利用荧光标记高通量鉴定减数分裂重组抑制突变体

正向遗传学突变体筛选被广泛用于揭示减数分裂中涉及的遗传基因, 如调控减数分裂II型交叉形成途径的重组抑制基因。该研究利用拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)花粉荧光标记系进行EMS突变体的正向遗传学筛选, 鉴定拟南芥野生型Col遗传背景下的重组抑制突变体, 共获得18个重组率显著提高3倍以上的重组抑制突变体, 其中包括显性和隐性遗传突变。研究表明, 基于荧光标记高通量鉴定重组抑制突变体是可行的, 可为植物减数分裂重组调控分子机制研究提供新方法和突变材料。     

抑制植物减数分裂重组的分子机理

减数分裂重组不仅保证了真核生物有性生殖过程中染色体数量的稳定,还通过父母亲本间遗传物质的互换在后代中产生遗传变异。因此,减数分裂重组是遗传多样性形成的重要途径,也是生物多样性和物种进化的主要动力。在绝大多数真核生物中,不管染色体数目的多少或基因组的大小,减数分裂重组的形成都受到严格的调控,但抑制减数分裂重组的分子机理目前仍不清楚。近年来,通过正向遗传学筛选鉴定出多个减数分裂重组抑制基因,揭示了抑制基因的功能和调控途径。本文基于拟南芥中减数分裂重组抑制基因的研究现状,综述了植物减数分裂重组抑制基因研究取得的突破性进展,并结合基因功能与其调控网络阐述了抑制植物减数分裂重组的分子机理。     

快速筛选拟南芥受精和早期胚胎发生相关基因的方法

阐明拟南芥受精和早期胚胎发生过程对理解被子植物生殖发育有着重要的指导意义,而利用正向遗传学方法研究拟南芥突变体的表型及其分子机理是探究植物基因功能最常用的一种方法。基于常规的插入突变(包括T-DNA和转座子)、化学诱变(如ethylmethane sulfonate,EMS)和高能射线方法构建的突变体库中假阳性突变体多,难以高效筛选到受精和早期胚胎发生相关基因的突变体。为解决这一难题,本研究建立了一种构建T-DNA插入突变体文库的新方法。即在载体p CAMBIA1302的T-DNA元件上增加花粉特异荧光标记基因(p LAT52∷EGFP),并遗传转化具有四分体花粉的Columbia野生型拟南芥突变体qrt1-2;对获得的突变体库可利用花粉荧光快速排除假阳性突变体,并采用反向PCR(inverse-PCR)扩增技术确定突变位点。此方法在筛选拟南芥受精和早期胚胎发生相关基因突变体上的成功应用表明,其是一种效率高、针对性强、操作相对快捷方便的拟南芥突变体筛选方法。     

茉莉酸诱导侧根形成缺陷突变体asa1-1抑制子(soa)的鉴定与遗传分析

外源茉莉酸处理野生型拟南芥能够促进侧根的形成,而在asa1-1突变体中茉莉酸抑制侧根的形成,这与在该突变体背景下茉莉酸显著降低PIN2蛋白水平密切相关。为了进一步研究茉莉酸诱导PIN2蛋白水平下调的分子机制,文章采用正向遗传学的方法筛选asa1-1抑制子soa,期望获得茉莉酸处理后侧根发育恢复的突变体。通过筛选鉴定获得2个突变体:soa563和soa856。这2个突变体在10μmol/L茉莉酸甲酯处理条件下都能够恢复侧根发育,而且茉莉酸处理后PIN2蛋白水平降低的现象在soa563中被完全抑制,在soa856中被部分抑制。这些结果表明这两个突变基因可能影响了茉莉酸调控的PIN2蛋白水平下调途径,并且参于了茉莉酸对侧根发生的调控。对这两个基因的分离和功能研究将为阐明茉莉酸与生长素互作调控侧根发生的分子机制提供新的知识积累。     

