Identification and Heterologous Expression of the Kendomycin B Biosynthetic Gene Cluster from Verrucosispora sp. SCSIO 07399

Verrucosispora sp. SCSIO 07399, a rare marine-derived actinomycete, produces a set of ansamycin-like polyketides kendomycin B–D (1–3) which possess potent antibacterial activities and moderate tumor cytotoxicity. Structurally, kendomycin B–D contain a unique aliphatic macrocyclic ansa scaffold in which the highly substituted pyran ring is connected to the quinone moiety. In this work, a type I/type III polyketide synthase (PKS) hybrid biosynthetic gene cluster coding for assembly of kendomycin B (kmy), and covering 33 open reading frames, was identified from Verrucosispora sp. SCSIO 07399. The kmy cluster was found to be essential for kendomycin B biosynthesis as verified by gene disruption and heterologous expression. Correspondingly, a biosynthetic pathway was proposed based on bioinformatics, cluster alignments, and previous research. Additionally, the role of type III PKS for generating the precursor unit 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3,5-DHBA) was demonstrated by chemical complementation, and type I PKS executed the polyketide chain elongation. The kmy cluster was found to contain a positive regulatory gene kmy4 whose regulatory effect was identified using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). These advances shed important new insights into kendomycin B biosynthesis and help to set the foundation for further research aimed at understanding and exploiting the carbacylic ansa scaffold.     

一个水稻小热休克蛋白的异源表达及寡聚特性分析

【目的】在前期研究中,本实验室已克隆了一个水稻小热休克蛋白基因(OsSHSP17.6),并发现该基因的表达明显受到热激和病毒侵染调控,表明该蛋白可能在逆境胁迫过程中起重要作用。本研究的目的在于进一步明确OsSHSP17.6的特性。【方法】在本研究中,进一步将该基因亚克隆至原核表达载体p ET-32a并导入大肠杆菌E.coli BL21(DE3)pLysS诱导表达,通过亲和层析的方法纯化了该重组蛋白,进一步用于非变性聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳和Western blotting分析。【结果】异源表达的重组OsSHSP17.6能减轻IPTG对宿主菌的毒害。非变性聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳和Western blotting分析显示纯化的重组OsSHSP17.6蛋白在体外能形成同源二聚体和寡聚体。【结论】这些结果支持OsSHSP17.6是一个有功能的分子伴侣蛋白并表明该蛋白可能通过形成同源寡聚体的方式参与逆境胁迫反应,这为进一步明确OsSHSP17.6的功能机制奠定基础。     

Recent Advances in the Heterologous Expression of Biosynthetic Gene Clusters for Marine Natural Products

Marine natural products (MNPs) are an important source of biologically active metabolites, particularly for therapeutic agent development after terrestrial plants and nonmarine microorganisms. Sequencing technologies have revealed that the number of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in marine microorganisms and the marine environment is much higher than expected. Unfortunately, the majority of them are silent or only weakly expressed under traditional laboratory culture conditions. Furthermore, the large proportion of marine microorganisms are either uncultivable or cannot be genetically manipulated. Efficient heterologous expression systems can activate cryptic BGCs and increase target compound yield, allowing researchers to explore more unknown MNPs. When developing heterologous expression of MNPs, it is critical to consider heterologous host selection as well as genetic manipulations for BGCs. In this review, we summarize current progress on the heterologous expression of MNPs as a reference for future research.     

A Novel κ-Carrageenase from Marine Bacterium Rhodopirellula sallentina SM41: Heterologous Expression,Biochemical Characterization and Salt-Tolerance Mechanism Investigation

