生潜力的愈伤组织,再从转化的愈伤组织上产生转基因植株。利用这一系统生产的转基因植株已经被随机扩增技术、Southern杂交技术和虫试验所证实,并且转化的植株已在土壤中成活。图3表2参28。     

利用农杆菌介导法获得转codA基因麻竹再生植株的研究

温度是影响植物生存和生长发育的基本环境因子之一。大多数植物对低温等都是高度敏感的,低温伤害现象尤为突出,几乎涉及所有的经济植物。因此,改善植物的抗低温冻害的胁迫能力,可以显著提高植物的生长范围、增加产量。codA基因可以增加植物对低温胁迫的耐受能力,而Rd29A是一种胁迫诱导特异表达启动子,胁迫条件可以快速诱导基因表达,也可以减少由于转基因过量表达带来的不利影响。研究以麻竹花药离体培养的愈伤组织为材料,采用农杆菌介导法,探讨了影响麻竹愈伤组织遗传转化效率的主要因子。结果表明,潮霉素的最佳筛选浓度是25 mg.L-1,预培养时间为3 d,侵染时间为20 min,共培养时间为3 d,乙酰丁香酮的浓度控制在100 mg.L-1时可以有效的提高遗传转化效率。在此基础上对获得的转基因植株进行分子检测,初步表明外源基因codA已经整合到麻竹基因组中。     

High level expression of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase gene <Emphasis Type="Italic">PsG6PDH</Emphasis> from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Populus suaveolens</Emphasis> in <Emphasis Type="Italic">E. coli</Emphasis>

In order to investigate the functions of the gene PsG6PDH and the mechanisms underlying freezing tolerance of Populus suaveolens, the recombinant expression vector pET-G (pET30a-G6PDH), which contained full encoding region of PsG6PDH gene, was established. The recombinant was identified by lawn-PCR and double enzyme digestion and then transformed into expression host XA90 and induced by isopropyl-â-D-thiogalactoside (IPTG) to express 100 kD polypeptide of G6PDH fusion protein. The results showed that the expressed amount of the fusion protein culminated after 1 mmol&#8226;L^–1 IPTG treatment for 4 h and that pET-G product was predominately soluble and not extra-cellular secreting.     

Pistil development in 2 types of flowers of Xanthoceras sorbifolia

In order to investigate flower development and female abortion during sex differentiation of Xanthoceras sorbifolia, anatomical observations and comparative study on differential proteins were carried out in different developmental stages of two types of flowers of this species. It was found that the selective abortion happened in male flower before the formation of megasporocyte. Special proteins related to the female abortion were found through 2-dimensional electrophoretic analysis. Protein A1 (14.2 kD) only existed in florescence of male flower, while B1 (13.7 kD) and B2 (18.2 kD) disappeared in that stage of male flower. They were all considered to be relative to pistil abortion of Xanthoceras sorbifolia. [Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.30070613) and Graduate Cultivation Foundation of Beijing Forestry University (Grant No.02jj001)]     

表达耐盐基因的转基因火炬松的再生

盐害是限制作物和树木分布和生产的重要因素。盐分过多导致细胞内水分缺失并影响许多重要的细胞代谢活动。本文利用火炬松作为模式植物建立了一套提高植物耐盐性的新技术。这一技术以火炬松合子胚为材料,利用农杆菌介导的转化方法将山犁醇脱氢酶和甘露醇脱氢酶基因转入火炬松。然后再生转化的愈伤组织和转基因植株。经DNA杂交证实的转基因植株被用于耐盐性试验,结果表明这些转基因的植株的耐盐性有明显的提高。这一技术对针叶树的遗传工程育种有重要的参考价值。图3表2参26。     

Over-expression of Tryptophan Decarboxylase Gene in Poplar and its Possible Role in Resistance Against Malacosoma disstria