植物表皮毛发育控制基因GL2遗传互作因子的筛选和鉴定

表皮毛广泛存在于陆生植物的地上部分,是植物与环境之间的一道天然屏障,具有多种重要的生物学功能。拟南芥HD-Zip家族转录因子GLABRA 2(GL2)是调控表皮毛形成和发育的关键因子,通过筛选和鉴定GL2的遗传互作因子,可以为进一步研究植物表皮毛发育调控的分子机制奠定基础。通过大规模的遗传筛选和图位克隆,获得了一个叶片上完全没有表皮毛的突变体M12-01,遗传分析表明M12-01 single突变表型受隐性单核基因控制。M12-01 single突变体表型与拟南芥TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABKA 1(TTG1)基因的功能缺失突变体表型相似。对TTG1基因的测序结果显示其+445位碱基由鸟嘌呤突变为腺嘌呤,从而使编码的甘氨酸变为精氨酸。本研究证实TTG1突变能增强gl2-3突变体的表型,GL2基因与TTG1基因之间存在遗传互作,这为进一步研究GL2调控植物表皮毛发育的分子机制提供了新的遗传材料。     

昆虫遗传转化品系的常用标记

遗传转化标记是将遗传修饰昆虫从野生型种群中分辨出来的根据,遗传转化昆虫的鉴定、转化品系的维持及其遗传稳定性的监测都依赖于可靠的标记系统,发展易于应用和监测的转化标记能够极大地促进害虫遗传防治的相关研究。用于遗传修饰昆虫的转化标记主要有昆虫眼睛颜色标记基因、抗药性标记基因和荧光蛋白标记基因等。非果蝇类昆虫首个遗传转化品系的鉴定是通过眼睛颜色突变而实现,但大多数昆虫物种没有可用的突变体或缺少相应基因的信息,从而限制了眼睛颜色标记的应用。抗药性基因标记虽然能够通过对转化昆虫进行集体选择而大幅度提高筛选转化体的效率,但由于其鉴定的准确性不高且存在安全性问题,未得到广泛应用。荧光蛋白标记基因的发展则显著拓宽了能够转化的昆虫种类。从水母分离的绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)经突变方法获得了多种不同荧光性质的突变体,经人为修饰后与适宜的强启动子构成转化标记载体,能够有效鉴定更多昆虫物种的遗传转化个体,其中应用较多的是增强型绿色荧光蛋白(EGFP)。此外,从珊瑚属海葵中分离得到的红色DsRed标记基因提供了多样化的红色荧光蛋白选择,在某些生物中DsRed与GFP联合应用的表现明显优于GFP突变体,所以其应用前景也非常广泛。本文着重从眼睛颜色、抗药性和荧光蛋白等3个方面阐述了标记基因的发展历史与现状,并对其今后的发展方向进行了展望。     

植物减数分裂同源染色体重组的分子机理

减数分裂是真核生物有性生殖过程中性母细胞成熟时所进行的特殊细胞分裂方式.在减数分裂过程中,同源染色体间需发生一系列有规律的重要事件,包括同源染色体配对、联会、重组、分离等,这些事件被证明是由许多遗传网络精密调控的.尽管许多调控减数分裂过程的基因已经被克隆,但减数分裂同源重组的分子机理仍不太清楚.植物是进行减数分裂研究的理想材料,近年来随着多种模式植物基因组序列测定的完成,大大加速了植物减数分裂相关基因的鉴定与功能研究.本文以拟南芥和水稻为主要对象,综述了植物减数分裂同源重组分子机理研究取得的一些重要进展,着重分析已鉴定同源重组相关蛋白的生物学功能.     

拟南芥GLABROUS1两个新等位突变体的筛选和鉴定

植物细胞命运决定机制的解析一直以来都是植物发育生物学研究的核心.模式植物拟南芥的表皮毛形成过程是研究植物细胞命运决定的优良模式系统.为了筛选和鉴定控制拟南芥表皮毛形成的新因子,我们进行了大规模的正向遗传筛选,获得了两株莲座叶表皮毛不能形成或数量显著减少的突变体f08-01和vat002-07.通过对突变基因的克隆和遗传...     

