植物种子a-亚麻酸形成及调控机理研究进展

a-亚麻酸是人体必需但不能自身合成的ω-3系列多不饱和脂肪酸,主要来源于植物油脂。由于大宗油料作物种子油脂中ALA含量普遍较低,所以探寻新的种质资源,了解a-亚麻酸形成及调控机理,对于油脂营养膳食健康及植物油脂改良具有重要意义。种子中富含a-亚麻酸的陆生植物资源有紫苏、亚麻、杜仲、油用牡丹、奇亚、藿香、香薷、猕猴桃、星油藤等。在植物中,ω-3FAD是催化LA转化生成ALA的关键酶,ω-3FAD由在质体中FAD3及在内质网中的FAD7及FAD8组成。目前通过基因组及转录组研究已极大的丰富了ω-3FAD基因家族的鉴定及研究。其中,FAD3基因是种子ALA合成的关键基因,其表达受多个转录因子的调控,bZIP、WRI1、LEC、ABI3、FUS3、ASIL1和PKL等转录因子通过相互作用调控FAD3基因表达,决定油料作物种子中a-亚麻酸的含量。本文综述了高含量a-亚麻酸油料植物资源分布,以及主要油料植物种子中油脂脂肪组成及ALA的含量,种子ALA生物合成基本途径及关键基因,植物ω-3脂肪酸脱饱和酶类型及功能以及ω-3FAD的关键调控因子,以期为高ALA植物新资源的利用,以及油料植物脂肪酸成分改良等相关研究提供理论依据。     

沙棘hrh-miRn458靶向转录因子WRI1调控油脂合成

转录因子WRI1 (WRINKLED 1)在油脂合成过程中发挥重要调控作用, 其转录和翻译水平调控机理以及下游的靶基因现已基本明确, 但尚未见其转录后调控的报道。为探讨沙棘(Hippophae rhamnoides) hrh-miRn458与转录因子WRI1之间的靶向关系, 并阐明其在果肉和种子发育过程中的表达模式, 通过生物信息学方法预测hrh-miRn458成熟体序列及其与候选靶基因WRI1的结合位点, 采用双荧光素酶报告基因检测和RNA pull down技术相结合的方法验证hrh-miRn458与WRI1基因之间的靶向关系, 并应用qRT-PCR方法分析hrh-miRn458与WRI1在沙棘不同发育期果肉和种子油脂合成过程中的表达变化。结果表明, 生物信息学预测WRI1基因的CDS区第309-327位与hrh-miRn458成熟体序列的15个碱基互补; 荧光检测显示pmirGLO-WRI1-WT+hrh-miRn458 mimics显著抑制荧光素酶活性(P<0.001); RNA pull down实验证实hrh-miRn458与WRI1存在互作关系; 不同发育期果肉和种子中hrh-miRn458的表达量总体呈先下降后上升趋势, 其靶基因WRI1的表达量则呈先上升后降低趋势; 同一时期, 果肉中hrh-miRn458的表达量明显低于种子, 而果肉中的WRI1表达量则明显高于种子。综上, 沙棘hrh-miRn458靶向转录因子WRI1, 且二者在果肉和种子油脂合成过程中存在负调控关系。研究结果为深入理解沙棘种子油脂合成机制及培育高油品种提供了参考依据。     

大豆GmWIN1-6转录因子的鉴定、表达分析及盐胁迫响应

为鉴定可用于大豆(Glycine max)遗传改良的优异基因源,从大豆基因组中鉴定获得一个大豆Gm WIN1-6转录因子,应用生物信息学工具和实时荧光定量反转录PCR(qRT-PCR)技术系统分析GmWIN1-6转录因子的理化性质、蛋白结构、时空表达谱及盐胁迫响应。结果表明:从大豆花组织中克隆到GmWIN1-6基因的开放阅读框(ORF),其编码蛋白由176个氨基酸组成,在N端具有一个保守的AP2结构域,属于亲水性蛋白;GmWIN1-6蛋白的二级结构中,无规则卷曲占比例最大;三级结构与拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaniana)AtWIN1相似;系统进化分析显示GmWIN1-6与AtWIN1亲缘关系最近;GmWIN1-6转录因子在大豆各组织中的表达差异明显,其中在花组织中表达量最高,其次为种子发育中后期,且与种子油脂积累时期基本吻合;在大豆幼苗盐胁迫条件下,GmWIN1-6基因上调表达。这些试验发现预示着GmWIN1-6转录因子可能参与大豆种子发育和油脂富集以及幼苗胁迫响应的调控,为大豆遗传改良和分子育种提供理论依据。     

