piggyBac转座子及其在转基因昆虫中的应用

piggyBac是一种从粉纹夜蛾Trichoplusiani.中分离到的、具有TTAA插入位点特异性的DNA转座子。piggyBac可在昆虫基因组中准确切离,转化频率较高,并且不受宿主因子的限制,是目前转基因昆虫研究中应用最广的转座子载体。近年来的研究发现,piggyBac类转座子广泛分布于昆虫和其他生物基因组中。文章从piggyBac的结构、转座特性、在转基因昆虫中的应用以及piggyBac类转座子的分布等几个方面综述了piggyBac的研究进展。     

PiggyBac在转基因小鼠制备中的应用

受精卵雄原核裸DNA注射是目前制备转基因小鼠的主要技术,而转基因表达成功率低是这种技术的主要缺点。piggyBac转座子系统已被报道用于制备转基因小鼠,但这一方法是否能够提高转基因的表达成功率尚不清楚。为此,我们利用毛色基因agouti为报告基因,采用piggyBac转座子系统以C57/BL6小鼠为背景进行转基因小鼠的制备。结果表明,将piggyBac转座酶cRNA和转基因载体进行受精卵雄原核共注射后,转基因阳性率为18.4%,转基因表达率为88.89%,显著高于单独进行转基因载体DNA受精卵雄原核注射法。同时,利用agouti基因作为报告基因,可根据毛色变化直接对表达阳性的转基因小鼠进行初步筛选,提高了筛选效率。     

mariner转座子pKKma的序列分析及转座性能

摘要:【目的】本研究针对携带mariner转座子的质粒pKKma,进行序列分析和功能注释。【方法】根据已知序列设计引物测定质粒序列。构建转座子突变文库,分析转座子转座效率。【结果】序列分析发现,质粒pKKma全长6879 bp,具有7个开放阅读框。其中,阅读框ORF6编码mariner转座酶(348 aa),属于mariner转座子Himar1转座酶的C9变;pKKma 有2个相同的27 bp的反向重复序列(inverted terminal repeats);阅读框ORF7为庆大霉素抗性基因aacC1,位于转座子反向重复序列之间,与其它mariner转座子可转移序列比 对发现,覆盖率仅为2.0%－47.7%,相应同源程度为3.2%－99.7%,可转移序列具有较大差异。转座效率分析显示,该转座子对于粘质沙雷氏菌的转座效率为(3.1×10－4)－(4.8×10－4),对于弗氏柠檬酸菌的转座效率为(1.3×10－3)－(1.7×10－3)。【结论】质粒pKKma携带一种新的mariner转座子,可在多种细菌中构建转座子文库,研究细菌基因的功能。     

Tol2转座子系统在转基因动物中的应用

Tol2是在青鳉鱼基因组中发现的一种具有自主性的转座子元件.它编码转座酶,催化Tol2转座子结构中5’端200 bp和3’端150 bp序列发生转座反应.Tol2的多种特性,如可携带大片段外源DNA、单拷贝整合效率高、转座子活性强等,使得以Tol2特座子系统为载体的转基因技术在多种生物中得到应用.综述了Tol2转座子系统的结构、特性以及近年来在多种动物转基因中的应用.     

piggyBac转座子介导的转基因叉尾斗鱼的构建

为探讨piggyBac转座子在鱼类动物中应用的可能性,以包含家蚕(Bombyx mori)肌动蛋白3启动子驱动的增强型绿色荧光蛋白(enhance green fluorescent protein,EGFP)基因的piggyBac质粒为载体,以及一个包含piggyBac转座酶的辅助质粒,采用显微注射的方法将其导入叉尾斗鱼(Macropodusopercularis)受精卵中,利用PCR技术证实了piggyBac转座子能够介导EGFP基因进入叉尾斗鱼基因组,并能够稳定遗传到下一代,符合孟德尔遗传规律。EGFP基因遗传到G1代的阳性鱼占交配鱼比率,即外源基因整合率为12.30%。实验证明,piggyBac质粒有可能成为水产动物转基因实验的新型载体。     