拟南芥DNA去甲基化基因RLL4的定位与功能分析

该研究以携带2×35S:LUC报告基因的转基因拟南芥Col-LUC为亲本系,将其种子进行甲基磺酸乙酯(EMS)诱变,在M2代筛选出1株低荧光的候选突变体,命名为rll4(reduced LUC luminescence 4)。遗传学分析表明,rll4突变位点包含1个核基因隐性突变。图位克隆技术定位结果显示,突变基因的位点位于4号染色体2个分子标记CL417-B10M1和CL418-B2M2之间,这2个分子标记分别位于F20D10和F20M13BAC(bacterial artificial chromosome)克隆。酶切PCR(Chop-PCR)结果显示,rll4突变体中基因组DNA的部分位点甲基化显著升高。反转录PCR(RT-PCR)结果显示,rll4突变体中ROS1(REPRESSOR OF SILENCING 1)的表达量并没有明显变化,而一些RNA介导的DNA甲基化(RdDM)过程靶位点的基因表达量有明显下降。研究表明,RLL4位点很可能参与了拟南芥DNA去甲基化过程。     

斑马鱼消化器官发育缺陷突变体的遗传筛选

目的正向遗传筛选斑马鱼肝脏、肠和胆囊发育缺陷突变体。方法 ENU诱变野生型斑马鱼并开展经典的F2代筛选,以lfabp为探针的全胚原位杂交、BES-H2O2-Ac荧光染料分别检测斑马鱼早期胚胎肝脏、肠和胆囊的表型。结果在128个突变基因组中筛选获得了源自14个F2家族的斑马鱼消化器官发育缺陷突变体品系23个,并按表型划分为6类。结论斑马鱼肝脏、肠和胆囊的发育调控机制有相似性和差异性。     

The ssDNA-binding protein MEIOB acts as a dosage-sensitive regulator of meiotic recombination

Meiotic recombination enables reciprocal exchange of genetic information between parental chromosomes and is essential for fertility. MEIOB, a meiosis-specific ssDNA-binding protein, regulates early meiotic recombination. Here we report that the human infertility-associated missense mutation (N64I) in MEIOB causes protein degradation and reduced crossover formation in mouse testes. Although the MEIOB N64I substitution is associated with human infertility, the point mutant mice are fertile despite meiotic defects. Meiob mutagenesis identifies serine 67 as a critical residue for MEIOB. Biochemically, these two mutations (N64I and S67 deletion) cause self-aggregation of MEIOB and sharply reduced protein half-life. Molecular genetic analyses of both point mutants reveal an important role for MEIOB in crossover formation in late meiotic recombination. Furthermore, we find that the MEIOB protein levels directly correlate with the severity of meiotic defects. Our results demonstrate that MEIOB regulates meiotic recombination in a dosage-dependent manner.     

Arabidopsis PTD Is Required for Type Ⅰ Crossover Formation and Affects Recombination Frequency in Two Different Chromosomal Regions

In eukaryotes,crossovers together with sister chromatid cohesion maintain physical association between homologous chromosomes,ensuring accurate chromosome segregation during meiosis I and resulting in exchange of genetic information between homologues.The Arabidopsis PTD(Parting Dancers)gene affects the level of meiotic crossover formation,but its functional relationships with other core meiotic genes,such as AtSPO11-1,AtRAD51,and AtMSH4,are unclear;whether PTD has other functions in meiosis is also unknown.To further analyze PTD function and to test for epistatic relationships,we compared the meiotic chromosome behaviors of Atspol 1-1 ptd and AtradSl ptd double mutants with the relevant single mutants.The results suggest that PTD functions downstream of AtSPOll-1 and AtRAD51 in the meiotic recombination pathway.Furthermore,we found that meiotic defects in rck ptd and Atmsh4 ptd double mutants showed similar meiotic phenotypes to those of the relevant single mutants,providing genetic evidences for roles of PTD and RCK in the type I crossovers pathway.Moreover,we employed a pollen tetrad-based fluorescence method and found that the meiotic crossover frequencies in two genetic intervals were significantly reduced from 6.63%and 22.26%in wild-type to 1.14%and 6.36%,respectively,in the ptd-2 mutant.These results revealed new aspects of PTD function in meiotic crossover formation.     

