谷氨酰胺合成酶基因GS1和GS2的高效表达增强转基因水稻对氮素缺乏的耐性

构建了同时含有胞质谷氨酰胺合成酶(GS1)cDNA和叶绿体谷氨酰胺合成酶(GS2)cDNA的植物表达载体p2GS,通过农杆菌介导法用它们转化了水稻品种"中花10号"的成熟胚愈伤组织,经潮霉素(Hyg)筛选培养及分化再生,获得了抗Hyg的转基因水稻植株.PCR和基因组Southern杂交分析结果证明,GS1和GS2基因均已经整合到转基因水稻的基因组内.Northern杂交实验结果证实,GS1和GS2基因在转基因水稻的转录水平上得到了有效表达.在以0.7 mmol/L的(NH4)2SO4取代了其中氮成分的MS培养基上测试植株生长量,结果表明转基因植株鲜重增长量显著高于对照,证明高效表达GS增强了转基因水稻对土壤氮素缺乏的耐性.     

草丁膦对转bar基因水稻GS酶活性和光合功能的影响

喷施草丁膦后,对草丁膦无抗性水稻Cypress(未转bar基因)叶片的谷氨酰胺合成酶(GS)活性先受到抑制,随后叶片内NH 4积累上升,叶绿素含量、PSⅡ原初光化学效率(Fv/Fm)、光能转化效率(ΦPSⅡ)和叶片叶绿素荧光的光化学猝灭系数(qp)下降,光合速率显著降低;最后引起植株死亡.另一方面,Cypress PB-6(转bar基因抗草丁膦水稻)的GS酶活性在喷施草丁膦后虽然先被抑制,但随后能恢复至正常水平,接着NH 4积累下降,草丁膦对叶绿素含量、荧光参数Fv/Fm、ΦPSⅡ、qp的影响被解除,光合速率恢复到正常水平,整个植株生长正常.     

用基因枪法将抗除草剂基因导入小麦栽培品种的研究

利用基因枪法将抗除草剂bar基因导入西南地区的 3个小麦栽培品种 ,共获得 7个转基因植株 ,转化频率在 0 .45 %～ 1 .2 %之间 ,转化周期缩短至 3个月左右。对抗性植株进行PCR和PCR_Southern杂交检测 ,初步确定bar基因已导入小麦基因组。做转基因植株叶片对除草剂PPT的抗性试验 ,有 4株呈抗性 ,3株呈部分抗性 ,表明bar基因已在小麦植株中得到表达。     

用基因枪法将抗除草剂基因导入小麦栽培品种的研究

利用基因枪法将抗除草剂bar基因导入西南地区的3个小麦栽培品种,共获得7个转基因植株,转化频率在0.45%～1.2%之间,转化周期缩短至3个月左右。对抗性植株进行PCR和PCR_Southern 杂交检测,初步确定bar基因已导入小麦基因组。做转基因植株叶片对除草剂PPT的抗性试验,有4株呈抗性,3株呈部分抗性,表明bar基因已在小麦植株中得到表达。     

一种安全高效大豆转化筛选体系的建立

以灭草烟作为筛选剂,利用基因枪法建立一种安全高效的大豆遗传转化体系.比较不同筛选剂对大豆胚尖外植体丛生芽诱导数目的影响.与卡那霉素、潮霉素和草胺膦等传统筛选剂相比,以灭草烟作为筛选剂可使丛生芽的数目增加1倍以上.克隆了拟南芥突变体csrl-2中突变的乙酰羟基酸合成酶基因(ahas),以其作为筛选标记基因,构建可利用灭草烟作为筛选剂的植物表达载体.利用基因枪法将该载体转化大豆,获得6棵灭草烟抗性植株,分子检测证明外源ahas基因整合到5棵转基因大豆植株的基因组中.     

多选择标记植物表达载体的构建

具有多选择标记的植物基因表达载体有利于转基因植物研究中的转基因植株的筛选.本研究对植物基因表达载体pCAMBIA1301进行了改造,产生了1个具有可溶性的红移绿色荧光蛋白基因(smRS-GFP)、抗除草剂Basta、葡萄糖苷酸酶(GUS)及潮霉素(Hpt)的多选择标记的新的植物基因表达载体.运用这一表达载体的多选择标记可以有效降低检测和筛选转化植株时的假阳性率.此外,如此的基因表达载体也能满足实验室的不同筛选方法的需求.     