精子特异性 Sleeping Beauty 转座酶转基因小鼠模型的建立

目的：建立精子特异性表达Sleeping Beauty （ SB）转座酶转基因小鼠模型,为研究SB转座子在小鼠中的应用提供工具。方法克隆精子特异性启动子用以驱动SB转座酶基因的表达,建立精子特异性表达SB转座酶的载体,利用显微注射方法建立以C57BL/6J为背景的精子特异性表达SB转座酶的转基因小鼠。 PCR鉴定首建鼠的基因型,western blot（WB）和免疫组织化学（IHC）检测SB转座酶基因在小鼠生殖腺睾丸中的表达情况,筛选睾丸中高表达SB转座酶的转基因小鼠。结果显微注射方式获得了5只首建小鼠,其中3只能稳定传代,利用WB和IHC成功的筛选出一株在精子中高表达SB转座酶的转基因小鼠。结论成功建立了精子特异性高表达SB转座酶转基因小鼠模型,为将SB转座子作为一种基因工程工具应用于小鼠基因修饰模型的建立提供非常重要的工具资源。     

植物CACTA转座子的研究进展

转座子是染色体上可移动的DNA序列,根据转座机制可将其分为：通过RNA中间体进行转座的逆转录座子（Retrotransposon）和通过DNA中间体进行转座的转座子（Transposon）。En／Spm家族转座子是后者中的一类,它的末端反向重复序列（Terminal inverted repeats,TIRs）具有保守的5个碱基CACTA,所以通常又称为CACTA转座子。除此之外,其靶位点一般为3bp的同向重复（Target site duplication,TSD）;亚末端区域分布着若干正向或反向的重复序列（Subterminal repeat,STR）。迄今为止,CACTA转座子仅发现于植物基因组。过去一直认为由于其相对保守的转座机制而拷贝较少,但最近研究发现,该因子多拷贝存在于某些禾本科植物基因组中。由于该家族在基因组中分布的广泛性,具有用作分子指纹的应用前景。本文就其结构、转座机制和应用前景等做一综述。     

ITm活性转座子及其结构特征分析

ITm超家族是真核生物基因组中分布最广泛的DNA转座子家族之一,它们以DNA为媒介,通过"剪切–粘贴"机制在基因组中不断跳跃,引起基因组的重组与突变。随着对ITm转座子的深入研究,许多ITm转座子逐渐成为基因克隆、基因表达及其功能研究的重要工具。该文对活性ITm转座子作了较为全面的研究,并对其结构、拷贝数、分布以及转座特性进行了系统归纳,分析了活性ITm转座子螺旋–转角–螺旋(helix-turn-helix,HTH)结构,天冬氨酸–天冬氨酸–天冬氨酸/谷氨酸(Asp-Asp-Asp/Glu,DDD/E)催化结构域、Linker、核定位信号(nuclear localization sequence,NLS)及末端反向重复序列(terminal inverted repeats,TIRs)的序列特征。结果表明,自主转座活性的ITm转座子必须具备完整的转座酶及TIRs,上述结构及序列的突变均会不同程度的对转座子活性产生影响。这为活性ITm转座子的鉴定及功能分析奠定了重要基础,同时,也为人工调控ITm转座子转座活性提供了理论依据。     

piggyBac转座子在牛基因组的整合位点及特征分析

piggyBac(PB)转座子作为一种遗传工具被广泛应用于多个物种的转基因及插入突变研究, 目前PB转座子在牛中的相关研究还较少。为了获得PB转座子在牛基因组中的整合位点, 总结其转座特征, 文章构建了PB[CMV-EGFP]和pcDNA-PBase二元转座系统, 利用细胞核电转技术共转染牛耳组织成纤维细胞, 经G-418筛选, 获得了稳定转染EGFP的转基因细胞系; 提取细胞基因组DNA, 利用基因组步移技术扩增PB转座子5′ Bac区插入位置的DNA序列; 通过与牛基因组序列进行BLAST比对, 得到PB转座子在牛基因组中的插入位点。文章共获得了8个有效的整合位点, 但仅有5个位点定位到染色体1、2、11和X染色体上。序列分析表明：在牛基因组中, PB转座子可特异性的插入到“TTAA”位置, 并整合到基因间的非调控区; 分析整合位点“TTAA”相邻一侧的5个碱基组成, 发现PB转座子5′端倾向于插入到GC(62.5%)碱基富集区。该研究表明, PB转座子可以在牛基因组中发生转座, 获得的整合位点信息为利用PB转座子在牛上开展遗传学研究提供了理论参考。     

