植物HAP3转录因子研究进展

HAP(NF-Y或CBF)是一类重要的转录因子,可以与CCAAT框结合并控制基因的表达,广泛分布于酵母、哺乳动物及植物细胞中.在哺乳动物和植物细胞中,HAP复合体包括3个不同的亚基:HAP2/NF-YA/CBF-B、HAP3/NF-YB/CBF-A及HAP5/NF-YC/CBF-C.HAP3转录因子在植物胚胎发育、叶绿素生物合成、花期调控等方面有重要作用.介绍植物HAP3转录因子结构特点、生物学功能等方面的最新研究进展.     

OsHAP3 genes regulate chloroplast biogenesis in rice

We have isolated three genes that potentially encode a HAP3/nuclear factor-YB (NF-YB)/CCAAT binding factor-A (CBF-A) subunit of a CCAAT-box binding complex in rice (Oryza sativa), and named them OsHAP3A, OsHAP3B and OsHAP3C. These genes were expressed in various organs including leaves. In the transgenic rice plants with antisense or RNAi construct of OsHAP3A, reduced expression of not only OsHAP3A but also OsHAP3B and OsHAP3C was observed. These plants had pale green leaves, in which the amount of chlorophyll was reduced and chloroplasts were degenerated. Lamella was not well developed and accumulation of starch was not detected. The degenerated chloroplast formation was accompanied by reduced expression of nuclear-encoded photosynthesis genes such as RBCS and CAB, while expression of chloroplast-encoded genes was not affected or rather increased. These results suggest that one or more OsHAP3 genes regulate the expression of nuclear-encoded chloroplast-targeted genes and normal development of chloroplasts.     

HAP转录因子与DNA结合的活力受细胞内氧化还原系统的调节

ＨＡＰ 转录因子（ ＨＡＰ２／ＨＡＰ３／ＨＡＰ４／ＨＡＰ５） 是存在于酿酒酵母中的一种异源多聚蛋白,它能与酵母中许多启动子上游的ＣＣＡＡＴ盒（ 顺式作用元件） 专一性结合, 以增强基因的转录。在酵母ｈａｐ５ 突变株的细胞中,用酵母单杂交系统从水稻ｃＤＮＡＧＡＬ４ 表达文库中筛选出的阳性克隆是编码谷胱甘肽氧还蛋白的ｃＤＮＡ,提示细胞内的氧化还原系统可能作用于ＨＡＰ蛋白,从而对ＣＣＡＡＴ盒的结合活力起调节作用。对ＨＡＰ３ 亚基分子中半胱氨酸残基的突变实验结果支持上述推测     

Aberrant vegetative and reproductive development by overexpression and lethality by silencing of OsHAP3E in rice

We generated transgenic rice plants overexpressing OsHAP3E which encodes a subunit of a CCAAT-motif binding HAP complex. The OsHAP3E-overexpressing plants showed various abnormal morphologies both in their vegetative and reproductive phases. The OsHAP3E-overexpressing plants were dwarf with erected leaves and similar to brassinosteroid mutants in the vegetative phase. In the reproductive phase, dense panicle was developed, and occasionally successive generation of lateral rachises and formation of double flowers were observed. These phenotypes indicate association of OsHAP3E with determination of floral meristem identity. On the other hand, repression of OsHAP3E by RNAi or by overexpressing chimeric repressor fusion constructs brought about lethality to transformed cells, and almost no transformant was obtained. This suggests that the OsHAP3E function is essential for rice cells. Altogether, our loss-of-function and gain-of-function analyses suggest that OsHAP3E plays important pleiotropic roles in vegetative and reproductive development or basic cellular processes in rice.     

Identification and characterization of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Fugu</Emphasis> orthologues of mammalian interleukin-12 subunits

We have isolated and characterized cDNAs and genes for pufferfish, Fugu rubripes, (Fugu) orthologues of mammalian interleukin (IL)-12 subunits (IL-12 p35 and IL-12 p40). The deduced amino acid sequences of the Fugu IL-12 subunits showed homology with mammalian IL-12 subunits (p35: 50.4–58.0% similarity; p40: 51.2–55.4% similarity). Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that Fugu IL-12 p35 and p40 genes cluster with their mammalian counterpart lineages. The genomic organization of each of the Fugu IL-12 subunit genes is similar to that of the corresponding mouse IL-12 subunit genes, although the Fugu genes are very compact due to small intron size. Comparative genomic analysis showed conserved syntenies within the IL-12 p35 and p40 regions between Fugu and human, indicating that the Fugu IL-12 p35 and p40 genes are orthologues for mammalian IL-12 p35 and p40 encoding genes, respectively. Expression of IL-12 p35 mRNA was observed in lymphoid tissues and several non-lymphoid tissues, while expression of IL-12 p40 mRNA was constitutive and nearly ubiquitous. In the spleen and head kidney, expression of IL-12 p35 was induced by polyriboinosinic polyribocytidylic acid [poly(I:C)] and not by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), while expression of IL-12 p40 was constitutive and unresponsive to both poly(I:C) and LPS. These results indicate that IL-12 levels are regulated by production of IL-12 p35 mRNA and suggest that IL-12 in fish may be involved in antiviral defense. This is the first report of the identification and characterization of IL-12 subunit cDNAs and genes in a non-mammalian vertebrate.The nucleotide sequence data reported in this paper have been submitted to the GenBank nucleotide sequence database and have been assigned the accession numbers AB096265, AB096266, AB096267, and AB096268.     

