月季品种‘绿萼’Rc AG基因启动子克隆及分析

月季品种‘绿萼’(Rosa chinensis‘Viridiflora’)是中国古老月季最宝贵资源之一,其花瓣、雄蕊及雌蕊均萼片化。本研究以花器官正常发育的月季品种‘月月粉’(R. chinensis‘Old Blush’)为对照,利用实时荧光定量PCR技术对RcAG基因在‘绿萼’花器官中的表达情况进行分析,阐明RcAG基因在‘绿萼’花器官发育中的作用。结果显示,RcAG基因在‘绿萼’中的表达明显下调。进一步克隆‘绿萼’和‘月月粉’的RcAG基因启动子,序列分析结果表明两个启动子均含有TATA、TATC-box和MBS等顺式作用元件,但在‘绿萼’RcAG基因启动子中发现了光响应元件MRE和昼夜节律调控元件Circadian,而光响应元件TCT-motif只在‘月月粉’RcAG基因启动子中被发现。同时,本研究采用重亚硫酸盐测序技术分析了‘绿萼’和‘月月粉’RcAG基因启动子甲基化的情况,发现‘绿萼’RcAG基因启动子区域中有4个CpG位点均发生甲基化,其甲基化程度远高于‘月月粉’。研究结果表明RcAG基因在‘绿萼’花器官中的下调表达可能与其启动子的顺式作用元件及甲基化修饰相关。     

中国古老月季‘月月粉’FT/TFL1基因的鉴定与表达分析

该研究以中国古老月季品种‘月月粉’(Rosa chinensis‘Old Blush’)为试材,根据拟南芥和草莓FT/TFL1基因家族成员的保守结构域设计引物,对‘月月粉’基因组DNA进行克隆和测序,结合数据库序列和双单倍体基因组信息进行序列比对,结果共获得了8条月季的FT/TFL1基因家族序列,且8条序列分别注释为2个FT基因(RcFT1和RcFT2)、1个BFT基因(RcBFT)、1个ATC基因(RcATC)、2个MFT基因(RcMFT1和RcMFT2)和2个PEBP基因(PEBP1和PEBP2);进化树分析结果将这8个基因分为3个亚组;结构分析显示8个基因的内含子为1～5个不等。qRT-PCR分析显示,RcFT1、RcPEBP、RcMFT1、RcMFT2和RcBFT在‘月月粉’的叶片中表达量最高,茎尖中次之;RcFT2在茎尖中的表达最高,叶片中次之;RcATC在茎尖中的表达量高于其他组织;除RcPEBP在根组织中有表达外,其他基因在根组织中几乎没有检测到。进一步表达分析显示,RcFT1和RcFT2在‘无刺光叶蔷薇’(R.wichuriana‘Basye’s Thornless')生殖生长期的叶片、茎尖中的表达量显著高于营养生长期。研究推测,具有连续开花性状的中国古老月季‘月月粉’可能具有多个开花时间(FT)基因位点,FT有可能可以作为月季生殖转换的标记基因。     

芥蓝miR156a家族进化特性及表达分析

miRNA广泛参与植物的发育过程。芥蓝形态多样,叶片发育因品种而异。为了解miR156a家族的进化特性及其在芥蓝叶片发育中的表达模式。该研究对芥蓝miR156a成员及其前体pre miR156a成员进行生物信息学分析,比较不同品种芥蓝叶形的差异,并采用qRT PCR方法分析芥蓝不同组织部位中pre miR156a的表达水平、以及叶形相似的芥蓝品种‘翠宝’和‘改良香菇’中不同类型叶片的pre miR156a成员及其靶基因的表达水平。结果表明：(1)多序列比对和进化树分析发现芥蓝miR156a家族成员和pre miR156a 3p_1在进化过程中高度保守;二级结构预测发现pre miR156a每个成员均能形成茎环结构并包含2～3个miR156a成员序列;靶基因预测显示miR156a 5p和miR156a主要靶向SPL,而miR156a 3p_1则靶向CTPS等不同的基因。(2)‘翠宝’和‘改良香菇’芥蓝的叶形最为相似,qRT PCR分析显示,pre miR156a在‘翠宝’营养生长期的叶片中高度表达。(3)pre miR156a成员在‘翠宝’和‘改良香菇’不同类型叶片中差异表达,pre miR156a主要在成熟叶和菇叶中表达,而pre miR156a 3p_1和pre miR156a 5p在第一片真叶中表达量更高。(4)靶基因分析的结果在不同品种中呈现不同趋势,‘翠宝’成熟叶中SPL10/15高表达,SPL2表达量降低;‘改良香菇’中SPL10在成熟叶和菇叶中表达降低,SPL15在菇叶中高表达,SPL2在不同类型叶片中表达无差异。研究认为,miR156a成员及其靶基因SPL2/10/15可能参与调控芥蓝叶片发育,不同品种中作用的靶基因可能存在差异,从而导致了各品种芥蓝叶片发育的差异。     

