DGP1, a drought-induced guard cell-specific promoter and its function analysis in tobacco plants

Stomatal pores on the surface of leaf are gate-ways of gas exchange between plants and environment. For example, plants can take in CO2 via photosynthe-sis and lose water by transpiration. It was estimated that plants account for around 65% fresh water use every year, which was mainly lost through stomata[1]. So they attracted much more attention to increase the ability of drought resistance by regulating stomatal movement. Then a tentative plan came to our brains, is it possible for us to as…     

DGP1, a drought-induced guard cell-specific promoter and its function analysis in tobacco plants

The genetic regulation of stomatal movement mainly depends on an efficient control system of gene expression, and guard cell-specific promoter is becoming the best choice. Here we combined the dehydration responsive element (DRE) with guard cell specific element (GCSE) to construct a novel promoter, DGP1. Histochemical assays in transgenic tobacco carryingβ-glucuronidase (gus) gene fused to DGP1 demonstrated that GUS activity was found to be highly inducible by drought treatment and specifically restricted to guard cells. No GUS activity was detected in roots, stems or flowers after treatment. Further quantitative analysis showed that GUS activity in the epidermal strips was apparently induced by dehydration and dramatically increased with the elongation of treatment. The GUS activity after 8 h treatment was 179 times that of those without treatment. Although GUS activity in roots, stems or mesophyll increased after treatment, no great changes were observed. These results suggested that DGP1 could drive target gene expressed in guard cells when plant is subjected to drought stress. And this gets us prepared to control opening and closing of stomata through plant gene engineering.     

Expression of. Arabidopsis tryptophan biosynthetic pathway genes: effect of the 5' coding region of phosphoribosylanthranilate isomerase gene

There are three non-allelic isogenes encoding phosphoribosylanthranilate isomerase (PAI) in Arabidopsis thaliana. The expression plasmids were constructed by fusion of the GUS reporter gene to the three PAI promoters with or without the 5' region encoding PAI N-terminal polypeptides and transferred into Arabidopsis plants by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Analysis of GUS activity revealed that the PAI 5' coding region was necessary for high expression of GUS activity. GUS activity in transgenic plants transformed with the expression plasmids containing the 5' coding region of PAI1 or PAI3 was 60—100-fold higher than that without the corresponding 5' region. However, the effect of 5' coding region of PAI2 gene on the GUS activity was very small (only about 1 time difference). The GUS histochemical staining showed a similar result as revealed by GUS activity assay. It was expressed in the mesophyll cells and guard cells, but not in the epidermic cells, indicating that the N-terminal polypeptides encoded by t     

Differential gene expression in nematode-induced feeding structures of transgenic plants harbouring promoter—gusA fusion constructs

Sedentary plant-parasitic nematodes are able to induce specialized feeding structures in the root system of their host plants by triggering a series of dramatic cellular responses. These changes presumably are accompanied by a reprogramming of gene expression. To monitor such changes, a variety of promoter— gus A fusion constructs were introduced into Arabidopsis and tobacco. Transgenic plants were analysed histochemically for GUS activity in the nematode feeding structures after infection with either Heterodera schachtii or Meloidogyne incognita . Promoters of the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S gene, the bacterial nopaline synthase, rooting loci ( rol ) and T- cyt genes and the plant-derived phenylalanine ammonia-lyase I gene, which are highly active in non-infected roots, were all downregulated in the feeding structures as indicated by the strong decrease of GUS activity inside these structures. Less stringent down-regulation was observed with chimeric gus A fusion constructs harbouring truncated rol B and rol C promoter sequences. Similar observations were made with transgenic Arabidopsis lines that carried randomly integrated promoterless gus A constructs to identify regulatory sequences in the plant genome. Most of the lines that were selected for expression in the root vascular cylinder demonstrated local down-regulation in feeding structures after infection with H. schachtii . The reverse pattern of GUS activity, a blue feeding structure amidst unstained root cells, was also found in several lines. However, GUS activity that was entirely specific for the feeding structures was not observed. Our data show that the expression of a large number of genes is influenced during the development of the nematode feeding structures.     

