Agrobacterium mediated transformation and regeneration of Populus

Summary A plant transformation and regeneration system has been developed for Populus species. Leaf explants, from stabilized shoot cultures of a Populus hybrid NC-5339 (Populus alba x grandidentata), were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens on a tobacco nurse culture. Both oncogenic and disarmed strains of A. tumefaciens harboring a binary vector which contained two neomycin phophotransferase II (NPT II) and one bacterial 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase (aroA) chimeric gene fusions were used. Shoots did not develop when leaf explants were co-cultivated with the binary disarmed strain of A. tumefaciens. However, transformed plants with and without the wild type T-DNA were obtained using an oncogenic binary strain of A. tumefaciens. Successful genetic transformation was confirmed by NPT II enzyme activity assays, Southern blot analysis and immunological detection of bacterial EPSP synthase by Western blotting. This is the first report of a successful recovery of transformed plants of a forest tree and also the first record of insertion and expression of a foreign gene of agronomic importance into a woody plant species.     

农杆菌介导转化莱茵衣藻体系的优化

[目的]为建立根癌农杆菌介导的莱茵衣藻快速简便高效的遗传转化体系,本研究以模式生物莱茵衣藻为受体材料,从转化方法和转化子快速鉴定两个方面进行了优化.[方法]比较了固体培养基共培养转化方法和液体培养基共培养转化方法对根癌农杆菌LBA 4404介导的莱茵衣藻CC425转化效率的影响;研究并比较了(1)首先经过TE裂解再进行...     

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of the endophytic fungus Acremonium implicatum associated with Brachiaria grasses

Acremonium implicatum is a seed-transmitted endophytic fungus that forms symbiotic associations with the economically significant tropical forage grasses, Brachiaria species. To take advantage of the endophyte's plant protective properties, we developed an efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system for Acremonium implicatum, using green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression and vector pSK1019 (trpC promoter) or pCAMBIA1300 (CaMV35S promoter). We found that transformation efficiency doubled for both mycelial and conidial transformation as the co-cultivation period for Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Acremonium implicatum was increased from 48 to 72 h. Significantly, optimal results were obtained for either mycelial or conidial transformation with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain AGL-1 and vector pSK1019 under the control of the trpC promoter. However, mycelial transformation consistently generated a significantly higher number of transformants than did conidial transformation. The mitotic stability of the transferred DNA was confirmed by growing ten transformants in liquid and agar media for six generations. In all cases, resistance to the selection pressure (hygromycin B) was maintained. Fluorescence emission was retained by the transformants and also expressed in Brachiaria tissues from plants inoculated with GFP-transformed A. implicatum. This technology will help in the transfer and expression of agronomically important genes in host plants.     

Identification of T-DNA tagged Arabidopsis mutants that are resistant to transformation by Agrobacterium

We have identified T-DNA tagged Arabidopsis mutants that are resistant to transformation by Agrobacterium tumefaciens (rat mutants). These mutants are highly recalcitrant to the induction of both crown gall tumors and phosphinothricin-resistant calli. The results of transient GUS (β-glucuronidase) assays suggest that some of these mutants are blocked at an early step in the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation process, whereas others are blocked at a step subsequent to translocation of T-DNA into the nucleus. Attachment of Agrobacterium to roots of the mutants rat1 and rat3 was decreased under various incubation conditions. In most mutants, the transformation-deficient phenotype co-segregated with the kanamycin resistance encoded by the mutagenizing T-DNA. In crosses with susceptible wild-type plants, the resistance phenotype of many of these mutants segregated either as a semi-dominant or dominant trait. Received: 26 October 1998 / Accepted: 8 January 1999     

Cadophora finlandia and Phialocephala fortinii: Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and functional GFP expression

Hygromycin B resistance was transferred to the sterile mycelia of Cadophora finlandia and Phialocephala fortinii by co-cultivation with Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Constitutively expressed green fluorescent protein (GFP) was also introduced using the same vector. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) revealed strong fluorescence of transformants. Both traits were mitotically stable during one year of subculturing on non-selective growth medium. Southern blot analysis showed that the majority of the transformants contained single-copy integrations at random sites in the genome.     