Isolation of Com1, a New Gene Required to Complete Meiotic Double-Strand Break-Induced Recombination in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

We have designed a screen to isolate mutants defective during a specific part of meiotic prophase I of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genes required for the repair of meiotic double-strand breaks or for the separation of recombined chromosomes are targets of this mutant hunt. The specificity is achieved by selecting for mutants that produce viable spores when recombination and reductional segregation are prevented by mutations in SPO11 and SPO13 genes, but fail to yield viable spores during a normal Rec(+) meiosis. We have identified and characterized a mutation com1-1, which blocks processing of meiotic double-strand breaks and which interferes with synaptonemal complex formation, homologous pairing and, as a consequence, spore viability after induction of meiotic recombination. The COM1/SAE2 gene was cloned by complementation, and the deletion mutant has a phenotype similar to com1-1. com1/sae2 mutants closely resemble the phenotype of rad50S, as assayed by phase-contrast microscopy for spore formation, physical and genetic analysis of recombination, fluorescence in situ hybridization to quantify homologous pairing and immunofluorescence and electron microscopy to determine the capability to synapse axial elements.     

Meiotic chromosome synapsis-promoting proteins antagonize the anti-crossover activity of sgs1

Sgs1, the budding yeast homolog of the mammalian BLM helicase, has been implicated in preventing excess recombination during both vegetative growth and meiosis. Most meiotic crossover (CO) recombination requires full function of a set of yeast proteins (Zip1, Zip2, Zip3, Zip4/Spo22, Mer3, Msh4, and Msh5, termed the SIC or ZMM proteins) that are also required for homologous chromosome synapsis. We report here genetic and molecular assays showing that sgs1 single mutants display relatively modest increases in CO recombination (less than 1.6-fold relative to wild-type). In contrast, a much greater CO increase is seen when an sgs1 mutation is introduced into the CO- and synapsis-deficient zip1, zip2, zip3, mer3, or msh4 mutants (2- to 8-fold increase). Furthermore, close juxtaposition of the axes of homologous chromosomes is restored. CO restoration in the mutants is not accompanied by significant changes in noncrossover (NCO) recombinant frequencies. These findings show that Sgs1 has potent meiotic anti-CO activity, which is normally antagonized by SIC/ZMM proteins. Our data reinforce previous proposals for an early separation of meiotic processes that form CO and NCO recombinants.     

FANCM-associated proteins MHF1 and MHF2, but not the other Fanconi anemia factors,limit meiotic crossovers

Genetic recombination is important for generating diversity and to ensure faithful segregation of chromosomes at meiosis. However, few crossovers (COs) are formed per meiosis despite an excess of DNA double-strand break precursors. This reflects the existence of active mechanisms that limit CO formation. We previously showed that AtFANCM is a meiotic anti-CO factor. The same genetic screen now identified AtMHF2 as another player of the same anti-CO pathway. FANCM and MHF2 are both Fanconi Anemia (FA) associated proteins, prompting us to test the other FA genes conserved in Arabidopsis for a role in CO control at meiosis. This revealed that among the FA proteins tested, only FANCM and its two DNA-binding co-factors MHF1 and MHF2 limit CO formation at meiosis.     

Caenorhabditis elegans msh-5 is required for both normal and radiation-induced meiotic crossing over but not for completion of meiosis

Crossing over and chiasma formation during Caenorhabditis elegans meiosis require msh-5, which encodes a conserved germline-specific MutS family member. msh-5 mutant oocytes lack chiasmata between homologous chromosomes, and crossover frequencies are severely reduced in both oocyte and spermatocyte meiosis. Artificially induced DNA breaks do not bypass the requirement for msh-5, suggesting that msh-5 functions after the initiation step of meiotic recombination. msh-5 mutants are apparently competent to repair breaks induced during meiosis, but accomplish repair in a way that does not lead to crossovers between homologs. These results combine with data from budding yeast to establish a conserved role for Msh5 proteins in promoting the crossover outcome of meiotic recombination events. Apart from the crossover deficit, progression through meiotic prophase is largely unperturbed in msh-5 mutants. Homologous chromosomes are fully aligned at the pachytene stage, and germ cells survive to complete meiosis and gametogenesis with high efficiency. Our demonstration that artificially induced breaks generate crossovers and chiasmata using the normal meiotic recombination machinery suggests (1) that association of breaks with a preinitiation complex is not a prerequisite for entering the meiotic recombination pathway and (2) that the decision for a subset of recombination events to become crossovers is made after the initiation step.     

