Gene structure and expression analysis of the drought- and abscisic acid-responsive CDeT11-24 gene family from the resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum Hochst

In order to understand the molecular mechanisms which are responsible for desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum Hochst. a thorough analysis of the CDeT11-24 gene family was performed. CDeT11-24 comprises a small gene family whose genes are expressed in response to dehydration, salt stress and abscisic acid (ABA) treatment in leaves. The gene products are constitutively expressed in roots and disappear only when the plants are transferred to water. It is therefore suggested that the proteins are involved in sensing water status. The predicted proteins are very hydrophilic; they share some features with late-embryogenesis-abundant proteins, and sequence similarities were found with two ABA- and drought-regulated Arabidopsis genes. The analysis of β-glucuronidase reporter genes driven by the CDeT11-24 promoter showed high activity in mature seeds in both transgenic Arabidopsis and tobacco. In vegetative tissues the promoter activity in response to ABA was restricted to young Arabidosis seedlings. The responsiveness to ABA during later developmental stages was regained in the presence of the Arabidopsis gene product ABI3. Dehydration-induced promoter activity was only observed in Arabidopsis leaves at a particular developmental stage. This analysis indicates that some components in the signal transduction pathway of the resurrection plant are not active in tobacco or Arabidopsis. Received: 26 April 1997 / Accepted: 16 July 1997     

Effects of desiccation on photosynthesis pigments and the ELIP-like dsp 22 protein complexes in the resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum

Desiccation and abscisic acid treatment lead to major changes in thylakoid membranes of the desiccation-tolerant plant Craterostigma plantagineum. The chlorophyll contents and proteins of the light harvesting complexes decrease during desiccation, although some chlorophyll is retained in the dehydrated state. The xanthophyll cycle pigment zeaxanthin, however, increased. Under these conditions, a 22 kDa ELIP-like desiccation-induced protein (dsp 22) accumulated in the thylakoid membranes. Fractionation of pigment–protein complexes of stressed plants revealed that the dsp 22 protein co-localized with the carotenoid zeaxanthin. Inhibition of zeaxanthin production had a negative effect on the accumulation of the dsp 22 protein. It is suggested that dsp 22 contributes to the protection against photoinhibition caused by dehydration.     

转基因聚球藻7942中vp28基因表达效率及其光合特性分析

背景:对虾白斑综合征病毒(white spot syndrome virus,WSSV)是对虾养殖业中危害最严重的病毒之一,至今尚无规模应用的有效药物防治方法。但近年来在WSSV免疫防治上进展较大。Vp28蛋白是WSSV囊膜上的主要结构蛋白,2004年以来其编码基因已在8种宿主中表达成功,在实验室试验中对WSSV的防治疗效显著,但目前尚未见到其在对虾产业中的应用。目的:利用对虾的天然饵料聚球藻表达Vp28重组蛋白,这种药食同源可简化操作,降低成本,有助其在生产中应用。方法:用荧光定量PCR方法检测转vp28基因聚球藻7942中vp28基因的表达效率。通过氧电极的方法测得转vp28基因型聚球藻在不同温度、光照、pH和盐度下的光合活性变化,找到它的最适生长条件。结果:检测了vp28基因表达效率为9.52%,是在鱼腥藻7120表达效率的3倍。最适采收时间是对数生长后期(15d左右)。转基因型蓝藻7 942的最适生长条件是:温度为40℃,盐度为0~0.1mol/L NaCl,pH为7.5,光强为450μmol/(m~2·s)。结论:确定了vp28基因在聚球藻中的表达效率及该转基因藻的最适培养条件,这些研究结果为用转vp28基因型聚球藻7942规模制备药食同源的口服剂提供了依据。     

副溶血弧菌VP2918基因缺失株的构建及功能研究

[目的] 以副溶血弧菌VP2918为研究对象,研究其对副溶血弧菌的生物学特性和致病性的影响。[方法] 利用同源重组技术构建了vp2918基因的基因缺失株（Δvp2918）和互补株（CΔvp2918）,并对野生株、缺失株和互补株的细菌生长曲线、运动性、生物被膜形成能力、对HeLa细胞的黏附能力、细胞毒性、对小鼠的致死率和组织载菌量进行分析。[结果] 缺失vp2918基因不影响副溶血弧菌的生长特性、运动性、生物被膜形成能力以及对HeLa细胞的黏附能力。但与野生株相比,Δvp2918对HeLa细胞的毒性作用显著降低;感染Δvp2918的小鼠症状明显减轻,存活率更高;Δvp2918在小鼠脾脏和肝脏中的载菌量显著低于野生株,互补株毒力基本恢复至野生株水平。[结论] vp2918不参与副溶血弧菌的运动性和生物被膜形成能力等过程,但与该菌的致病性相关,为潜在的毒力因子。     

Retrotransposons and siRNA have a role in the evolution of desiccation tolerance leading to resurrection of the plant Craterostigma plantagineum

