Development of stem borer resistant transgenic parental lines involved in the production of hybrid rice

Stem borer resistant transgenic parental lines, involved in hybrid rice, were produced by Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer method. Two pSB111 super-binary vectors containing modified cry1Ab/cry1Ac genes driven by maize ubiquitin promoter, and herbicide resistance gene bar driven by cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter were, used in this study. Embryogenic calli after co-cultivation with Agrobacterium were selected on the medium containing phosphinothricin. Southern blot analyses of primary transformants revealed the stable integration of bar, cry1Ab and cry1Ac coding sequences into the genomes of three parental lines with a predominant single copy integration and without any rearrangement of T-DNA. T1 progeny plants disclosed a monogenic pattern (3:1) of transgene segregation as confirmed by molecular analyses. Furthermore, the co-segregation of bar and cry genes in T1 progenies suggested that the transgenes are integrated at a single site in the rice genome. In different primary transformants with alien inbuilt resistance, the levels of cry proteins varied between 0.03 and 0.13% of total soluble proteins. These transgenic lines expressing insecticidal proteins afforded substantial resistance against stem borers. This is the first report of its kind dealing with the introduction of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cry genes into the elite parental lines involved in the development of hybrid rice.     

农杆菌介导的玉米遗传转化

Several maize inbreds were transformed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens EHA101 (pGIH). Transgenic maize plants were obtained. Frequency of transformation of maize inbred Suyu No. 1 can reach 8.1%. Results of PCR and Southern blot analysis proved that T-DNA was stably integrated into the genome of maize. Staining with X-gluc confirmed the expression of GUS gene in maize cells. The band amplified by inverse PCR showed that the copy number of transgene in three transformants was single. After long term of subculture, some hygromycin resistant calli lost their regeneration ability. Although Southern blot probed the integration of gusA gene in their genome, GUS activity cannot be detected in those calli. Southern blot analysis of HpaII digest DNA showed that transgenic gusA gene was highly methylated.     

农杆菌介导的玉米遗传转化

用带有质粒pGIH(35S-intron-GUS/ Hptr)的根癌农杆菌EHA101转化玉米愈伤组织,获得潮霉素抗性植株,再生性好的苏玉1 图7 Southern blot分析HpaII消化的质粒pGIH 和gusA基因沉默的愈伤组织的总DNA Fig.7 Southern blot analysis of plasmid pGIH(P) and plant genomic DNA of gusA gene si- lence callus(T)digested with HpaII号转化率可以达到8.1%。对转化植株进行GUS染色分析及PCR和Southern杂交检测证明外源基因已经整合,并能够稳定表达。反向PCR分析的三个转化植株,T-DNA插入片段均为单拷贝。部分失去分化能力的抗性愈伤组织,Southern blot分析发现其基因组中有gusA基因插入,但X-gluc染色呈阴性,经HpaII酶切分析发现整合的gusA基因发生了高度甲基化。     

Development of transgenic finger millet (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Eleusine coracana</Emphasis> (L.) Gaertn.) resistant to leaf blast disease

Finger millet plants conferring resistance to leaf blast disease have been developed by inserting a rice chitinase (chi11) gene through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Plasmid pHyg-Chi.11 harbouring the rice chitinase gene under the control of maize ubiquitin promoter was introduced into finger millet using Agrobacterium strain LBA4404 (pSB1). Transformed plants were selected and regenerated on hygromycin-supplemented medium. Transient expression of transgene was confirmed by GUS histochemical staining. The incorporation of rice chitinase gene in R₀ and R₁ progenies was confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analyses. Expression of chitinase gene in finger millet was confirmed by Western blot analysis with a barley chitinase antibody. A leaf blast assay was also performed by challenging the transgenic plants with spores of Pyricularia grisea. The frequency of transient expression was 16.3% to 19.3%. Stable frequency was 3.5% to 3.9%. Southern blot analysis confirmed the integration of 3.1 kb chitinase gene. Western blot analysis detected the presence of 35 kDa chitinase enzyme. Chitinase activity ranged from 19.4 to 24.8. In segregation analysis, the transgenic R₁ lines produced three resistant and one sensitive for hygromycin, confirming the normal Mendelian pattern of transgene segregation. Transgenic plants showed high level of resistance to leaf blast disease compared to control plants. This is the first study reporting the introduction of rice chitinase gene into finger millet for leaf blast resistance.     

