Isolation and characterization of a symbiosis-regulated ras from the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor

Ectomycorrhizae formed by the symbiotic interaction between ectomycorrhizal fungi and plant roots play a key role in maintaining and improving the health of a wide range of plants. Mycorrhizal initiation, development, and functional maintenance involve morphological changes that are mediated by activation and suppression of several fungal and plant genes. We identified a gene, Lbras, in the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor that belongs to the ras family of genes, which has been shown in other systems to be associated with signaling pathways controlling cell growth and proliferation. The Lbras cDNA complemented ras2 function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and had the ability to transform mammalian cells. Expression of Lbras, present as a single copy in the genome, was dependent upon interaction with host roots. Northern analysis showed that expression was detectable in L bicolor 48 h after interaction as well as in the established mycorrhizal tissue. Phylogenetic analysis with other Ras proteins showed that Lbras is related most closely to Aras of Aspergillus nidulans.     

A genomic analysis of disease-resistance genes encoding nucleotide binding sites in Sorghum bicolor

A large set of candidate nucleotide-binding site (NBS)-encoding genes related to disease resistance was identified in the sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) genome. These resistance (R) genes were characterized based on their structural diversity, physical chromosomal location and phylogenetic relationships. Based on their N-terminal motifs and leucine-rich repeats (LRR), 50 non-regular NBS genes and 224 regular NBS genes were identified in 274 candidate NBS genes. The regular NBS genes were classified into ten types: CNL, CN, CNLX, CNX, CNXL, CXN, NX, N, NL and NLX. The vast majority (97%) of NBS genes occurred in gene clusters, indicating extensive gene duplication in the evolution of S. bicolor NBS genes. Analysis of the S. bicolor NBS phylogenetic tree revealed two major clades. Most NBS genes were located at the distal tip of the long arms of the ten sorghum chromosomes, a pattern significantly different from rice and Arabidopsis, the NBS genes of which have a random chromosomal distribution.     

Transformation of the mycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor using Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Most boreal and temperate forest trees form a mutualistic symbiosis with soil borne fungi called ectomycorrhiza (ECM). In this association both partners benefit due to nutrient exchange at the symbiotic interface. Laccaria bicolor is the first mycorrhizal fungus with its genome sequenced thus making possible for the first time to analyze genome scale gene expression profiles of a mutualistic fungus. However, in order to be able to take full advantage of the genome sequence, reverse genetic tools are needed. Among them a high throughput transformation system is crucial. Herein we present a detailed protocol for genetic transformation of L. bicolor by means of Agrobacterium tumefaciens with emphasis on critical steps affecting the success and efficiency of the approach.     

The aquaporin gene family of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor: lessons for symbiotic functions

Soil humidity and bulk water transport are essential for nutrient mobilization. Ectomycorrhizal fungi, bridging soil and fine roots of woody plants, are capable of modulating both by being integrated into water movement driven by plant transpiration and the nocturnal hydraulic lift. Aquaporins are integral membrane proteins that function as gradient-driven water and/or solute channels. Seven aquaporins were identified in the genome of the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Laccaria bicolor and their role in fungal transfer processes was analyzed. Heterologous expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes revealed relevant water permeabilities for three aquaporins. In fungal mycelia, expression of the corresponding genes was high compared with other members of the gene family, indicating the significance of the respective proteins for plasma membrane water permeability. As growth temperature and ectomycorrhiza formation modified gene expression profiles of these water-conducting aquaporins, specific roles in those aspects of fungal physiology are suggested. Two aquaporins, which were highly expressed in ectomycorrhizas, conferred plasma membrane ammonia permeability in yeast. This indicates that these proteins are an integral part of ectomycorrhizal fungus-based plant nitrogen nutrition in symbiosis.     

A Systems Approach Uncovers Restrictions for Signal Interactions Regulating Genome-wide Responses to Nutritional Cues in Arabidopsis

As sessile organisms, plants must cope with multiple and combined variations of signals in their environment. However, very few reports have studied the genome-wide effects of systematic signal combinations on gene expression. Here, we evaluate a high level of signal integration, by modeling genome-wide expression patterns under a factorial combination of carbon (C), light (L), and nitrogen (N) as binary factors in two organs (O), roots and leaves. Signal management is different between C, N, and L and in shoots and roots. For example, L is the major factor controlling gene expression in leaves. However, in roots there is no obvious prominent signal, and signal interaction is stronger. The major signal interaction events detected genome wide in Arabidopsis roots are deciphered and summarized in a comprehensive conceptual model. Surprisingly, global analysis of gene expression in response to C, N, L, and O revealed that the number of genes controlled by a signal is proportional to the magnitude of the gene expression changes elicited by the signal. These results uncovered a strong constraining structure in plant cell signaling pathways, which prompted us to propose the existence of a “code” of signal integration.     