Amines and their derivatives are known to influence insect behavior involved in feeding and reproduction. In order to examine the feasibility of improving the resistance of poplar to insect pests by the introduction of a plant-derived amine-generating transgene, explants from the hybrid poplar clone ‘INRA 717 1B4’ (P. tremula ×P. albo) were transformed with a Camptotheca acuminata tryptophan decarboxylase (TDC, EC 4.1.1.28) cDNA driven by the CaMV 35S promoter. The enzyme TDC catalyzes the decarboxylation of tryptophan to tryptamine, which, in addition to being a bioactive amine itself, is known to act as a precursor of various other indole derivatives. Putative transgenic lines were confirmed by PCR for the TDC1 gene sequence and by the expression analysis of the transgene mRNA and encoded protein. No visible phenotypic changes were associated with ectopic TDC1 expression. Chemical and radiotracer analyses of the transgenic plants revealed tryptamine accumulation as high as 4 mM in leaf tissue, and suggested that the tryptamine produced by ectopically expressed TDC was not further metabolized. Insect bioassays with the TDC transgenic plants showed that the tryptamine accumulation was consistently associated with adverse effects on feeding potential and physiology of Malacosoma disstria (forest tent caterpillar).     

Cloning and RNAi construction of a LEAFY homologous gene from Populus tomentosa and preliminary study in tobacco

PtLFY, a LEAFY (LFY) gene, was cloned from Populus tomentosa (LM50) by PCR. Sequencing analysis indicated that PtLFY was 2 629 bp long, composed of three exons and two introns and encoded 378 amino acids. The splice donor sites and the splice acceptor sites were in identical positions to the LFY and its homologues. The amino acid sequence inferred was 68%-99% homologous to those of LFY and its homologues by blast analysis in GenBank. The Southern blot analysis indicated that there was a single copy of the PtLFY gene in genomic DNA of male and female P. tomentosa (LM50 and 5082). The pBI121-Ptalfy (reverse)-intron-Ptlfy-GUS-nos was constructed using RNA interference (RNAi) technique and verified by PCR and digestion identification and transformed into tobacco. Some transgenic tobacco plants were obtained by PCR and PCR-Southern identification. The growth was generally repressed in transgenic tobacco plants compared with wild-type ones and some phenotypic differences were observed. [Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30371175) and Postdoctoral Foundation of China (Grant No. 2002032041)]     

Plant antifreeze proteins and their expression regulatory mechanism

Low temperature is one of the major limiting environmental factors which constitutes the growth, development,productivity and distribution of plants. Over the past several years, the proteins and genes associated with freezing resistance of plants have been widely studied. The recent progress of domestic and foreign research on plant antifreeze proteins and the identification and characterization of plant antifreeze protein genes, especially on expression regulatory mechanism of plant antifreeze proteins are reviewed in this paper. Finally, some unsolved problems and the trend of research in physiological functions and gene expression regulatory mechanism of plant antifreeze proteins are discussed.     

Antisense expression of a caffeic acidO-methyltransferase ofStylosanthes humilis in transgenic poplar: Effect of expression onO-methyltransferase activity and lignin composition

Poplar (Populus tremula) was transformed with a construct carrying an antisense caffeic acidO-methyltransferase (COMT) cDNA (pOMT8) from a tropical pasture legume,Stylosanthes humilis. pOMT8 shows 83% overall homology to the corresponding COMT gene (pPCLA) of poplar. Of the 200 putatively-transformed plants regenerated on selective media after co-cultivation of poplar stem explants withAgrobacterium tumefaciens harbouring a CaMV 35S-antisensepOMT8 construct, a subset of 20 plants were randomly chosen for further analysis. PCR and Southern blot analysis demonstrated the stable integration of T-DNA into the genome of these plants. Antisense expression ofpOMT8 resulted in reductions in total COMT activity in the majority of the transgenic plants with the lowest total COMT activities (61–70% of untransformed control plants) being observed in four transgenic plants. The composition of lignin in transgenic plants was also changed, as detected by reductions in the content of syringyl units using infrared spectroscopy. However, no changes were found in the amount of insoluble lignin in transgenic plants as compared to untransformed control plants. These results indicate the potential of thepOMT8 gene to partially suppress COMT activity and modify the composition of lignin in transgenic poplar. This work was partly supported by General Management of Turkish Pulp and Paper Mills.     

