Fructan as a New Carbohydrate Sink in Transgenic Potato Plants

Fructans are polyfructose molecules that function as nonstructural storage carbohydrates in several plant species that are important crops. We have been studying plants for their ability to synthesize and degrade fructans to determine if this ability is advantageous. We have also been analyzing the ability to synthesize fructan in relation to other nonstructural carbohydrate storage forms like starch. To study this, we induced fructan accumulation in normally non-fructan-storing plants and analyzed the metabolic and physiological properties of such plants. The normally non-fructan-storing potato plant was modified by introducing the microbial fructosyltransferase genes so that it could accumulate fructans. Constructs were created so that the fructosyltransferase genes of either Bacillus subtilis (sacB) or Streptococcus mutans (ftf) were fused to the vacuolar targeting sequence of the yeast carboxypeptidase Y (cpy) gene. These constructs were placed under the control of the constitutive cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and introduced into potato tissue. The regenerated potato plants accumulated high molecular mass (>5 [times] 106 D) fructan molecules in which the degree of polymerization of fructose units exceeded 25,000. Fructan accumulation was detected in every plant tissue tested. The fructan content in the transgenic potato plants tested varied between 1 and 30% of dry weight in leaves and 1 and 7% of dry weight in microtubers. Total nonstructural neutral carbohydrate content in leaves of soil-grown plants increased dramatically from 7% in the wild type to 35% in transgenic plants. Our results demonstrated that potato plants can be manipulated to store a foreign carbohydrate by introducing bacterial fructosyltransferase genes. This modification affected photosynthate partitioning in microtubers and leaves and increased nonstructural carbohydrate content in leaves.     

Aggregates formed as a result of the expression of yeast <Emphasis Type="Italic">Met2</Emphasis> gene in transgenic tobacco plants,stimulate the production of stress-protective metabolites and increased the plants tolerance to heat stress

Methionine biosynthesis has taken different evolutionary pathways in bacteria, fungi and plants. To gain insight into these differences and to search for new ways of manipulating methionine biosynthesis in plants, the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) Met2 gene and the bacteria (Leptospira meyeri) MetX gene, both encoding homoserine O-acetyltransferase, were expressed in tobacco plants. We found protein aggregates in extracts of these transgenic plants, whose levels were much higher in plants grown at 35 °C than at 25 °C. It appears that the yeast and the bacterial proteins are heat labile and tend to change their intracellular conformation. These conformational changes of the transgenic proteins were more prominent at high temperature and most probably triggered aggregation of the yeast and the bacterial proteins. Moreover, plants expressing the yeast gene that grew at 35 °C over-accumulated stress-associated metabolites, such as phenolic compounds, including tannins, as well as the amino acid arginine. In addition, the transgenic plants expressing high levels of the foreign genes show growth retardation, which further suggests that, these plants suffer from internal stress. The changes in protein conformation and the consequent triggering of stress response may account for the ability of these transgenic plants to tolerate more extreme heat stress (60 °C) than the wild-type plants.     

Isolation and nucleotide sequence of the Aspergillus restrictus gene coding for the ribonucleolytic toxin restrictocin and its expression in Aspergillus nidulans: the leader sequence protects producing strains from suicide

We describe the cloning and characterization of the gene coding for the ribotoxin restrictocin, from Aspergillus restrictus (gene res, EMBL accession Number X56176). This toxin is a potent inhibitor of protein synthesis in eucaryotes and is of potential interest as a component of immunotoxins. To analyze the mechanism of self-protection in the producing organism, the res gene was cloned into the vector pFB39 and introduced into Aspergillus nidulans. The secretion of active restrictocin from transformants suggests that the pro-toxin is not an active nuclease but is activated during the process of secretion.     

Isolation of DNA encoding sucrase genes from Streptococcus salivarius and partial characterization of the enzymes expressed in Escherichia coli.

Restriction enzyme fragments containing two sucrase genes have been isolated from a cosmid library of Streptococcus salivarius DNA. The genes were expressed in Escherichia coli cells, and the properties of both enzymes were studied in partially purified protein extracts from E. coli. One gene encoding an invertase-type sucrase was subcloned on a 2.4-kilobase-pair fragment. The sucrase enzyme had a Km for sucrose of 48 mM and a pH optimum of 6.5. The S. salivarius sucrase clone showed no detectable hybridization to a yeast invertase clone. Two overlapping subclones which had 1 kilobase pair of DNA in common were used to localize a fructosyltransferase gene. The fructosyltransferase had a Km of 93 mM and a pH optimum of 7.0. The product of the fructosyltransferase was a levan. A fructosyltransferase clone from Bacillus subtilis did not hybridize to S. salivarius DNA. The properties of the enzymes were compared with those of previously characterized sucrases.     