The blue light-responsive AthH2 gene of Arabidopsis thaliana is primarily expressed in expanding as well as in differentiating cells and encodes a putative channel protein of the plasmalemma

According to our previous studies the Arabidopsis gene AthH2 which is inducible by blue light and phytohormones codes for an intrinsic membrane protein. It bears a resemblance to several distinct channel proteins of plant and animal species classified as the MIP/NOD-26/GlpF family. In the present study biochemical analyses and electron microscopic immunochemistry were used to elucidate the subcellular location of the AthH2 protein. The results clearly demonstrate that it is an exclusive constituent of the plasmalemma. Furthermore, the expression of the AthH2 gene in transgenic Arabidopsis plants containing the promoter region of AthH2 fused to the β-glucuronidase (gus) reporter gene was studied. The in situ localization of gus activity revealed that the specific promoter is temporally activated by light in expanding and/or differentiating cells comprising newly formed tissues and organs: root elongation zone, guard cells of stomata, vascular bundle sheaths, filaments of stamen and young siliques. Several sites of gus expression coincide spatially with those of in situ hybridization and the immunocytochemical reaction, respectively, suggesting that the AthH2 promoter had correctly responded to light as an important exogenous factor with relevance to the complex pattern of differentiation. Studies with protoplasts from plants transformed with an antisense construct revealed a water transport capacity of the AthH2 protein.     

Cell Specific,Cross-Species Expression of Myrosinases in Brassica Napus,Arabidopsis Thaliana and Nicotiana Tabacum

A prototypical characteristic of the Brassicaceae is the presence of the myrosinase-glucosinolate system. Myrosinase, the only known S-glycosidase in plants, degrades glucosinolates, thereby initiating the formation of isothiocyanates, nitriles and other reactive products with biological activities. We have used myrosinase gene promoters from Brassica napus and Arabidopsis thaliana fused to the beta -glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene and introduced into Arabidopsis thaliana, Brassica napus and/or Nicotiana tabacum plants to compare and determine the cell types expressing the myrosinase genes and the GUS expression regulated by these promoters. The A. thaliana TGG1 promoter directs expression to guard cells and phloem myrosin cell idioblasts of transgenic A. thaliana plants. Expression from the same promoter construct in transgenic tobacco plants lacking the myrosinase enzyme system also directs expression to guard cells. The B. napus Myr1.Bn1 promoter directs a cell specific expression to idioblast myrosin cells of immature and mature seeds and myrosin cells of phloem of B. napus. In A. thaliana the B. napus promoter directs expression to guard cells similar to the expression pattern of TGG1. The Myr1.Bn1 signal peptide targets the gene product to the reticular myrosin grains of myrosin cells. Our results indicate that myrosinase gene promoters from Brassicaceae direct cell, organ and developmental specific expression in B. napus, A. thaliana and N. tabacum.     

Expression ofArabidopsis tryptophan biosynthetic pathway genes: effect of the 5′ coding region of phosphoribosylanthranilate isomerase gene

There are three non-allelic isogenes encoding phosphoribosylanthranilate isomerase (PAI) inArabidopsis thaliana. The expression plasmids were constructed by fusion of the GUS reporter gene to the three PAI promoters with or without the 5′ region encoding PAI N-terminal polypeptides and transferred into Arabidopsis plants byAgrobacterium tumefaciens. Analysis of GUS activity revealed that the PAI 5′ coding region was necessary for high expression of GUS activity. GUS activity in transgenic plants transformed with the expression plasmids containing the 5′ coding region of PAH or PAI3 was 60–100-fold higher than that without the corresponding 5′ region. However, the effect of 5’ coding region of PAI2 gene on the GUS activity was very small (only about 1 time difference). The GUS histochemical staining showed a similar result as revealed by GUS activity assay. It was expressed in the mesophyll cells and guard cells, but not in the epidermic cells, indicating that the N-terminal polypeptides encoded by the 5′ region of PAI genes have the function of PTP.     