落叶松体胚发育中5个miRNA前体与成熟体的表达

利用同源比对或RACE克隆了5个落叶松(Larix leptolepis) miRNA前体。结果显示, 在各物种miRNA前体间, 成熟序列高度相似, 但其它序列相似度差异大, 序列相似度与亲缘关系有关。采用qRT-PCR分析了5个miRNA、前体和靶基因在落叶松体胚8个发育阶段的表达变化。结果显示, miRNA表达最高峰出现在后期子叶胚, 暗示与促进胚胎休眠有关; 表达次高峰出现时期不同, 表现为miR397和miR408在PEMIII, miR398在早期单胚, miR156和miR166在早期子叶胚, 表明其与保持薄细胞壁、质子传递、顶端分生组织形成等调控有关。miRNA成熟体表达与前体含量不呈线性相关, 可能受多重调控。研究结果对于阐明MIR基因进化、表达调控及在体胚发育中的调控功能具有重要理论意义。     

马蔺根系响应Cd胁迫的miRNA高通量测序分析

为了解Cd胁迫下马蔺﹝Iris lactea var. chinensis ( Fisch.) Koidz.〕根系miRNA的表达模式,采用高通量测序法对100μmol·L-1 Cd胁迫0(CK)和24 h(Cd)后马蔺根系的sRNA文库(分别为CK和Cd文库)进行分析,筛选出显著差异表达的miRNA,并对这些miRNA的靶基因功能进行预测;在此基础上,采用qRT-PCR技术对部分miRNA及其靶基因的表达模式进行验证。结果表明：在CK和Cd文库中,未注释的sRNA序列较多,分别占各自sRNA特异序列总数的86.4%和80.5%;在已注释的sRNA序列中,miRNA所占比例最低(分别为0.3%和0.5%),而rRNA所占比例最高(分别为9.4%和11.8%);2个文库中的sRNA长度主要为21~24 nt,且均以21 nt为最多。从Cd胁迫下马蔺根系sRNA中共筛选出32个显著差异表达的miRNA,其中20个miRNA表达量下调(分别属于miR165、miR166、miR167、miR168、miR390和miR396家族),12个miRNA表达量上调。功能预测结果表明：这些miRNA靶基因的功能主要集中在生物学过程、细胞组分和分子功能3个方面;而从KEGG通路富集分析看,富集在核糖体、氨基酸生物合成和碳代谢3个通路上的差异表达miRNA的靶基因数分别为122、88和82个。 qRT-PCR验证结果表明：在CK和Cd文库间,11个差异表达miRNA及8个靶基因的相对表达量均有显著差异(P<0.05);其中,11个miRNA相对表达量的上调和下调趋势与上述筛选结果一致,并且miRNA相对表达量上调时,其靶基因的相对表达量下调,反之亦然,说明Cd胁迫条件下马蔺根系的miRNA负调控其靶基因的表达,并且这些靶基因主要参与编码转录因子、HD-ZIP蛋白和信号蛋白等过程。     

粗梗水蕨营养期和生殖期微RNA的测定与分析

miRNA控制着开花植物从营养期到生殖期的转变,但这种机制的进化仍不得而知。蕨类植物是陆地植物进化的重要环节,本研究分别测定了粗梗水蕨营养期和生殖期的小RNA,鉴定了42个保守的miRNA,并证实了miR397等7个miRNA最早出现在蕨类植物。miR156在粗梗水蕨的生殖期表达下调,而其SPL靶基因与此同时表达上调。miR172则在生殖期表达上调,并同时有其AP2-like靶基因下调的现象。miR171和miR159的积累水平也发生了变化,因此miRNA控制生长时期转变的机制应该出现在原始的真叶植物中。miR160/166/319/394可能与粗梗水蕨可育叶向下内卷的形态有关。粗梗水蕨能产生tasiR-ARF,从而表明miR390-TAS3-ARF的通路第1次出现于蕨类植物。     

