植物分子生物学研究极具前景的模式系统--小立碗藓

小立碗藓作为植物分子生物学研究极具前景的模式系统已日益受到人们的重视,它的生活史周期短,易于培养,转基因植株易于分析,核基因组容易和外源DNA发生同源重组,这些特点使它成为研究基因功能的良好材料.一些成功的基因敲除和基因破坏已经在小立碗藓中实现,这些基因的功能也通过小立碗藓转化植株的特点得以证实.小立碗藓标签突变文库已经建立,其应用为小立碗藓基因的进一步研究打下了基础.关于小立碗藓的ESTs数据库已经建立,已有67 000条ESTs信息.     

小立碗藓属在中国的记录

本文作者在湖南张家界采得小立碗藓属植物,经扫描电镜显示,其孢子具多数柱状疣的特征与小立碗藓加利福尼亚亚种相一致,可确定它为P．patens(Hedw．)B．S．G．subsp．californica(Crum et Anderson)Tan。此为小立碗藓属植物在我国的首次记录。     

植物分子生物学研究极具前景的模式系统——小立碗藓

小立碗藓作为植物分子生物学研究极具前景的模式系统已日益受到人们的重视,它的生活史周期短,易于培养,转基因植株易于分析,核基因组容易和外源DNA 发生同源重组,这些特点使它成为研究基因功能的良好材料。一些成功的基因敲除和基因破坏已经在小立碗藓中实现,这些基因的功能也通过小立碗藓转化植株的特点得以证实。小立碗藓标签突变文库已经建立,其应用为小立碗藓基因的进一步研究打下了基础。关于小立碗藓的ESTs 数据库已经建立,已有67 000 条ESTs 信息。     

基因打靶技术在模式植物小立碗藓的应用

介绍了基因打靶技术在新型模式植物小立碗藓(Physcomitrella patens)中的应用.     

植物基因打靶——模式植物小立碗藓的应用

"基因打靶"是利用同源重组的基本原理定向改变目标基因,并使其活性改变或者丧失的技术,是研究基因功能最直接和最有效的方法之一,给现代生物学和医学研究带来了革命性的变化.近年来,对一种模式藓类植物--小立碗藓的深入研究,发展出了植物高效"基因打靶"的实验系统,对植物基因功能研究起到了积极推动作用.对小立碗藓基因打靶的优点、研究历史、遗传学原理及载体类型作简要介绍.     

小立碗藓（Physcomitrella patens）植物microRNA结合靶位预测

利用857条植物miRNA序列对27546条小立碗藓mRNA序列进行搜索,预测出162个植物miRNA家族在小立碗藓中存在结合靶位。miRNA结合靶位数目和miRNA协同作用网络分析结果同时显示,miR482和miR1168在小立碗藓中结合靶位多、协同作用广,提示它们对于小立碗藓可能具有重要生物学功能。52个菜茵衣藻特有的miRNA被预测在小立碗藓中存在结合靶位,显示小立碗藓在从藻类向种子植物进化过程中处在独特演化位置。     

小立碗藓MADS-box基因家族的系统进化分析

苔藓植物作为最早出现的陆生植物的代表,生活周期仍以配子体为主,在植物进化史上占据着重要的地位。另外,同源异型基因MADS-box家族广泛参与植物的生长发育和形态构建。因此,对苔藓植物MADS-box家族的分析有助于了解苔藓植物出现过程中发生的重要分子事件和关键器官革新。我们基于最新公布的小立碗藓基因组数据库确定了20个带有典型MADS结构域的MADS-box基因,其中11个MIKC~*型、5个MIKC~C型、4个I型,并对它们进行了染色体定位、外显子-内含子基因结构、蛋白结构域组成、系统进化构建等分析,为进一步阐明小立碗藓MADS-box基因的功能提供了准确的信息资源。     

模式生物小立碗藓遗传转化系统的研究进展

苔藓植物小立碗藓是迄今发现的同源重组率最高的陆生植物,堪与酵母媲美,具有"绿色酵母"之称。高的同源重组频率、简单的发育模式以及单倍体配子体为主的生活史使其渐渐成为研究生物学进程和发育模式的新型模式生物。现对近年来小立碗藓遗传转化系统研究的进展进行总结和分析,为相关研究工作者充分利用这一体系提供帮助。对小立碗藓遗传表达系统的载体构建、转化方法及宿主细胞准备等方面的进展进行了综述,对小立碗藓在基因打靶方面的应用进行了简要总结。     

小立碗藓愈伤组织诱导和培养

小立碗藓已经成为植物功能基因组学的模式系统,其材料的大量培养是所有工作的基础.文章探讨了小立碗藓愈伤组织诱导和组织培养的基本条件,并观察了小立碗藓愈伤组织的亚显微结构.     