二色补血草液泡膜H^＋-ATP酶C亚基（LbVHA-C）基因克隆和表达分析

从二色补血草cDNA文库中分离出一个V-H^＋-ATP酶C亚基（LbVHA-C）基因全长cDNA序列。该基因全长为729bp。其中,开放读码框（ORF）为498bp,编码165个氨基酸,预测编码蛋白的分子量为16.6kDa,理论等电点为8.62。用实时定量RT-PCR方法进一步研究二色补血草在NaCl、NaHCO3和NaCO3胁迫下的不同时间内该基因表达模式的结果表明,NaCl强烈诱导二色补血草叶组织中LbVHA-C基因的表达,但其根部的表达变化不明显。NaHCO3胁迫下LbVHA-C基因在根部组织的表达受抑制。Na2CO3胁迫24h时的LbVHA-C基因在根和叶部组织中的表达都强烈受抑制,随后在根和叶组织的表达量逐步升高。     

离体条件下日本冷杉/二色蜡蘑的外生菌根合成

本实验报道了以离体培养方式诱导日本冷杉(Abies firma Sieb.et Zucc.)与二色蜡蘑(Laccaria bicolor(Maire)Orton)的外生菌根合成的方法.日本冷杉能否与广谱性的外生菌根菌二色蜡蘑形成人工菌根?菌根结构的诱导是否只发生在植物体整体水平上?这些是本实验的关注点.研究结果显示:无菌幼苗接种10周后,在光学显微镜下可观察到典型的外生菌根的特征,即由高度分叉的外延菌丝体形成的厚实的菌套以及由内延菌丝体形成的哈蒂氏网.将来源于下胚轴的愈伤组织与二色蜡蘑的菌丝体进行共同培养,3周后,菌丝体开始接触愈伤组织的表面,并且侵入到愈伤组织的细胞间,形成拟哈蒂氏网结构.愈伤组织可以作为一种菌根学研究的有效的培养体系.这一方法可望为冷杉类植物菌根学的研究提供有效的实验工具.     

离体条件下日本冷杉／二色蜡蘑的外生菌根合成

本实验报道了以离体培养方式诱导日本冷杉(AbiesfirmaSieb.etZucc.)与二色蜡蘑(Laccariabicolor(Maire)Orton)的外生菌根合成的方法。日本冷杉能否与广谱性的外生菌根菌二色蜡蘑形成人工菌根?菌根结构的诱导是否只发生在植物体整体水平上?这些是本实验的关注点。研究结果显示:无菌幼苗接种10周后,在光学显微镜下可观察到典型的外生菌根的特征,即由高度分叉的外延菌丝体形成的厚实的菌套以及由内延菌丝体形成的哈蒂氏网。将来源于下胚轴的愈伤组织与二色蜡蘑的菌丝体进行共同培养,3周后,菌丝体开始接触愈伤组织的表面,并且侵入到愈伤组织的细胞间,形成拟哈蒂氏网结构。愈伤组织可以作为一种菌根学研究的有效的培养体系。这一方法可望为冷杉类植物菌根学的研究提供有效的实验工具。     

A new resource for cereal genomics: 22K barley GeneChip comes of age

In recent years, access to complete genomic sequences, coupled with rapidly accumulating data related to RNA and protein expression patterns, has made it possible to determine comprehensively how genes contribute to complex phenotypes. However, for major crop plants, publicly available, standard platforms for parallel expression analysis have been limited. We report the conception and design of the new publicly available, 22K Barley1 GeneChip probe array, a model for plants without a fully sequenced genome. Array content was derived from worldwide contribution of 350,000 high-quality ESTs from 84 cDNA libraries, in addition to 1,145 barley (Hordeum vulgare) gene sequences from the National Center for Biotechnology Information nonredundant database. Conserved sequences expressed in seedlings of wheat (Triticum aestivum), oat (Avena strigosa), rice (Oryza sativa), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and maize (Zea mays) were identified that will be valuable in the design of arrays across grasses. To enhance the usability of the data, BarleyBase, a MIAME-compliant, MySQL relational database, serves as a public repository for raw and normalized expression data from the Barley1 GeneChip probe array. Interconnecting links with PlantGDB and Gramene allow BarleyBase users to perform gene predictions using the 21,439 non-redundant Barley1 exemplar sequences or cross-species comparison at the genome level, respectively. We expect that this first generation array will accelerate hypothesis generation and gene discovery in disease defense pathways, responses to abiotic stresses, development, and evolutionary diversity in monocot plants.     