导入bar基因的水稻新植株可遗传

江苏省农业科学院粮作所王才林、赵凌、宗寿余等和中科院上海生化所龚蓁蓁等9位科研人员,用花粉管通道法将bar基因导入水稻获得可遗传的转基因植株。亦即他们利用花粉管通道法将抗Basta除草剂的bar基因导入水稻品系E32,获得转基因植株。但在T0代仅表现为部分抗性,T1代全部获得了抗性,T3代全部转基因植株能充分表达对Basta除草剂的抗性。通过对转基因植株后代进行PCR分析,证实了bar基因已整合到受体植株的基因组之中,以后又经过遗传分析表明,bar基因能在有性生殖过程中传递给后代植株,并在T3代开始就可分离出抗性一致的稳定株系。目前,其…     

转bar基因小麦和非转基因小麦抗除草剂鉴定方法比较

方便、快捷、准确地对转基因小麦中的bar基因进行检测,对于筛选纯合稳定转基因植株、获得无筛选标记转基因植株、鉴定常规小麦品种和商品小麦中的bar基因成分等具有一定价值。本试验对叶片涂抹、植株喷洒、培养基添加除草剂3种方法鉴定转bar基因小麦植株的效果进行了比较,表明3种方法都能很好鉴定转基因小麦中的bar基因,叶片涂抹200mg/LLiberty鉴别的准确性高于PCR检测,植株喷洒Basta的适宜浓度为100mg/L,喷洒Liberty的适宜浓度为150mg/L,培养基添加Bialaphos的适宜浓度为5～8mg/L。叶片涂抹和植株喷洒除草剂方法受环境条件影响较大,区别转基因植株和非转基因植株的标准不够明确。相比之下,成熟胚离体培养除草剂筛选不受外界环境条件的影响,具有鉴定效果直观明了、操作简单、试验周期短等优点,在检测小麦转入或飘入的bar基因方面具有潜在应用前景。     

甜菜（Beta vulearis L．）叶绿体转化体系建立及抗虫和抗除草剂植株的获得

为建立外源基因甜菜叶绿体转化体系,利用分子生物学方法构建了包含有编码苏云金芽孢杆菌晶体蛋白基因Bt crylAc和编码膦丝菌素乙酰转移酶基因bar的甜菜叶绿体转化载体pSKARBt／bar,以甜菜叶绿体基因组中atpB／rbcL做同源片段,以甜菜叶绿体16S启动子和终止子为调控基因,以bar基因为筛选标记基因．基因枪法转化甜菜叶柄,经筛选获得抗性转基因植株．对转基因植株进行外源基因Bt crylAc和bar的PCR检测、DNA印迹分析,结果表明：外源基因Bt crylAc和bar确已导入到甜菜叶绿体基因组中．转基因植株除草剂抗性鉴定及其离体叶片虫试鉴定结果表明：转基因植株具有较强的杀虫活性和抗除草剂特性,表达了相应的蛋白质．研究结果还表明：bar基因在植物叶绿体转化中,既可以用作抗性基因,又可用作转化体筛选的标记基因．建立了甜菜叶绿体转化体系．     

甜菜(Beta vulgaris L.)叶绿体转化体系建立及抗虫和抗除草剂植株的获得

为建立外源基因甜菜叶绿体转化体系,利用分子生物学方法构建了包含有编码苏云金芽孢杆菌晶体蛋白基因By crylAc 和编码膦丝菌素乙酰转移酶基因bar 的甜菜叶绿体转化载体pSKARBt/bar,以甜菜叶绿体基因组中atpB/rbcL做同源片段,以甜菜叶绿体16S启动子和终止子为调控基因,以bar矿基因为筛选标记基因.基因枪法转化甜菜叶柄,经筛选获得抗性转基因植株.对转基因植株进行外源基因 Bt crylAc和bar的PCR检测、DNA印迹分析,结果表明:外源基因Bt crylAc和bar确已导入到甜菜叶绿体基因组中.转基因植株除草剂抗性鉴定及其离体叶片虫试鉴定结果表明:转基因植株具有较强的杀虫活性和抗除草剂特性,表达了相应的蛋白质.研究结果还表明:bar基因在植物叶绿体转化中,既可以用作抗性基因,又可用作转化体筛选的标记基因.建立了甜菜叶绿体转化体系.     

