新模式植物短柄二叶草SGT1 和RAR1 基因沉默和蛋白纯化载体构建

短柄二叶草作为一种新型的模式植物,已成为当前研究热点.其具有基因组小、生长周期短、生存环境简单和容易人工转化等重要生理和遗传特性,被认为是一种潜力巨大的人类研究能源和粮食作物的重要模式植物.SGT1和RAR1基因是高度保守的并与植物抗病功能紧密相关的重要基因.本文采用Gateway克隆技术构建了SGT1和RAR1的基因沉默表达载体.阳性克隆载体经PCR、酶切和测序鉴定.为进一步研究SGT1和RAR1互作蛋白及其功能,采用该克隆技术将基因cDNA全长克隆至串联亲和纯化蛋白表达载体pEarleyGate205中,为纯化SGT1和RAR1及其互作蛋白提供了基础.正确的阳性克隆载体经农杆菌介导转化至短柄二叶草Bd21获得转化株,以期进一步研究SGT1和RAR1基因及蛋白互作对于短柄二叶草抗病功能的影响.     

含有Rubisco小亚基启动子和转运肽序列的通路克隆入门载体的构建和应用

Gateway(通路克隆)技术是最近开发出来的一种分子克隆技术,其特点是操作简单、省时高效,已经成功应用于很多基因表达载体的构建.然而,现有的通路克隆植物表达载体不包含任何将表达蛋白定位到叶绿体中的序列.将通路克隆入门质粒载体pENTR-2B的XmnⅠ位点改造成HindⅢ位点,产生入门载体pENTR*-2B,然后将番茄1,5二磷酸核酮糖羧化酶(Rubisco)小亚基3C的启动子(PrbcS)及其转运肽序列(*T)和绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)报告基因亚克隆到pENTR*-2B中,构建通路克隆入门载体pENTR*-PrbcS-*T-GFP.实验结果证实,用pENTR*-PrbcS-*T-GFP和通路克隆的植物表达载体进行LR反应,构建GFP的光诱导型植物表达载体,可以成功地将表达的GFP定位到转基因植物的叶绿体中.利用β-葡糖苷酸酶(GUS)报告基因替代该入门载体中的GFP基因做试验也得到相似的结果.这说明用目的基因替换该入门载体中的GFP可以构建目的基因的入门载体,然后用通路克隆技术可以快速构建其光诱导型植物表达载体,将表达的目的蛋白定位到转基因植物或组织细胞的叶绿体中.     

Cannot see the diversity for all the species: Evaluating inclusion criteria for local species lists when using abundant citizen science data

Abundant citizen science data on species occurrences are becoming increasingly available and enable identifying composition of communities occurring at multiple sites with high temporal resolution. However, for species displaying temporary patterns of local occurrences that are transient to some sites, biodiversity measures are clearly dependent on the criteria used to include species into local species lists. Using abundant opportunistic citizen science data from frequently visited wetlands, we investigated the sensitivity of α‐ and β‐diversity estimates to the use raw versus detection‐corrected data and to the use of inclusion criteria for species presence reflecting alternative site use. We tested seven inclusion criteria (with varying number of days required to be present) on time series of daily occurrence status during a breeding season of 90 days for 77 wetland bird species. We show that even when opportunistic presence‐only observation data are abundant, raw data may not produce reliable local species richness estimates and rank sites very differently in terms of species richness. Furthermore, occupancy model based α‐ and β‐diversity estimates were sensitive to the inclusion criteria used. Total species lists (all species observed at least once during a season) may therefore mask diversity differences among sites in local communities of species, by including vagrant species on potentially breeding communities and change the relative rank order of sites in terms of species richness. Very high sampling effort does not necessarily free opportunistic data from its inherent bias and can produce a pattern in which many species are observed at least once almost everywhere, thus leading to a possible paradox: The large amount of biological information may hinder its usefulness. Therefore, when prioritizing among sites to manage or preserve species diversity estimates need to be carefully related to relevant inclusion criteria depending on the diversity estimate in focus.     