文心兰25条miRNA前体序列特性及其表达分析

为了解文心兰miRNA的序列特性及其在不同组织部位中以及软腐病侵染过程中的表达规律,该研究对文心兰转录组及miRNA数据库中的25条miRNA前体(pre miRNA)序列和15条成熟体序列进行序列特性分析,并对25条pre miRNAs在文心兰不同组织部位及软腐病侵染的假鳞茎中的表达情况进行实时荧光定量分析。结果显示：（1）文心兰25条pre miRNAs序列可分为13个家族,其中包含15条成熟体序列。（2）Mfold二级结构预测显示,文心兰25条pre miRNAs的最小折叠自由能在-32.04~ -120.98 kal/mol之间,均可以形成典型、稳定的发夹结构。（3）序列比对分析发现,同一家族的前体与成熟体存在一个约20个碱基长度的保守区域,推测该区域可能为文心兰miRNA成熟体所在区域。其中,13个前体家族中,有10个家族的成熟体可以完全定位于其前体中。（4）实时荧光定量PCR结果显示,在文心兰不同组织部位中,miR159 unigene0037857、miR167 unigene0011236、miR167 unigene0002619、miR169 unigene0022341、miR172 unigene006514、miR396 unigene19032、miR398 unigene0009996、miR2950 unigene0006151、miR2950 unigene0006422等pre miRNAs在叶片中大量累积可能有利于其叶的形态建成;miR162 unigene0003615、miR162 unigene0013441、miR166 unigene0011870、miR168 unigene0009958等pre miRNAs同时在根和叶中均大量表达有利于其根和叶的发育;而miR171 unigene0045985、miR396 unigene0011179、miR396 unigene0011180在根和茎中的大量表达可能有利于其根和茎的发育。（5）在软腐病病菌侵染文心兰假鳞茎的过程中,miR159 unigene0037857、miR167 unigene0011236、miR396 unigene0011179、miR396 unigene0011180、miR396 unigene0019032、miR845 unigene0012489的表达总体呈下降趋势;miR162 unigene0040566、miR166 unigene0011870、miR168 unigene0009958、miR171 unigene0045985在软腐病菌液侵染4 h其表达量升高,之后表达量下调;miR162 unigene0003615、miR167 unigene0002619、miR168 unigene0047942、miR169 unigene0022341、miR845 unigene0012489在菌液侵染过程中其表达量呈现先下降后上升的趋势,并在侵染8 h后表达量达到最低。研究表明,文心兰pre miRNAs 13个家族不同成员在进化进程中具有高度保守性与特异性的结构特点,并可能广泛参与文心兰不同组织的生长发育及参与软腐病菌侵染的响应。     

秋水仙素诱导月季品种‘月月粉’2n花粉的研究

为获得二倍体古老月季品种‘月月粉’人工诱导2n花粉用于现代月季杂交育种,该研究在了解‘月月粉’花粉母细胞发育过程的基础上,使用秋水仙素注射结合包裹法处理幼嫩花蕾,成功获得了可正常萌发的2n花粉,并通过观察诱导获得的花粉离体及其在雌蕊上的萌发特征,初步评估2n花粉用于杂交育种的性能。结果表明:(1)秋水仙素药棉包裹造成部分花蕾在采粉前死亡,花蕾存活率随秋水仙素浓度提高和处理时间延长均极显著降低。(2)2n花粉诱导率在秋水仙素浓度为2.5、5.0、7.5和10.0 g/L间存在显著差异,但在处理时间为24、48和72 h间无显著差异;最佳诱导处理为5.0 g/L秋水仙素处理24 h,诱导率可达15.83%,该处理获得的2n花粉经亚历山大染色检验活力为27.2%。(3)‘月月粉’花粉母细胞在减数分裂时存在异常落后染色体和平行纺锤体,在四分体时期形成染色体数目加倍的二分体和三分体,最终产生2n花粉。(4)所诱导的2n花粉的体外萌发率和花粉管长度与天然花粉无显著差异,且都可以在母本柱头上萌发并长出花粉管进入子房,表明可用于进一步的杂交育种。     

