隐花素在生长素调控拟南芥下胚轴伸长中的作用分析

以拟南芥野生型(Col-4)和隐花素双突变体cry1cry2为材料,研究不同光照条件下不同浓度吲哚乙酸(IAA)和IAA极性运输抑制剂氨基酞氨酸(NPA)对幼苗下胚轴伸长的影响。结果显示,低浓度IAA(10-7mol/L)可促进连续白光和红光下cry1cry2幼苗下胚轴伸长,而连续蓝光下cry1cry2下胚轴的伸长则受到抑制。蓝光下相同浓度的NPA对cry1cry2幼苗下胚轴伸长的抑制程度比野生型要小。RT-PCR分析结果显示,瞬时蓝光处理时IAA合成关键酶基因IGPS以及生长素应答基因IAA1和IAA5在cry1cry2突变体中的转录水平比野生型中要高。这表明隐花素可能部分通过调节IAA合成和/或IAA极性运输,介导蓝光调控拟南芥下胚轴的伸长。     

拟南芥QUA1基因在光信号途径中的表达与功能分析

光信号在植物生长发育过程中具有非常重要的作用。不同的光信号通过调节植物下游基因的表达,进而影响细胞分化、结构和功能的改变,以及组织和器官的形成,参与植物光形态建成。QUA1 (QUASIMODO1)是拟南芥糖基转移酶家族中的一个成员,参与植物细胞壁中果胶的合成。本文以拟南芥qua1-1/cry1以及qua1-1/phyB双突变体为材料,对QUA1基因在光信号途径中的功能进行了分析。结果显示,qua1-1突变体在暗、蓝光、红光以及远红外光培养条件下下胚轴的伸长均受到抑制,QUA1基因的表达同样受到光信号的调节,而且突变体中多种光信号调节基因的表达也受到了影响。通过对qua1-1突变体下胚轴的观察发现,突变体下胚轴表皮细胞长度明显变短。与cry1以及phyB突变体相比,qua1-1/cry1和qua1-1/phyB双突变体下胚轴长度明显变短,而且双突变体中光信号调节基因的表达也有明显变化,表明QUA1可能参与了CRY1以及PHYB介导的蓝光及红光信号传导。以上结果表明QUA1影响了下胚轴细胞的伸长以及光信号调节基因的表达,并参与调控多种光信号传导途径。     

红光下拟南芥光敏素调节基因的蛋白质鉴定与mRNA分析

光敏素是植物体内一种重要的光受体家族,它们可介导植物对外界红光和远红光的应答,在植物的生理发育过程中发挥重要作用.基因芯片分析结果表明,PHYA和PHYB在转导红光信号至光应答基因的过程中起关键作用.为了获得与PHYA,PHYB相关的光应答基因,本研究采用双向电泳技术比较分析了在持续红光下生长7天的拟南芥光敏素双突变体phyAphyB和野生型col-4幼苗的全蛋白图谱.采用基质辅助激光解吸飞行时间串联质谱（MALDI-TOF-TOF）进行肽质谱指纹图谱分析,成功鉴定到了32个差异蛋白点.选取其中的10个蛋白点,对应于10个不同的基因,进行了RT-PCR分析,并用Q-PCR对其中的2个基因表达情况进行了验证.结果表明,光敏素可能从mRNA水平或蛋白质水平来调节基因的表达.蛋白质组学分析为寻找光敏素依赖基因提供了新的途径。     

蓝光和蔗糖对拟南芥花色素苷积累和CHS基因表达的影响

以在20μmol m^-2s^-1白光下生长13d的拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana,Landsbcrg生态型)幼苗为材料,采用测定叶片花色素苷含量和Northern blot方法,研究蓝光与蔗糖在诱导植物花色素苷积累及相关基因表达中的作用。结果表明：蓝光处理后,叶片花色素苷积累随光强和照光时间的延长而增加,突变体hy4叶片的花色素苷含量明显低于野生型(WT),说明隐花色素1(cry1)是蓝光诱导花色素苷积累的主要光受体：WT中苯基苯乙烯酮合酶基因(CHS)的表达受蓝光诱导,处理4h即有表达,8h达到最高,之后逐渐下降;蓝光不能诱导突变体hy4中CHS基因的表达,说明cry1介导蓝光诱导CHS基因的表达。培养基中不含蔗糖,削弱了蓝光诱导的拟南芥叶片花色素苷的积累,CHS基因表达也受到抑制。蔗糖不仅作为碳源参与蓝光诱导的花色素苷积累,还可能作为信号分子参与蓝光诱导的CHS表达。     

