拟南芥复制因子C亚基3在黄化苗下胚轴伸长生长中的作用

拟南芥遮光培养2．5d时,rfc3-1突变体黄化幼苗的下胚轴平均长度约比野生型植株黄化幼苗的下胚轴长27．5％。观察表明,相对于野生型复制因子C亚基3（replication factor C3,AtRFC3）基因突变体的下胚轴表皮细胞,特别是上部靠近子叶部分的表皮细胞,单细胞长度变长。将野生型RFC3基因转染到rfc3-1后,突变体恢复野生型表型,进一步说明RFC3在黄化苗的下胚轴伸长生长中有作用。     

拟南芥光形态突变体的筛选与基因鉴定

以哥伦比亚(Columbia)野生型拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)为实验材料,用含有激活标记双元质粒pCB260的农杆菌浸花进行转化,构建拟南芥T-DNA插入突变体库.通过突变体的筛选和表型分析,获得了两株光形态突变体,子叶下胚轴伸长的光抑制效应减弱.通过TAIL-PCR(thermal asymmetric interlaced-PCR)技术,成功扩增出突变植株T-DNA插入位点侧翼序列,经NCBI序列比对,T-DNA分别插在CRY1第一和第三外显子部位.突变体的表型分析及PCR鉴定结果表明,T-DNA插入CRY1并影响到突变植株的光形态建成.     

快速筛选拟南芥受精和早期胚胎发生相关基因的方法

阐明拟南芥受精和早期胚胎发生过程对理解被子植物生殖发育有着重要的指导意义,而利用正向遗传学方法研究拟南芥突变体的表型及其分子机理是探究植物基因功能最常用的一种方法。基于常规的插入突变(包括T-DNA和转座子)、化学诱变(如ethylmethane sulfonate,EMS)和高能射线方法构建的突变体库中假阳性突变体多,难以高效筛选到受精和早期胚胎发生相关基因的突变体。为解决这一难题,本研究建立了一种构建T-DNA插入突变体文库的新方法。即在载体p CAMBIA1302的T-DNA元件上增加花粉特异荧光标记基因(p LAT52∷EGFP),并遗传转化具有四分体花粉的Columbia野生型拟南芥突变体qrt1-2;对获得的突变体库可利用花粉荧光快速排除假阳性突变体,并采用反向PCR(inverse-PCR)扩增技术确定突变位点。此方法在筛选拟南芥受精和早期胚胎发生相关基因突变体上的成功应用表明,其是一种效率高、针对性强、操作相对快捷方便的拟南芥突变体筛选方法。     

化学诱导激活型拟南芥突变体库的构建及分析

利用化学诱导激活XVE（LexA-VP16-ER）系统构建了一个包含40000余个独立转化株系的拟南芥突变体库,并对其中的18000余个株系进行了初步的遗传学和表型分析鉴定。卡那霉素抗性分离比表明,51．6％的株系为单位点插入株系,T-DNA插入的平均拷贝数为每株系1．38个。部分T1代和T2代植株表现出了可见的形态变异,包括下胚轴长度、根长度、植株大小和颜色、叶子颜色和形态、开花时间、种皮颜色及结实情况等对数个代表性突变株系表型及T—DNA插入位点侧翼序列进行了分析,结果表明突变体的表型是由于T—DNA的插入造成的,而且这些突变体中包括前人发现的AP2和AGAMOUS的等位基因。由于T-DNA标记或相邻的基因可被XVE系统诱导性的激活,或被T-DNA破坏导致功能缺失,该突变体库可以用于大规模筛选鉴定功能缺失性和功能获得性突变体。     