A Novel Two T-DNA Binary Vector Allows Efficient Generation of Marker-free Transgenic Plants in Three Elite Cultivars of Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

A pilot binary vector was constructed to assess the potential of the 2 T-DNA system for generating selectable marker-free progeny plants in three elite rice cultivars (ZhongZuo321, Ariete and Khao Dawk Mali 105) known to exhibit contrasting amenabilities to transformation. The first T-DNA of the vector, delimited by Agrobacterium tumefaciens borders, contains the hygromycin phosphotransferase (hpt) selectable gene and the green fluorescent protein (gfp) reporter gene while the second T-DNA, delimited by Agrobacterium rhizogenes borders, bears the phosphinothricin acetyl transferase (bar) gene, featuring the gene of interest. 82-90% of the hygromycin-resistant primary transformants exhibited tolerance to ammonium glufosinate mediated by the bar gene suggesting very high co-transformation frequency in the three cultivars. All of the regenerated plants were analyzed by Southern blot which confirmed co-integration of the T-DNAs at frequencies consistent with those of co-expression and allowed determination of copy number for each gene as well as detection of two different vector backbone fragments extending between the two T-DNAs. Hygromycin susceptible, ammonium glufosinate tolerant phenotypes represented 14.4, 17.4 and 14.3% of the plants in T1 progenies of ZZ321, Ariete and KDML105 primary transformants, respectively. We developed a statistical model for deducing from the observed copy number of each T-DNA in T0 plants and phenotypic segregations in T1 progenies the most likely constitution and linkage of the T-DNA integration locus. Statistical analysis identified in 40 out of 42 lines a most likely linkage configuration theoretically allowing genetic separation of the two T-DNA types and out segregation of the T-DNA bearing the bar gene. Overall, though improvements of the technology would be beneficial, the 2 T-DNA system appeared to be a useful approach to generate selectable marker-free rice plants with a consistent frequency among cultivars.     

Matrix attachment region from the chicken lysozyme locus reduces variability in transgene expression and confers copy number-dependence in transgenic rice plants

Matrix-attachment regions (MARs) may function as domain boundaries and partition chromosomes into independently regulated units. In this study, BP-MAR, a 1.3-kb upstream fragment of the 5MAR flanking the chicken lysozyme locus, was tested for its effects on integration and expression of transgenes in transgenic rice plants. Using the Agrobacterium-mediated method, we transformed rice with nine different constructs containing seven and six different promoters and coding sequences, respectively. Genomic Southern blot analyses of 357 independent transgenic lines revealed that in the presence of BP-MAR, 57% of the lines contained a single copy of the transgene, whereas in its absence, only 20% of the lines contained a single copy of the transgene. RNA gel-blot and immunoblot experiments demonstrated that in the presence of BP-MAR, transgene expression levels were similar among different lines. These data were in direct contrast to those derived from transgenes expressed in the absence of BP-MAR, which varied markedly with the chromosomal integration site . Thus, it can be concluded that BP-MAR significantly reduces the variability in transgene expression between independent transformants. Moreover, the presence of BP-MAR appears to confer a copy number-dependent increase in transgene expression, although it does not increase expression levels of individual transgenes. These data contrast with results previously obtained with various MARs that increased expression levels of transgene significantly. Therefore, we conclude that the incorporation of BP-MAR sequences into the design of transformation vectors can minimize position effects and regulate transgene expression in a copy number-dependent way.S.-J. Oh, J.S. Jeong, E.-H. Kim, N.R. Yi and S.-I. Yi contributed equally to the paper     

Cryopreserved callus: a source of protoplasts for rice transformation

We cryopreserved whole rice calli (Oryza sativa L cv Taipei 309) to investigate the ability of the surviving cells to regenerate plants and yield protoplasts competent for genetic transformation. Four out of six callus lines cryopreserved after four months in culture contained small sectors able to continue cell division and subsequently regenerate fertile plants. Both cryopreservation efficiency and regeneration ability decreased when using eight month old cultures. High yields of protoplasts were obtained from different cryopreserved callus lines. Protoplasts were transfected with chimeric genes consisting of the maize ubiquitin 1 promoter, first exon and first intron fused to the coding region of either the GUS or BAR marker genes. Levels of transient gene expression from both marker genes were similar to those previously obtained using protoplasts derived from callus that had not been frozen. Stable transformants were selected by their resistance to Bialaphos and could be identified with the pH indicator chlorophenol red. Southern blot analysis confirmed the integration of the BAR gene into the rice genome. Therefore, cryopreservation does not affect the ability of rice cells to integrate and express foreign genes.Abbreviations BA 6-benzylaminopurine - BAR Bialaphos-resistance - CaMV cauliflower mosaic virus - CPS cryoprotectant solution - CR chlorophenol red 2,4-D 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid - DMSO dimethyl sulfoxide - FW fresh weight - GUS -glucuronidase - IOD interoptical density - MS Murashige and Skoog - MU methyl umbelliferone - NAA naphthaleneacetic acid - PAT phosphinothricin acetyl transferase - PEG polyethylene glycol - TTC 2,3,5, triphenyltetrazolium chloride - UBI maize ubiquitin 1 promoter, first exon and first intron     