小立碗藓PpAGO7基因启动子分离及其启动活性分析

AGO7蛋白在多种植物中被发现并预测在叶片生长发育过程中起作用,但是在高等植物中最古老且唯一没有维管束的苔藓植物中却未有报道。该文通过BLAST比对水稻OsAGO7基因编码的氨基酸序列得到小立碗藓AGO7蛋白编码基因PpAGO7,扩增PpAGO7基因起始密码子上游的启动子序列,利用在线软件PlantCARE和PLACE分析该启动子的结构特征;并构建启动子分析载体pPpAGO7-GUS,转化拟南芥,通过转基因拟南芥GUS染色结果分析推测PpAGO7启动子的启动特性。结果显示:(1)PpAGO7基因启动子序列中含有大量的光反应有关的顺式作用元件以及数个分生组织相关和防御与胁迫相关作用元件。(2)T2代转基因拟南芥的GUS染色结果表明,PpAGO7基因启动子会启动GUS在拟南芥的不同部位和不同生长时期表达,而且在根尖、叶片顶端、雄蕊的花药、雌蕊的柱头和种子等部位的染色较其他部位更深。(3)生长在光照强度1 000lx和4 000lx下转基因拟南芥的GUS酶活性比光照强度7 000lx和10 000lx下的低。研究表明所克隆的PpAGO7基因启动子具有组成性启动活性,且在生长旺盛的部位启动活性较强,此外其启动活性还受到光照因素的影响,为进一步研究小立碗藓的PpAGO7基因功能提供了重要依据。     

苔藓植物小立碗藓，功能基因组学研究新的模式系统

苔藓植物具有相对简单的发育模式,单倍体的配子体在其生活史中占主导地位,作为研究植物生物学过程的模式系统具有诸多的优越性。苔藓植物小立碗藓能够高效地通过同源重组的方式将外源核酸整合到其核DNA,这就使得基因打靶在此物种中就像在小鼠胚胎干细胞和酵母中一样成为一个非常便利的技术。另外由于小立碗藓与高等植物在生物特征上有很大相似之处加之其有其他诸多优越性,它有望成为一个诱人的植物生物学和功能基因组学研究的模式系统。Abstract：The potential of moss as a model system to study plant biological process is associated with their relatively simple developmental pattern and the dominance of the haploid gametophyte in the life cycle. The moss Physcomitrella patens exhibits a very high rate of homologous recombination in its nuclear DNA, making gene targeting approaches in this plant as convenient as in yeast or in ES cells of mice. Sharing many biological features with higher plants and having many other advantages, the moss Physcomitrella patens will be an attractive model system for plant biology and functional genome analysis.     

A sequence-anchored genetic linkage map for the moss, Physcomitrella patens

The moss Physcomitrella patens is a model for the study of plant cell biology and, by virtue of its basal position in land plant phylogeny, for comparative analysis of the evolution of plant gene function and development. It is ideally suited for 'reverse genetic' analysis by virtue of its outstanding ability to undertake targeted transgene integration by homologous recombination. However, gene identification through mutagenesis and map-based cloning has hitherto not been possible, due to the lack of a genetic linkage map. Using molecular markers [amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) and simple sequence repeats (SSR)] we have generated genetic linkage maps for Physcomitrella. One hundred and seventy-nine gene-specific SSR markers were mapped in 46 linkage groups, and 1574 polymorphic AFLP markers were identified. Integrating the SSR- and AFLP-based maps generated 31 linkage groups comprising 1420 markers. Anchorage of the integrated linkage map with gene-specific SSR markers coupled with computational prediction of AFLP loci has enabled its correspondence with the newly sequenced Physcomitrella genome. The generation of a linkage map densely populated with molecular markers and anchored to the genome sequence now provides a resource for forward genetic interrogation of the organism and for the development of a pipeline for the map-based cloning of Physcomitrella genes. This will radically enhance the potential of Physcomitrella for determining how gene function has evolved for the acquisition of complex developmental strategies within the plant kingdom.     

Gravitropic responses of wild-type and mutant strains of the moss Physcomitrella patens

The gravitropic responses of dark-grown caulonemata and gametophores of wild-type and mutant strains of the moss Physcomitrella patens have been investigated. In the wild-type both caulonemata and gametophores show negative orthogravitropism. No gravitropic response is observed when plants are rotated slowly on a clinostat and the inductive effect of gravity can be replaced by centrifugal force. The gravitropic response of caulonemanta is biphasic, consisting of an initial phase producing a bend of about 20 degrees within 12 h of 90 degrees reorientation and a subsequent slower phase leading to completion of the 90 degrees curvature. No obvious sedimentation of statoliths accompanies this response. Several mutants have been isolated that are either partially or completely impaired in caulonemal gravitropism and one mutant shows a positive gravitropic response. Complementation analysis using somatic hybrids obtained following protoplast fusion indicates that at least three genes can mutate to give an altered gravitropic phenotype. None of these mutants is altered in gametophore gravitropism, suggesting that the gravitropic response of caulonemal filaments may require at least some gene products that are not required for the response of the multicellular gametophores. One class of mutant with impaired caulonemal gravitropism shows a pleiotropic alteration in leaf shape.     