T载体介导的基于attL核心区LR反应的简化快速Gateway克隆系统

Gateway克隆技术已得到广泛的应用。该技术先通过BP反应将目标片段连到带有完整attL特异识别位点的入门载体,然后与终载体通过LR反应得到表达载体。Gateway克隆方法与传统的酶切连接方法相比有快速简单等优点。但是,BP和LR酶都非常昂贵。本研究首先对3个常用Gateway载体的atts特异位点序列比对发现,attL序列核心交换位点“core attL”的21~22 bp长的碱基是保守和必要的。由此,设计含有core-attL序列的引物,通过PCR克隆得到DNA片段并连入pMD18-T载体,然后进行LR反应,可成功得到目标表达载体,并在保守的位点上正确重组。本研究还对其中一个带有绿色荧光蛋白基因的表达载体转化至烟草,能够正常表达该蛋白质。结果表明,通过将含有attL核心位点基因片段连接到pMD18-T载体上,可以省略BP反应而将目标片段连接到终载体上,节约了反应时间和成本。     

Quantitative analysis of dynamic protein-protein interactions in planta by a floated-leaf luciferase complementation imaging (FLuCI) assay using binary Gateway vectors

Dynamic protein-protein interactions are essential in all cellular and developmental processes. Protein-fragment complementation assays allow such protein-protein interactions to be investigated in vivo. In contrast to other protein-fragment complementation assays, the split-luciferase (split-LUC) complementation approach facilitates dynamic and quantitative in vivo analysis of protein interactions, as the restoration of luciferase activity upon protein-protein interaction of investigated proteins is reversible. Here, we describe the development of a floated-leaf luciferase complementation imaging (FLuCI) assay that enables rapid and quantitative in vivo analyses of protein interactions in leaf discs floating on a luciferin infiltration solution after transient expression of split-LUC-labelled interacting proteins in Nicotiana benthamiana. We generated a set of eight Gateway-compatible split-LUC destination vectors, enabling fast, and almost fail-safe cloning of candidate proteins to the LUC termini in all possible constellations. We demonstrate their functionality by visualizing the well-established homodimerization of the 14-3-3 regulator proteins. Quantitative interaction analyses of the molybdenum co-factor biosynthesis proteins CNX6 and CNX7 show that the luciferase-based protein-fragment complementation assay allows direct real-time monitoring of absolute values of protein complex assembly. Furthermore, the split-LUC assay is established as valuable tool to investigate the dynamics of protein interactions by monitoring the disassembly of actin filaments in planta. The new Gateway-compatible split-LUC destination vector system, in combination with the FLuCI assay, provides a useful means to facilitate quantitative analyses of interactions between large numbers of proteins constituting interaction networks in plant cells.     

A system using convertible vectors for screening soluble recombinant proteins produced in Escherichia coli from randomly fragmented cDNAs

Protein insolubility is a major problem when producing recombinant proteins (e.g., to be used as antigens) from large cDNAs in Escherichia coli. Here, we describe a system using three convertible plasmid vectors to screen for soluble proteins produced in E. coli. This system experimentally identified any random cDNA fragments producing soluble protein domains. Shotgun fragments introduced into any of our three plasmids, which contain Gateway recombination sites, fused in-frame to the ORF of the protein tag. These plasmids produced N-terminal GST- and C-terminal three-frame-adaptive FLAG-tagged proteins, kanamycin-resistant gene-tagged proteins (which were pre-selected for in-frame fused cDNAs), or GFP-tagged fusion proteins. The latter is useful as a fluorescence indicator of protein folding. The Gateway recombination sites promote smooth conversion for enrichment of in-frame clones and facilitate both protein solubility assays and final production of proteins without the C-terminal tag. This high-throughput screening method is particularly useful for procedures that require the handling of many cDNAs in parallel.     

Construction of a set Gateway-based destination vectors for high-throughput cloning and expression screening in Escherichia coli

We describe here the construction of a 10-Gateway-based vector set applicable for high-throughput cloning and for expressing recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. Plasmids bear elements required to produce recombinant proteins under control of the T7 promoter and encode different N-terminal partners. Since the vector set is derived from a unique backbone, a consistent comparison of the impact of fusion partner(s) on protein expression and solubility is easily amenable. Finally, a sequence encoding a six-histidine tag has been inserted to be in frame with the cloned open reading frame either at its C terminus or at the N terminus, giving the flexibility of choosing the six-histidine tag location for further purification. To test the applicability of our vector set, expression and solubility profile and six-histidine tag accessibility have been demonstrated for two Bacillus subtilis signaling proteins' encoding genes (SBGP codes E0508 and E0511).