水稻bicoid反义基因转基因植株胚胎发育的形态变化

Bicoid是调控果蝇胚胎极性及以后分节发生过程的重要基因,这一基因编码的蛋白是一种转录调控因子,对一组早期胚胎发育过程中的多齿基因的表达具有调控作用,并被称为形态发生剂。在以前的工作中,从水稻cDNA文库中分离了一个同果蝇bicoid有相当同源性的克隆-Rb24基因（EMBL登录号：AJ2771380）。为进一步了解它在水稻中功能,将Rb的反义基因片段通过农杆菌的介导转入水稻中。通过Gus活性检测和PCR鉴定所获的抗性植株为转基因植株,转基因植株一个很明显的变化就是大约有50%的种子是败育的。通过石蜡切片观察了转基因水稻幼胚的发育情况,结果表明细胞的组织的分化在胚的发育过程中被阻断了。因此Rb基因同控制水稻胚的发育有关。     

Repression of a novel isoform of disproportionating enzyme (stDPE2) in potato leads to inhibition of starch degradation in leaves but not tubers stored at low temperature

A potato (Solanum tuberosum) cDNA encoding an isoform of disproportionating enzyme (stDPE2) was identified in a functional screen in Escherichia coli. The stDPE2 protein was demonstrated to be present in chloroplasts and to accumulate at times of active starch degradation in potato leaves and tubers. Transgenic potato plants were made in which its presence was almost completely eliminated. It could be demonstrated that starch degradation was repressed in leaves of the transgenic plants but that cold-induced sweetening was not affected in tubers stored at 4 degrees C. No evidence could be found for an effect of repression of stDPE2 on starch synthesis. The malto-oligosaccharide content of leaves from the transgenic plants was assessed. It was found that the amounts of malto-oligosaccharides increased in all plants during the dark period and that the transgenic lines accumulated up to 10-fold more than the control. Separation of these malto-oligosaccharides by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed-amperometric detection showed that the only one that accumulated in the transgenic plants in comparison with the control was maltose. stDPE2 was purified to apparent homogeneity from potato tuber extracts and could be demonstrated to transfer glucose from maltose to oyster glycogen.     

水稻bicoid反义基因转基因植株胚胎发育的形态变化

Bicoid 是调控果蝇胚胎极性及以后分节发生过程的重要基因,这一基因编码的蛋白是一种转录调控因子,对一组早期胚胎发育过程中的多齿基因的表达具有调控作用,并被称为形态发生剂。在以前的工作中,从水稻cDNA文库中分离了一个同果蝇bicoid 有相当同源性的克隆—Rb24 基因（EMBL登录号：AJ2771380） 。为进一步了解它在水稻中功能,将Rb 的反义基因片段通过农杆菌的介导转入水稻中。通过Gus活性检测和PCR鉴定所获的抗性植株为转基因植株,转基因植株一个很明显的变化就是大约有50%的种子是败育的。通过石蜡切片观察了转基因水稻幼胚的发育情况,结果表明细胞和组织的分化在胚的发育过程中被阻断了。因此Rb基因同控制水稻胚的发育有关。     

Expression of the potato leafroll luteovirus coat protein gene in transgenic potato plants inhibits viral infection

Transgenic potato plants, cultivar Désirée, were produced that contained the coat protein gene of potato leafroll luteovirus (PLRV). The transformed potato plants expressed the PLRV coat protein (CP) RNA sequences but accumulation of coat protein in transgenic tissues could not be detected. Upon inoculation with PLRV, the PLRV CP RNA expressing potato plants showed a reduced rate of virus multiplication.     

Expression and Characterization of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen in Transgenic Potato Plants

Transgenic potato plants expressing the gene of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) under the control of the double promoter of 35S RNA of cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV 35SS) and the promoter of patatin gene of potato tubers have been obtained. Biochemical analysis of the plants was performed. The amount of HBsAg in leaves, microtubers, and tubers of transgenic potatoes growing in vitro and in vivo was 0.005-0.035% of the total soluble protein. HBsAg content reached 1 microg/g in potato tubers and was maximal in plants expressing the HBsAg gene under the control of CaMV 35SS promoter. In transgenic plants expressing HBsAg gene under the control of tuber-specific patatin promoter, HBsAg was found only in microtubers and tubers and was absent in leaves. Western blot analysis of HBsAg eluted from immunoaffinity protein A-Sepharose matrix has been performed. The molecular weight of HBsAg peptide was approximately 24 kD, which is in agreement with the size of the major protein of the envelope of hepatitis B virus. Using gel filtration, it was determined that the product of HBsAg gene expression in potato plants is converted into high-molecular-weight multimeric particles. Therefore, as well as in recombinant HBsAg-yeast cells, assembling of HBsAg monomers into immunogenic aggregates takes place in HBsAg-transgenic potato, which can be used as a source of recombinant vaccine against hepatitis B virus.     