Response of transgenic poplar overexpressing cytosolic glutamine synthetase to phosphinothricin

Glutamine synthetase (GS) is the main enzyme involved in ammonia assimilation in plants and is the target of phosphinothricin (PPT), an herbicide commonly used for weed control in agriculture. As a result of the inhibition of GS, PPT also blocks photorespiration, resulting in the depletion of leaf amino acid pools leading to the plant death. Hybrid transgenic poplar (Populus tremula x P. alba INRA clone 7171-B4) overexpressing cytosolic GS is characterized by enhanced vegetative growth [Gallardo, F., Fu, J., Cantón, F.R., García-Gutiérrez, A., Cánovas, F.M., Kirby, E.G., 1999. Expression of a conifer glutamine synthetase gene in transgenic poplar. Planta 210, 19-26; Fu, J., Sampalo, R., Gallardo, F., Cánovas, F.M., Kirby, E.G., 2003. Assembly of a cytosolic pine glutamine synthetase holoenzyme in leaves of transgenic poplar leads to enhanced vegetative growth in young plants. Plant Cell Environ. 26, 411-418; Jing, Z.P., Gallardo, F., Pascual, M.B., Sampalo, R., Romero, J., Torres de Navarra, A., Cánovas, F.M., 2004. Improved growth in a field trial of transgenic hybrid poplar overexpressing glutamine synthetase. New Phytol. 164, 137-145], increased photosynthetic and photorespiratory capacities [El-Khatib, R.T., Hamerlynck, E.P., Gallardo, F., Kirby, E.G., 2004. Transgenic poplar characterized by ectopic expression of a pine cytosolic glutamine synthetase gene exhibits enhanced tolerance to water stress. Tree Physiol. 24, 729-736], enhanced tolerance to water stress (El-Khatib et al., 2004), and enhanced nitrogen use efficiency [Man, H.-M., Boriel, R., El-Khatib, R.T., Kirby, E.G., 2005. Characterization of transgenic poplar with ectopic expression of pine cytosolic glutamine synthetase under conditions of varying nitrogen availability. New Phytol. 167, 31-39]. In vitro plantlets of GS transgenic poplar exhibited enhanced resistance to PPT when compared with non-transgenic controls. After 30 days exposure to PPT at an equivalent dose of 275 g ha(-1), growth of GS transgenic poplar plantlets was 5-fold greater than controls. The response of young leaves to PPT treatment depends on physiological state as indicated by GS and Rubisco (LSU) levels. Young leaves from control plants, typically in a low differentiation state, respond to the herbicide showing up-regulation of GS and LSU. In contrast, young leaves from transgenic lines, with higher initial GS and LSU levels compared to control, display up-regulation of NADP(+)-isocitrate dehydrogenase. Differences between control and GS transgenics in their response to PPT are discussed in relation to their differences in photosynthetic and photorespiratory capacities (El-Khatib et al., 2004).     

Glutamine synthetase in the phloem plays a major role in controlling proline production

To inhibit expression specifically in the phloem, a 274-bp fragment of a cDNA (Gln1-5) encoding cytosolic glutamine synthetase (GS1) from tobacco was placed in the antisense orientation downstream of the cytosolic Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase promoter of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia. After Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, two transgenic N. tabacum lines exhibiting reduced levels of GS1 mRNA and GS activity in midribs, stems, and roots were obtained. Immunogold labeling experiments allowed us to verify that the GS protein content was markedly decreased in the phloem companion cells of transformed plants. Moreover, a general decrease in proline content in the transgenic plants in comparison with wild-type tobacco was observed when plants were forced to assimilate large amounts of ammonium. In contrast, no major changes in the concentration of amino acids used for nitrogen transport were apparent. A (15)NH(4)(+)-labeling kinetic over a 48-hr period confirmed that in leaves of transgenic plants, the decrease in proline production was directly related to glutamine availability. After 2 weeks of salt treatment, the transgenic plants had a pronounced stress phenotype, consisting of wilting and bleaching in the older leaves. We conclude that GS in the phloem plays a major role in regulating proline production consistent with the function of proline as a nitrogen source and as a key metabolite synthesized in response to water stress.     

Effect of Glutamine Synthetase Gene Overexpression in Birch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Betula pubescens</Emphasis>) Plants on Auxin Content and Rooting in vitro

The effects of transformation of downy birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.) with the GS1 gene encoding the cytosolic form of glutamine synthetase on the rooting of plants in vitro was studied. The transgenic plants had an elevated content of glutamine as well as glutamic and aspartic acids and rooted more rapidly than the control plants. Rooting on a medium containing the glutamine synthetase inhibitor phosphinothricin prevented the accumulation of auxin in birch plants carrying the GS1 gene, indicating the involvement of this enzyme in raising the level of auxins in the transgenic plants. The correlation between the increase in the auxin levels in the transgenic plants carrying the glutamine synthetase gene and the increase in the rooting rate is shown for the first time.     