拟南芥At1g10300基因调节叶形和开花时间

核仁G蛋白1(Nucleolar G protein 1,NOG1)是一种高度保守的核仁GTP酶,在真核生物中广泛存在,参与60 S核糖体亚基前体的组装。在线虫中敲减NOG1的表达造成生长缓慢、虫体变小和寿命延长的表型,而过量表达NOG1则使线虫的寿命缩短。拟南芥的At1g10300基因注释为NOG1-2,但是其生物学功能还有待研究。该研究对其功能进行了初步研究,首先检测了该基因在拟南芥各个器官的表达情况。结果表明:该基因在7 d龄幼苗、茎生叶和花中均有表达,其中在花中表达量最高。获得了At1g10300基因的T-DNA插入突变体,发现在长日照条件下,At1g10300突变体植株的莲座紧凑,莲座叶片长宽比降低,但叶面积和植株高度与野生型相比无显著差异,表明其叶形发生改变;突变体植株的抽薹时间晚于野生型。荧光定量RT-PCR结果表明,突变体植株中开花促进因子FT、CO和GI的表达水平下调,而开花抑制因子FLC的表达水平上调。以上结果揭示At1g10300基因的突变影响了FT、CO、GI及FLC基因的表达,使植株出现晚花表型。     

拟南芥根生长缺陷突变体rei1的分离和鉴定

植物体根发育是一个复杂的过程,尽管对其研究颇多,但对其中的分子机制尚缺乏足够认识。以模式植物拟南芥（Arabidopsis thaliana）为研究材料,在T-DNA突变体库中分离到一个拟南芥根生长缺陷突变体rei1（root elongationinhi-bited1）。通过表型分析发现,rei1在生长发育方面与野生型存在明显的差异,突变体的根较野生型短,且角果较小,花出现部分的败育。对突变体进行显微结构分析,发现突变体的根在内部结构上表现为表皮及皮层细胞形态不规则,排列疏松且横向膨大。遗传学分析表明,rei1是单基因隐性突变且与一个T-DNA插入共分离,通过图位克隆的方法成功分离了缺失的候选基因。以上研究结果表明,REI1对植物的根发育具有非常重要的调节作用。     

拟南芥激活标记突变体库的构建及突变体基因的克隆

激活标记(activation tagging)技术是以功能获得突变体为研究对象,在植物功能基因组学的研究中具有重要的作用.文章以双子叶模式植物拟南芥(Arabudidopsis thaliana)野生生态型植株为实验材料,以含有激活标记质粒pSKI015的农杆菌直接喷雾进行转化,并以抗除草剂Basta为筛选标记,构建了拟南芥的激活标记突变体库.结果共得到约20 000个独立转化株系(T1代),其中38个株系有明显的表型变化,约占转化植株总数的千分之二.基因组DNA Southern杂交结果表明,大多数转化植株为多拷贝T-DNA插入.通过质粒拯救(plasmid rescue)和TAIL-PCR(Thermal asymmetric interlaced-PCR)可获得T-DNA插入的基因组旁邻序列,为克隆突变体的基因奠定基础.     

拟南芥茎顶端分生组织相关突变体的表型与结构分析

以拟南芥野生型(C24)和T-DNA插入诱发的突变体(155系)为材料,通过表型分析、组织切片、GUS基因表达的组织化学定位等研究方法对155系的形态结构和生长发育进行了较为细致的观察分析,结果发现:(1)T-DNA插入诱发的155系突变体植株矮化,叶片等器官体积减小,营养生长阶段延长,发育较C24缓慢;(2)同一时期155系的茎顶端分生组织面积较C24减小,顶端平坦,细胞层数减少,两侧叶原基基部之间的距离缩短,呈现出发育迟缓、从茎顶端分生组织向花分生组织转变延迟等特征;(3)GUS基因特异性地在155系茎顶端分生组织和维管组织中表达.结果表明,T-DNA诱捕基因可能在茎顶端分生组织中发挥作用,由于T-DNA的插入使该基因的功能受到了影响,进而影响了155系中茎顶端分生组织的发育模式,产生了155系的一系列表型改变.     