PiggyBac转座酶转基因小鼠模型的建立

目的 建立表达PiggyBac转座酶转基因小鼠模型,为研究PiggyBac转座子介导基因修饰在小鼠中的应用提供工具.方法 利用Cytomegalovirus( CMV)启动子驱动PiggyBac转座酶基因的表达,经显微注射法建立C57BL/6J表达PiggyBac转座酶的转基因小鼠.PCR鉴定转基因小鼠的基因型,RT-PCR检测PiggyBac转座酶在小鼠生殖系睾丸中的表达情况.PiggyBac转座酶转基因小鼠活性的检测,是通过与转座子供体转基因小鼠杂交检测供体位置变化来确定的.结果 显微注射产生7只转基因小鼠并能传代,经RT-PCR筛选出一株在睾丸中相对高表达PiggyBac转座酶的转基因小鼠.随后与转座子供体转基因小鼠杂交,子代双阳小鼠与野生型小鼠杂交基因型分离,产生的子代转座子供体单阳性小鼠中具有转座子供体片段的转座反应.结论 成功建立了表达PiggyBac转座酶转基因小鼠动物模型,该模型为PiggyBac转座子技术在小鼠中的应用提供了有价值的工具动物.     

The minimum internal and external sequence requirements for transposition of the eukaryotic transformation vector piggyBac

The piggyBac element from Trichoplusia ni is recognized as a useful vector for transgenesis of a wide variety of species. This transposable element is 2472 bp in length, and has a complex repeat configuration consisting of an internal repeat (IR), spacer, and terminal repeat (TR) at both ends, and a single ORF encoding the transposase. Excision assays performed in microinjected T. ni embryos using plasmids deleted for progressively larger portions of the piggyBac internal sequence reveal that the 5' and 3' IR, spacer, and TR configuration is sufficient for precise excision of piggyBac when transposase is provided in trans. Interplasmid transposition assays using plasmids carrying varying lengths of intervening sequence between the piggyBac termini in T. ni demonstrate that a minimum of 55 bp of intervening sequence is required for optimal transposition, while lengths less than 40 bp result in a dramatic decrease in transposition frequency. These results suggest that the piggyBac transposase may bind both termini simultaneously before cleavage can occur, and/or that the formation of a transposition complex requires DNA bending between the two termini. Based on these results we constructed a 702-bp cartridge with minimal piggyBac 5' and 3' terminal regions separated by an intervening sequence of optimal length. Interplasmid transposition assays demonstrate that the minimal terminal configuration is sufficient to mediate transposition, and also verify that simply inserting this cartridge into an existing plasmid converts that plasmid into a non-autonomous piggyBac transposon. We also constructed a minimal piggyBac vector, pXL-Bac, that contains an internal multiple cloning site sequence between the minimal terminal regions. These vectors should greatly facilitate the utilization of the piggyBac transposon in a wide range of hosts.     

MMTS, a new subfamily of Tc1-like transposons

A novel Tc1-like transposable element has been identified as a new DNA transposon in the mud loach, Misgurnus mizolepis. The M. mizolepis Tc1-like transposon (MMTS) is comprised of inverted terminal repeats and a single gene that codes Tc1-like transposase. The deduced amino acid sequence of the transposase-encoding region of MMTS transposon contains motifs including DDE motif, which was previously recognized in other Tc1-like transposons. However, putative MMTS transposase has only 34-37% identity with well-known Tc1, PPTN, and S elements at the amino acid level. In dot-hybridization analysis used to measure the copy numbers of the MMTS transposon in genomes of the mud loach, it was shown that the MMTS transposon is present at about 3.36 x 104 copies per 2 x 109 bp, and accounts for approximately 0.027% of the mud loach genome. Here, we also describe novel MMTS-like transposons from the genomes of carp-like fishes, flatfish species, and cichlid fishes, which bear conserved inverted repeats flanking an apparently intact transposase gene. Additionally, BLAST searches and phylogenetic analysis indicated that MMTS-like transposons evolved uniquely in fishes, and comprise a new subfamily of Tc1-like transposons, with only modest similarity to Drosophila melanogaster (foldback element FB4, HB2, HB1), Xenopus laevis, Xenopus tropicalis, and Anopheles gambiae (Frisky).     

Tdr2, a new zebrafish transposon of the Tc1 family.