Introduction and constitutive expression of a rice chitinase gene in bread wheat using biolistic bombardment and the bar gene as a selectable marker

 Our long-term goal is to control wheat diseases through the enhancement of host plant resistance. The constitutive expression of plant defense genes to control fungal diseases can be engineered by genetic transformation. Our experimental strategy was to biolistically transform wheat with a vector DNA containing a rice chitinase gene under the control of the CaMV 35 S promoter and the bar gene under control of the ubiquitin promoter as a selectable marker. Immature embryos of wheat cv ‘Bobwhite’ were bombarded with plasmid pAHG11 containing the rice chitinase gene chi11 and the bar gene. The embryos were subcultured on MS2 medium containing the herbicide bialaphos. Calli were then transferred to a regeneration medium, also containing bialaphos. Seventeen herbicide-resistant putative transformants (T₀) were selected after spraying with 0.2% Liberty, of which 16 showed bar gene expression as determined by the phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT) assay. Of the 17 plants, 12 showed the expected 35-kDa rice chitinase as revealed by Western blot analysis. The majority of transgenic plants were morphologically normal and self-fertile. The integration, inheritance and expression of the chi11 and bar genes were confirmed by Southern hybridization, PAT and Western blot analysis of T₀ and T₁ transgenic plants. Mendelian segregation of herbicide resistance was observed in some T₁ progenies. Interestingly, a majority of the T₁ progeny had very little or no chitinase expression even though the chitinase transgene was intact. Because PAT gene expression under control of the ubiquitin promoter was unaffected, we conclude that the CaMV 35 S promoter is selectively inactivated in T₁ transgenic wheat plants. Received: 12 May 1998 / Accepted: 15 May 1998     

Transgenic herbicide- and disease-tolerant carrot (Daucus carota L.) plants obtained through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation

. Transgenic carrot (Daucus carota L.) plants expressing a rice thaumatin-like protein (tlp), phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (bar) and the hygromycin phosphotransferase (hpt) genes were obtained by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Petiole and hypocotyl segments of three carrot cultivars were used as the explant sources. Following infection, selection was achieved on Murashige and Skoog medium with 1 mg/l phosphinothricin or 25 mg/l hygromycin B, which was increased after 2 weeks to 10 mg/l phosphinothricin and 100 mg/l hygromycin B. The presence of the tlp and bar transgenes was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot analyses, and the expression of the thaumatin-like protein was demonstrated by Western blot analysis. Among 45 primary transformants, 13 were selected for assessment of herbicide and/or disease tolerance. The transgenic plants showed varying levels of tolerance to the herbicide phosphinothricin, depending on the transformation events in different lines. Four transgenic lines also showed significantly enhanced tolerance to the foliar and root pathogen Botrytis cinerea or Sclerotinia sclerotiorum when inoculated under controlled environment conditions. Two lines had significantly enhanced tolerance to the herbicide phosphinothricin as well as to both pathogens. These results demonstrate the feasibility of introducing two potentially useful agronomic traits into carrot through genetic engineering.     