异三聚体G-蛋白突变对拟南芥生长发育过程的影响

对拟南芥异三聚体G蛋白α-亚基突变体gpa1-3、β-亚基突变体agb1-2及α和β亚基双突变体gpa1agb1与相应的Col野生型的形态特征比较发现,异三聚体G蛋白的突变引起根、叶、生殖器官等的表型发生改变,gpa1-3的叶片宽椭圆形,略大于Col,叶片下表皮细胞显著大于Col、agb1-2及gpa1agb1,果柄也显著长于其它三类,但侧根发生及长角果形态与Col无显著性差异;agb1-2的表型与gpa1agb1的表型相似:叶片小而近圆形、叶缘平滑,侧根发达,长角果较短,这些特征均显著区别于Col及gpa1-3.结果表明,异三聚体G-蛋白在拟南芥的多个生长发育过程中发生作用,且α-亚基和β-亚基在叶、根、花器官等发育过程中的作用不同.     

转GFP::cDNA基因拟南芥筛选及相关基因的功能分析

本研究以随机GFP::cDNA融合基因转基因拟南芥为材料,筛选到在细胞核或在细胞核和细胞质中均表达GFP信号的转基因株系58个。对这些转基因株系中的cDNA插入片段进行克隆,获得4株插入片段能按原初编码框进行编码的转基因株系。对插入片段为编码富含甘氨酸蛋白AtGRP8 C-末端(富含甘氨酸的结构域)的转基因株系R2的表型分析发现,连续白光、红光或蓝光下其幼苗的下胚轴比野生型的要短,且较低光照强度白光(低于100μmol m-2s-1)、蓝光(低于75μmol m-2s-1)下的差异更加明显,但是黑暗中其幼苗的下胚轴与野生型相比无明显差异,表明AtGRP8蛋白可能通过其C-末端功能域参与调控拟南芥的光形态建成反应。     

Replication factor C1 (RFC1) is required for double‐strand break repair during meiotic homologous recombination in Arabidopsis

Replication factor C1 (RFC1), which is conserved in eukaryotes, is involved in DNA replication and checkpoint control. However, a RFC1 product participating in DNA repair at meiosis has not been reported in Arabidopsis. Here, we report functional characterization of AtRFC1 through analysis of the rfc1–2 mutant. The rfc1–2 mutant displayed normal vegetative growth but showed silique sterility because the male gametophyte was arrested at the uninucleus microspore stage and the female at the functional megaspore stage. Expression of AtRFC1 was concentrated in the reproductive organ primordia, meiocytes and developing gametes. Chromosome spreads showed that pairing and synapsis were normal, and the chromosomes were broken when desynapsis began at late prophase I, and chromosome fragments remained in the subsequent stages. For this reason, homologous chromosomes and sister chromatids segregated unequally, leading to pollen sterility. Immunolocalization revealed that the AtRFC1 protein localized to the chromosomes during zygotene and pachytene in wild‐type but were absent in the spo11–1 mutant. The chromosome fragmentation of rfc1–2 was suppressed by spo11–1, indicating that AtRFC1 acted downstream of AtSPO11‐1. The similar chromosome behavior of rad51 rfc1–2 and rad51 suggests that AtRFC1 may act with AtRAD51 in the same pathway. In summary, AtRFC1 is required for DNA double‐strand break repair during meiotic homologous recombination of Arabidopsis.     

Arabidopsis replication factor C4 is critical for DNA replication during the mitotic cell cycle