We describe here Tdr2, a new class of Tc1-like transposons in zebrafish. Tdr2 was identified from the genomic sequence of a zebrafish PAC (P1 artificial chromosome) clone, and fragments of Tdr2 were found in several zebrafish EST (expressed sequence tag) sequences. Predicted translation of the Tdr2 transposase gene showed that it was most closely related to Caenorhabditis elegans Tc3A, suggesting an ancient origin of the Tdr2 transposon. Tdr2 spans 1. 1kb and is flanked by inverted repeats of approx. 100bp. The 5' repeat is itself composed of an inverted repeat, raising the possibility of the formation of a cruciform DNA structure. Tdr2 transposons may facilitate the development of novel transposon-based tools for the genetic analysis of zebrafish.     

Tc7, a Tc1-hitch hiking transposon in Caenorhabditis elegans.

We have found a novel transposon in the genome of Caenorhabditis elegans. Tc7 is a 921 bp element, made up of two 345 bp inverted repeats separated by a unique, internal sequence. Tc7 does not contain an open reading frame. The outer 38 bp of the inverted repeat show 36 matches with the outer 38 bp of Tc1. This region of Tc1 contains the Tc1-transposase binding site. Furthermore, Tc7 is flanked by TA dinucleotides, just like Tc1, which presumably correspond to the target duplication generated upon integration. Since Tc7 does not encode its own transposase but contains the Tc1-transposase binding site at its extremities, we tested the ability of Tc7 to jump upon forced expression of Tc1 transposase in somatic cells. Under these conditions Tc7 jumps at a frequency similar to Tc1. The target site choice of Tc7 is identical to that of Tc1. These data suggest that Tc7 shares with Tc1 all the sequences minimally required to parasitize upon the Tc1 transposition machinery. The genomic distribution of Tc7 shows a striking clustering on the X chromosome where two thirds of the elements (20 out of 33) are located. Related transposons in C. elegans do not show this asymmetric distribution.     

Horizontal Escape of the Novel Tc1-Like Lepidopteran Transposon TCp3.2 into Cydia pomonella Granulovirus

We characterized an insertion mutant of the baculovirus Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV), which contained a transposable element of 3.2 kb. This transposon, termed TCp3.2, has unusually long inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) of 756 bp and encodes a defective gene for a putative transposase. Amino acid sequence comparison of the defective transposase gene revealed a distant relationship to a putative transposon in Caenorhabditis elegans which also shares some similarity of the ITRs. Maximum parsimony analysis of the predicted amino acid sequences of Tc1- and mariner-like transposases available from the GenBank data base grouped TCp3.2 within the superfamily of Tc1-like transposons. DNA hybridization indicated that TCp3.2 originated from the genome of Cydia pomonella, which is the natural host of CpGV, and is present in less than 10 copies in the C. pomonella genome. The transposon TCp3.2 most likely was inserted into the viral genome during infection of host larvae. TCp3.2 and the recently characterized Tc1-like transposon TC14.7 (Jehle et al. 1995), which was also found in a CpGV mutant, represent a new family of transposons found in baculovirus genomes. The occasional horizontal escape of different types of host transposons into baculovirus genomes evokes the question about the possible role of baculoviruses as an interspecies vector in the horizontal transmission of insect transposons. Received: 27 February 1997 / Accepted: 16 May 1997     

Localization of Action of the Is50-Encoded Transposase Protein

The movement of the bacterial insertion sequence IS50 and of composite elements containing direct terminal repeats of IS50 involves the two ends of IS50, designated O (outside) and I (inside), which are weakly matched in DNA sequence, and an IS50 encoded protein, transposase, which recognizes the O and I ends and acts preferentially in cis. Previous data had suggested that, initially, transposase interacts preferentially with the O end sequence and then, in a second step, with either an O or an I end. To better understand the cis action of transposase and how IS50 ends are selected, we generated a series of composite transposons which contain direct repeats of IS50 elements. In each transposon, one IS50 element encoded transposase (tnp+), and the other contained a null (tnp-) allele. In each of the five sets of composite transposons studied, the transposon for which the tnp+ IS50 element contained its O end was more active than a complementary transposon for which the tnp- IS50 element contained its O end. This pattern of O end use suggests models in which the cis action of transposase and its choice of ends is determined by protein tracking along DNA molecules.     

Molecular characterization of Vulmar1, a complete mariner transposon of sugar beet and diversity of mariner- and En/Spm-like sequences in the genus Beta.