ZHP-3 acts at crossovers to couple meiotic recombination with synaptonemal complex disassembly and bivalent formation in C. elegans

Crossover recombination and the formation of chiasmata normally ensure the proper segregation of homologous chromosomes during the first meiotic division. zhp-3, the Caenorhabditis elegans ortholog of the budding yeast ZIP3 gene, is required for crossover recombination. We show that ZHP-3 protein localization is highly dynamic. At a key transition point in meiotic prophase, the protein shifts from along the length of the synaptonemal complex (SC) to an asymmetric localization on the SC and eventually becomes restricted to foci that mark crossover recombination events. A zhp-3::gfp transgene partially complements a null mutation and reveals a separation of function; although the fusion protein can promote nearly wild-type levels of recombination, aneuploidy among the progeny is high, indicating defects in meiotic chromosome segregation. The structure of bivalents is perturbed in this mutant, suggesting that the chromosome segregation defect results from an inability to properly remodel chromosomes in response to crossovers. smo-1 mutants exhibit phenotypes similar to zhp-3::gfp mutants at higher temperatures, and smo-1; zhp-3::gfp double mutants exhibit more severe meiotic defects than either single mutant, consistent with a role for SUMO in the process of SC disassembly and bivalent differentiation. We propose that coordination of crossover recombination with SC disassembly and bivalent formation reflects a conserved role of Zip3/ZHP-3 in coupling recombination with SC morphogenesis.     

Heteroduplex DNA in meiotic recombination in Drosophila mei-9 mutants

Meiotic recombination gives rise to crossovers, which are required in most organisms for the faithful segregation of homologous chromosomes during meiotic cell division. Characterization of crossover-defective mutants has contributed much to our understanding of the molecular mechanism of crossover formation. We report here a molecular analysis of recombination in a Drosophila melanogaster crossover-defective mutant, mei-9. In the absence of mei-9 activity, postmeiotic segregation associated with noncrossovers occurs at the expense of crossover products, suggesting that the underlying meiotic function for MEI-9 is in crossover formation rather than mismatch repair. In support of this, analysis of the arrangement of heteroduplex DNA in the postmeiotic segregation products reveals different patterns from those observed in Drosophila Msh6 mutants, which are mismatch-repair defective. This analysis also provides evidence that the double-strand break repair model applies to meiotic recombination in Drosophila. Our results support a model in which MEI-9 nicks Holliday junctions to generate crossovers during meiotic recombination, and, in the absence of MEI-9 activity, the double Holliday junction intermediate instead undergoes dissolution to generate noncrossover products in which heteroduplex is unrepaired.     

Yeast meiotic mutants proficient for the induction of ectopic recombination.

A screen was designed to identify Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants that were defective in meiosis yet proficient for meiotic ectopic recombination in the return-to-growth protocol. Seven mutants alleles were isolated; two are important for chromosome synapsis (RED1, MEK1) and five function independently of recombination (SPO14, GSG1, SPOT8/MUM2, 3, 4). Similar to the spoT8-1 mutant, mum2 deletion strains do not undergo premeiotic DNA synthesis, arrest prior to the first meiotic division and fail to sporulate. Surprisingly, although DNA replication does not occur, mum2 mutants are induced for high levels of ectopic recombination. gsg1 diploids are reduced in their ability to complete premeiotic DNA synthesis and the meiotic divisions, and a small percentage of cells produce spores. mum3 mutants sporulate poorly and the spores produced are inviable. Finally, mum4-1 mutants produce inviable spores. The meiotic/sporulation defects of gsg1, mum2, and mum3 are not relieved by spo11 or spo13 mutations, indicating that the mutant defects are not dependent on the initiation of recombination or completion of both meiotic divisions. In contrast, the spore inviability of the mum4-1 mutant is rescued by the spo13 mutation. The mum4-1 spo13 mutant undergoes a single, predominantly equational division, suggesting that MUM4 functions at or prior to the first meiotic division. Although recombination is variably affected in the gsg1 and mum mutants, we hypothesize that these mutants define genes important for aspects of meiosis not directly related to recombination.