利用双T-DNA载体系统培育无选择标记转基因烟草

建立了一种利用双T-DNA载体培育无选择标记转基因植物的方法.通过体外重组构建了双T-DNA双元载体pDLBRBbarm.载体中,选择标记nptⅡ基因和另一代表外源基因的bar基因分别位于2个独立的T-DNA.利用农杆菌介导转化烟草(Nicotiana tabacum L.),在获得的转化植株中,同时整合有nptⅡ基因和bar基因的频率为59.2%.对4个同时整合有nptⅡ和bar基因植株自交获得的T1代株系进行检测分析,发现在3个T1代株系2个T-DNA可以发生分离,其中约19.5%的转基因T1代植株中只存在bar基因而不带选择标记nptⅡ.这一结果说明双T-DNA载体系统能有效地用于培育无选择标记的转基因植物.研究还利用位于2个不同载体上的nptⅡ基因与 bar基因通过农杆菌介导共转化烟草,获得共转化植株的频率为20.0%～47.4%,低于使用双T-DNA转化的共转化频率.     

利用双T-DNA载体系统培育无选择标记转基因烟草

建立了一种利用双T-DNA载体培育无选择标记转基因植物的方法。通过体外重组构建了双T-DNA双元载体pDLBRBbarm。载体中,选择标记nptⅡ基因和另一代表外源基因的bar基因分别位于2个独立的T-DNA。利用农杆菌介导转化烟草(Nicotiana tabacum L.),在获得的转化植株中,同时整合有nptⅡ基因和bar基因的频率为59．2％。对4个同时整合有nptⅡ和bar基因植株自交获得的T1代株系进行检测分析,发现在3个T1代株系2个T-DNA可以发生分离,其中约19．5％的转基因T1代植株中只存在bar基因而不带选择标记nptⅡ。这一结果说明双T-DNA载体系统能有效地用于培育无选择标记的转基因植物。研究还利用位于2个不同载体上的nptⅡ基因与bar基因通过农杆菌介导共转化烟草,获得共转化植株的频率为20．0％～47．4％,低于使用双T-DNA转化的共转化频率。     

利用Inverse PCR快速筛选单个T-DNA拷贝转基因水稻植株的方法

为了获得单个T-DNA插入拷贝的植株, 我们建立了一套利用Inverse PCR(IPCR)快速检测转基因水稻中T-DNA拷贝数的方法。用IPCR的方法可以扩增出与已知T-DNA序列相邻的水稻基因组DNA未知序列,由此推测转基因水稻植株中T-DNA的拷贝数。我们共对15个转化株系20棵不同植株的DNA进行了IPCR检测。其中12株表现为T-DNA单拷贝插入,3株为双拷贝插入,1株为三拷贝插入。另外4株未检测到T-DNA插入拷贝。IPCR分析结果经过Southern杂交和测序的验证。     

化学诱导激活型拟南芥突变体库的构建及分析

利用化学诱导激活XVE（LexA-VP16-ER）系统构建了一个包含40000余个独立转化株系的拟南芥突变体库,并对其中的18000余个株系进行了初步的遗传学和表型分析鉴定。卡那霉素抗性分离比表明,51．6％的株系为单位点插入株系,T-DNA插入的平均拷贝数为每株系1．38个。部分T1代和T2代植株表现出了可见的形态变异,包括下胚轴长度、根长度、植株大小和颜色、叶子颜色和形态、开花时间、种皮颜色及结实情况等对数个代表性突变株系表型及T—DNA插入位点侧翼序列进行了分析,结果表明突变体的表型是由于T—DNA的插入造成的,而且这些突变体中包括前人发现的AP2和AGAMOUS的等位基因。由于T-DNA标记或相邻的基因可被XVE系统诱导性的激活,或被T-DNA破坏导致功能缺失,该突变体库可以用于大规模筛选鉴定功能缺失性和功能获得性突变体。     

拟南芥激活标记突变体库的构建及突变体基因的克隆

激活标记(activation tagging)技术是以功能获得突变体为研究对象,在植物功能基因组学的研究中具有重要的作用.文章以双子叶模式植物拟南芥(Arabudidopsis thaliana)野生生态型植株为实验材料,以含有激活标记质粒pSKI015的农杆菌直接喷雾进行转化,并以抗除草剂Basta为筛选标记,构建了拟南芥的激活标记突变体库.结果共得到约20 000个独立转化株系(T1代),其中38个株系有明显的表型变化,约占转化植株总数的千分之二.基因组DNA Southern杂交结果表明,大多数转化植株为多拷贝T-DNA插入.通过质粒拯救(plasmid rescue)和TAIL-PCR(Thermal asymmetric interlaced-PCR)可获得T-DNA插入的基因组旁邻序列,为克隆突变体的基因奠定基础.     