Tryptophan Boost Caused by Senescence Occurred Independently of Cytoplasmic Glutamine Synthetase

We examined to determine whether senescence-induced tryptophan levels are positively associated with levels of glutamine synthetase (GS1), the initial enzyme in tryptophan biosynthesis. We generated transgenic rice plants in which GS1 was suppressed by RNA interference technology. The transgenic line showed a dramatic decrease in GS1 protein and glutamine content, but the levels of tryptophan and mRNA of the key tryptophan biosynthetic genes upon senescence were comparable to those of the wild type.     

Tryptophan boost caused by senescence occurred independently of cytoplasmic glutamine synthetase

We examined to determine whether senescence-induced tryptophan levels are positively associated with levels of glutamine synthetase (GS1), the initial enzyme in tryptophan biosynthesis. We generated transgenic rice plants in which GS1 was suppressed by RNA interference technology. The transgenic line showed a dramatic decrease in GS1 protein and glutamine content, but the levels of tryptophan and mRNA of the key tryptophan biosynthetic genes upon senescence were comparable to those of the wild type.     

Production of phosphinothricin-tolerant rice (Oryza sativa L.) through the application of phosphinothricin as growth regulator

 A novel procedure has been developed to produce rice (Oryza sativa L.) tolerant to the herbicide phosphinothricin (PPT) by means of in vitro selection. First, sublethal and lethal concentrations of PPT on 7-day-old seedlings were determined and morphogenetic events in response to the PPT treatment evaluated. Differentiation of 6–30 microshoots on 5–40% of the treated plant material was observed on a hormone-free culture medium supplemented with a sublethal concentration of PPT. We proved that PPT is morphogenetically active, similar to the action of many other herbicides, showing cytokinin-like effects in rice tissue culture. Fertile plants were grown from those microshoots having PPT tolerance under greenhouse conditions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the production of rice plants tolerant to this herbicide without genetic transformation. Since PPT is a competitive inhibitor of glutamine synthetase (GS), total GS activity in PPT-tolerant and PPT-sensitive plants was examined comprehensively in order to decide whether this enzyme has any role in PPT tolerance. An elevated GS activity was detected in PPT-tolerant plant material which could result in an elevated PPT tolerance at unchanged concentrations of the herbicide. Received: 20 February 2000 / Accepted: 19 June 2000     

Fertile transgenic Lotus corniculatus resistant to the non‐selective herbicide phosphinothricin

Resistance to the non‐selective herbicide dl ‐phosphinothricin (PPT) was introduced into commercial Lotus corniculatus cv. Bokor by co‐cultivation of cotyledons with Agrobacterium tumefaciens AGL1 harbouring the binary vector pDM805 which contains the bialaphos resistance gene (bar) from Streptomyces hygroscopicus encoding phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT) and the uidA gene encoding β‐glucuronidase. The half‐cotyledon explants were precultured on regeneration Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium supplemented with 6‐benzyladenine (BA) and 1‐naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) at 0.5 mg L^?1 each, 3 days prior to infection. Upon co‐cultivation, the explants were cultured on PPT‐free regeneration medium for 10 days, and then subcultured on regeneration/selection media with increasing PPT concentrations (5–7 mg L^?1) for about 18 weeks. Out of 480 initially co‐cultivated explants, 272 regenerated shoots survived the entire PPT selection procedure. Resistant shoots were grown further, multiplied by tillering that was additionally promoted by PPT and rooted on hormone‐free MS medium containing 5 mg L^?1 PPT. Established shoot cultures, continuously maintained on the same medium, have preserved PPT resistance up to now (more than 2 years). Transformed plants assessed in vitro and in a greenhouse were tolerant to the herbicide PPT at 300 mg L^?1 equivalent to more than twofold the recommended field dosage for weed eradication. Applied PPT treatment did not affect the activities of glutamine synthetase (GS; EC 6.3.1.2) and NADH‐dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (NADH‐GDH; EC 1.4.1.2) in transformed plants. However, PPT did increase the mobility of glutamine synthetase isoforms GS1 and GS2 as well as the inhibition of an additional high mobility GS (hmGS) activity. In untransformed plants, PPT treatment reduced total GS activity by 4.4‐fold while contrary the activity of NADH‐GDH was increased by ninefold. All transformed herbicide‐resistant plants were phenotypically normal and exhibited genomic stability, as were the untransformed plants analysed by flow cytometry. Under greenhouse conditions, they grew to maturity, flowered and set seeds. Stable integration and expression of the bar gene in T0 and T1 plants were confirmed by Southern and Western blot analysis, while integration of the reporter uidA gene did not occur. The bar gene was inherited in a Mendelian fashion by the progeny, as detected by PPT resistance. The production of PPT‐resistant plants may have significant practical applications in weed control in fields of L. corniculatus.