Genetic engineering of drought resistant potato plants by introduction of the trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS1) gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In yeast, trehalose-6-phosphate synthase is a key enzyme for trehalose biosynthesis, encoded by the structural gene TPS1. Trehalose affects sugar metabolism as well as osmoprotection against several environmental stresses, such as heat and desiccation. The TPS1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was engineered under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter for constitutive expression in transgenic potato plants by Ti-plasmid of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The resulting TPS1 transgenic potato plants exhibited various morphological phenotypes in culture tubes, ranging from normal to severely retarded growth, including dwarfish growth, yellowish lancet-shaped leaves, and aberrant root development. However, the plants recovered from these negative growth effects when grown in a soil mixture. The TPS1 transgenic potato plants showed significantly increased drought resistance. These results suggest that the production of trehalose not only affects plant development but also improves drought tolerance.     

Expression and Activity Analysis of Fructosyltransferase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus oryzae</Emphasis>

The fructosyltransferase gene was isolated and cloned from Aspergillus oryzae. The gene was 1368 bp, which encoded a protein of 455 amino acids. To analyze the activity of the expressed fructosyltransferase, the pET32a-fructosyltransferase recombined plasmid was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21. The fructosyltransferase gene was successfully expressed by Isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactoside (IPTG) induction. The molecular weight of the expression protein was about 45 kDa. The optimal conditions of protein expression were 25?°C, 0.1 mM IPTG, and 8 h of inducing time. The optimal concentration of urea dealing with inclusion body was 2.5 M. The expressed protein exhibited a strong fructosyl transfer activity. These results showed that the expressed fructosyltransferas owned transferase activity, and could catalyze the synthesis of sucrose-6-acetate.     

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.     

马铃薯StAP1基因的分子克隆与表达分析

采用RT-PCR方法从马铃薯品种‘Désirée’中克隆了StAP1cDNA序列（GenBank登录号GU220568）。该基因cDNA开放阅读框长度为735bp,编码一个由244个氨基酸残基组成的蛋白,该蛋白分子量为28.57kDa,理论等电点为8.32。StAP1蛋白含有1个高度保守的MADS结构域,与烟草NAP1具有较高一致性。组织表达分析显示,StAP1在马铃薯植株的顶芽、花和叶中有较高水平的转录表达,在块茎中有微量表达。利用反义StCOL转基因马铃薯植株进一步分析表明,StAP1的表达受StCOL的调控。     

An in-built proteinase inhibitor system for the protection of recombinant proteins recovered from transgenic plants

Proteolytic degradation represents a significant barrier to the efficient production of several recombinant proteins in plants, both in vivo during their expression and in vitro during their recovery from source tissues. Here, we describe a strategy to protect recombinant proteins during the recovery process, based on the coexpression of a heterologous proteinase inhibitor acting as a 'mouse trap' against the host proteases during extraction. After confirming the importance of trypsin- and chymotrypsin-like activities in crude protein extracts of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) leaves, transgenic lines of potato expressing either tomato cathepsin D inhibitor (CDI) or bovine aprotinin, both active against trypsin and chymotrypsin, were generated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated genetic transformation. Leaf crude protein extracts from CDI-expressing lines, showing decreased levels of cathepsin D-like and ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase hydrolysing activities in vitro, conducted decreased turnover rates of the selection marker protein neomycin phosphotransferase II (NPTII) relative to the turnover rates measured for transgenic lines expressing only the marker protein. A similar stabilizing effect on NPTII was observed in leaf protein extracts from plant lines coexpressing bovine aprotinin, confirming the ability of ectopically expressed broad-spectrum serine proteinase inhibitors to reproduce the protein-stabilizing effect of low-molecular-weight proteinase inhibitors generally added to protein extraction media.     