烟草GA合成调控转录因子RSG应答甲醇和乙醇刺激的分子机理初探

为了考察甲醇或乙醇促进植物生长与赤霉素(GA)的合成关系,该研究在MS固体培养基中培养并添加外源GA和GA合成抑制剂多效唑(PAC),分析其对2mmol/L甲醇或乙醇促进烟草生长的影响及GA合成调控转录因子RSG(for repression of shoot growth)应答甲醇或乙醇刺激的分子机理。结果显示:(1)外源添加GA可增强甲醇或乙醇对烟草生长的刺激作用,而添加PAC却抑制甲醇和乙醇对烟草生长的刺激作用。(2)14-3-3蛋白与RSG结合抑制RSG进入细胞核及其转录调控活性;甲醇和乙醇诱导烟草14-3-3基因的转录和表达,对RSG蛋白表达也有诱导作用。(3)甲醇和乙醇可降低14-3-3蛋白与RSG的相互作用,同时增强RSG与GA20ox1启动子的结合。研究表明,甲醇和乙醇刺激烟草的生长可能通过增加RSG表达,且减弱RSG与14-3-3蛋白的结合来增加RSG细胞核定位作用,从而增强RSG与GA20ox1启动子的结合,最终增加GA的合成,从而促进烟草的生长,这可能是甲醇和乙醇促进烟草生长的一种重要的分子机制。     

拟南芥转录激活因子AtWRI1研究进展

油脂具有较高的经济价值,研究植物油脂合成的调控过程具有重要意义。转录激活因子WRI1在油脂合成调控中起关键作用。综述了At WRI1的发现及其结构特征、表达模式、功能和调控机制。At WRI属于AP2/EREPB家族中的AP2亚族,具有7个外显子,在植物各器官的不同发育时期均有表达,但在种子的油脂合成时期表达量最高。它与相应的顺式作用元件结合,能够转录激活糖酵解和脂肪酸合成相关基因的表达,从而促进油脂的合成。At WRI1是At LEC1和At LEC2的下游基因;在CRL3-BPM复合体介导下,At WRI1通过泛素-26S蛋白酶体途径降解。     

小麦TaMBD4基因的克隆、结构及表达的初步分析

以拟南芥MBD基因的EST为基础,采用电子克隆并结合RT-PCR方法分离克隆了包含开放阅读框的小麦甲基结合域蛋白基因TaMBD4。序列分析显示,TaMBD4蛋白有典型的甲基结合域。组织表达特性分析表明,TaMBD4在干种子和胚乳中的表达量高于其它组织。TaMBD4的cDNA和基因组DNA比较分析显示,此基因包括1个内含子,进一步分析表明这个内含子为2个GGCAGT序列的串联重复,推测该内含子可能与TaMBD4基因的转录后调控相关。     

甘蓝型油菜BnTTG1-1基因的功能分析

拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)AtTTG1作为WD40重复转录因子存在于细胞核中,对表皮毛形成、花青素合成和储藏物质积累等具有重要调节作用。该研究从甘蓝型油菜(Brassica napus)品种秦优7号中克隆获得了BnTTG1-1基因的全长CDS序列,对其进行了烟草(Nicotiana benthamiana)叶片细胞的亚细胞定位研究,检测了BnTTG1-1在油菜(B.campestris)中的时空表达模式,并比较分析了BnTTG1-1对多个生物学过程的影响作用。结果表明,BnTTG1-1定位于烟草叶片细胞的细胞核中,推测其作为转录因子发挥调节作用。BnTTG1-1广泛存在于油菜营养组织和发育的种子中。在突变体ttg1-13背景下,异源表达BnTTG1-1基因能够完全恢复该突变体的多个表型,如无表皮毛形成和花青素合成、种皮呈黄色、种子脂肪酸和储藏蛋白含量高以及在种子萌发和幼苗形态建成过程中对高葡萄糖和高盐胁迫耐受力差等。由此可知,甘蓝型油菜BnTTG1-1与拟南芥AtTTG1在植物生长发育的多个生物学过程中具有类似的功能。     

新型工业油料作物亚麻荠油脂代谢工程

亚麻荠(Camelina sativa L.Crantz)是一种新型的"低投入、环保型"工业油料作物。种子含油量达43%,其中α-亚麻酸35%。种子油不仅可做食用油和动物饲料,亦可用于加工保健功能食品,以及生物燃油和高值油脂产品。重点分析亚麻荠主要农艺性状和优异油脂性状,论述应用基因工程技术对亚麻荠油脂品质的遗传改良研究,包括长链多聚不饱和脂肪酸,ω-7脂肪酸,中、短链脂肪酸和蜡酯生物合成,以及单一脂肪酸富集途径的代谢组装。分析和讨论了亚麻荠功能基因组学研究动向以及亚麻荠产业发展前景。     