农杆菌介导的蛹虫草营养缺陷型菌株和遗传转化体系的构建

【背景】天然蛹虫草是蛹虫草菌侵染昆虫蛹或虫形成的子实体,具有非常重要的生物药理活性。目前蛹虫草基因组测序已经完成,但是其分子生物学研究较少。【目的】在蛹虫草中构建一种以尿苷/尿嘧啶营养缺陷型为筛选标记的农杆菌介导的转基因体系。【方法】乳清酸核苷-5′-磷酸（orotidine-5′-monophosphate,OMP）脱羧酶为尿嘧啶合成必需酶,利用根癌农杆菌介导的转化（Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation,ATMT）方法,通过同源重组对蛹虫草野生型菌株中该酶的编码基因pyrG进行敲除,构建尿苷/尿嘧啶营养缺陷型突变体。然后,利用本实验室已有的米曲霉pyrG为筛选标记的二元转化载体,通过农杆菌转化法对该营养缺陷型菌株进行遗传转化。【结果】通过同源重组法,成功敲除pyrG构建了尿嘧啶营养缺陷型蛹虫草,以此为背景,在22℃共培养66h,成功对蛹虫草实现转基因,转化效率为（75±35）/10⁶孢子。另外,本研究还发现丝状真菌常用的构巢曲霉3-磷酸甘油醛脱氢酶启动子PgpdA及α淀粉酶启动子PamyB不能在蛹虫草...     

Multiple transformation of plant cells by Agrobacterium may be responsible for the complex organization of T-DNA in crown gall and hairy root

Summary Inoculation of carrot discs and Lotus corniculatus plantlets with mixtures of different Agrobacterium rhizogenes or of A. rhizogenes and A. tumefaciens or with Agrobacterium strains harboring both an Ri and a modified Ti plasmid resulted in frequent multiple (pluribacterial) transformation of cells, as revealed by the mixed opine-type of hairy roots arising from them. Multiple transformation may account for the presence of dispersed T-DNA inserts in crown gall and hairy root lines. A plant genetic engineering strategy based on segregation of T-DNA inserts in the progeny of multiple transformants is proposed.     

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of germinating seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana: A non-tissue culture approach

Summary Germinating seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana were cocultivated with an Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain (C58Clrif) carrying the pGV3850:pAK1003 Ti plasmid. This Ti plasmid contains the neomycin phosphotransferase II gene (NPT II) which confers resistance to kanamycin and G418. Seeds (T1 generation) imbibed for 12 h before a 24 h exposure to Agrobacterium gave rise to the highest number of transformed progeny (T2 generation). Over 200 kanamycin-resistant T2 seedlings were isolated. Some of the T2 seedlings and T3 families were characterized for genetic segregation of functional NPT II gene(s), NPT II activity, and the presence of T-DNA inserts (Southern analysis). Ninety percent of the T2 individuals transmitted the resistance factor to the T3 families in a Mendelian fashion. Of the T3 families segregating in a Mendelian fashion (n=111), 62% segregated for one functional insert, 29% for two unlinked or linked functional inserts, 5% for three unlinked inserts, 1% for four unlinked inserts, whereas 3% appeared to be homozygous for the insert(s). The 13 families that did not exhibit Mendelian segregation ratios fell into 2 classes, both of which had a deficiency of kanamycin-resistant seedlings. In the Group I T3 families (n=6) only 0%–2% of the seedlings were resistant to kanamycin (100 mg/l), whereas in the Group II families (n=7) 8%–63% of the seedlings were resistant. All of the kanamycin-resistant plants that were tested were found to possess NPT II activity. Southern analysis revealed that all of the resistant plants contained at least one copy of the T-DNA and that the majority of the plants had multiple inserts. Explants from kanamycin-resistant plants survived and formed callus when cultured on callus-inducing medium containg G418.     

Agrobacterium plasmids encode structurally and functionally different loci for catabolism of agrocinopine-type opines

Summary Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains C58, T37, K827 and J73, A. rhizogenes strains A4 and 15834, and A. radiobacter strain K299 were all susceptible to agrocin 84 and this sensitivity was enhanced in each case by addition of agrocinopines A and B. Analysis of transconjugants showed that sensitivity of strain A4 to agrocin 84 was encoded by pArA4a and not by the rhizogenic plasmid, pRiA4. The acc region of the A. tumefaciens nopaline-type Ti plasmid pTiC58, contained on the recombinant plasmid pTHH206, hybridized strongly to restriction fragments of plasmids from strains T37, K827, J73 and K299. Hybridizing fragment patterns generated with BamHI and EcoRI were identical among the four Ti plasmids while pAtK299 showed restriction fragment length polymorphisms at acc with the two enzymes. At moderate stringency, the pTiC58 acc region hybridized weakly to a single restriction fragment from the Ar plasmid of A. rhizogenes strain A4, but not to pTiBo542, which encodes catabolism of the closely related opines agrocinopines C and D. Plasmid pAtK84b of A. radiobacter strain K84 is induced for conjugal transfer by agrocinopines A and B. However, no hybridization was detected between this plasmid and acc from pTiC58 under conditions of moderate stringency. Like pTiC58, pAtK84b conferred transport of agrocinopines A and B on its host bacteria despite the absence of detectable sequence homology with the pTiC58-derived acc probe. However, unlike pTiC58, pAtK84b failed to confer sensitivity to or uptake of agrocin 84 on its bacterial host. These results indicate that at least four distinguishable systems exist for catabolism of the two agrocinopine opine families with the prototype locus, exemplified by acc from pTiC58, being strongly conserved among nopaline-type Ti plasmids.     