κ-carrageenases are members of the glycoside hydrolase family 16 (GH16) that hydrolyze sulfated galactans in red algae, known as κ-carrageenans. In this study, a novel κ-carrageenase gene from the marine bacterium Rhodopirellula sallentina SM41 (RsCgk) was discovered via the genome mining approach. There are currently no reports on κ-carrageenase from the Rhodopirellula genus, and RsCgk shares a low identity (less than 65%) with κ- carrageenase from other genera. The RsCgk was heterologously overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21 and characterized for its enzymatic properties. RsCgk exhibited maximum activity at pH 7.0 and 40 °C, and 50% of its initial activity was retained after incubating at 30 °C for 2 h. More than 70% of its activity was maintained after incubation at pH 6.0–8.0 and 4 °C for 24 h. As a marine derived enzyme, RsCgk showed excellent salt tolerance, retaining full activity in 1.2 M NaCl, and the addition of NaCl greatly enhanced its thermal stability. Mass spectrometry analysis of the RsCgk hydrolysis products revealed that the enzyme had high degradation specificity and mainly produced κ-carrageenan disaccharide. Comparative molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the conformational changes of tunnel-forming loops under salt environments may cause the deactivation or stabilization of RsCgk. Our results demonstrated that RsCgk could be utilized as a potential tool enzyme for efficient production of κ-carrageenan oligosaccharides under high salt conditions.     

Tetroazolemycins A and B,Two New Oxazole-Thiazole Siderophores from Deep-Sea Streptomyces olivaceus FXJ8.012

Two new oxazole/thiazole derivatives, named tetroazolemycins A (1) and B (2), have been isolated from the acetone extract of the mycelium of Streptomyces olivaceus FXJ8.012 derived from deep-sea water, together with three known compounds, spoxazomicins A–C (3–5), isolated from the fermentation supernatant. The planar structure and relative configuration of tetroazolemycins were elucidated by a combination of spectroscopic analyses, including 1D- and 2D-NMR techniques, and showed to be new pyochelin-type antibiotics. Both compounds showed metal ion-binding activity and their Zn²⁺ complexes exhibited weak activity against pathogenic bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae.     

Expression of Anti-Lipopolysaccharide Factor Isoform 3 in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Showing High Antimicrobial Activity

Antimicrobial peptides are a class of proteins with antibacterial functions. In this study, the anti-lipopolysaccharide factor isoform 3 gene (ALFPm3), encoding an antimicrobial peptide from Penaeus monodon with a super activity was expressed in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which would develop a microalga strain that can be used for the antimicrobial peptide production. To construct the expression cluster, namely pH2A-Pm3, the codon optimized ALFPm3 gene was fused with the ble reporter by 2A peptide and inserted into pH124 vector. The glass-bead method was performed to transform pH2A-Pm3 into C. reinhardtii CC-849. In addition to 8 μg/mL zeocin resistance selection, the C. reinhardtii transformants were further confirmed by genomic PCR and RT-PCR. Western blot analysis showed that the C. reinhardtii-derived ALFPm3 (cALFPm3) was successfully expressed in C. reinhardtii transformants and accounted for 0.35% of the total soluble protein (TSP). Furthermore, the results of antibacterial assay revealed that the cALFPm3 could significantly inhibit the growth of a variety of bacteria, including both Gram-negative bacteria and Gram-positive bacteria at a concentration of 0.77 μM. Especially, the inhibition could last longer than 24 h, which performed better than ampicillin. Hence, this study successfully developed a transgenic C. reinhardtii strain, which can produce the active ALFPm3 driven from P. monodon, providing a potential strategy to use C. reinhardtii as the cell factory to produce antimicrobial peptides.     

天然橡胶生物合成相关基因表达与橡胶产量的相关性

胶乳被认为是橡胶树的一种与伤害应答相关联的保护物质。割胶可以显著促进橡胶生物合成,且此促进作用与激活乳管细胞中橡胶生物合成相关基因的表达相关,但相关性大小尚不清楚。本文通过qPCR分析了正常割胶条件下,6个橡胶生物合成相关基因HbHRT2、HbSRPP、HbREF、HbHMGR1、HbHRT1、HbGAPDH在5个橡胶树魏克汉种质和5个1981°IRRDB种质胶乳中的表达情况。结果显示：这6个基因在魏克汉种质中的表达水平显著高于1981°IRRDB种质,分别是后者的1.05~14.62、0.97~4.26、1.46~12.56、0.83~2.99、0.43~7.54、1.92~11.31倍,平均值是后者的7.54、2.55、5.69、1.71、2.71、4.91倍。相关性分析表明,这些基因的表达与橡胶树干胶产量呈正相关,其中,HbREF和HbGAPDH的表达水平与干胶产量之间的相关性最高,有望作为橡胶树产量育种的分子指标。     