通过构建三段T-DNA载体高频率获得无标记转基因大豆植株的研究

高频率获得无选择标记转基因植株有利于转基因植物的环境释放和安全性生产,农杆菌介导的共转化法是获得无标记转基因植株的方法之一。含二段T-DNA载体的共转化法已被人们成功应用,而二段以上T-DNA载体的共转化法还未见报道。基于这一目的,通过几个中间质粒构建了含有三段T-DNA的双元表达载体pNB35SVIP1,其中包含1个拷贝bar基因选择标记基因表达盒和2个拷贝VIP1目的基因表达盒。利用EHA101农杆菌菌系介导法转化大豆子叶节,经过在含3~5mg/Lglufosinate培养基上多次筛选,获得了一定数量抗性再生植株,然后对抗性再生植株进行叶片涂抹除草剂、Southernblot和Northernblot检测,共鉴定出51棵T0代转基因植株,转化频率0·83%~3·16%,二个基因的共转化频率为86·4%。在对T1代群体进行叶片涂抹除草剂检测的基础上,不抗除草剂植株进行PCR、Southernblot和Northernblot检测,共鉴定出41棵无选择标记转基因植株,无标记植株获得率为7·6%。检测结果还表明,T1代群体中22·7%的株系发生了基因丢失现象,27·3%的株系发生了bar基因沉默现象,目的基因在37·1%的无标记植株中发生了沉默现象。三段T-DNA的双元表达载体是获得无标记转基因植株的理想途径。     

转抗虫基因三倍体毛白杨植株体内农杆菌残存与逃逸

用部分改造的BtCry1Ac基因与慈菇蛋白酶抑制剂（APLA）基因构建的双抗虫基因表达载体,通过农杆菌介导法对三倍体毛白杨进行了转化,对转化后植株体内残存农杆菌在继代培养和移栽过程中进行了跟踪检测。结果表明：通过对转化再生植株的分子生物学检测,42个株系中,33个株系为阳性,阳性率达到80％;用Bt毒蛋白抗血清进行ELSA检测结果表明,7个转基因株系都有Bt杀虫蛋白表达;基因转化后,可采用附加50mg／L卡那霉素,300mg／L羧苄青霉素的筛选培养基消除细菌并进行抗性芽筛选。对28个转基因株系叶片、茎段和根段在含有卡那霉素50mg／LYEB培养基上进行细菌培养,通过在T-DNA区、质粒Vir区和农杆菌基因组设计引物,进行PCR检测,证明有3个株系（33、37、5号）检测到残存工程农杆菌,并在组培瓶中存活24个月。将带菌的3个株系组培苗移栽到花盆中,室内培养1个月后,在33号株系根际土壤中检测到了目的农杆菌。     

通过构建三段T-DNA载体高频率获得无标记转基因大豆植株的研究

高频率获得无选择标记转基因植株有利于转基因植物的环境释放和安全性生产,农杆菌介导的共转化法是获得无标记转基因植株的方法之一。含二段T-DNA载体的共转化法已被人们成功应用,而二段以上T-DNA载体的共转化法还未见报道。基于这一目的,通过几个中间质粒构建了含有三段T-DNA的双元表达载体pNB35SVIP1,其中包含1个拷贝bar基因选择标记基因表达盒和2个拷贝VIP1目的基因表达盒。利用EHA101农杆菌菌系介导法转化大豆子叶节,经过在含3～5mg/L glufosinate培养基上多次筛选,获得了一定数量抗性再生植株,然后对抗性再生植株进行叶片涂抹除草剂、Southern blot和Northern blot检测,共鉴定出51棵T₀代转基因植株,转化频率0.83%～3.16%,二个基因的共转化频率为86.4%。在对T₁代群体进行叶片涂抹除草剂检测的基础上,不抗除草剂植株进行PCR、Southern blot和Northern blot检测,共鉴定出41棵无选择标记转基因植株,无标记植株获得率为7.6%。检测结果还表明,T₁代群体中22.7%的株系发生了基因丢失现象,27.3%的株系发生了bar基因沉默现象,目的基因在37.1%的无标记植株中发生了沉默现象。三段T-DNA的双元表达载体是获得无标记转基因植株的理想途径     