Replication factor C (RFC) is a conserved eukaryotic complex consisting of RFC1/2/3/4/5. It plays important roles in DNA replication and the cell cycle in yeast and fruit fly. However, it is not very clear how RFC subunits function in higher plants, except for the Arabidopsis (At) subunits AtRFC1 and AtRFC3. In this study, we investigated the functions of AtRFC4 and found that loss of function of AtRFC4 led to an early sporophyte lethality that initiated as early as the elongated zygote stage, all defective embryos arrested at the two‐ to four‐cell embryo proper stage, and the endosperm possessed six to eight free nuclei. Complementation of rfc4‐1/+ with AtRFC4 expression driven through the embryo‐specific DD45pro and ABI3pro or the endosperm‐specific FIS2pro could not completely restore the defective embryo or endosperm, whereas a combination of these three promoters in rfc4‐1/+ enabled the aborted ovules to develop into viable seeds. This suggests that AtRFC4 functions simultaneously in endosperm and embryo and that the proliferation of endosperm is critical for embryo maturation. Assays of DNA content in rfc4‐1/+ verified that DNA replication was disrupted in endosperm and embryo, resulting in blocked mitosis. Moreover, we observed a decreased proportion of late S‐phase and M‐phase cells in the rfc4‐1/–^{FIS2;DD45;ABI3pro::AtRFC4} seedlings, suggesting that incomplete DNA replication triggered cell cycle arrest in cells of the root apical meristem. Therefore, we conclude that AtRFC4 is a crucial gene for DNA replication.     

Rfc4 interacts with Rpa1 and is required for both DNA replication and DNA damage checkpoints in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The large subunit of replication protein A (Rpa1) consists of three single-stranded DNA binding domains and an N-terminal domain (Rpa1N) of unknown function. To determine the essential role of this domain we searched for mutations that require wild-type Rpa1N for viability in yeast. A mutation in RFC4, encoding a small subunit of replication factor C (RFC), was found to display allele-specific interactions with mutations in the gene encoding Rpa1 (RFA1). Mutations that map to Rpa1N and confer sensitivity to the DNA synthesis inhibitor hydroxyurea, such as rfa1-t11, are lethal in combination with rfc4-2. The rfc4-2 mutant itself is sensitive to hydroxyurea, and like rfc2 and rfc5 strains, it exhibits defects in the DNA replication block and intra-S checkpoints. RFC4 and the DNA damage checkpoint gene RAD24 were found to be epistatic with respect to DNA damage sensitivity. We show that the rfc4-2 mutant is defective in the G(1)/S DNA damage checkpoint response and that both the rfc4-2 and rfa1-t11 strains are defective in the G(2)/M DNA damage checkpoint. Thus, in addition to its essential role as part of the clamp loader in DNA replication, Rfc4 plays a role as a sensor in multiple DNA checkpoint pathways. Our results suggest that a physical interaction between Rfc4 and Rpa1N is required for both roles.     

ATP utilization by yeast replication factor C. III. The ATP-binding domains of Rfc2, Rfc3, and Rfc4 are essential for DNA recognition and clamp loading.

The conserved lysine in the Walker A motif of the ATP-binding domain encoded by the yeast RFC1, RFC2, RFC3, and RFC4 genes was mutated to glutamic acid. Complexes of replication factor C with a N-terminal truncation (Delta2-273) of the Rfc1 subunit (RFC) containing a single mutant subunit were overproduced in Escherichia coli for biochemical analysis. All of the mutant RFC complexes were capable of interacting with PCNA. Complexes containing a rfc1-K359E mutation were similar to wild type in replication activity and ATPase activity; however, the mutant complex showed increased susceptibility to proteolysis. In contrast, complexes containing either a rfc2-K71E mutation or a rfc3-K59E mutation were severely impaired in ATPase and clamp loading activity. In addition to their defects in ATP hydrolysis, these complexes were defective for DNA binding. A mutant complex containing the rfc4-K55E mutation performed as well as a wild type complex in clamp loading, but only at very high ATP concentrations. Mutant RFC complexes containing rfc2-K71R or rfc3-K59R, carrying a conservative lysine --> arginine mutation, had much milder clamp loading defects that could be partially (rfc2-K71R) or completely (rfc3-K59R) suppressed at high ATP concentrations.     