蓝光对拟南芥种子萌发的影响

通过检测分析不同蓝光条件下,拟南芥野生型和蓝光受体突变体的种子萌发率发现,蓝光诱导拟南芥种子萌发,隐花素主要介导蓝光诱导拟南芥种子的早期（蓝光培养1—3d）萌发,并且与光照强度有关。施用GA生物合成抑制剂多效唑或嘧啶醇的研究结果表明,相同浓度的抑制剂对crylcry2突变体种子萌发的抑制作用比野生型强,并且解除抑制剂对crylcry2突变体种子萌发所需的外源有生物活性的GA,量也较野生型多。这些实验结果初步证实了隐花素介导蓝光诱导种子萌发,并且可能与蓝光下种子萌发过程中有生物活性的GA合成增加有关。     

拟南芥转录因子HB22与CRY1相互作用研究

通过酵母双杂交的方法,从拟南芥转录因子库中筛选出了6个与CRY1相互作用的转录因子.为了测定其中的HB22与CRY1相互作用的强度,采用了ONPG与CPRG两种方法对其β-半乳糖苷酶活性进行了分析.结果显示在蓝光光强为50μmol/m2s,孵育时间为4 h的情况下,蓝光与暗处理情况下的β-半乳糖苷酶活性比值分别为1.668和2.18.进一步设置蓝光处理时间及光强梯度实验数据显示,在蓝光光强为50μmol/m2s孵育时间为3 h时,二者相互作用强度达到最高.说明HB22与CRY1的相互作用具有蓝光响应.对蓝光处理不同时间的野生型col-4与cry1缺失突变体的材料进行HB22基因的定量PCR分析,发现拟南芥cry1缺失突变体中该基因的表达量比野生型中高,在蓝光处理2 h时,缺失突变体中表达量为野生型中的6倍左右.说明CRY1可能介导蓝光抑制HB22基因表达.     

隐光敏素及其信号传导研究进展

隐光敏素是一种对植物生长发育起调节作用的与光敏素功能相似的蓝光受体。90’s后特别是近年来对植物隐光敏素进行了较深入的研究,已知隐光敏素存在于植物,也存在于动物中。隐光敏素在植物种子萌发中的去黄化作用、光周期诱导开花、调节昼夜节律性等方面起重要作用;本文介绍了隐光敏素基因及其蛋白质的特征特性,包括隐光敏素的结构特征,在植物中的分布、在细胞中定位及其基因表达情况; 在其基础上,概述了隐光敏素调节植物光形态建成和动、植物昼夜节律性过程中所起的作用,通过分析隐光敏素及其与互作蛋白的关系, 初步阐述了隐光敏素如何经过信号传导通道上的蛋白而起调节植物生命活动的功能。指出深入研究隐光敏素及其信号传导以阐明植物的光形态建成具有重大理论和实践意义。     

GA2ox8基因过量表达诱导蓝光下拟南芥光形态建成

检测不同光照强度蓝光下,过量表达GA2ox8基因的转基因植株光形态建成表型的结果表明,突变体比各自的母本的下胚轴短,茎尖角度和子叶张开度较大,花青素和叶绿素的含量较高,并且其差异与GA2ox8基因的表达量呈正相关.RT-PCR检测光调节基因表达水平的结果显示,暗培养条件下其突变体幼苗中的水平比各自的母本高,蓝光下35S::GFP-GA2ox8-1.35S::GFP-GA2ox8-8与母本co1-4之间差异不明显,但scc7-D中的水平比母本crylcry2高.这似乎说明,GA2ox8基因过量表达可诱导蓝光下拟南芥幼苗光形态建成.     

高等植物开花时程的调控与光受体Ⅱ.光受体调控开花时程的分子机制与昼夜节律时间钟

系统评述了高等植物开花时程的调控与植物光受体的联系.重点说明了控制开花时程的遗传途径以及光周期途径的有关基因的研究进展.而且对植物光受体调控高等植物开花里程的分子机制作了深入的探讨.高等植物从营养生长向生殖生长及发育转变的时程具有重要意义.控制高等植物开花时程及其性别表达的关键就在此过程中.植物光受体参与了高等植物开花时程的调控并起到了重要作用.植物光受体主要包括植物光敏素受体(光敏素A、B、D、E受体)和隐色素受体.近5年左右的时间通过对拟南芥及其一系列突变体的研究展示了这一热门领域的广阔的理论与应用前景.     

GA20x8基因过量表达诱导蓝光下拟南芥光形态建成

检测不同光照强度蓝光下,过量表达GA20x8基因的转基因植株光形态建成表型的结果表明,突变体比各自的母本的下胚轴短,茎尖角度和子叶张开度较大,花青素和叶绿素的含量较高,并且其差异与GA20x8基因的表达量呈正相关。RT—PCR检测光调节基因表达水平的结果显示,暗培养条件下其突变体幼苗中的水平比各自的母本高,蓝光下35S：：GFP—GA20x8-1,35S：：GFP—GA20x8—8与母本col-4之间差异不明显,但scc7-D中的水平比母本crylcry2高。这似乎说明,GA20x8基因过量表达可诱导蓝光下拟南芥幼苗光形态建成。     

Cryptochrome‐mediated hypocotyl phototropism was regulated antagonistically by gibberellic acid and sucrose in Arabidopsis

Both phototropins(phot1 and phot2) and cryptochromes(cry1 and cry2) were proven as the Arabidopsis thaliana blue light receptors. Phototropins predominately function in photomovement, and cryptochromes play a role in photomorphogenesis. Although cryptochromes have been proposed to serve as positive modulators of phototropic responses, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Here, we report that depleting sucrose from the medium or adding gibberellic acids(GAs) can partially restore the defects in phototropic curvature of the phot1 phot2 double mutants under high-intensity blue light; this restoration does not occur in phot1 phot2 cry1 cry2 quadruple mutants and nph3(nonphototropic hypocotyl 3) mutants which were impaired phototropic response in sucrose-containing medium. These results indicate that GAs and sucrose antagonistically regulate hypocotyl phototropism in a cryptochromes dependent manner, but it showed a crosstalk with phototropin signaling on NPH3.Furthermore, cryptochromes activation by blue light inhibit GAs synthesis, thus stabilizing DELLAs to block hypocotyl growth, which result in the higher GAs content in the shade side than the lit side of hypocotyl to support the asymmetric growth of hypocotyl. Through modulation of the abundance of DELLAs by sucrose depletion or added GAs, it revealed that cryptochromes have a function in mediating phototropic curvature.     

Cryptochromes are required for phytochrome signaling to the circadian clock but not for rhythmicity

The circadian clock is entrained to the daily cycle of day and night by light signals at dawn and dusk. Plants make use of both the phytochrome (phy) and cryptochrome (cry) families of photoreceptors in gathering information about the light environment for setting the clock. We demonstrate that the phytochromes phyA, phyB, phyD, and phyE act as photoreceptors in red light input to the clock and that phyA and the cryptochromes cry1 and cry2 act as photoreceptors in blue light input. phyA and phyB act additively in red light input to the clock, whereas cry1 and cry2 act redundantly in blue light input. In addition to the action of cry1 as a photoreceptor that mediates blue light input into the clock, we demonstrate a requirement of cry1 for phyA signaling to the clock in both red and blue light. Importantly, Arabidopsis cry1 cry2 double mutants still show robust rhythmicity, indicating that cryptochromes do not form a part of the central circadian oscillator in plants as they do in mammals.     

Cryptochrome blue light photoreceptors are activated through interconversion of flavin redox states

Cryptochromes are blue light-sensing photoreceptors found in plants, animals, and humans. They are known to play key roles in the regulation of the circadian clock and in development. However, despite striking structural similarities to photolyase DNA repair enzymes, cryptochromes do not repair double-stranded DNA, and their mechanism of action is unknown. Recently, a blue light-dependent intramolecular electron transfer to the excited state flavin was characterized and proposed as the primary mechanism of light activation. The resulting formation of a stable neutral flavin semiquinone intermediate enables the photoreceptor to absorb green/yellow light (500-630 nm) in addition to blue light in vitro. Here, we demonstrate that Arabidopsis cryptochrome activation by blue light can be inhibited by green light in vivo consistent with a change of the cofactor redox state. We further characterize light-dependent changes in the cryptochrome1 (cry1) protein in living cells, which match photoreduction of the purified cry1 in vitro. These experiments were performed using fluorescence absorption/emission and EPR on whole cells and thereby represent one of the few examples of the active state of a known photoreceptor being monitored in vivo. These results indicate that cry1 activation via blue light initiates formation of a flavosemiquinone signaling state that can be converted by green light to an inactive form. In summary, cryptochrome activation via flavin photoreduction is a reversible mechanism novel to blue light photoreceptors. This photocycle may have adaptive significance for sensing the quality of the light environment in multiple organisms.     

Cryptochrome photoreceptors cry1 and cry2 antagonistically regulate primary root elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Cryptochromes are blue-light receptors controlling multiple aspects of plant growth and development. They are flavoproteins with significant homology to photolyases, but instead of repairing DNA they function by transducing blue light energy into a signal that can be recognized by the cellular signaling machinery. Here we report the effect of cry1 and cry2 blue light receptors on primary root growth in Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings, through analysis of both cryptochrome-mutant and cryptochrome-overexpressing lines. Cry1 mutant seedlings show reduced root elongation in blue light while overexpressing seedlings show significantly increased elongation as compared to wild type controls. By contrast, the cry2 mutation has the opposite effect on root elongation growth as does cry1, demonstrating that cry1 and cry2 act antagonistically in this response pathway. The site of cryptochrome signal perception is within the shoot, and the inhibitor of auxin transport, 1-N-naphthylphthalamic acid, abolishes the differential effect of cryptochromes on root growth, suggesting the blue-light signal is transmitted from the shoot to the root by a mechanism that involves auxin. Primary root elongation in blue light may thereby involve interaction between cryptochrome and auxin signaling pathways.     

Phototropins but not cryptochromes mediate the blue light-specific promotion of stomatal conductance, while both enhance photosynthesis and transpiration under full sunlight

Leaf epidermal peels of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) mutants lacking either phototropins 1 and 2 (phot1 and phot2) or cryptochromes 1 and 2 (cry1 and cry2) exposed to a background of red light show severely impaired stomatal opening responses to blue light. Since phot and cry are UV-A/blue light photoreceptors, they may be involved in the perception of the blue light-specific signal that induces the aperture of the stomatal pores. In leaf epidermal peels, the blue light-specific effect saturates at low irradiances; therefore, it is considered to operate mainly under the low irradiance of dawn, dusk, or deep canopies. Conversely, we show that both phot1 phot2 and cry1 cry2 have reduced stomatal conductance, transpiration, and photosynthesis, particularly under the high irradiance of full sunlight at midday. These mutants show compromised responses of stomatal conductance to irradiance. However, the effects of phot and cry on photosynthesis were largely nonstomatic. While the stomatal conductance phenotype of phot1 phot2 was blue light specific, cry1 cry2 showed reduced stomatal conductance not only in response to blue light, but also in response to red light. The levels of abscisic acid were elevated in cry1 cry2. We conclude that considering their effects at high irradiances cry and phot are critical for the control of transpiration and photosynthesis rates in the field. The effects of cry on stomatal conductance are largely indirect and involve the control of abscisic acid levels.     

The C termini of Arabidopsis cryptochromes mediate a constitutive light response

Cryptochrome blue light photoreceptors share sequence similarity to photolyases, flavoproteins that mediate light-dependent DNA repair. However, cryptochromes lack photolyase activity and are characterized by distinguishing C-terminal domains. Here we show that the signaling mechanism of Arabidopsis cryptochrome is mediated through the C terminus. On fusion with beta-glucuronidase (GUS), both the Arabidopsis CRY1 C-terminal domain (CCT1) and the CRY2 C-terminal domain (CCT2) mediate a constitutive light response. This constitutive photomorphogenic (COP) phenotype was not observed for mutants of cct1 corresponding to previously described cry1 alleles. We propose that the C-terminal domain of Arabidopsis cryptochrome is maintained in an inactive state in the dark. Irradiation with blue light relieves this repression, presumably through an intra- or intermolecular redox reaction mediated through the flavin bound to the N-terminal photolyase-like domain.     

Novel ATP-binding and autophosphorylation activity associated with Arabidopsis and human cryptochrome-1.

Cryptochromes are blue-light photoreceptors sharing sequence similarity to photolyases, a class of flavoenzymes catalyzing repair of UV-damaged DNA via electron transfer mechanisms. Despite significant amino acid sequence similarity in both catalytic and cofactor-binding domains, cryptochromes lack DNA repair functions associated with photolyases, and the molecular mechanism involved in cryptochrome signaling remains obscure. Here, we report a novel ATP binding and autophosphorylation activity associated with Arabidopsis cry1 protein purified from a baculovirus expression system. Autophosphorylation occurs on serine residue(s) and is absent in preparations of cryptochrome depleted in flavin and/or misfolded. Autophosphorylation is stimulated by light in vitro and oxidizing agents that act as flavin antagonists prevent this stimulation. Human cry1 expressed in baculovirus likewise shows ATP binding and autophosphorylation activity, suggesting this novel enzymatic activity may be important to the mechanism of action of both plant and animal cryptochromes.