转抗虫基因三倍体毛白杨植株体内农杆菌残存与逃逸

用部分改造的 BtCry1Ac基因与慈菇蛋白酶抑制剂(API-A)基因构建的双抗虫基因表达载体,通过农杆菌介导法对三倍体毛白杨进行了转化,对转化后植株体内残存农杆菌在继代培养和移栽过程中进行了跟踪检测。结果表明：通过对转化再生植株的分子生物学检测,42个株系中,33个株系为阳性,阳性率达到80％;用Bt毒蛋白抗血清进行ELSA检测结果表明,7个转基因株系都有Bt杀虫蛋白表达;基因转化后,可采用附加50 mg/L卡那霉素,300 mg/L羧青霉素的筛选培养基消除细菌并进行抗性芽筛选。对28个转基因株系叶片、茎段和根段在含有卡那霉素50 mg/L YEB培养基上进行细菌培养,通过在T-DNA区、质粒Vir区和农杆菌基因组设计引物,进行PCR检测,证明有3个株系（33、37、5号）检测到残存工程农杆菌,并在组培瓶中存活24个月。将带菌的3个株系组培苗移栽到花盆中,室内培养1个月后,在33号株系根际土壤中检测到了目的农杆菌。     

提高水稻插入突变体库利用效率的尝试

T-DNA标签法是一种以农杆菌介导的遗传转化为基础来创造插入突变体库, 从而高通量地分离和克隆植物功能基因的方法。但由于种种原因, 水稻插入突变体库的利用效率较低。为了提高水稻插入突变体库的利用效率, 结合水稻一个双拷贝T-DNA插入突变体的发现和鉴定研究, 通过特异PCR检测、侧翼序列与目标性状的共分离分析, 在1个双插入位点均为杂合的植株的后代株系中分拆了2个插入事件, 分离出目标性状存在遗传分离且只带有1个插入事件的后代株系, 为后续的共分离检测和基因克隆研究打下了重要的基础。由此产生了对插入突变体库中的非串联多拷贝插入标签系进行研究的一些思路和方法, 提出来与同行商榷。     

利用Inverse PCR快速筛选单个T—DNA拷贝转基因水稻植株的方法

In order to obtain single T-DNA copy transgenic rice, we have established a quick method to estimate the T-DNA copy number in transgenic rice using inverse PCR (IPCR). IPCR was used to amplify junction fragments, i.e. plant genomic DNA sequences flanking the known T-DNA sequences, which will help to estimate the T-DNA copy number in transgenic rice. We have analyzed 20 transgenic plants of 15 transgenic lines. Most plants (12) contain one integrated T-DNA copy per genome, 3 plants contain two and 1 plant contains 3 copies. In 4 transgenic plants no T-DNA copies could be detected using this method. The IPCR results were further tested by Southern analysis and sequence analysis.     

Bacterial transposons are co-transferred with T-DNA to rice chromosomes during Agrobacterium-mediated transformation

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is widely utilized for delivering a foreign gene into a plant's genome. We found the bacterial transposon Tn5393 in transgenic rice plants. Analysis of the flanking sequences of the transferred-DNA (T-DNA) identified that a portion of the Tn5393 sequence was present immediately next to the end of the T-DNA. Because this transposon was present in A. tumefaciens strain LBA4404, but not in EHA105 and GV3101, our findings indicated that Tn5393 was transferred from LBA4404 into the rice genome during the transformation process. We also noted that another bacterial transposon, Tn5563, is present in transgenic plants. Analyses of 331 transgenic lines revealed that 26.0% carried Tn5393 and 2.1% contained Tn5563. In most of the lines, an intact transposon was integrated into the T-DNA and transferred to the rice chromosome. More than one copy of T-DNA was introduced into the plants, often at a single locus. This resulted in T-DNA repeats of normal and transposon-carrying TDNA that generated deletions of a portion of the T-DNA, joining the T-DNA end to the bacterial transposon. Based on these data, we suggest that one should carefully select the appropriate Agrobacterium strain to avoid undesirable transformation of such sequences.     

Analysis of T-DNA-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Xa21</Emphasis> loci and bacterial blight resistance effects of the transgene <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xa21</Emphasis> in transgenic rice