Engineering a root-specific, repressor-operator gene complex

Strong, tissue-specific and genetically regulated expression systems are essential tools in plant biotechnology. An expression system tool called a 'repressor-operator gene complex' (ROC) has diverse applications in plant biotechnology fields including phytoremediation, disease resistance, plant nutrition, food safety, and hybrid seed production. To test this concept, we assembled a root-specific ROC using a strategy that could be used to construct almost any gene expression pattern. When a modified E. coli lac repressor with a nuclear localization signal was expressed from a rubisco small subunit expression vector, S1pt::lacIn, LacIn protein was localized to the nuclei of leaf and stem cells, but not to root cells. A LacIn repressible Arabidopsis actin expression vector A2pot was assembled containing upstream bacterial lacO operator sequences, and it was tested for organ and tissue specificity using beta-glucuronidase (GUS) and mercuric ion reductase (merA) gene reporters. Strong GUS enzyme expression was restricted to root tissues of A2pot::GUS/S1pt::lacIn ROC plants, while GUS activity was high in all vegetative tissues of plants lacking the repressor. Repression of shoot GUS expression exceeded 99.9% with no evidence of root repression, among a large percentage of doubly transformed plants. Similarly, MerA was strongly expressed in the roots, but not the shoots of A2pot::merA/S1pt::lacIn plants, while MerA levels remained high in both shoots and roots of plants lacking repressor. Plants with MerA expression restricted to roots were approximately as tolerant to ionic mercury as plants constitutively expressing MerA in roots and shoots. The superiority of this ROC over the previously described root-specific tobacco RB7 promoter is demonstrated.     

拟南芥AtNHX2启动子的克隆及表达模式分析

AtNHX2基因是拟南芥NHX基因家族的一员,编码了一种液泡膜中的Na+/H+反向运输体并对拟南芥的耐盐能力起着重要的作用.采用PCR扩增的方法克隆了拟南芥AtNHX2基因启始密码子上游约2.8kb的DNA片段,并将其克隆到植物表达载体pCAMBIA1301-1中,通过基因枪轰击洋葱表皮瞬时表达的方法,初步检测启动子的活性.将重组质粒pCAMBIA1301-1/AtNHX2 promoter转化拟南芥并筛选纯合子.AtNHX2 promoter-GUS分析显示AtNHX2在所有的组织中均有表达,包括根尖.在保卫细胞中检测到了强烈的GUS表达,这一结果表明,AtNHX2对特殊细胞的pH调控和K+自身稳定方面起着重要的作用.AtNHX2启动子的活性可被NaCl抑制,并且抑制的强度和NaCl的浓度成正相关.300 mmol/L KCl处理可增强启动子的活性,说明NaCl和KCl是在转录水平上调控AtNHX2的表达.在老叶中GUS活性比在新叶中GUS活性强,这说明了AtNHX2优先将有毒的离子积累在老叶中,从而有利于植物的正常发育.在根毛细胞中也观测到了强烈的GUS活性,这就暗示了AtNHX2在扩大的液泡中储存Na+.     

The Commelina Yellow Mottle Virus Promoter Is a Strong Promoter in Vascular Tissue of Transgenic Gossypium hirsutum Plants

Explants of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. cv. Jingmian 7) were transformed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Smith et Townsend ) Conn LBA4404 harboring an expression cassette composed of CoYMV (Commelina Yellow Mottle Virus) promoter-gus-nos terminator on the plant expression vector pBcopd2. Transgenic plants were regenerated and selected on a medium containing kanamycin. GUS (β-glucuronidase) activity assays and Southern blot analysis confirmed that the chimerical gus gene was integrated into and expressed in the regenerated cotton plants. Plant expression vector pBI121 was also transferred into the same cotton variety and the regenerated transgenic plants were used as a positive control in GUS activity analysis. Evidences from histochemical analysis of GUS activity demonstrated that under the control of a 597 bp CoYMV promoter the gus gene was highly expressed in the vascular tissues of leaves, petioles, stems, roots, hypocotyls, bracteal leaves and most of the flower parts while GUS activity could not be detected in stigma, anther sac and developing cotton fibers of the transgenic cotton plants. GUS specific activity in various organs and tissues from transgenic cotton lines was determined and the results indicated that the CoYMV promoter-gus activities were at the same level or higher than that of CaMV 35S promoter-gus in leaf veins and roots where the vascular tissues occupy a relatively larger part of the organs, but in other organs like leaves, cotyledons and hypocotyls where the vascular tissues occupy a smaller part of the organs the CoYMV promoter-gus activity was only 1/3-1/5 of the CaMV 35S promoter-gus activity. The GUS activity ratio between veins and leaves was averaged 0.5 for 35S-GUS plants and about 2.0 for CoYMV promoter-gus transgenic plants. These results further demonstrated the vascular specific property of the promoter in transgenic cotton plants. An increasing trend of GUS activity in leaf vascular tissues of transgenic cotton plants developing from young to older was observed.     