Transposons of the Tc1-mariner superfamily are widespread in eukaryotic genomes. We have isolated the mariner element Vulmar1 from Beta vulgaris L., which is 3909 bp long and bordered by perfect terminal inverted repeats of 32 bp with homology to terminal inverted repeats of transposons from soybean and rice. According to a characteristic amino acid signature, Vulmar1 can be assigned to the DD39D group of mariner transposons. Vulmar1 is flanked by a 5'-TA-3' target site duplication that is typical for mariner transposons. Southern hybridization revealed that mariner-like copies are highly abundant in Beta species, and sequence analysis of 10 transposase fragments from representative species of the four Beta sections revealed an identity between 34% and 100% after conceptual translation. By fluorescent in situ hybridization, Vulmar1 was detected in distal euchromatin as well as in some intercalary and pericentromeric regions of all B. vulgaris chromosomes. In addition, using PCR, we were able to amplify fragments of the transposase gene of En/Spm-like transposons in the genus Beta. En/Spm-like transposase sequences are highly amplified in four Beta sections and showed a considerable degree of conservation (88.5-100%) at the protein level, while the homology to corresponding regions of En/Spm transposons of other plant species ranges from 49.5% to 62.5%. By fluorescent in situ hybridization, En/Spm-like transposon signals of strong intensity were detected on all chromosomes of B. vulgaris.     

piggyBac-mediated somatic transformation of the two-spotted cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus

Transgenic insects have been artificially produced to study functions of interesting developmental genes, using insect transposons such as piggyBac. In the case of the cricket, however, transgenic animals have not yet been successfully artificially produced. In the present study, we examined whether the piggyBac transposon functions as a tool for gene delivery in embryos of Gryllus bimaculatus. We used either a piggyBac helper plasmid or a helper RNA synthesized in vitro as a transposase source. An excision assay revealed that the helper RNA was more effective in early Gryllus eggs to transpose a marker gene of eGFP than the helper plasmid containing the piggyBac transposase gene driven by the G. bimaculatus actin3/4 promoter. Further, only when the helper RNA was used, somatic transformation of the embryo with the eGFP gene was observed. These results suggest that the piggyBac system with the helper RNA may be effective for making transgenic crickets.     

Cis requirements for transposition of Tc1-like transposons in C. elegans

The Caenorhabditis elegans transposons Tc1 and Tc3 are able to transpose in heterologous systems such as human cell lines and zebrafish. Because these transposons might be useful vectors for transgenesis and mutagenesis of diverse species, we determined the minimal cis requirements for transposition. Deletion mapping of the transposon ends shows that fewer than 100?bp are sufficient for transposition of Tc3. Unlike Tc1, Tc3 has a second, internal transposase binding site at each transposon end. We found that these binding sites play no major role in the transposition reaction, since they can be deleted without reduction of the transposition frequency. Site-directed mutagenesis was performed on the conserved terminal base pairs at the Tc3 ends. The four terminal base pairs at the ends of the Tc3 inverted repeats were shown to be required for efficient transposition. Finally, increasing the length of the transposon from 1.9?kb to 12.5 kb reduced the transposition frequency by 20-fold, both in vivo and in vitro.     

Identification of Novel Non-autonomous CemaT Transposable Elements and Evidence of their Mobility within the C. elegans Genome

We describe here two new transposable elements, CemaT4 and CemaT5, that were identified within the sequenced genome of Caenorhabditis elegans using homology based searches. Five variants of CemaT4 were found, all non-autonomous and sharing 26 bp inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) and segments (152–367 bp) of sequence with similarity to the CemaT1 transposon of C. elegans. Sixteen copies of a short, 30 bp repetitive sequence, comprised entirely of an inverted repeat of the first 15 bp of CemaT4’s ITR, were also found, each flanked by TA dinucleotide duplications, which are hallmarks of target site duplications of mariner-Tc transposon transpositions. The CemaT5 transposable element had no similarity to maT elements, except for sharing identical ITR sequences with CemaT3. We provide evidence that CemaT5 and CemaT3 are capable of excising from the C. elegans genome, despite neither transposon being capable of encoding a functional transposase enzyme. Presumably, these two transposons are cross-mobilised by an autonomous transposon that recognises their shared ITRs. The excisions of these and other non-autonomous elements may provide opportunities for abortive gap repair to create internal deletions and/or insert novel sequence within these transposons. The influence of non-autonomous element mobility and structural diversity on genome variation is discussed.