Posttranscriptional regulation by the upstream open reading frame of the phosphoethanolamine N-methyltransferase gene

Phosphoethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEAMT) is involved in choline biosynthesis in plants. The 5' untranslated region (UTR) of several PEAMT genes was found to contain an upstream open reading frame (uORF). We generated transgenic Arabidopsis calli that expressed a chimeric gene constructed by fusing the 5' UTR of the Arabidopsis PEAMT gene (AtNMT1) upstream of the beta-glucuronidase gene. The AtNMT1 uORF was found to be involved in declining levels of the chimeric gene mRNA and repression of downstream beta-glucuronidase gene translation in the calli when the cells were treated with choline. Further, we discuss the role of the uORF.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis>-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase gene in rubber tree (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Hevea brasiliensis</Emphasis>)

S-Adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) is a key rate-limiting enzyme involved in polyamines biosynthesis, and it plays important roles in plant growth, development and stresses response. However, no SAMDC gene was reported in rubber tree. Here we report characteristics of an SAMDC gene (HbSAMDC1) in rubber tree. HbSAMDC1 contains a 1080 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding 359 amino acids. Quantitative real-time PCR analyses revealed that HbSAMDC1 exhibited distinct expression patterns in different tissues and was regulated by various stresses, including drought, cold, salt, wounding, and H₂O₂ treatments. HbSAMDC1 5′ untranslated region (UTR) contains a highly conserved overlapping tiny and small upstream ORFs (uORFs), encoding 2 and 52 amino acid residues, respectively. No introns were located in the main ORF of HbSAMDC1, whereas two introns were found in the 5′ UTR. In transgenic tobaccos, the highly conserved small uORF of HbSAMDC1 is found to be responsible for translational repression of downstream β-glucuronidase reporter. To our knowledge, this is the first report on molecular cloning, expression profiles, and 5′ UTR characteristics of HbSAMDC1. These results lay solid foundation for further elucidating HbSAMDC1 function in rubber tree.     

Differential regulation of two myo-inositol transporter genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We previously isolated two distinct Saccharomyces cerevisiae myo-inositol transporter genes, ITR1 and ITR2 (Nikawa et al., 1991). Here, we studied the regulation of their expression by measuring steady-state mRNA levels and β-galactosidase activities of lacZ fusion genes under different conditions. The results show that the expression of the two ITR genes is differently regulated: ITR1 was repressed by inositol and choline whereas ITR2 was constitutive. Deletion analysis of the ITR1 upstream region and comparison with the upstream regions of other genes involved in phospholipid synthesis indicate that the octamer sequence 5′-TTCACATG-3′ is important for the expression and inositol/choline regulation of the ITR1 gene.     

鸡PPARγ基因转录本3上游开放阅读框转录后的调控作用

过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体γ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, PPARγ)是脂肪生成的关键调控因子。本实验室前期研究发现,与人和鼠等哺乳动物PPARγ基因的转录本不同,鸡PPARγ基因的多个转录本5′UTR区存在上游开放阅读框(upstream open reading frames, uORFs)。为了揭示该uORF转录后的调控作用,本研究构建了鸡PPARγ基因转录本3 (cPPARγ3)野生型5′UTR报告基因载体psiCHECK2-cPPARγ3- 5′UTR-WT和uORF突变(uATG突变为终止密码子TGA)的5′UTR报告基因载体psiCHECK2-cPPARγ3- 5′UTR-Mut。将这两个报告基因载体分别转染永生化鸡前脂肪细胞(immortalized chicken pre-adipocytes, ICPA)和鸡胚成纤维细胞DF1,检测海肾荧光素酶报告基因hRluc活性及其mRNA表达。荧光素酶报告基因检测结果显示,在ICPA细胞中,psiCHECK2-cPPARγ3-5′UTR-Mut的hRluc报告基因活性极显著高于psiCHECK2- cPPARγ3-5′UTR-WT (P<0.01);在DF1细胞中,psiCHECK2-cPPARγ3-5′UTR-Mut的hRluc报告基因活性高于psiCHECK2-cPPARγ3-5′UTR-WT,但差异不显著(P>0.05)。qRT-PCR检测hRluc基因mRNA表达结果显示,与psiCHECK2-cPPARγ3-5′UTR-WT相比,在ICPA细胞中,psiCHECK2-cPPARγ3-5′UTR-Mut转染细胞的hRluc基因的mRNA表达水平极显著降低(P<0.01);在DF1细胞中,psiCHECK2-cPPARγ3-5′UTR-Mut转染细胞后,hRluc基因的mRNA表达水平也降低,但差异不显著(P>0.05)。为进一步分析该uORF对鸡cPPARγ3的转录后调控作用,本研究又分别构建了野生型cPPARγ3真核表达载体pcDNA3.1-cPPARγ3-WT和uORF突变的cPPARγ3真核表达载体pcDNA3.1-cPPARγ3-Mut。qRT-PCR检测cPPARγ3的mRNA表达水平,结果显示,在这两种细胞中,pcDNA3.1-cPPARγ3-Mut转染细胞的cPPARγ3 mRNA表达水平均显著低于pcDNA3.1-cPPARγ3-WT转染细胞(P<0.05),但Western blot结果显示,pcDNA3.1-cPPARγ3-Mut转染细胞的PPARγ蛋白表达水平极显著高于pcDNA3.1-cPPARγ3-WT转染细胞(P<0.01)。这些研究结果表明,5′UTR区的uORF抑制鸡cPPARγ3的翻译。     