转OsCDPK7基因水稻的培育与耐盐性分析

以4℃处理的水稻品种辽盐241植株叶片总RNA为模板, 用基因特异引物通过RT-PCR扩增出1 700 bp的OsCDPK7基因。该基因序列比已报道的基因序列(GenBank登录号：AB042550)缺失了26个氨基酸, 而丝氨酸/苏氨酸蛋白激酶活性中心和钙结合结构域完整, 具备钙依赖的蛋白激酶活性。构建了由组成型启动子E12调控的OsCDPK7基因植物表达载体, 利用农杆菌介导法转化水稻, 经Km筛选及Southern杂交验证, 获得10株转基因植株。耐盐性分析表明：OsCDPK7基因的组成型表达提高了T₂代转基因植株的耐盐性, 部分转基因水稻在0.2 mol/L NaCl培养基中能够萌发; 幼苗期水稻经0.4 mol/L NaCl浇灌10 d, 去除胁迫后能恢复正常生长; 而对照在以上情况下均不能萌发和恢复。结果表明, 利用植物信号转导过程中的调控因子能够提高转基因作物的耐盐性。然而, 在不同耐性的转基因植株中, OsCDPK7基因的表达有一定的差异。     

Expression of a human lactoferrin cDNA in tobacco cells produces antibacterial protein(s).

A suspension tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) cell line was transformed to express human lactoferrin, an iron-binding glycoprotein. The transgenic calli produced a protein that was significantly smaller than the full-length lactoferrin protein. Total protein extracts made from transgenic tobacco callus exhibited much higher antibacterial activity than commercially available purified lactoferrin as determined by the decrease of colony-forming units when tested with four phytopathogenic species of bacteria. Introduction of the lactoferrin gene in crop plants may provide resistance against phytopathogenic bacteria.     

Inducible cross-tolerance to herbicides in transgenic potato plants with the rat CYP1A1 gene

A gene of the enzyme involved in xenobiotic metabolism in mammalian liver was introduced into potato to confer inducible herbicide tolerance. A rat cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, CYP1A1 cDNA, was kept under the control of the tobacco PR1a promoter in order to apply the system of chemical inducible expression using the plant activator Benzothiadiazole (BTH). Transgenic plants were obtained based on the kanamycin resistance test and PCR analysis. Northern-blot analysis revealed the accumulation of mRNA corresponding to rat CYP1A1 in the transgenic plants treated with BTH (3.0 μmol/pot), whereas no accumulation of the corresponding mRNA occurred without BTH treatment. These transgenic plants also produced a protein corresponding to CYP1A1 in the leaves by BTH treatment. The transgenic plants with BTH application showed a much-higher tolerance to the phenylurea herbicides chlortoluron and methabenzthiazuron than non-transgenic plants. These findings indicated that the ability of metabolizing the two herbicides to less-toxic derivatives was displayed in the transgenic plants after BTH treatment. Transgenic plants harboring the CYP1A1 cDNA fused with the yeast P450 reductase (YR) gene under the control of PR1a were also produced. Although the plants showed a lower expression level of the fused gene than transgenic plants with CYP1A1 cDNA alone, they were tolerant to herbicides. These facts suggested that the CYP1A1 enzyme fused with YR showed a higher specific activity than CYP1A1 alone. This study demonstrated that the mammalian cDNA for the de-toxification enzyme of herbicides under the control of the PR1a promoter conferred chemical-inducible herbicide tolerance on potato. Received: 15 March 2001 / Accepted: 14 June 2001     

Transgenic Potato with PVY Coat Protein Gene and Its Small-Scale Field Test

Potato virus Y (PVY) infection may cause a severe yield depression up to 80%. To develop the potato (Solanum tuberosum L. ) cultivars that resist PVY infection is very crucial in potato production. The authors have been cloned the coat protein gene of PVY from its Chinese isolate. A chimaeric gene containing the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and PVY coat protein coding region was introduced into the potato cultivars “Favorita”, “Tiger head” and “K4” via Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Results from PCR and Southern blot analysis confirmed that the foreign gene has integrated into the potato chromosomes. These transgenic potato plants were mechanically inoculated with PVY virus (20 mg/L). The presence of the virus in the potato plants was determined by ELISA and method of back inoculation into tobacco. The authors observed a drastic reduction in the accumulation of virus in some transgenic potato lines. Furthermore, some transgenic potato lines produced more tubers per plant than the untransformed potato did, and the average weight of these transgenic plant tubers was also increased. In the field test, the morphology and development of these transgenic potato plants were normal, 3 transgenic lines of “Favorita” exhibited a higher yield than the untrasformed virus-free potato with an increase ranged from 20% to 30%. From these transgenic lines, it will be very hopeful to develop a potato cultivar which not only has a significant resistance to PVY infection, but also a good harvest in potato production.