HrpNCSDS001基因克隆及其表达产物诱导拟南芥基因表达谱变化的研究

Erwinia carotovora subsp.carotovora CSDS001菌株具有可直接诱导烟草过敏反应特征,从构建的CSDS001菌株基因组文库,鉴定、克隆到hrpNCSDS001基因,GenBank登录号AY939927;构建的重组hrpNCSDS001基因工程菌株经IPTG诱导培养,获得的高效表达HarpinCSDS001蛋白,可诱导烟草发生过敏反应。30μg/mLHarpinCSDS001蛋白喷施拟南芥后,分析第3h、12h、24h、36h和48h拟南芥全基因谱表达动态变化,结果显示发生显著表达差异(logratio≤?1或≥1)的基因数分别为912、1787、2393、1833和1755。对被诱导发生显著表达差异的转录因子基因分析表明,有13个转录因子家族:ZIM、BES1、TCP、C2C2、AP2/EREBP、WRKY、bHLH、bZIP、GARP、MYB、NAC、HB、C2H2与HarpinCSDS001蛋白作用相关,这些转录因子家族主要参与调控植物抗性、光合作用、生长发育、开花等相关功能基因表达。     

紫苏PfLEC1基因的克隆及表达研究

紫苏是目前发现的α-亚麻酸含量最高的药食同源经济作物,其种子油脂中含60%以上的α-亚麻酸。该研究基于紫苏转录组测序结果,从紫苏种子中克隆获得植物种胚发生过程中的关键基因Leafy Cotyledon 1(Pf LEC1),并对其进行相关生物信息学分析、实时荧光定量PCR以及不同时期种子的脂肪酸含量测定,以探讨紫苏α-亚麻酸高效合成积累的分子调控机制。(1)序列分析结果表明,Pf LEC1基因编码区长度为621 bp,可编码206个氨基酸,属于NF-YB亚基家族,含有HAP3亚基的保守功能域B区域;在线预测该蛋白为不稳定亲水性蛋白,无信号肽和跨膜区域,定位于细胞质;进化分析表明,该蛋白序列与拟南芥、甘蓝型油菜、水稻和玉米关系较近。(2)实时荧光定量PCR分析表明,PfLEC1基因在紫苏根、茎、叶、花及种子中均有表达,且在种子中表达量最高,根中表达最低;PfLEC1在种子发育的前期表达较高,随着种子发育表达量显著下降。(3)不同阶段紫苏种子脂肪酸含量分析表明,油酸、α-亚麻酸含量随种子发育逐渐增加,而棕榈酸、硬脂酸、亚油酸含量变化则相反,其中变化最为明显的是α-亚麻酸,从种子发育5 d时的33.16%上升至20 d时的65.16%,表明紫苏种子中α-亚麻酸含量是随种子发育快速积累的。研究推测,PfLEC1可能与紫苏种子α-亚麻酸的高含量合成积累密切相关,该研究为今后深入探讨PfLEC1基因的功能奠定了分子基础。     

Cotton α-Globulin Promoter: Isolation and Functional Characterization in Transgenic Cotton,Arabidopsis, and Tobacco

Globulins are the most abundant seed storage proteins in cotton and, therefore, their regulatory sequences could potentially provide a good source of seed-specific promoters. We isolated the putative promoter region of cotton -globulin B gene by gene walking using the primers designed from a cotton staged embryo cDNA clone. PCR amplified fragment of 1108 bp upstream sequences was fused to gusA gene in the binary vector pBI101.3 to create the test construct. This was used to study the expression pattern of the putative promoter region in transgenic cotton, Arabidopsis, and tobacco. Histochemical GUS analysis revealed that the promoter began to express during the torpedo stage of seed development in tobacco and Arabidopsis, and during cotyledon expansion stage in cotton. The activity quickly increased until embryo maturation in all three species. Fluorometric GUS analysis showed that the promoter expression started at 12 and 15 dpa in tobacco and cotton, respectively, and increased through seed maturation. The strength of the promoter expression, as reflected by average GUS activity in the seeds from primary transgenic plants, was vastly different amongst the three species tested. In Arabidopsis, the activity was 16.7% and in tobacco it was less than 1% of the levels detected in cotton seeds. In germinating seedlings of tobacco and Arabidopsis, GUS activity diminished until it was completely absent 10 days post imbibition. In addition, absence of detectable level of GUS expression in stem, leaf, root, pollen, and floral bud of transgenic cotton confirmed that the promoter is highly seed-specific. Analysis of GUS activity at individual seed level in cotton showed a gene dose effect reflecting their homozygous or hemizygous status. Our results show that this promoter is highly tissue-specific and it can be used to control transgene expression in dicot seeds.     