番茄ACC合酶反义基因对河套蜜瓜的转化

河套蜜瓜（CucumismeloLcvHetau）的子叶经预培养。芽诱导和生根培养,获得再生小植株,诱导率达58％。取带有番茄ACC合酶反义基因的双元载体pMQ6／JM109与农杆菌（Agrobacteriumtumefaciens）LBA4404经三亲融合后,与在MS0上萌发5d、并在MS＋1mg／LNAA培养基上预培养3d的子叶共培养48h,然后转入含50mg／L卡那霉素的MS＋6mg／LZT的芽诱导培养基中,1l个月后诱导生芽,待芽长1．5－2cm时转入生根培养基中,1－2周后可诱导产生大量的根,形成完整的转基因小植株。经PCR和分子杂交检测证明,目的基因已整合入河套蜜瓜的基因组中。     

番茄PPR基因家族的鉴定与生物信息学分析

PPR(Pentatricopeptide repeats)基因家族在植物中广泛存在, 其在植物生长发育过程中至关重要。文章采用生物信息学方法, 利用Pfam已鉴定的PPR保守结构域序列检索番茄(Solanum lycopersicum L.)基因组计划注释的蛋白序列, 最终确定了番茄中可能存在的471个PPR编码基因; 根据拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana L.)中鉴定的各个结构域的特点对其进行了蛋白结构分析、分类和保守序列分析, 并对番茄PPR基因家族进行了系统进化树构建、染色体定位、亚细胞定位预测、表达和GO分析等。结果表明：番茄PPR基因家族分为P和PLS两个亚家族, 各占序列数目的一半, PLS亚家族又分为PLS、E、E+和DYW四类, 且在进化树中形成不同的分支; 各个结构域在植物中非常保守; PPR基因家族分布在番茄12条染色体上, 且多数无内含子结构; 大部分PPR蛋白具有线粒体或叶绿体定位序列, GO分析表明PPR蛋白参与RNA相关的生物学过程     

Gene organization of the mating type regions in the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor reveals distinct evolution between the two mating type loci

In natural conditions, basidiomycete ectomycorrhizal fungi such as Laccaria bicolor are typically in the dikaryotic state when forming symbioses with trees, meaning that two genetically different individuals have to fuse or 'mate'. Nevertheless, nothing is known about the molecular mechanisms of mating in these ecologically important fungi. Here, advantage was taken of the first sequenced genome of the ectomycorrhizal fungus, Laccaria bicolor, to determine the genes that govern the establishment of cell-type identity and orchestrate mating. The L. bicolor mating type loci were identified through genomic screening. The evolutionary history of the genomic regions that contained them was determined by genome-wide comparison of L. bicolor sequences with those of known tetrapolar and bipolar basidiomycete species, and by phylogenetic reconstruction of gene family history. It is shown that the genes of the two mating type loci, A and B, are conserved across the Agaricales, but they are contained in regions of the genome with different evolutionary histories. The A locus is in a region where the gene order is under strong selection across the Agaricales. By contrast, the B locus is in a region where the gene order is likely under a low selection pressure but where gene duplication, translocation and transposon insertion are frequent.     

Transformation of Cucumis melo cv. Hetau with Tomato Antisense ACC Synthase Gene

An efficient in vitro plant regeneration system of Cucumis melo L. cv. Hetau was established. Regenerated plantlets were obtained from cotyledons after preculture, shoot inducing culture and root inducing culture. A high regeneration rate was achieved up to 58%. Cucumis melo was transformed with the antisense tomato ACC synthase gene in binary vector pMQ6 via Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated gene transfer. Kanamycin resistant plantlets were obtained on MS medium with 6 mg/L zeatin, 50 mg/L kanamycin and 650 mg/L cefotaximine. PCR and molecular hybridization analysis showed that tomato ACC synthase antisense cDNA was integreted into the genome of C. melo.