Secondary Metabolites and Biosynthetic Gene Clusters Analysis of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent-Derived Streptomyces sp. SCSIO ZS0520

Streptomyces sp. SCSIO ZS0520 is a deep-sea hydrothermal vent-derived actinomycete. Our previous metabolism investigation showed that Streptomyces sp. SCSIO ZS0520 is a producer of cytotoxic actinopyrones. Here, another four types of secondary metabolites were identified, including six salinomycin isomers (2–7), the macrolide elaiophylin (8), the triterpene N-acetyl-aminobacteriohopanetriol (9), and the pyrone minipyrone (10). Among them, compounds 2–6 and 10 are new compounds. To understand the biosynthetic pathway of these compounds, a bioinformatic analysis of the whole genome was carried out, which identified 34 secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters. Next, the biosynthetic pathways responsive to four types of products were deduced on the basis of gene function predictions and structure information. Taken together, these findings prove the metabolite potential of ZS0520 and lay the foundations to solve the remaining biosynthetic issues in four types of marine natural products.     

基于数字表达谱对茶树类黄酮合成、调控相关基因表达的研究

利用数字基因表达谱技术研究了茶树类黄酮合成及调控相关基因在花瓣、花粉、休眠芽、萌发芽中的表达情况。结果发现花瓣、休眠芽、萌发芽中类黄酮合成基因大量表达,而花粉中类黄酮合成基因表达量极少,这与茶树中类黄酮物质的分布规律一致。同时本研究在类黄酮调控相关MYB、bHLH、MADS、GST、WD40、Homeodomain基因家族中找到12个基因可能与花瓣中类黄酮物质合成调控有关,9个基因可能与芽中类黄酮物质合成调控有关。这些研究结果将为深入解析茶树类黄酮合成、调控机理打下基础。     

Functional Expression in Escherichia coli of the Disulfide-Rich Sea Anemone Peptide APETx2, a Potent Blocker of Acid-Sensing Ion Channel 3

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are proton-gated sodium channels present in the central and peripheral nervous system of chordates. ASIC3 is highly expressed in sensory neurons and plays an important role in inflammatory and ischemic pain. Thus, specific inhibitors of ASIC3 have the potential to be developed as novel analgesics. APETx2, isolated from the sea anemone Anthopleura elegantissima, is the most potent and selective inhibitor of ASIC3-containing channels. However, the mechanism of action of APETx2 and the molecular basis for its interaction with ASIC3 is not known. In order to assist in characterizing the ASIC3-APETx2 interaction, we developed an efficient and cost-effective Escherichia coli periplasmic expression system for the production of APETx2. NMR studies on uniformly (13)C/(15)N-labelled APETx2 produced in E. coli showed that the recombinant peptide adopts the native conformation. Recombinant APETx2 is equipotent with synthetic APETx2 at inhibiting ASIC3 channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Using this system we mutated Phe15 to Ala, which caused a profound loss of APETx2's activity on ASIC3. These findings suggest that this expression system can be used to produce mutant versions of APETx2 in order to facilitate structure-activity relationship studies.     

水稻叶绿体基因组定点表达载体的构建及增强型绿色荧光蛋白原核表达分析

分别克隆了水稻叶绿体基因组同源重组片段trnI和trnA、具有3种不同核糖体结合位点(RBS)序列的增强型绿色荧光蛋白基因(egfp)、来自烟草叶绿体的16S rRNA基因启动子Prrn和psbA基因终止子TpsbA,将上述元件通过酶切位点依次连接到质粒pUC19上,构建了3种能编码增强型绿色荧光蛋白(EGFP)的水稻叶绿体基因组定点整合表达载体pIA - EGFP1、pIA - EGFP2和pIA - EGFP3.进行分子检测验证后,对上述载体进行了大肠杆菌EGFP原核表达检测,结果携带来源于λ噬菌体T7基因10的5′端非翻译区的载体pIA - EGFP3荧光最强,适合用于水稻叶绿体转化.     