Deletion derivatives of pAgK84 and their use in the analysis of Agrobacterium plasmid functions

The 47.7-kb plasmid pAgK84, present in Agrobacterium radiobacter strain K84, confers production of a novel, highly specific, antiagrobacterial antibiotic called agrocin 84. Strain K84 is used commercially to biocontrol crown gall caused by agrocin 84-susceptible strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Efficient biocontrol is dependent upon production of agrocin 84 by strain K84. Starting with a derivative of pAgK84 containing a Tn5 insertion, a series of deletion derivatives of the plasmid were isolated. The smallest of these, pJS500, contains about 8 kb of the original agrocin plasmid and localized the replication functions to between 4 and 6 o'clock on the physical map. A smaller derivative, produced by clonal rescue of a Tn5 insertion in the 4 o'clock region, further localized the minimal replication functions to a 1.5-kb region mapping between coordinates 18.1 and 19.6. Analysis of plasmid stability indicated that functions required for maintenance of the plasmid under nonselective conditions are tightly linked to the minimal replication region. This region also encodes incompatibility functions; the deletion derivatives were all incompatible with the wild-type pAgK84. The stability/replication locus of pAgK84 maps just anticlockwise from the Tra region. This region is retained fully in pAgK1026, the directed Tra⁻ derivative of pAgK84 which is now in use as the primary crown gall biocontrol agent in Australia. One of the deletion derivatives, the 15-kb pJS400, was used as a vector to clone the KpnI fragments of an octopine-type Ti plasmid. Traits known to be encoded on these fragments were expressed and properly regulated in Agrobacterium hosts. One clone, encoding the Ti plasmid replication/incompatibility region, was used to cure IncRh1 Ti plasmids from their hosts. This clone also was found to be incompatible with pAtK84b, a large plasmid encoding opine catabolism present in A. radiobacter strain K84. This indicates that the opine catabolic plasmid is closely related to the IncRh1 Ti plasmids.     

农杆菌介导海洋草酸青霉转化体系及聚酮合酶Pks生物学功能*

为研究南海柳珊瑚共附生草酸青霉SCSGAF0023的聚酮合酶(PKS)生物学功能,采用农杆菌介导法构建草酸青霉SCSGAF0023的Pks敲除株ΔPks,比较野生菌株及ΔPks的生长发育及环境适应性差异。以草酸青霉SCSGAF0023分生孢子为受体,p0380-hygB为双元载体,成功实现草酸青霉SCSGAF0023的遗传转化。结果表明:农杆菌浓度为OD₆₀₀=0.5,在200μmol/L 乙酰丁香酮(AS)诱导下与10⁷个/ml草酸青霉SCSGAF0023孢子于25℃共孵育时转化效率最高。基于上述转化体系,成功获得Pks敲除株ΔPks,并首次证实Pks正向调控草酸青霉SCSGAF0023产孢,但不影响其对环境的适应性。这为进一步系统研究真菌PKSs及聚酮化合物对真菌生长发育与环境适应性的影响提供素材。     

农杆菌介导海洋草酸青霉转化体系及聚酮合酶Pks生物学功能*

为研究南海柳珊瑚共附生草酸青霉SCSGAF0023的聚酮合酶(PKS)生物学功能,采用农杆菌介导法构建草酸青霉SCSGAF0023的Pks敲除株ΔPks,比较野生菌株及ΔPks的生长发育及环境适应性差异。以草酸青霉SCSGAF0023分生孢子为受体,p0380-hygB为双元载体,成功实现草酸青霉SCSGAF0023的遗传转化。结果表明:农杆菌浓度为OD₆₀₀=0.5,在200μmol/L 乙酰丁香酮(AS)诱导下与10⁷个/ml草酸青霉SCSGAF0023孢子于25℃共孵育时转化效率最高。基于上述转化体系,成功获得Pks敲除株ΔPks,并首次证实Pks正向调控草酸青霉SCSGAF0023产孢,但不影响其对环境的适应性。这为进一步系统研究真菌PKSs及聚酮化合物对真菌生长发育与环境适应性的影响提供素材。     