Analysis of an abscisic acid (ABA)-responsive gene promoter belonging to the Asr gene family from tomato in homologous and heterologous systems

Asr is a family of genes that maps to chromosome 4 of tomato. Asr2, a recently reported member of this family, is believed to be regulated by abscisic acid (ABA), stress and ripening. A genomic Asr2 clone has been fully sequenced, and candidate upstream regulatory elements have been identified. To prove that the promoter region is functional in vivo, we fused it upstream of the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene. The resulting chimeric gene fusion was used for transient expression assays in papaya embryogenic calli and leaves. In addition, the same construct was used to produce transgenic tomato, papaya, tobacco, and potato plants. Asr2 upstream sequences showed promoter function in all of these systems. Under the experimental conditions tested, ABA stimulated GUS expression in papaya and tobacco, but not in tomato and potato systems.     

Two Highly Homologous Promoters of a Squash Aspartic Protease Inhibitor (SQAPI) Multigene Family Exhibit Differential Expression in Transgenic Tobacco Phloem and Trichome Cells

Two variants of the promoter of the squash aspartic acid protease inhibitor multigene family were isolated from Cucurbita maxima cv. ‘Supermarket’ Hybrid genomic DNA. The isolated promoters, possibly not full length, comprised a 5′-untranslated region (UTR) of 202–208 bp, contained a 63-bp upstream open reading frame (uORF) and the immediate upstream sequences of 441–445 bp. The two promoters contained several small deletions relative to each other and 22 single base differences but exhibit overall 92.5% homology over 654 bp. When the promoters were fused to a β-glucuronidase reporter gene and expressed in tobacco, one variant was highly expressed in the companion cells of the inner and outer phloem of leaves and at lower levels in other organs. The other variant was expressed at high levels in the long glandular trichomes of the leaf. Deletion analysis identified a region of ~280 bp immediately upstream of the 5′-UTR containing the TATA box that was responsible for phloem specific expression and a further region of ~180 bp that enhanced expression in one promoter and conferred trichome expression in the other. Removal of the 5′-UTR, including the uORF, inactivated the phloem promoter.     

Analysis of an abscisic acid (ABA)-responsive gene promoter belonging to the Asr gene family from tomato in homologous and heterologous systems

Asr is a family of genes that maps to chromosome 4 of tomato. Asr2, a recently reported member of this family, is believed to be regulated by abscisic acid (ABA), stress and ripening. A genomic Asr2 clone has been fully sequenced, and candidate upstream regulatory elements have been identified. To prove that the promoter region is functional in vivo, we fused it upstream of the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene. The resulting chimeric gene fusion was used for transient expression assays in papaya embryogenic calli and leaves. In addition, the same construct was used to produce transgenic tomato, papaya, tobacco, and potato plants. Asr2 upstream sequences showed promoter function in all of these systems. Under the experimental conditions tested, ABA stimulated GUS expression in papaya and tobacco, but not in tomato and potato systems. Received: 24 March 1997 / Accepted: 26 November 1997