拟南芥醛还原酶编码基因At3g04000表达模式分析及过量表达转基因植株获得

植物体内的α,β-不饱和活性醛类化合物对植物细胞具有毒害作用,清除这些α,β-不饱和活性醛类化合物对于植物细胞维持正常的生命活动至关重要。前人研究报道通过体外酶活测定和异源瞬时表达鉴定拟南芥 At3g04000基因编码的蛋白为 NADPH 依赖的叶绿体醛还原酶(Arabidopsis NADPH-dependent chloroplastic aldehyde reductases, AtChlADRs),推测其在清除叶绿体中长链(≥5)α,β-不饱和醛类物质中具有重要的功能。该研究主要构建了拟南芥 At3g04000基因的表达模式分析载体 ProAt3g04000：GUS、亚细胞定位分析载体At3g04000-EGFP 和过量表达载体 At3g04000-OE,并获得了转基因拟南芥,并通过实时定量 PCR 分析了At3g04000基因在拟南芥不同组织中的转录水平。结果表明：拟南芥 At3g04000基因在幼苗中的转录水平最高,在莲座叶、茎生叶、花序和角果中均有较高的转录水平;而在根部和茎秆中的转录水平较低。通过对ProAt3g04000：GUS 转基因植株的 GUS 染色分析可知,At3g04000基因在子叶、莲座叶和萼片的维管组织和保卫细胞中均有较强的表达,在根的维管组织中有较弱的表达。通过共聚焦显微镜对 At3g04000-EGFP 转基因植株的观察和分析发现,At3g04000不是定位于叶绿体中,而是定位在细胞质和细胞核中。该研究结果为深入研究拟南芥醛还原酶编码基因 At3g04000的功能奠定了基础。     

Senescence-associated vacuoles with intense proteolytic activity develop in leaves of Arabidopsis and soybean

Vacuolar compartments associated with leaf senescence and the subcellular localization of the senescence-specific cysteine-protease SAG12 (senescence-associated gene 12) were studied using specific fluorescent markers, the expression of reporter genes, and the analysis of high-pressure frozen/freeze-substituted samples. Senescence-associated vacuoles (SAVs) with intense proteolytic activity develop in the peripheral cytoplasm of mesophyll and guard cells in Arabidopsis and soybean. The vacuolar identity of these compartments was confirmed by immunolabeling with specific antibody markers. SAVs and the central vacuole differ in their acidity and tonoplast composition: SAVs are more acidic than the central vacuole and, whereas the tonoplast of central vacuoles is highly enriched in gamma-TIP (tonoplast intrinsic protein), the tonoplast of SAVs lacks this aquaporin. The expression of a SAG12-GFP fusion protein in transgenic Arabidopsis plants shows that SAG12 localizes to SAVs. The analysis of Pro(SAG12):GUS transgenic plants indicates that SAG12 expression in senescing leaves is restricted to SAV-containing cells, for example, mesophyll and guard cells. A homozygous sag12 Arabidopsis mutant develops SAVs and does not show any visually detectable phenotypical alteration during senescence, indicating that SAG12 is not required either for SAV formation or for progression of visual symptoms of senescence. The presence of two types of vacuoles in senescing leaves could provide different lytic compartments for the dismantling of specific cellular components. The possible origin and functions of SAVs during leaf senescence are discussed.     

Use of the signal peptide of Pisum vicilin to translocate beta-glucuronidase in Nicotiana tabacum.