* Craterostigma plantagineum can lose up to 96% of its water content but fully recover within hours after rehydration. The callus tissue of the plant becomes desiccation tolerant upon pre-incubation with abscisic acid (ABA). In callus and vegetative organs, ABA addition and water depletion induce a set of dehydration-responsive genes. * Previously, activation tagging led to the isolation of Craterostigma desiccation tolerant (CDT-1), a dehydration-related ABA-inducible gene which renders callus desiccation tolerant without ABA pre-treatment. This gene belongs to a family of retroelements, members of which are inducible by dehydration. * Craterostigma plantagineum transformation with mutated versions of CDT-1 indicated that protein is not required for the induction of callus desiccation tolerance. Northern analysis and protoplast transfection indicated that CDT-1 directs the synthesis of a double-stranded 21-bp short interfering RNA (siRNA), which opens the metabolic pathway for desiccation tolerance. * Via transposition, these retroelements have progressively increased the capacity of the species to synthesize siRNA and thus recover after dehydration. This may be a case of evolution towards the acquisition of a new trait, stimulated by the environment acting directly on intra-genomic DNA replication.     

Molecular characterization of two alanine-rich Lea genes abundantly expressed in the resurrection plant C. plantagineum in response to osmotic stress and ABA

Expression of many genes is induced during dehydration in vegetative tissues of the desiccation tolerant resurrection plantCraterostigma plantagineum. The most abundant group of desiccation-related gene products belong to the LEA (= Late Embryogenesis Abundant) proteins. Here we describe structures and expression patterns of members of group 3 and group 4Lea genes fromC. plantagineum. The most intriguing observation is the strong conservation of repeat motifs inLea genes found across divers plant species includingC. plantagineum and non-desiccation tolerant plants. This conservation of structural elements leads to speculations about evolution of desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant.     

TheamrG1 gene is involved in the activation of acetate inCorynebacterium glutamicum

During growth ofCorynebacterium glutamicum on acetate as its carbon and energy source, the expression of theptaack operon is induced, coding for the acetate-activating enzymes, which are phosphotransacetylase (PTA) and acetate kinase (AK). By transposon rescue, we identified the two genesamrG1 andamrG2 found in the deregulated transposon mutant C.glutamicum G25. TheamrG1 gene (NCBI-accession: AF532964) has a size of 732 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 243 amino acids and apparently is partially responsible for the regulation of acetate metabolism in C.glutamicum. We constructed an in-frame deletion mutant and an overexpressing strain ofamrG1 in the C.glutamicum ATCC13032 wildtype. The strains were then analyzed with respect to their enzyme activities of PTA and AK during growth on glucose, acetate and glucose or acetate alone as carbon sources. Compared to the parental strain, theamrG1 deletion mutant showed higher specific AK and PTA activities during growth on glucose but showed the same high specific activities of AK and PTA on medium containing acetate plus glucose and on medium containing acetate. In contrast to the gene deletion, overexpression of theamrG1 gene in C.glutamicum 13032 had the adverse regulatory effect. These results indicate that theamrG1 gene encodes a repressor or co-repressor of theptaack operon.     

Normal function of the transcription factor NFAT1 in wasted mice. Chromosome localization of NFAT1 gene

NFAT1 (NFATp), a cytosolic component of the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT), is encoded by a single gene which was mapped to mouse chromosome 2 in the vicinity of the wasted (wst) locus. Although wasted mice display a severe immune disorder, they express normal levels of NFAT1 protein. The NFAT1 protein in wasted mice is properly regulated and possesses comparable DNA binding activity as that in their littermate controls. Therefore, the wasted phenotype is not due to a defect in the expression or early regulation of the NFAT1 protein     

金边红苞凤梨叶片的超微观察和AbGLK1的克隆与表达分析

为了解Golden2-like (GLK)转录因子在金边红苞凤梨(Ananas comosus var. bracteatus ‘Chiyan’)绿白嵌合叶片形成中的作用,采用RT-PCR技术克隆得到了AbGLK1基因, 其开放阅读框全长1 371 bp,编码456个氨基酸,含有1个GARP-DNA结合域和1个C末端结构域GCT box (GOLDEN2 C-terminal box),属于GLK转录因子家族,在酵母中具有转录因子的转录激活活性。烟草亚细胞定位表明AbGLK1蛋白定位在细胞核。RT-qPCR分析表明,AbGLK1基因在金边红苞凤梨的根、茎、叶中均有表达,但具有组织器官差异性,在叶片中的表达量显著高于根和茎(P < 0.05)。AbGLK1基因在叶片边缘白化组织中的表达量显著低于绿色组织,约为绿色组织的1/3 (P < 0.05)。叶片白化组织叶绿体内膜系统模糊,无类囊体存在,含有大量囊状小泡,质体小球数量多且体积较大。因此,推测AbGLK1基因可能参与了金边红苞凤梨中的叶绿体发育,其下调表达可能导致叶片白化组织中叶绿体发育不成熟。