The polarity of gravitropism in the moss Physcomitrella patens is reversed during mitosis and after growth on a clinostat

Abstract. We report two situations in which the polarity of gravitropism of single protonemal cells of the moss Physcomitrella patens is reversed. Dark-grown protonemata of wild-type P. patens grow negatively gravitropically. Time-lapse video-microscopy reveals that a temporary reversal of growth polarity occurs during mitotic division which is independent of the cells' growth rate. A transitory reversal of growth direction is also observed when the unidirectional gravitropic stimulus is interrupted by a period of growth on a clinostat. A third situation, in which a mutant class responds by growing positively gravitropically, has been described previously (Jenkins, Courtice & Cove, 1986). These observations are discussed in terms of possible mechanisms for cell morphogenesis and tropic growth.     

Autophagy is required for gamete differentiation in the moss Physcomitrella patens

Autophagy, a major catabolic process in eukaryotes, was initially related to cell tolerance to nutrient depletion. In plants autophagy has also been widely related to tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses (through the induction or repression of programmed cell death, PCD) as well as to promotion of developmentally regulated PCD, starch degradation or caloric restriction important for life span. Much less is known regarding its role in plant cell differentiation. Here we show that macroautophagy, the autophagy pathway driven by engulfment of cytoplasmic components by autophagosomes and its subsequent degradation in vacuoles, is highly active during germ cell differentiation in the early diverging land plant Physcomitrella patens. Our data provide evidence that suppression of ATG5-mediated autophagy results in reduced density of the egg cell-mediated mucilage that surrounds the mature egg, pointing toward a potential role of autophagy in extracellular mucilage formation. In addition, we found that ATG5- and ATG7-mediated autophagy is essential for the differentiation and cytoplasmic reduction of the flagellated motile sperm and hence for sperm fertility. The similarities between the need of macroautophagy for sperm differentiation in moss and mouse are striking, strongly pointing toward an ancestral function of autophagy not only as a protector against nutrient stress, but also in gamete differentiation.     

High throughput cryopreservation of 140,000 Physcomitrella patens mutants

A high throughput protocol was established to preserve 140,000 mutants of a moss, Physcomitrella patens, a model plant for functional genomics studies, over liquid nitrogen. Regarding the reliable long-term storage of diverse mutant phenotypes, as well as time and cost effectiveness, each working step was optimized: 1) plant preparation, 2) freezing regime, cryogenic conditions, 3) regrowth after thawing. A prerequisite for maximum regrowth was a 1-week preculture of chopped plant material on a supplemented medium prior to freezing. Cryo vials as preculture vessels resulted in identical regrowth rates, compared to petri dishes. The cryo vial type had a significant influence on regrowth rates. A cooling rate of - 1 degrees C/min down to - 35 degrees C with a 10 min holding time before transferring plants to - 152 degrees C was the most suitable freezing regime. This protocol allows a cryopreservation of 1100 plants during a 5-day working week, practicable by one person. For more than 650 cryopreserved mutants a maximum regrowth rate of 100 % was obtained, independently of mutant phenotypes.     

Portrait of the expansin superfamily in Physcomitrella patens: comparisons with angiosperm expansins

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Expansins are plant cell wall loosening proteins important in a variety of physiological processes. They comprise a large superfamily of genes consisting of four families (EXPA, EXPB, EXLA and EXLB) whose evolutionary relationships have been well characterized in angiosperms, but not in basal land plants. This work attempts to connect the expansin superfamily in bryophytes with the evolutionary history of this superfamily in angiosperms. METHODS: The expansin superfamily in Physcomitrella patens has been assembled from the Physcomitrella sequencing project data generated by the Joint Genome Institute and compared with angiosperm expansin superfamilies. Phylogenetic, motif, intron and distance analyses have been used for this purpose. KEY RESULTS: A gene superfamily is revealed that contains similar numbers of genes as found in arabidopsis, but lacking EXLA or EXLB genes. This similarity in gene numbers exists even though expansin evolution in Physcomitrella diverged from the angiosperm line approx. 400 million years ago. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that there were a minimum of two EXPA genes and one EXPB gene in the last common ancestor of angiosperms and Physcomitrella. Motif analysis seems to suggest that EXPA protein function is similar in bryophytes and angiosperms, but that EXPB function may be altered. CONCLUSIONS: The EXPA genes of Physcomitrella are likely to have maintained the same biochemical function as angiosperm expansins despite their independent evolutionary history. Changes seen at normally conserved residues in the Physcomitrella EXPB family suggest a possible change in function as one mode of evolution in this family.