A hybrid protein system was used for the study of protein transport in plant cells. A nucleotide sequence (vic) encoding a putative signal peptide of 15 amino acid residues, derived from the published aa sequence of one Pisum vicilin, was synthesized and fused in frame to the gus gene encoding a bacterial cytosolic beta-glucuronidase (GUS). When the hybrid vic::gus gene was expressed in tobacco cells using the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter, the hybrid GUS protein was targeted to, and glycosylated inside the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Glycosylation could be blocked with the antibiotic tunicamycin. The study of transient expression in protoplasts showed that extracellular secretion efficiency was low, which may be due to the nature of the GUS protein.     

Isolation of GUS marker lines for genes expressed in Arabidopsis endosperm,embryo and maternal tissues

In order to identify marker lines expressing GUS in various endosperm compartments and at different developmental stages, a collection of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. promoter trap lines were screened. The screen identified 16 lines displaying GUS-reporter gene expression in the endosperm, embryo and other seed organs. The distinctive patterns of GUS expression in these lines provide molecular markers for most cell compartments in the endosperm of Arabidopsis seeds at all developmental stages, and represent a valuable research tool for characterizing present and future Arabidopsis seed mutants. GUS expression patterns of these 16 lines are presented here. One line showed chalazal endosperm-specific GUS activity at the heart stage of embryo development. In six lines embryo-specific GUS activity was detected. Six lines exhibited GUS activity predominantly in the endosperm and embryo while two lines showed strong GUS activity in all seed organs. In one line GUS activity was detected in integuments and syncytial endosperm, while the GUS activity at the cotyledonary stage of the embryo was seed coat-specific. In addition, two funiculus markers and two silique markers expressed in the abscission zone and the guard cells are also presented.     

Introns control expression of sucrose transporter LeSUT1 in trichomes,companion cells and in guard cells

In solanaceous plants such as tomato and tobacco, the sucrose transporter SUT1 is crucial for phloem loading. Using GUS as a reporter, the promoter and other regulatory cis elements required for the tomato LeSUT1 expression were analyzed by heterologous expression of translational chimeric constructs in tobacco. Although LeSUT1 is highly expressed at the RNA level, GUS expression under the control of a 1.8 kb LeSUT1 promoter resulted in few plants expressing GUS. In GUS-positive transformants, expression levels were low and limited to leaf phloem. Increasing or decreasing the length of LeSUT1 promoter did not lead to a significant increase in positive transformants or higher expression levels. Translational fusion of GUS to the LeSUT1 C-terminus in a construct containing all exons and introns and the 3'-UTR led to a higher number of positive transformants and many plants with high GUS activity. LeSUT1 expression was detected in ab- and adaxial phloem companion cells, trichomes and guard cells. The role of individual introns in LeSUT1 expression was further analyzed by placing each LeSUT1 intron into the 5'-UTR within the 2.3 kb LeSUT1 promoter construct. Results showed remarkable functions for the three introns for SUT1 expression in trichomes, guard cells and phloem cells. Intron 3 is responsible for expression in trichomes, whereas intron 2 is necessary for expression in companion cells and guard cells. The combination of all introns is required for the full expression pattern in phloem, guard cells and trichomes.     

Enhancement of somatic intrachromosomal homologous recombination in Arabidopsis by the HO endonuclease.

The HO endonuclease promotes gene conversion between mating-type alleles in yeast by a DNA double-strand break at the site of conversion (the MAT-Y/Z site). As a first step toward understanding the molecular basis of homologous recombination in higher plants, we demonstrate that expression of HO in Arabidopsis enhances intrachromosomal recombination between inverted repeats of two defective beta-glucuronidase (gus) genes (GUS- test construct). One of these genes has the Y/Z site. The two genes share 2.5 kb of DNA sequence homology around the HO cut site. Somatic recombination between the two repeats was determined by using a histochemical assay of GUS activity. The frequency of Gus+ sectors in leaves of F1 plants from a cross between parents homozygous for the GUS- test construct and HO, respectively, was 10-fold higher than in F1 plants from a cross between the same plant containing the GUS- test construct and a wild-type parent. Polymerase chain reaction analysis showed restoration of the 5' end of the GUS gene in recombinant sectors. The induction of intrachromosomal gene conversion in Arabidopsis by HO reveals the general utility of site-specific DNA endonucleases in producing targeted homologous recombination in plant genomes.