水稻中的磷转运蛋白基因在异源表达系统中的功能分析

为了更好地研究植物在磷素吸收过程中的分子机制以及生物化学过程的变化,将水稻中分离得到的一个磷转运蛋白基因（OsPT6）用于互补实验。互补实验结果表明,OsPT6能够与缺失磷转运功能的酵母突变体实现互补,并在低磷条件下促进酵母突变体对磷的吸收。进一步分析表明OsPT6属于水稻Pht1家族运输蛋白基因,所编码的蛋白对磷酸盐（Pi）的吸收Km值为96 μmol/L,属于高亲和的磷转运蛋白。不同的酵母转化子对不同pH环境的响应实验显示,OsPT6是一个与质子相偶联的磷运输蛋白,其吸收磷素的最佳pH为6.0。对OsPT6在人的胚胎肾细胞（HEK293）中的表达分析表明,该基因能够编码蛋白并定位于细胞膜,证明OsPT6的功能与酵母磷转运子PHO84相似,是一个定位于细胞膜上的具有吸收转运磷素作用的运输蛋白。     

基因工程菌生物合成茶氨酸条件研究

研究了不同诱导条件对基因工程菌催化合成茶氨酸的影响,确定了较为优化的诱导表达条件;通过单因子试验研究了不同反应条件对基因工程菌催化合成茶氨酸的影响,研究结果表明反应体系中较高的菌体浓度对催化茶氨酸有一定的抑制作用;高L-Gln浓度可以提高茶氨酸的生成量,但是却降低了L-Gln的转化率;基因工程菌催化合成茶氨酸的最适pH是9.5左右,较为适合的反应温度是32℃~37℃。     

巴西橡胶树乳管细胞中5个橡胶合成关键酶基因节律性表达研究

以巴西橡胶树无性系PR107、RRIM600、CATAS7-33-97和CATAS8-79的未开割树为材料,采用荧光定量PCR技术,分析乳管细胞中HMGR1、FDPS、SRPP、REF和HRT2等5个橡胶生物合成关键酶基因的昼夜表达模式。结果表明：5个基因的表达均具有节律性,而且不同基因在同一无性系中以及同一基因在不同无性系间的节律性表达模式都有一定程度的差异。结果为分析不同环境因素对橡胶生物合成相关酶基因节律性表达的影响具有一定参考价值。     

Heterologous Expression and Dough Mixing Studies of Wild-Type and Mutant C Hordeins

Wild type and mutant (cysteine-containing) forms of C hordein were expressed inEscherichia coli. Incorporation of a mutant form with N- and C-terminal cysteine residues into dough using a 2 g Mixograph showed similar positive effects on dough strength to the incorporation of HMW subunit 1Bx7. Co-incorporation showed that the effects of the two proteins were additive. In contrast, the incorporation of wild type C hordein or mutants with single cysteines at the N- or C-terminus resulted in decreased dough strength, with the two mutant forms inhibiting the positive effect of 1Bx7. Analysis of total protein extracts from the doughs indicate that the differences resulted from alterations in the proportions of gluten monomers, small gluten polymers and large gluten polymers.     

桑树MaUBC-C基因的表达模式分析及原核表达

泛素结合酶E2（ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, UBC）在植物中具有重要的作用,参与植物的生长发育、逆境胁迫、免疫响应等生理活动。本课题组前期通过分析桑脉带相关病毒（Mulberry vein banding-associated virus, MVBaV）侵染的桑树品种‘桂桑优62号’（Morus atropurpurea）转录组获得了上调表达的基因MaUBC-C。为探究泛素结合酶MaUBC-C基因的功能,本研究以‘桂桑优62号’桑树为材料,克隆MaUBC-C的CDS序列进行生物信息学和表达模式分析,并对其进行原核表达获得该蛋白。结果显示,MaUBC-C编码区全长为567 bp,编码蛋白含188个氨基酸,大小为21.03 kDa,属于亲水、酸性、不稳定的核定位蛋白,具有保守的UBC结构域。将其氨基酸序列与其他物种的UBC氨基酸序列进行比对和进化分析,发现MaUBC-C与川桑MnUBC-C的相似性最高为98.40%,且具有最近的进化亲缘关系。荧光定量PCR分析MaUBC-C基因表达模式,结果显示MaUBC-C在桑苗的根、茎、叶中均有表达,其中在根部表达量最高,分别是茎和叶的1.24倍和1.71倍;对外源激素（ABA、GA、MeJA、SA）和非生物胁迫（低温、高温、高盐、干旱）处理均产生响应,且在ABA和MeJA处理下表现出显著上调,在24 h时的表达量分别为正常水平的29.55、9.05倍,推测MaUBC-C在桑树的生长发育中具有广泛的调控作用,参与桑树的激素信号转导和对非生物胁迫的防御反应。利用无缝克隆技术构建MaUBC-C原核表达载体pET-30a-MaUBC-C并转化大肠杆菌BL21,0.5 mmol/L IPTG在37℃条件下进行诱导,获得约为25 kDa的融合蛋白,与预期大小相符,为今后进行MaUBC-C基因功能研究提供了基础材料。本研究为进一步探究桑树泛素蛋白酶体途径的作用机制奠定了基础。     