苎麻纤维不同发育时期差异表达miRNAs的表达谱分析

miRNA在植物生长发育过程中起着重要的调控作用.本研究从苎麻纤维伸长期和胞壁加厚、端壁溶合期的中苎1号苎麻韧皮组织为材料的miRNA芯片中筛选出3个差异表达的miRNAs:miR1450、miR156h和miR172b1.利用半定量RT-PCR技术对3个差异表达miRNAs在4个苎麻纤维发育时期(苎麻纤维分生期,纤维伸长期,胞壁加厚端壁融合期和纤维成熟期)的韧皮组织以及花、叶、根和地下茎等组织和器官中的表达情况进行研究.结果表明供试的3个miRNA在苎麻纤维伸长期和胞壁加厚端壁融合期的表达量均为差异表达,进一步验证了芯片结果,其中mi1450在纤维成熟期表达量最高,在纤维伸长期的表达量最低;mi156h在花、地下茎、根和叶中的表达量显著高于4个苎麻纤维发育时期;mi172b1在纤维分生期的表达量最高,在花中的表达量最低.本研究建立了苎麻miRNA的茎环RT-PCR检测体系,为进一步研究miRNA在苎麻纤维发育过程中的作用奠定了基础.     

芥蓝miR172家族成员进化特性比较及时空表达分析

为了明确植物miR172家族成员的进化特性及其在不同组织部位的表达情况,该研究以芥蓝miR172a家族为例,通过芥蓝miR172a成熟体序列比对、前体(pre-miRNA)二级结构预测、系统发育进化树构建、靶基因预测及实时荧光定量等手段,对芥蓝miR172a和miR172b基因家族的进化特性及其在芥蓝不同组织部位中的表达规律进行分析。结果显示:(1)芥蓝miR172家族存在20个成熟体成员,通过比对发现20条序列都存在一个重叠区域,该区域中ACTAGATC 8个碱基高度保守,并且在芥蓝pre-miR172的3′和5′端均能形成成熟体。(2)mfold预测结果显示,miR172a家族5个前体成员的最小折叠自由能在-54.55~-78.60kal/mol之间,均能自发形成典型、稳定的茎环二级结构。(3)系统发育进化树显示,芥蓝miR172a家族的前体成员具有一定的保守性和多样性,并与番木瓜pre-miR172a亲缘关系较近。(4)靶基因预测发现芥蓝miR172a共有13个不同靶标基因,多个成员也可以作用于相同靶标基因。(5)实时荧光定量PCR显示,芥蓝pre-miR172a和pre-miR172b家族不同成员在不同组织部位表达量差异显著,10个成员在9个组织部位中的表达各不相同。其中,芥蓝pre-miR172a-1、pre-miR172a-2、premiR172a-3和pre-miR172b在芥蓝荚中大量表达;pre-miR172b-5p和pre-miR172b-5p-2在芥蓝花中大量表达。研究表明,miR172在芥蓝花和荚的发育过程中起着重要的作用。     

Redundant and specific roles of individual MIR172 genes in plant development

Evolutionarily conserved microRNAs (miRNAs) usually have high copy numbers in the genome. The redundant and specific roles of each member of a multimember miRNA gene family are poorly understood. Previous studies have shown that the miR156-SPL-miR172 axis constitutes a signaling cascade in regulating plant developmental transitions. Here, we report the feasibility and utility of CRISPR-Cas9 technology to investigate the functions of all 5 MIR172 family members in Arabidopsis. We show that an Arabidopsis plant devoid of miR172 is viable, although it displays pleiotropic morphological defects. MIR172 family members exhibit distinct expression pattern and exert functional specificity in regulating meristem size, trichome initiation, stem elongation, shoot branching, and floral competence. In particular, we find that the miR156-SPL-miR172 cascade is bifurcated into specific flowering responses by matching pairs of coexpressed SPL and MIR172 genes in different tissues. Our results thus highlight the spatiotemporal changes in gene expression that underlie evolutionary novelties of a miRNA gene family in nature. The expansion of MIR172 genes in the Arabidopsis genome provides molecular substrates for the integration of diverse floral inductive cues, which ensures that plants flower at the optimal time to maximize seed yields.

This study uses CRISPR-Cas9 technology to investigate the functions of all five miR172 genes in Arabidopsis, finding that miRNA172 family members exhibit distinct expression pattern and exert functional specificity in regulating meristem size, trichome initiation, stem elongation, shoot branching and floral competence.     