The genetic loci and phenotypic effects of the transgene Xa21, a bacterial blight (BB) resistance gene cloned from rice, were investigated in transgenic rice produced through an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system. The flanking sequences of integrated T-DNAs were isolated from Xa21 transgenic rice lines using thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR. Based on the analysis of 24 T-DNA- Xa21 flanking sequences, T-DNA loci in rice could be classified into three types: the typical T-DNA integration with the definite left and right borders, the T-DNA integration linked with the adjacent vector backbone sequences and the T-DNA integration involved in a complicated recombination in the flanking sequences. The T-DNA integration in rice was similar to that in dicotyledonous genomes but was significantly different from the integration produced through direct DNA transformation approaches. All three types of integrated transgene Xa21 could be stably inherited and expressed the BB resistance through derived generations in their respective transgenic lines. The flanking sequences of the typical T-DNA integration consisted of actual rice genomic DNA and could be used as probes to locate the transgene on the rice genetic map. A total of 15 different rice T-DNA flanking sequences were identified. They displayed restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) between two rice varieties, ZYQ8 and JX17, and were mapped on rice chromosomes 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 12, respectively, by using a double haploid population derived from a cross between ZYQ8 and JX17. The blast search and homology comparison of the rice T-DNA flanking sequences with the rice chromosome-anchored sequence database confirmed the RFLP mapping results. On the basis of genetic mapping of the T-DNA- Xa21 loci, the BB resistance effects of the transgene Xa21 at different chromosome locations were investigated using homozygous transgenic lines with only one copy of the transgene. Among the transgenic lines, no obvious position effects of the transgene Xa21 were observed. In addition, the BB resistance levels of the Xa21 transgenic plants with different transgene copy numbers and on different genetic backgrounds were also investigated. It was observed that genetic background (or genome) effects were more obvious than dosage effects and position effects on the BB resistance level of the transgenic plants.     

Establishing a gene trap system mediated by T-DNA(GUS) in rice

Two plasmids, p13GUS and p13GUS2, were constructed to create a gene trap system containing the promoterless β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene in the T-DNA region. Transformation of these two plasmids into the rice variety Zhonghua 11 (Oryza sativa ssp. japonica cv.), mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens, resulted in 942 independent transgenic lines. Histochemical GUS assays revealed that 31 To plants had various patterns of the reporter gene expression, including expression in only one tissue, and simultaneously in two or more tissues. Hygromycin-resistant (hygr) homozygotes were screened and the copy number of the T-DNA inserts was determined in the GUS-positivs transgenic plants. The flanking sequences of the T-DNA were isolated by inverse-polymerase chain reaction and the insert positions on the rice genome of T-DNA were determined by a basic local alignment search tool in the GUS-positive transgenic plants transformed with plasmid p13GUS. Moreover, calii induced from the seeds of the T1 generation of 911 GUS-negative transgenic lines were subjected to stress and hormone treatments. Histochemical GUS assays were carried out on the calli before and after treatment. The results revealed that calli from 21 lines displayed differential GUS expression after treatment. All of these data demonstrated that this trap system is suitable for identifying rice genes, including those that are sensitive to induction.     

A simple,rapid and systematic method for the developed GM rice analysis

We generated 383 independent transgenic lines that contained the PsGPD (Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase), ArCspA (Cold Shock Protein), BrTSR15 (Triple Stress Resistance 15) and BrTSR53 (Triple Stress Resistance 53) genes under the control of a constitutive (CaMV 35S) promoter to generate genetically modified (GM) rice. TaqMan copy number assay was performed to determine the copy numbers of inserted T-DNA. Flanking sequence tags (FSTs) were isolated from 203 single copy T-DNA lines of transgenic plants, and their sequences were mapped to the rice chromosomes. Of the 157 flanking sequence tags that were isolated from single copy lines, transgenes were found to be integrated into genic regions in 58 lines (36 %), whereas 97 lines (62 %) contained transgene insertions in intergenic regions. Approximately 27 putative homozygous lines were obtained through multi-generations of planting, resistance screening and TaqMan copy number assays. To investigate the transgene expression patterns, quantitative real-time PCR analysis was performed using total RNA from leaf tissue of homozygous T1 plants with a single copy and an intergenic insertion of T-DNA. The mRNA expression levels of the examined transgenic rice were significantly increased in all transgenic plants. In addition, myc-tagged 35S:BrTSR15 and 35S:BrTSR53 transgenic plants displayed higher levels of transgene protein. Using numerical data for the mass production of transgenic plants can reduce the time required to obtain a genetically modified plant. Moreover, the duration, cost, and efforts required for transformation can be deliberately predicted. These results may be useful for the large-scale production of transgenic plants or T-DNA inserted rice mutants.     