Activation of Dormant Secondary Metabolite Production by Introducing Neomycin Resistance into the Deep-Sea Fungus,Aspergillus versicolor ZBY-3

A new ultrasound-mediated approach has been developed to introduce neomycin-resistance to activate silent pathways for secondary metabolite production in a bio-inactive, deep-sea fungus, Aspergillus versicolor ZBY-3. Upon treatment of the ZBY-3 spores with a high concentration of neomycin by proper ultrasound irradiation, a total of 30 mutants were obtained by single colony isolation. The acquired resistance of the mutants to neomycin was confirmed by a resistance test. In contrast to the ZBY-3 strain, the EtOAc extracts of 22 of the 30 mutants inhibited the human cancer K562 cells, indicating that these mutants acquired a capability to produce antitumor metabolites. HPLC-photodiode array detector (PDAD)-UV and HPLC-electron spray ionization (ESI)-MS analyses of the EtOAc extracts of seven bioactive mutants and the ZBY-3 strain indicated that diverse secondary metabolites have been newly produced in the mutant extracts in contrast to the ZBY-3 extract. The followed isolation and characterization demonstrated that six metabolites, cyclo(d-Pro-d-Phe) (1), cyclo(d-Tyr-d-Pro) (2), phenethyl 5-oxo-l-prolinate (3), cyclo(l-Ile-l-Pro) (4), cyclo(l-Leu-l-Pro) (5) and 3β,5α,9α-trihydroxy-(22E,24R)-ergosta-7,22-dien-6-one (6), were newly produced by the mutant u2n2h3-3 compared to the parent ZBY-3 strain. Compound 3 was a new compound; 2 was isolated from a natural source for the first time, and all of these compounds were also not yet found in the metabolites of other A. versicolor strains. Compounds 1–6 inhibited the K562 cells, with inhibition rates of 54.6% (1), 72.9% (2), 23.5% (3), 29.6% (4), 30.9% (5) and 51.1% (6) at 100 μg/mL, and inhibited also other human cancer HL-60, BGC-823 and HeLa cells, to some extent. The present study demonstrated the effectiveness of the ultrasound-mediated approach to activate silent metabolite production in fungi by introducing acquired resistance to aminoglycosides and its potential for discovering new compounds from silent fungal metabolic pathways. This approach could be applied to elicit the metabolic potentials of other fungal isolates to discover new compounds from cryptic secondary metabolites.     

龙眼LEAFY同源基因片段的克隆和表达

研究克隆的龙眼（Dimcarpus Longan Llour.）LFY同源基因（LFY）保守区片段在不同组织器官以及"冲梢"逆转成的营养芽中的表达情况,为进一步鉴定龙眼LFY同源基因的功能及分析其在龙眼花序的冲梢"过程中的作用机理奠定基础。根据不同物种LEAFY同源基因保守区序列设计简并引物,从 红核子"龙眼（D.longan Lour.cv.Red Seed）中克隆了425bp的cDNA片段。同源性比较结果表明,获得的序列为龙眼LEAFY 同源基因（LLFY）;同时还获得了1816bp的LLFY基因组序列片段并进行了序列分析。通过RT-PCR研究LLFY在6种龙眼不同组织器官的表达发现LLFY在花序芽和花芽中的表达量最高,叶芽中有微量表达,叶片和茎段中没有表达;在冲梢"逆转成的营养芽中,LFY的表达量明显高于叶芽