Developmental regulation and tissue-specific differences of heat shock gene expression in transgenic tobacco and Arabidopsis plants

The heat shock (hs) response during plant growth and development was analyzed in tobacco and Arabidopsis using chimaeric -glucuronidase reporter genes (hs-Gus) driven by a soybean hs promoter. Fluorimetric measurements and histochemical staining revealed high Gus activities in leaves, roots, and flowers exclusively after heat stress. The highest levels of heat-inducible expression were found in the vascular tissues. Without heat stress, a developmental induction of hs-Gus was indicated by the accumulation of high levels of Gus in transgenic tobacco seeds. There was no developmental induction of hs-Gus in Arabidopsis seeds. In situ hybridization to the RNA of the small heat shock protein gene Athsp17.6 in tissue sections revealed an expression in heat-shocked leaves but no expression in control leaves of Arabidopsis. However, a high level of constitutive expression of hs gene was detected in meristematic and provascular tissues of the Arabidopsis embryo. The developmental and tissue-specific regulation of the hs response is discussed.Abbreviations hs heat shock - Hsp heat shock protein(s) - hs Gus: heat-inducible Gus gene(s) - HSE heat shock element(s) - HSF heat shock factor - X-gluc 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl--D-glucuronide - Gus -glucuronidase - DAF days after flowering - SAR scaffold attachment region     

Caleosins: Ca2+-binding proteins associated with lipid bodies

We have previously identified a rice gene encoding a 27 kDa protein with a single Ca²⁺-binding EF-hand and a putative membrane anchor. We report here similar genes termed caleosins, CLO, in other plants and fungi; they comprise a multigene family of at least five members in Arabidopsis (AtClo1–5). Northern hybridization demonstrated that AtClo2–4 mRNAs levels were low in various tissues, while AtClo1 mRNA levels were high in developing embryos and mature seeds. Analysis of transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing the GUS reporter under control of the AtClo1 promoter showed strong levels of expression in developing embryos and also in root tip cells. Antibodies raised against AtCLO1 were used to detect caleosin in cellular fractions of Arabidopsis and rapeseed. This indicated that caleosins are a novel class of lipid body proteins, which may also be associated with an ER subdomain.     

In situ localization of faba bean and oat legumin-type proteins in transgenic tobacco seeds by a highly sensitive immunological tissue print technique

We have used a highly sensitive immunological tissue print technique to study cell- and tissue-specific expression of heterologous genes in transgenic plants. Primary polyclonal antibodies, raised against legumin of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) and 12S globulin of oat (Avena sativa L.) were used to localize these proteins in transgenic tobacco seeds in a streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase assay in combination with biotinylated secondary antibodies producing a higher sensitivity (by several amplification steps) of the assay. Both storage protein genes were found to be expressed in a specific pattern. While legumin is preferentially accumulated in certain parts of the embryo, the oat legumin-type globulin is restricted to the endosperm. The applied technique is highly sensitive with a resolution power down to the singlecell level and allows rapid screening of large numbers of samples.     

Rice has two distinct classes of protein kinase genes related to SNF1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which are differently regulated in early seed development

We have isolated five cDNA clones (osk1–5) for protein kinases from rice which are related to SNF1 protein kinase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Based on the sequence homology, these cDNAs can be classified into two groups, group 1 (osk1) and group 2 (osk2–5). The products of these genes were demonstrated to be functional SNF1-related protein kinases by in vitro and in vivo experiments. Recombinant proteins expressed from both groups of genes were fully active as protein kinases and could phosphorylate SAMS peptide, a substrate specific for the SNF1/AMPK family, as well as themselves (autophosphorylation). Moreover, expression of osk3 cDNA in yeast snf1 mutants restored SNF1 function. Northern blot analyses showed differential expression of these two gene groups; group 1 is expressed uniformly in growing tissues (young roots, young shoots, flowers, and immature seeds), whereas group 2 is strongly expressed in immature seeds. SNF1-related protein kinases have been reported from different plant species, such as rye, barley, Arabidopsis, tobacco, and potato, while the type of gene strongly expressed in immature seeds is known only in cereals such as rye, barley, and, from our findings, in rice. Expression levels of the group 2 genes were further analyzed in seeds during seed maturation. Expression is transiently increased in the early stages of seed maturation and then decreases. The expression peak precedes those of the sbe1 and waxy genes, which are involved in starch synthesis in rice. Taken together, these findings suggest that group 2 OSK genes play important roles in the early stages of endosperm development in rice seeds.