Mycoviruses of filamentous fungi and their relevance to plant pathology

Mycoviruses (fungal viruses) are reviewed with emphasis on plant pathogenic fungi. Based on the presence of virus-like particles and unencapsidated dsRNAs, mycoviruses are common in all major fungal groups. Over 80 mycovirus species have been officially recognized from ten virus families, but a paucity of nucleic acid sequence data makes assignment of many reported mycoviruses difficult. Although most of the particle types recognized to date are isometric, a variety of morphologies have been found and, additionally, many apparently unencapsidated dsRNAs have been reported. Until recently, most characterized mycoviruses have dsRNA genomes, but ssRNA mycoviruses now constitute about one-third of the total. Two hypotheses for the origin of mycoviruses of plant pathogens are discussed: the first that they are of unknown but ancient origin and have coevolved along with their hosts, the second that they have relatively recently moved from a fungal plant host into the fungus. Although mycoviruses are typically readily transmitted through asexual spores, transmission through sexual spores varies with the host fungus. Evidence for natural horizontal transmission has been found. Typically, mycoviruses are apparently symptomless (cryptic) but beneficial effects on the host fungus have been reported. Of more practical interest to plant pathologists are those viruses that confer a hypovirulent phenotype, and the scope for using such viruses as biocontrol agents is reviewed. New tools are being developed based on host genome studies that will help to address the intellectual challenge of understanding the fungal–virus interactions and the practical challenge of manipulating this relationship to develop novel biocontrol agents for important plant pathogens.     

Two unlinked T-DNAs can transform the same tobacco plant cell and segregate in the F1 generation

Summary The 200 kb Agrobacterium Ti-plasmid pTiT37 carries a 25 kb segment of T-DNA which it transfers to plant cells during crown-gall tumorigenesis. We have previously engineered into this T-DNA a pBR322-derived cloning vector which enabled us to rescue-clone full length T-DNA from the Ti-plasmid into a 36 kb MINI-Ti plasmid. We report here the deletion of oncogenes from MINI-Ti to produce Micro-Ti containing the nopaline synthase gene and the ampicillin resistance gene and origin of replication of pBR322, flanked by left and right T-DNA borders. Micro-Ti was recloned into the wide host range plasmid pRK290 and transformed into an A. tumefaciens strain carrying a helper plasmid that could supply Virulence (VIR) genes in trans. Using the octopine Ti-plasmid pTiB6-806 as a helper, transformed tobacco cells were obtained which produced both nopaline and octopine. Two cloned cell lines producing both opines were found to be hormone dependent and to produce fertile tobacco plants. We selfed one of these plants and found that the two opine markers segregated in the F1 progeny in a Mendelian fashion. This showed that the T-DNAs were not linked in the transformed plant genome. Southern blot analysis of the genomic DNA from the regenerated plant showed that only part of the (oncogenic) octopine T-DNA was present indicating that it had suffered a deletion in the auxin producing locus (tms region). Presence of the cytokinin autonomy locus presumably accounts for the abnormal rooting behavior of the F1 progeny seedlings containing this T-DNA.Abbreviations NAA Naphtalene acetic acid - IAA Indole-3-acetic acid - BA 6-benzylaminopurine - pCPA para-chlorophenoxyacetic acid Part of this work was presented for her doctoral thesis by A. JdF at the National Institute of Agronomy of Paris-Grignon, January 1983     

农杆菌T-复合物的形成与转运研究进展

在简要介绍农杆菌T-DNA转运全过程的基础上,结合作者近年的工作,重点对T-复合物的形成和T-复合物在农杆菌细胞内的转运机理的最新进展进行归纳和评述．农杆菌能够将其Ti质粒上的一段DNA以单链DNA-蛋白质复合物(简称T-复合物)的形式,通过其细胞两端的四型分泌系统(typeⅣ secretion system,T4SS)转运到宿主植物中,并使宿主发生遗传转化,因而农杆菌介导的T-DNA转运技术已成为应用最广泛的植物转基因技术,同时,由于转运T-复合物的T4SS也是某些质粒接合转移和许多病源微生物分泌致病效应蛋白的通道,因此,农杆菌T-DNA转运机理的研究受到了广泛的重视和关注,使得这方面的研究进展非常迅速．     

OrthoNets: simultaneous visual analysis of orthologs and their interaction neighborhoods across different organisms

MOTIVATION: Protein interaction networks contain a wealth of biological information, but their large size often hinders cross-organism comparisons. We present OrthoNets, a Cytoscape plugin that displays protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks from two organisms simultaneously, highlighting orthology relationships and aggregating several types of biomedical annotations. OrthoNets also allows PPI networks derived from experiments to be overlaid on networks extracted from public databases, supporting the identification and verification of new interactors. Any newly identified PPIs can be validated by checking whether their orthologs interact in another organism. AVAILABILITY: OrthoNets is freely available at http://wodaklab.org/orthonets/.