水稻LOC_Os10g05490位点冷胁迫条件下表达分析及CRISPR/Cas9定向编辑

为探明LOC_Os10g05490位点冷胁迫条件下的表达特性和耐冷性功能,以耐冷东乡野生稻和冷敏感水稻93-11为试验材料进行了半定量分析,结果表明,LOC_Os10g05490在冷敏感水稻93-11冷处理前后表达丰度相当,而在耐冷东乡野生稻中冷处理后表达丰度下调,这一结果与前期转录组测序(RNA-seq)结果相符,进一步验证了该位点可能与水稻耐冷相关,随后利用CRISPR/Cas9基因组编辑技术对LOC_Os10g05490编码区于同样具有较强耐冷性的粳稻品种台北309中实施定向基因敲除,并成功获得了26株转基因阳性植株。     

Transgenic poplar with enhanced growth by introduction of the ugt and acb genes

The transgenic poplar (Populus tremula L.) was obtained by transfer of the ugt and acb genes via triparental mating, which was employed to deliver large fragments of TDNA as a cluster. Freshly harvested seeds of local poplar were placed on MS agar medium and plantlets were obtained. After 1 year of subcultivation, plantlets were infected with a transconjugant of triparental mating with target ugt and acb genes into axillary buds. The transformed sprouts so obtained were cut and subcultivated on agar medium with an addition of 0.6 mg/l indole-3-butyric acid as an auxin source. The transformed sprouts showed GUS activity and resistance to gentamycin and kanamycin. The integrity of the target ugt and acb genes into poplar genome was demonstrated via PCR and Southern blot hybridisation. The transgenic poplar plants revealed a higher growth energy, corresponding to a higher content of IAA as opposed to control plants. Both transgenic and non-transformed plants were potted into soil for outdoor acclimatisation and subsequently transferred to earth in beds. Growing outside during 3 years, the transgenic poplar demonstrated a higher growth rate with fast bud and branch development.     

Research progress on production of podophyllotoxin from Sinopodophyllum hexandrum

Podophyllotoxin is isolated mainly from the rhizomes of Podophyllum plants, and serves as the main precursor for synthesis of anticancer drugs, such as VP-16 and VM-26. VP-16 and VM-26 are used for curing lung cancer, testicular cancer, neuroblastoma, hepatoma and other tumors. However, these plants are all near-extinction species due to over-collection and their own biological characteristics. The chemical synthesis of podophyllotoxin is so complicated that its price is unbelievably high. This paper discusses the current status of the biosynthetic pathway of podophyllotoxin and that of the podophyllotoxin production using several biotechnological approaches such as plant organ cultures, plant cell cultures with both flasks and bioreactors, hairy root cultures, bioconversions and metabolic regulations. [Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Tibet (Grant No. 2002-66)]     

Verification of the resistance of a LEA gene from Tamarix expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to abiotic stresses

The role of late embryogenesis abundant （LEA） proteins in stress tolerance was examined by using a yeast expression system. LEA protein tolerance to the abotic stresses in plants involved in salt, drought and freezing stresses and additional tolerance to heat, NaHCO3 （salt-alkali） and ultraviolet radiation was also investigated. The transgenic yeast harboring the Tamarix LEA gene （DQ663481） was generated under the control of inducible GAL promoter （pYES2 vector）, yeast cells transformed with pYES2 empty vector were also generated as a control. Stress tolerance tests showed that LEA yeast transformants exhibited a higher survival rates than the control transformants under high temperature, NaHCO3, ultraviolet radiation, salt （NaCl）, drought and freezing, indicating that the LEA gene is tolerant to these abiotic stresses. These results suggest that the LEA gene is resistant to a wider repertoire of stresses and may play a common role in plant acclimation to the examined stress conditions.