Evolution,Expression Differentiation and Interaction Specificity of Heterotrimeric G-Protein Subunit Gene Family in the Mesohexaploid Brassica rapa

Heterotrimeric G-proteins, comprising of Gα, Gβ, and Gγ subunits, are important signal transducers which regulate many aspects of fundamental growth and developmental processes in all eukaryotes. Initial studies in model plants Arabidopsis and rice suggest that the repertoire of plant G-protein is much simpler than that observed in metazoans. In order to assess the consequence of whole genome triplication events within Brassicaceae family, we investigated the multiplicity of G-protein subunit genes in mesohexaploid Brassica rapa, a globally important vegetable and oilseed crop. We identified one Gα (BraA.Gα1), three Gβ (BraA.Gβ1, BraA.Gβ2, and BraA.Gβ3), and five Gγ (BraA.Gγ1, BraA.Gγ2, BraA.Gγ3, BraA.Gγ4, and BraA.Gγ5) genes from B. rapa, with a possibility of 15 Gαβγ heterotrimer combinations. Our analysis suggested that the process of genome triplication coupled with gene-loss (gene-fractionation) phenomenon have shaped the quantitative and sequence diversity of G-protein subunit genes in the extant B. rapa genome. Detailed expression analysis using qRT-PCR assays revealed that the G-protein genes have retained ubiquitous but distinct expression profiles across plant development. The expression of multiple G-protein genes was differentially regulated during seed-maturation and germination stages, and in response to various phytohormone treatments and stress conditions. Yeast-based interaction analysis showed that G-protein subunits interacted in most of the possible combinations, with some degree of subunit-specific interaction specificity, to control the functional selectivity of G-protein heterotrimer in different cell and tissue-types or in response to different environmental conditions. Taken together, this research identifies a highly diverse G-protein signaling network known to date from B. rapa, and provides a clue about the possible complexity of G-protein signaling networks present across globally important Brassica species.     

Flexible functional interactions between G‐protein subunits contribute to the specificity of plant responses

Plants being sessile integrate information from a variety of endogenous and external cues simultaneously to optimize growth and development. This necessitates the signaling networks in plants to be highly dynamic and flexible. One such network involves heterotrimeric G‐proteins comprised of Gα, Gβ, and Gγ subunits, which influence many aspects of growth, development, and stress response pathways. In plants such as Arabidopsis, a relatively simple repertoire of G‐proteins comprised of one canonical and three extra‐large Gα, one Gβ and three Gγ subunits exists. Because the Gβ and Gγ proteins form obligate dimers, the phenotypes of plants lacking the sole Gβ or all Gγ genes are similar, as expected. However, Gα proteins can exist either as monomers or in a complex with Gβγ, and the details of combinatorial genetic and physiological interactions of different Gα proteins with the sole Gβ remain unexplored. To evaluate such flexible, signal‐dependent interactions and their contribution toward eliciting a specific response, we have generated Arabidopsis mutants lacking specific combinations of Gα and Gβ genes, performed extensive phenotypic analysis, and evaluated the results in the context of subunit usage and interaction specificity. Our data show that multiple mechanistic modes, and in some cases complex epistatic relationships, exist depending on the signal‐dependent interactions between the Gα and Gβ proteins. This suggests that, despite their limited numbers, the inherent flexibility of plant G‐protein networks provides for the adaptability needed to survive under continuously changing environments.     

Protein phosphatase 2A holoenzyme and its subunits from Medicago sativa

We detected an about 200 kDa holoenzyme of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) in the crude extract of Medicago sativa microcallus cells by gel permeation chromatography. By polymerase chain reaction (PCR) we isolated two M. sativa cDNA fragments corresponding to the catalytic (C) subunit, and one each coding for the A and the B regulatory subunits of PP2A. The C subunit sequences were different from that published previously, indicating the existence of at least three different isoforms in M. sativa. Using the PCR fragments as probes, we obtained two distinct full-length clones for both the A and B subunits from an alfalfa cDNA library. Our results demonstrate that the components of the PP2A holoenzyme, namely the catalytic and regulatory subunits, are present in alfalfa in several isoforms and that their sequences are highly similar to their plant, yeast and animal counterparts. The distinct regulatory subunit genes are constitutively expressed during the cell cycle. Interestingly, two A-B subunit pairs had parallel mRNA steady-state levels in different plant tissues suggesting that not all of the possible isoform combinations are present in all tissues. The expression of the MsPP2A B subunit form was induced by abscisic acid indicating a specific function for this protein in the stress response.