Reverse Genetic Approaches for Functional Genomics of Rice

T-DNA and transposable elements e.g., Ds and Tos17, are used to generate a large number of insertional mutant lines in rice. Some carry the GUS or GFP reporter for gene trap or enhancer trap. These reporter systems are valuable for identifying tissue- or organ-preferential genes. Activation tagging lines have also been generated for screening mutants and isolating mutagenized genes. To utilize these resources more efficiently, tagged lines have been produced for reverse genetic approaches. DNA pools of the T-DNA tagged lines and Tos17 lines have been prepared for PCR screening of insertional mutants in a given gene. Tag end sequences (TES) of the inserts have also been produced. TES databases are beneficial for analyzing the function of a large number of rice genes.     

Introduction of the mercury transposon Tn501 into Rhizobium japonicum strains 31 and 110

Abstract Transposon Tn 501 , which encodes resistance to mercuric ions, was introduced into Rhizobium japonicum 110 and 31 by conjugal transfer. The transposon donor plasmid (pMD100) was able to mobilize into R. japonicum , but could not be maintained. Hg²⁺-resistant colonies were recovered at a frequency of 1.9 × 10⁻⁸/recipient for strain 110, and 1.7 × 10⁻⁷/recipient for strain 31. Presence of Tn 501 in Hg-resistant isolates was verified by Southern analysis and demonstrating transposition of Hg resistance. Transposon mutagenesis has been used to generate auxotrophic mutations at low frequency.     

Efficient insertional mutagenesis in group A streptococci mediated by Tn917 transposon

The replication-conditional thermosensitive vector pTV1-OK (repATs, Kan^r) harbouring the transposon Tn917 (Em^r) was successfully used to mutagenise a clinical Streptococcus pyogenes isolate (CS101). In the initial studies, conditions were established for electrotransformation of the pTV1-OK vector into CS101. Transformants selected on media containing Kan at 29°C were shown to become Kan^s at 39°C and to carry the transposon-linked Em^r marker. One such transformant was chosen for transposition studies. Upon temperature shift, transposition was achieved with a frequency of approximately 0.01% with a plasmid curing efficiency of close to 100%. Southern blot analysis demonstrated that the majority of mutants contained a single copy of Tn917 and showed no evidence for preferential sites of integration (“hot spots”). Screening of Tn917 libraries of S. pyogenes has led to the identification of mutants lacking either haemolysing or plasminogen activating activity. Mutants defective in each of these activities were identified at a frequency of approximately one in 1000 to 4000 colonies. These findings suggest that the pTV1-OK vector can be used for transposon mutagenesis of S. pyogenes and that this strategy will be valuable for identifying virulence factors and regulatory mechanisms in these bacteria.     

Transposon Tn5403, a mobilization-helper element: Complete nucleotide sequence and distribution in aquatic strains

Abstract Tn 5403 , a new transposable element, was found in a Klebsiella pneumoniae strain (KIIIA) isolated from an aquatic environment following a pollution accident. It was identified by its ability to mobilize ori T-deleted recombinant plasmids and thus can be proposed as a ‘helper’ element participating in the transfer mechanisms of non-conjugative plasmids. Nucleotides sequence analysis shows that the element consists of 3663 bp. Two open reading frames (ORFs) are found: one ( tnp A) encoding a putative transposase and the other ( tnp R) a putative resolvase. The two ORFs are transcribed in opposite directions and are separated by a putative recombination site (res). Results obtained with a specific probe suggest that Tn 5403 or a similar element is present in different Enterobacteriaceae strains isolated from the same river three years after the isolation of the Tn 5403 -harbouring KIIIA strain.     

Bacterial transposons are co-transferred with T-DNA to rice chromosomes during Agrobacterium-mediated transformation

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is widely utilized for delivering a foreign gene into a plant's genome. We found the bacterial transposon Tn5393 in transgenic rice plants. Analysis of the flanking sequences of the transferred-DNA (T-DNA) identified that a portion of the Tn5393 sequence was present immediately next to the end of the T-DNA. Because this transposon was present in A. tumefaciens strain LBA4404, but not in EHA105 and GV3101, our findings indicated that Tn5393 was transferred from LBA4404 into the rice genome during the transformation process. We also noted that another bacterial transposon, Tn5563, is present in transgenic plants. Analyses of 331 transgenic lines revealed that 26.0% carried Tn5393 and 2.1% contained Tn5563. In most of the lines, an intact transposon was integrated into the T-DNA and transferred to the rice chromosome. More than one copy of T-DNA was introduced into the plants, often at a single locus. This resulted in T-DNA repeats of normal and transposon-carrying TDNA that generated deletions of a portion of the T-DNA, joining the T-DNA end to the bacterial transposon. Based on these data, we suggest that one should carefully select the appropriate Agrobacterium strain to avoid undesirable transformation of such sequences.     