CryIIIA toxin gene expression in transgenic rice confers resistance to rice water weevil

The rice water weevil (RWW), Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, is the most widely distributed and destructive early season insect pest of rice, Oryza sativa L. worldwide. The rice plants were transformed with cryIIIA insecticidal gene as well as with the bar gene coding phosphinothricin acetyltransferase. CryIIIA gene under the control of a modified RCg2 promoter drives the insect-toxic gene expression in roots and/or leaves. The cryIIIA gene was transferred into O. sativa L. cv. Nakdong by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Stable integration of the transgene was confirmed in putative transformed rice by Southern blot analysis. The expression of the cryIIIA toxin gene in the roots of transgenic rice plants was verified by RT-PCR and immunoblot analysis. Transgenic rice plants were also evaluated for resistance to natural infestations of the RWW under field conditions between 2007 and 2011. The transgenic Btt8R and Btt12R lines reduced the growth rate of RWW larvae and pupae populations compared with non-transgenic control plants by approximately 52 and 58 %, respectively. To further examine the efficacy of the RWW bioassay, we used pots and performed experiments in trays and under field conditions in 2012. The Btt12R line reduced the total populations of RWW larvae and pupae in trays and under field conditions by 56 and 45 %, respectively. The bioassay experiments conducted over 6 years, showed a significant reduction rate of RWW larvae and pupae populations demonstrating that the cryIIIA gene in transgenic rice confers resistance to RWW.     

Stability of Soybean Recombinant Plastome Over Six Generations

The stability of a plastid transgene has been evaluated in soybean transformants over six generations. These transformants had integrated the aadA selection cassette in the intergenic region between the rps12/7 and trnV genes. Three independent homoplasmic T0 transformation events were selected and ten plants from each event propagated to generation T5 in the absence of selection pressure. No transgene rearrangement nor wild-type plastome were detected in generation T5 by Southern blot analysis. All tested progenies were uniformly resistant to spectinomycin. Therefore, soybean transformants of generations T0 and T5 appear to be genetically and phenotypically identical.     

Coat Protein-mediated Resistance to Pea Enation Mosaic Virus in Transgenic Pisum Sativum L.

Pea (Pisum sativum L.) plants were transformed in planta by injection/electroporation of axillary meristems with a chimeric pea enation mosaic virus (PEMV) coat protein gene contruct. R1 progenies of these plants were shown to harbor the transgene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and genomic Southern analysis, while transgene expression was demonstrated by western blot analysis. Transgenic R2, R3 and R4 plants displayed delayed or transient PEMV multiplication and attenuated symptoms as compated to control inoculated individuals.     

Enhanced fungal resistance in transgenic cotton expressing an endochitinase gene from Trichoderma virens

Mycoparasitic fungi are proving to be rich sources of antifungal genes that can be utilized to genetically engineer important crops for resistance against fungal pathogens. We have transformed cotton and tobacco plants with a cDNA clone encoding a 42 kDa endochitinase from the mycoparasitic fungus, Trichoderma virens. Plants from 82 independently transformed callus lines of cotton were regenerated and analysed for transgene expression. Several primary transformants were identified with endochitinase activities that were significantly higher than the control values. Transgene integration and expression was confirmed by Southern and Northern blot analyses, respectively. The transgenic endochitinase activities were examined in the leaves of transgenic tobacco as well as in the leaves, roots, hypocotyls and seeds of transgenic cotton. Transgenic plants with elevated endochitinase activities also showed the expected 42 kDa endochitinase band in fluorescence, gel-based assays performed with the leaf extracts in both species. Homozygous T2 plants of the high endochitinase-expressing cotton lines were tested for disease resistance against a soil-borne pathogen, Rhizoctonia solani and a foliar pathogen, Alternaria alternata. Transgenic cotton plants showed significant resistance to both pathogens.     

Transposon-mediated generation of T-DNA- and marker-free rice plants expressing a Bt endotoxin gene

Transposon-mediated repositioning of transgenes is an attractive strategy to generate plants that are free of selectable markers and T-DNA inserts. By using a minimal number of transformation events a large number of transgene insertions in the genome can be obtained so as to benefit from position effects in the genome that can contribute to higher levels of expression. We constructed a Bacillus thuringiensis synthetic cry1B gene expressed under control of the maize ubiquitin promoter between minimal terminal inverted repeats of the maize Ac-Ds transposon system, which was cloned in the 5' untranslated sequence of a gfp gene used as an excision marker. The T-DNA also harboured the Ac transposase gene driven by the CaMV 35S promoter and the hph gene conferring resistance to the antibiotic hygromycin. Sixty-eight independent rice (Oryza sativa L.) transformants were regenerated and molecularly analysed revealing excision and reinsertion of the Ds-cry1B element in 37% and 25% respectively of the transformation events. Five independent transformants harbouring 2–4 reinserted Ds-Cry1B copies were analysed in the T1 progeny, revealing 0.2 to 1.4 new transpositions per plant. