Expression of Potato Virus Y Coat Protein Gene in Transgenic Potato

Potato virus Y (PVY) N coat protein (CP) coding sequence was cloned into a plant expression vector pMON316 under the CaMV 35S promoter. Leaf discs of potato (Solanum tuberosum) were used to Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer. A large number of regenerated putative transgenic plants were obtained based on kanamycin resistance. Using total DNA purified from transgenic plants as templates and two oligonucleotides synthesized from 5' and 3' of the PVY coat protein gene as primers, the authors carried out polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to check the presence of this gene and obtained a 0. 8 kb specific DNA fragment after 35 cycles of amplification. Southern blot indicated that the PCR product was indeed PVY CP gene which had been integrated into the potato genome. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of our transgenic plants showed that CP gene was expressed in at least some transgenic potato plants.     

Specific gene silencing using small interfering RNAs in fish embryos

Recently, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have been used for gene knockdown in mammalian cultured cells, but their utility in fish has remained unexplored. Here we demonstrate a siRNA-mediated gene silencing technique in rainbow trout embryos. We found that siRNAs effectively suppressed the transient expression of episomally located foreign GFP genes at an early developmental stage and inhibited the expression of GFP genes in stable transgenic trout embryos. Similar gene silencing was observed with an siRNA against the endogenous tyrosinase A gene. siRNAs interfered with the expression of maternally inherited mRNA. siRNAs did not affect non-relevant gene expression and siRNAs with a 4 base mismatch did not affect target gene expression. siRNA gene silencing is therefore highly sequence-specific. Our findings are the first evidence that siRNA-mediated gene silencing is effective in fish. This technique could be a powerful tool for studying gene function during embryonic development in aquacultural fish species, zebrafish, and medaka.     

Production of polyclonal antibodies to a recombinant coat protein of potato virus Y

The gene encoding the coat protein (CP) of a potato virus Y (PVY) was cloned into expression vector pMPM-A4Ω. PVY CP was expressed in Escherichia coli and the purified recombinant protein was used for raising rabbit polyclonal antibodies. The sera and antibodies were tested for the detection of PVY in the laboratory host Nicotiana tabacum cv. Petit Havana SR1 and in various cultivars of the natural host Solanum tuberosum by ELISA as well as by Western blots. The antibodies can be used for the detection of the whole strain spectrum of PVY by indirect plate trapped antigen ELISA and Western blot, but not by double antigen sandwich ELISA.     

Short-hairpin RNA-mediated gene expression interference in Trichoplusia ni cells

RNA interference (RNAi) is rapidly becoming a valuable tool in biological studies, as it allows the selective and transient knockdown of protein expression. The short-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) transiently silence gene expression. By contrast, the expressed short-hairpin RNAs induce long-term, stable knockdown of their target gene. Trichoplusia ni (T. ni) cells are widely used for mammalian cell-derived glycoprotein expression using the baculovirus system. However, a suitable shRNA expression system has not been developed yet. We investigated the potency of shRNA-mediated gene expression inhibition using human and Drosophila U6 promoters in T. ni cells. Luciferase, EGFP, and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (GlcNAcase) were employed as targets to investigate knockdown of specific genes in T. ni cells. Introduction of the shRNA expression vector under the control of human U6 or Drosophila U6 promoter into T. ni cells exhibited the reduced level of luciferase, EGFP, and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase compared with that of untransfected cells. The shRNA was expressed and processed to siRNA in our vector-transfected T. ni cells. GlcNAcase mRNA levels were down-regulated in T. ni cells transfected with shRNA vectors-targeted GlcNAcase as compared with the control vector-treated cells. It implied that our shRNA expression vectors using human and Drosophila U6 promoters were applied in T. ni cells for the specific gene knockdown.     

Novel siRNA-based molecular beacons for dual imaging and therapy

Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have become a mainstream tool reliably used to study and silence protein expression. We offer a proof-of-principle demonstration that siRNAs may be modified into a siRNA-based molecular beacon that activates upon binding to sequence-specific mRNA in cells while mediating RNA interference. We successfully demonstrate detection and knockdown of telomerase expression in human breast cancer cells. This probe provides a novel look at siRNA target validation that is not currently possible in live cells and holds promising potential in biological applications for disease detection and therapy based on mRNA expression, such as a telomerase-targeted siRNA probe in cancer.     

siRNAs generated by recombinant human Dicer induce specific and significant but target site-independent gene silencing in human cells

RNA interference has emerged as a powerful tool for the silencing of gene expression in animals and plants. It was reported recently that 21 nt synthetic small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) specifically suppressed the expression of endogenous genes in several lines of mammalian cells. However, the efficacy of siRNAs is dependent on the presence of a specific target site within the target mRNA and it remains very difficult to predict the best or most effective target site. In this study, we demonstrate that siRNAs that have been generated in vitro by recombinant human Dicer (re-hDicer) significantly suppress not only the exogenous expression of a puromycin-resistance gene but also the endogenous expression of H-ras, c-jun and c-fos. In our system, selection of a target site is not necessary in the design of siRNAs. However, it is important to avoid homologous sequences within a target mRNA in a given protein family. Our diced siRNA system should be a powerful tool for the inactivation of genes in mammalian cells.     

Oral delivery of double-stranded RNAs and siRNAs induces RNAi effects in the potato/tomato psyllid, Bactericerca cockerelli

The potato/tomato psyllid, Bactericerca cockerelli (B. cockerelli), and the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri (D. citri), are very important plant pests, but they are also vectors of phloem-limited bacteria that are associated with two devastating plant diseases. B. cockerelli is the vector of Candidatus Liberibacter psyllaurous (solanacearum), which is associated with zebra chip disease of potatoes, and D. citri is the vector of Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus, which is associated with the Huanglongbing (citrus greening) disease that currently threatens the entire Florida citrus industry. Here we used EST sequence information from D. citri to identify potential targets for RNA interference in B. cockerelli. We targeted ubiquitously expressed and gut-abundant mRNAs via injection and oral acquisition of double-stranded RNAs and siRNAs and were able to induce mortality in recipient psyllids. We also showed knockdown of target mRNAs, and that oral acquisition resulted primarily in mRNA knockdown in the psyllid gut. Concurrent with gene knockdown was the accumulation of target specific ～ 21 nucleotide siRNAs for an abundant mRNA for BC-Actin. These results showed that RNAi can be a powerful tool for gene function studies in psyllids, and give support for continued efforts for investigating RNAi approaches as possible tools for psyllid and plant disease control.     

Development of a siRNA and shRNA screening system based on a kinase fusion protein

RNA interference (RNAi) is one of the processes in the cell that regulates mRNA expression levels. RNAi can be exploited to experimentally knockdown the expression of one or more genes in cell lines or even in cells in vivo and also became an interesting tool to develop new therapeutic approaches. One of the major challenges of using RNAi is selecting effective shRNAs or siRNAs that sufficiently down-regulate the expression of the target gene. Here, we describe a system to select functional shRNAs or siRNAs that makes use of the leukemia cell line Ba/F3 that is dependent on the expression of a mutant form of the PDGFRα kinase for its proliferation and survival. The basis of this system is the generation of an expression construct, where part of the open reading frame of the gene of interest is linked to the mutant PDGFRα. Thus, shRNAs or siRNAs that effectively target the gene of interest also result in a reduction of the expression of the mutant PDGFRα protein, which can be detected by a reduction of the proliferation of the cells. We demonstrate that this validation system can be used for the selection of effective siRNAs as well as shRNAs. Unlike other systems, the system described here is not dependent on obtaining high-transduction efficiencies, and nonspecific effects of the siRNAs or shRNAs can be detected by comparing the effects in the presence or absence of the growth factor interleukin-3.     

Small-scale field tests with transgenic potato,cv. Bintje,to test resistance to primary and secondary infections with potato virus y

The coat protein (CP) gene of the potato virus Y (PVY) strain N605 has been cloned into a plant binary expression vector and introduced into the potato variety Bintje. The transformed lines, Bt6, that contained two copies of the CP gene showed complete resistance to the homologous strain PVY-N605 and a good resistance to the related strain PVY-O803 in the greenhouse. The good resistance of Bt6 to primary and secondary infections by PVY was confirmed in two successive field tests where the virus was transmitted by its natural aphid vector.     

Prediction of siRNA knockdown efficiency using artificial neural network models

Selective knockdown of gene expression by short interference RNAs (siRNAs) has allowed rapid validation of gene functions and made possible a high throughput, genome scale approach to interrogate gene function. However, randomly designed siRNAs display different knockdown efficiencies of target genes. Hence, various prediction algorithms based on siRNA functionality have recently been constructed to increase the likelihood of selecting effective siRNAs, thereby reducing the experimental cost. Toward this end, we have trained three Back-propagation and Bayesian neural network models, previously not used in this context, to predict the knockdown efficiencies of 180 experimentally verified siRNAs on their corresponding target genes. Using our input coding based primarily on RNA structure thermodynamic parameters and cross-validation method, we showed that our neural network models outperformed most other methods and are comparable to the best predicting algorithm thus far published. Furthermore, our neural network models correctly classified 74% of all siRNAs into different efficiency categories; with a correlation coefficient of 0.43 and receiver operating characteristic curve score of 0.78, thus highlighting the potential utility of this method to complement other existing siRNA classification and prediction schemes.     

Simple and rapid technique to detect PVY presence in some Solanaceae plants

The study of plant-virus interactions requires a method which enables not only the detection of virus presence, but also its distribution in the infected plant tissue. We adopted a tissue print immunoblot technique for localization of potato virus Y (PVY) coat protein (CP) in infected potato and tobacco tissue. In potato stem cross-sections PVY CP was detected on the whole surface of the prints, however significantly higher concentration was observed in epidermis and phloem tissue. In the petiole of infected tobacco leaves the presence of viral protein was confined mainly to peripheral layers of parenchyma and epidermis. In phloem tissue the signal was also visible but it was significantly weaker. In our hands this approach is highly specific and gives resolution on the level of individual cells, thus it can be applied in several fields. As potyviral capsid proteins are involved in several events of pathogenesis the technique for immunolocalization of PVY CP could provide information which will shed new light on the virology of PVY.     

Polymerase II promoter strength determines efficacy of microRNA adapted shRNAs

Since the discovery of RNAi and microRNAs more than 10 years ago, much research has focused on the development of systems that usurp microRNA pathways to downregulate gene expression in mammalian cells. One of these systems makes use of endogenous microRNA pri-cursors that are expressed from polymerase II promoters where the mature microRNA sequence is replaced by gene specific duplexes that guide RNAi (shRNA-miRs). Although shRNA-miRs are effective in directing target mRNA knockdown and hence reducing protein expression in many cell types, variability of RNAi efficacy in cell lines has been an issue. Here we show that the choice of the polymerase II promoter used to drive shRNA expression is of critical importance to allow effective mRNA target knockdown. We tested the abundance of shRNA-miRs expressed from five different polymerase II promoters in 6 human cell lines and measured their ability to drive target knockdown. We observed a clear positive correlation between promoter strength, siRNA expression levels, and protein target knockdown. Differences in RNAi from the shRNA-miRs expressed from the various promoters were particularly pronounced in immune cells. Our findings have direct implications for the design of shRNA-directed RNAi experiments and the preferred RNAi system to use for each cell type.     

Efficient Transfection Strategy for the Spatiotemporal Control of Gene Expression in Zebrafish

Functional analyses of gene function by knockdown and expression approaches strongly enhance the genetic study of development. In vivo application of the introduction of inhibitors of gene expression, mRNA, and expression constructs in the target region make it possible to perform region- and stage-specific regulation of gene function in a simple manner. As a basic tool for the conditional regulation of gene expression in target tissue, we present methods for the efficient introduction of antisense morpholino oligonucleotide (MO), mRNA, and expression plasmid constructs into early and later stage zebrafish embryo and larva. Lipofection of a neuron-specific expression construct plasmid encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) into optic vesicle resulted in clear GFP expression in the retinotectal pathway in hatched larva. Co-lipofection of MO and GFP mRNA to the presumptive head region resulted in brain-specific knockdown of the gene in mid-stage embryos.     

Expression of the PVYO coat protein (CP) under the control of the PVX CP gene leader sequence: protection under greenhouse and field conditions against PVYO and PVYN infection in three potato cultivars

Coat protein-mediated resistance (CPMR), resistance conferred as a result of the expression of viral coat proteins in transgenic plants, has been illustrated to be an effective way of protecting plants against several plant viruses. Nonetheless, consistent protection has not been achieved for transgenic plants expressing the coat protein of potato virus Y (PVY), the type member of the potyvirus family. In this report, three different potato cultivars were transformed with a chimeric construct consisting of the capsid protein (CP) coding sequences of PVY flanked by the AUG codon and the translational enhancer from the coat protein gene of potato virus X (PVX). These cultivars were shown to express high levels of PVY CP and confer a high degree of protection against PVY^o and PVY^N under both greenhouse and field conditions. In addition, transgenic plants infected with potato virus A (PVA), a related potyvirus, exhibited a delay in virus accumulation, which could be easily overcome with increasing virus concentrations. Received: 26 October 1995 / Accepted: 14 June 1996     

采用液质联用方法检测黄秋葵荚果黄酮类物质含量

该研究为了培育兼抗4种病毒的马铃薯品种,采用RT￣PCR技术对PVX、PVS、PVY和PLRV的外壳蛋白( CP )基因进行克隆与分析,获得了大小分别为670、800、700、600 bp的CP基因序列,将获得的CP基因序列与NCBI中已报道的序列进行比对分析,其同源性都在96％以上。根据所克隆的CP 基因对靶标片段进行筛选,获得了大小约300 bp的靶标片段PVX￣rh、PVS￣rh、PVY￣rh和PLRV￣rh,同时利用 Overlap￣PCR技术将4种病毒的靶标片段进行拼接,得到了长度约为1200 bp的融合片段XSYV￣rh,与预期目标片段XSYV￣yxz的相似性达100％。利用DNA重组技术将融合片段XSYV￣rh克隆到pGM￣T载体上构建成克隆载体pGM￣T￣XSYV￣rh,用SpeⅠ和SacⅠ对克隆载体pGM￣T￣XSYV￣rh和植物表达载体pART27进行同步双酶切,用T4 DNA连接酶将XSYV￣rh片段连接到载体pART27上,成功构建了同时含4种病毒CP 基因片段的植物表达载体pART27￣XSYV￣rh。采用直接转化法将植物表达载体导入根癌农杆菌LBA4404中,并利用农杆菌介导法对烟草品种T12试管苗进行遗传转化,转化后的烟草植株经PCR检测,有40株转化植株可扩增出目的条带,表明XSYV￣rh融合基因已成功转入烟草基因组中。     

Strong resistance to potato tuber necrotic ringspot disease in potato induced by transformation with coat protein gene sequences from an NTN isolate of Potato virus Y

The potato cv. Igor is susceptible to infection with Potato virus Y (PVY) and in Slovenia it has been so severely affected with NTN isolates of PVY causing potato tuber necrotic ringspot disease (PTNRD) that its cultivation has ceased. Plants of cv. Igor were transformed with two transgenes that contained coat protein gene sequence of PVY^NTN. Both transgenes used PVY sequence in a sense (+) orientation, one in native translational context (N‐CP), and one with a frame‐shift mutation (FS‐CP). Although most transgenic lines were susceptible to infection with PVY^NTN and PVY^O, several lines showed resistance that could be classified into two types. Following manual or graft inoculation, plants of partially resistant lines developed some symptoms in foliage and tubers, and virus titre in the foliage, estimated by ELISA, was low or undetectable. In highly resistant (R) lines, symptoms did not develop in foliage and on tubers, and virus could not be detected in foliage by ELISA or infectivity assay. Four lines from 34 tested (two N‐CP and two FS‐CP) were R to PVY^NTN and PVY^O and one additional line was R to PVY^O. When cv. Spey was transformed with the same constructs, they did not confer strong resistance to PVY^O.