Contrasting effects of Elg1-RFC and Ctf18-RFC inactivation in the absence of fully functional RFC in fission yeast

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen loading onto DNA by replication factor C (RFC) is a key step in eukaryotic DNA replication and repair processes. In this study, the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the large subunit of fission yeast RFC is shown to be essential for its function in vivo. Cells carrying a temperature-sensitive mutation in the CTD, rfc1-44, arrest with incompletely replicated chromosomes, are sensitive to DNA damaging agents, are synthetically lethal with other DNA replication mutants, and can be suppressed by mutations in rfc5. To assess the contribution of the RFC-like complexes Elg1–RFC and Ctf18–RFC to the viability of rfc1-44, genes encoding the large subunits of these complexes have been deleted and overexpressed. Inactivation of Ctf18–RFC by the deletion of ctf18⁺, dcc1⁺ or ctf8⁺ is lethal in an rfc1-44 background showing that full Ctf18–RFC function is required in the absence of fully functional RFC. In contrast, rfc1-44 elg1Δ cells are viable and overproduction of Elg1 in rfc1-44 is lethal, suggesting that Elg1–RFC plays a negative role when RFC function is inhibited. Consistent with this, the deletion of elg1⁺ is shown to restore viability to rfc1-44 ctf18Δ cells.     

Negative Regulation of Systemic Acquired Resistance by Replication Factor C Subunit3 in Arabidopsis

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a plant immune response induced by local necrotizing pathogen infections. Expression of SAR in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants correlates with accumulation of salicylic acid (SA) and up-regulation of Pathogenesis-Related (PR) genes. SA is an essential and sufficient signal for SAR. In a genetic screen to search for negative regulators of PR gene expression and SAR, we found a new mutant that is hypersensitive to SA and exhibits enhanced induction of PR genes and resistance against the virulent oomycete Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis Noco2. The enhanced pathogen resistance in the mutant is Nonexpressor of PR genes1 independent. The mutant gene was identified by map-based cloning, and it encodes a protein with high homology to Replication Factor C Subunit3 (RFC3) of yeast and other eukaryotes; thus, the mutant was named rfc3-1. rfc3-1 mutant plants are smaller than wild-type plants and have narrower leaves and petals. On the epidermis of true leaves, there are fewer cells in rfc3-1 compared with the wild type. Cell production rate is reduced in rfc3-1 mutant roots, indicating that the mutated RFC3 slows down cell proliferation. As Replication Factor C is involved in replication-coupled chromatin assembly, our data suggest that chromatin assembly and remodeling may play important roles in the negative control of PR gene expression and SAR.     

The RFC2 Gene, Encoding the Third-Largest Subunit of the Replication Factor C Complex, Is Required for an S-Phase Checkpoint in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Replication factor C (RF-C), an auxiliary factor for DNA polymerases δ and , is a multiprotein complex consisting of five different polypeptides. It recognizes a primer on a template DNA, binds to a primer terminus, and helps load proliferating cell nuclear antigen onto the DNA template. The RFC2 gene encodes the third-largest subunit of the RF-C complex. To elucidate the role of this subunit in DNA metabolism, we isolated a thermosensitive mutation (rfc2-1) in the RFC2 gene. It was shown that mutant cells having the rfc2-1 mutation exhibit (i) temperature-sensitive cell growth; (ii) defects in the integrity of chromosomal DNA at restrictive temperatures; (iii) progression through cell cycle without definitive terminal morphology and rapid loss of cell viability at restrictive temperatures; (iv) sensitivity to hydroxyurea, methyl methanesulfonate, and UV light; and (v) increased rate of spontaneous mitotic recombination and chromosome loss. These phenotypes of the mutant suggest that the RFC2 gene product is required not only for chromosomal DNA replication but also for a cell cycle checkpoint. It was also shown that the rfc2-1 mutation is synthetically lethal with either the cdc44-1 or rfc5-1 mutation and that the restrictive temperature of rfc2-1 mutant cells can be lowered by combining either with the cdc2-2 or pol2-11 mutation. Finally, it was shown that the temperature-sensitive cell growth phenotype and checkpoint defect of the rfc2-1 mutation can be suppressed by a multicopy plasmid containing the RFC5 gene. These results suggest that the RFC2 gene product interacts with the CDC44/RFC1 and RFC5 gene products in the RF-C complex and with both DNA polymerases δ and during chromosomal DNA replication.