Generation and flanking sequence analysis of a rice T-DNA tagged population

Insertional mutagenesis provides a rapid way to clone a mutated gene. Transfer DNA (T-DNA) of Agrobacterium tumefaciens has been proven to be a successful tool for gene discovery in Arabidopsis and rice (Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica). Here, we report the generation of 5,200 independent T-DNA tagged rice lines. The T-DNA insertion pattern in the rice genome was investigated, and an initial database was constructed based on T-DNA flanking sequences amplified from randomly selected T-DNA tagged rice lines using Thermal Asymmetric Interlaced PCR (TAIL-PCR). Of 361 T-DNA flanking sequences, 92 showed long T-DNA integration (T-DNA together with non-T-DNA). Another 55 sequences showed complex integration of T-DNA into the rice genome. Besides direct integration, filler sequences and microhomology (one to several nucleotides of homology) were observed between the T-DNA right border and other portions of the vector pCAMBIA1301 in transgenic rice. Preferential insertion of T-DNA into protein-coding regions of the rice genome was detected. Insertion sites mapped onto rice chromosomes were scattered in the genome. Some phenotypic mutants were observed in the T₁ generation of the T-DNA tagged plants. Our mutant population will be useful for studying T-DNA integration patterns and for analyzing gene function in rice.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at .Communicated by D. Mackill     

Excision of a selectable marker in transgenic rice (Oryza sativa L.) using a chemically regulated Cre/loxP system

Removal of a selectable marker gene from genetically modified (GM) crops alleviates the risk of its release into the environment and hastens the public acceptance of GM crops. Here we report the production of marker-free transgenic rice by using a chemically regulated, Cre/loxP-mediated site-specific DNA recombination in a single transformation. Among 86 independent transgenic lines, ten were found to be marker-free in the T₀ generation and an additional 17 lines segregated marker-free transgenic plants in the T₁ generation. Molecular and genetic analyses indicated that the DNA recombination and excision in transgenic rice were precise and the marker-free recombinant T-DNA was stable and heritable.The first two authors contributed equally to the work     

A large-scale study of rice plants transformed with different T-DNAs provides new insights into locus composition and T-DNA linkage configurations

Transgenic locus composition and T-DNA linkage configuration were assessed in a population of rice plants transformed using the dual-binary vector system pGreen (T-DNA containing the bar and gus genes)/pSoup (T-DNA containing the aphIV and gfp genes). Transgene structure, expression and inheritance were analysed in 62 independently transformed plant lines and in around 4,000 progeny plants. The plant lines exhibited a wide variety of transgenic locus number and composition. The most frequent form of integration was where both T-DNAs integrated at the same locus (56% of loci). When single-type T-DNA integration occurred (44% of loci), pGreen T-DNA was preferentially integrated. In around half of the plant lines (52%), the T-DNAs integrated at two independent loci or more. In these plants, both mixed and single-type T-DNA integration often occurred concurrently at different loci during the transformation process. Non-intact T-DNAs were present in 70–78% of the plant lines causing 14–21% of the loci to contain only the mid to right border part of a T-DNA. In 53–66% of the loci, T-DNA integrated with vector backbone sequences. Comparison of transgene presence and expression in progeny plants showed that segregation of the transgene phenotype was not a reliable indicator of either transgene inheritance or T-DNA linkage, as only 60–80% of the transgenic loci were detected by the expression study. Co-expression (28% of lines) and backbone transfer (53–66% of loci) were generally a greater limitation to the production of marker-free T₁ plants expressing the gene of interest than co-transformation (71% of lines) and unlinked integration (44% of loci).     

Transgene behaviour in populations of rice plants transformed using a new dual binary vector system: pGreen/pSoup

Transgene integration, expression level and stability have been studied, across two generations, in a population of rice plants transformed using a new dual binary vector system: pGreen/pSoup. pGreen is a small Ti binary vector unable to replicate in Agrobacterium without the presence of another binary plasmid, pSoup, in the same strain. We engineered both pGreen and pSoup to contain each a different T-DNA. Transformation experiments were conducted using a pGreen vector containing the bar and gusA expression units (no transgene in pSoup) or with a pSoup vector containing an aphIV and gfp expression units (no transgene in pGreen). High plant transformation frequencies (up to 40%) were obtained using herbicide resistance ( bar) or antibiotic resistance ( aphIV) genes. Around 80% of the independently transformed plants expressed unselected reporter genes ( gusA or gfp) present in the vectors. Backbone sequences transfer was frequent (45% of lines) and occurred often in multicopy lines. Around 15-20% of the rice plant lines contained a single T-DNA integration without backbone. Integration of additional transgene copies did not improve expression levels in either T(0) plants or T(1) progenies. Nearly all multicopy lines contained transgenes integrated at several loci in the plant genome, showing that T-DNAs from either pGreen or pSoup frequently integrated at unlinked loci. Precise determination of loci number required the analysis of transgene presence in progeny. Segregation of transgene phenotype was generally misleading and tended to underestimate the real number of transgenic loci. The contribution of this new dual-binary vector system to the development of high-throughput rice transformation systems and to the production of marker-free transgenic rice plants is discussed.