Generation of marker-free transgenic maize by regular two-border <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agrobacterium</Emphasis> transformation vectors

By introducing additional T-DNA borders into a binary plasmid used in Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation, previous studies have demonstrated that the marker gene and the gene of interest (GOI) can be carried by independent T-strands, which sometimes integrate in unlinked loci in the plant genome. This allows the recovery of marker-free transgenic plants through genetic segregation in the next generation. In this study, we have found that by repositioning the selectable marker gene in the backbone and leaving only the GOI in the T-DNA region, a regular two-border binary plasmid was able to generate marker-free transgenic maize plants more efficiently than a conventional single binary plasmid with multiple T-DNA borders. These results also provide evidence that both the right and left borders can initiate and terminate T-strands. Such non-canonical initiation and termination of T-strands may be the basis for the elevated frequencies of cotransformation and unlinked insertions.     

Tn5转座突变技术在革兰氏阴性细菌分子遗传研究中的应用

随着广宿主载体系统的发展,Tn5及其衍生载体已经广泛应用于革兰氏阴性细菌的分子遗传学研究。主要综述了Tn5转座突变技术在生防细菌生防机理研究、细菌必需基因的鉴定、病原细菌毒力相关基因研究、代谢调控基因研究和菌株的遗传改良方面的应用研究进展。     

植物功能基因组研究方法及进展

随着植物功能基因组研究的深入,T-DNA标签、转座子标签、反义RNA技术、基因敲除、基因陷阱和TILLING技术等多种研究方法获得了建立,并随着植物功能基因组学的不断发展而进一步完善.综述了各类研究方法的原理,并对这些方法的优缺点进行了比较与分析.     

植物转基因方法概述

综述了植物基因转化的不同方法。植物基因转化方法主要包括直接基因转移和农杆菌介导的转化,直接基因转移又包括PEG介导、电激介导和基因枪方法。相比之下,农杆菌转化方法具有明显的优势;本文对其方法和机制作了较为全面的介绍。     

利用Tn5转座子介导突变提高大肠杆菌丁醇生产水平

目前,对于构建高产丁醇大肠杆菌工程菌株的工作,主要是对丁醇通路和相关途径的基因进行理性改造。为进一步提升菌株的丁醇生产能力,需要发掘基因组上可影响丁醇生产能力的基因,但这很难通过已有认识或计算机模型进行预测。本工作以一株实验室前期构建的产丁醇大肠杆菌工程菌株为研究对象,利用Tn5转座子构建了一个含有1 196个菌株的突变文库。丙酮酸是丁醇的前体,并且在发酵终产物中,副产物丙酮酸的含量与丁醇的含量呈反相关,因此,可以利用丙酮酸的含量来间接反映丁醇的含量,而丙酮酸可用二硝基苯肼显色法进行快速测定,基于此,建立了96孔板——酶标仪快速筛选方法。利用该方法成功筛选到了比对照菌株丁醇产量提高了29%、49%、56%的3个突变体菌株。利用反向PCR及测序的方法,确定了其转座子插入位置分别为:pyk A、tdk、cad C基因。这些基因可以作为进一步提高菌株丁醇产量的靶点,同时这种利用Tn5转座子筛选基因靶标的策略也为构建其他微生物细胞工厂提供了新思路。     

Construction of a Slime Negative Transposon Mutant in Staphylococcus epidermidis Using the Enterococcus faecalis Transposon Tn917

The slime-producing Staphylococcus epidermidis strain sensu strictu CNS23 was transformed by protoplast transformation with the plasmid pTV1 which carries transposon Tn917. Using this transposon mutagenesis system we obtained the Tn917-inserted mutant CT512, which has lost the ability to produce slime. A single insertion of the trasposon Tn917 into the chromosome of CT512 could be detected by Southern hybridization. This mutant showed a significantly higher stability concerning its slime-negative phenotype compared with spontaneous slime-negative mutants of S. epidermidis strain CNS23. In slime-ELISA no slime-associated antigen could be detected in extracts of the transposon mutant. Compared to slime-positive S. epidermidis strains, CT512 lacked in accumulative growth in microtiter tube test.     

转座子衍生基因的演变途径及对生物生长发育的影响

转座子(transposable elements,TEs)是指在基因组上能从同一条染色体的一个位置转移到另一个位置或者从一条染色体转移到另一条染色体上的一段DNA序列。广泛存在于基因组中的转座子通过复制、动员、重组基因片段以及修改原基因结构形成的新基因,被称为转座子衍生基因。该文综述了转座子衍生基因与转座子和常规基因的异同以及转座子衍生基因的演变途径,归纳了转座子衍生基因对宿主基因进化,以及对生物生长发育的影响。     

杀虫荧光假单胞工程菌的构建及其杀虫效果

以转座子mini-Tn5为介导,用高压电激转化法将BtcryIA©基因整合到生防细菌荧光假单胞菌P303-1的染色体上。通过对重组菌株染色体DNA酶切分析、PCR检测,表明转化子DNA中含有cryIA©基因及其营养期表达的强启动子。SDS-PAGE鉴定、ELISA检测及电镜观察证实了杀虫晶体蛋白在P303-1中的高效表达。生物测定结果显示工程菌对棉铃虫Helicoverpa armigera具有显著毒杀作用。工程菌PT45、PT51、PT61、PT71和野生菌HD-73对棉铃虫2龄幼虫5天的LC₅₀值分别为50.1281 μg/g、71.7763 μg/g、69.0820 μg/g、57.9895 μg/g、192.8747 μg/g。死亡率与浓度呈正相关,体重与浓度呈负相关。