Deep Sequencing of Maize Small RNAs Reveals a Diverse Set of MicroRNA in Dry and Imbibed Seeds

Seed germination plays a pivotal role during the life cycle of plants. As dry seeds imbibe water, the resumption of energy metabolism and cellular repair occur and miRNA-mediated gene expression regulation is involved in the reactivation events. This research was aimed at understanding the role of miRNA in the molecular control during seed imbibition process. Small RNA libraries constructed from dry and imbibed maize seed embryos were sequenced using the Illumina platform. Twenty-four conserved miRNA families were identified in both libraries. Sixteen of them showed significant expression differences between dry and imbibed seeds. Twelve miRNA families, miR156, miR159, miR164, miR166, miR167, miR168, miR169, miR172, miR319, miR393, miR394 and miR397, were significantly down-regulated; while four families, miR398, miR408, miR528 and miR529, were significantly up-regulated in imbibed seeds compared to that in dry seeds. Furthermore, putative novel maize miRNAs and their target genes were predicted. Target gene GO analysis was performed for novel miRNAs that were sequenced more than 50 times in the normalized libraries. The result showed that carbohydrate catabolic related genes were specifically enriched in the dry seed, while in imbibed seed target gene enrichment covered a broad range of functional categories including genes in amino acid biosynthesis, isomerase activity, ligase activity and others. The sequencing results were partially validated by quantitative RT-PCR for both conserved and novel miRNAs and the predicted target genes. Our data suggested that diverse and complex miRNAs are involved in the seed imbibition process. That miRNA are involved in plant hormone regulation may play important roles during the dry-imbibed seed transition.     

Profiling microRNAs in Eucalyptus grandis reveals no mutual relationship between alterations in miR156 and miR172 expression and adventitious root induction during development

Background

The change from juvenile to mature phase in woody plants is often accompanied by a gradual loss of rooting ability, as well as by reduced microRNA (miR) 156 and increased miR172 expression.

Results

We characterized the population of miRNAs of Eucalyptus grandis and compared the gradual reduction in miR156 and increase in miR172 expression during development to the loss of rooting ability. Forty known and eight novel miRNAs were discovered and their predicted targets are listed. The expression pattern of nine miRNAs was determined during adventitious root formation in juvenile and mature cuttings. While the expression levels of miR156 and miR172 were inverse in juvenile and mature tissues, no mutual relationship was found between high miR156 expression and rooting ability, or high miR172 expression and loss of rooting ability. This is shown both in E. grandis and in E. brachyphylla, in which explants that underwent rejuvenation in tissue culture conditions were also examined.

Conclusions

It is suggested that in these Eucalyptus species, there is no correlation between the switch of miR156 with miR172 expression in the stems and the loss of rooting ability.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-524) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

miR172 regulates stem cell fate and defines the inner boundary of APETALA3 and PISTILLATA expression domain in Arabidopsis floral meristems

In Arabidopsis, two floral homeotic genes APETALA2 (AP2) and AGAMOUS (AG) specify the identities of perianth and reproductive organs, respectively, in flower development. The two genes act antagonistically to restrict each other to their proper domains of action within the floral meristem. In addition to AG, which antagonizes AP2, miR172, a microRNA, serves as a negative regulator of AP2. In this study, we showed that AG and miR172 have distinct functions in flower development and that they largely act independently in the negative regulation of AP2. We uncovered functions of miR172-mediated repression of AP2 in the regulation of floral stem cells and in the delineation of the expression domain of another class of floral homeotic genes. Given the antiquity of miR172 in land plants, our findings have implications for the recruitment of a microRNA in the building of a flower in evolution.     

MicroRNA调控被子植物花发育的研究进展

MicroRNA（miRNA）是一类由内源基因编码的长度为21～23nt的非编码单链小RNA分子,通过与靶基因的互补位点结合而降解或抑制靶mRNA的翻译,从而在转录后水平上调控基因的活性。miRNA在调控植物发育方面发挥着广泛的作用。从成花诱导到花器官特征属性的形成,miRNA在整个花发育过程均发挥着关键作用。miRl72和miRl56／157参与由营养生长向生殖生长转换的调控,miRl72和miRl69在花发育的早期阶段通过界定靶基因的表达区域而调控花器官的属性,miR319、miRl59、miRl64以及miRl67在花发育的晚期阶段决定细胞的特化。文章综述了miRNA调控被子植物花发育的研究进展,为深入了解miRNA的作用机制奠定基础。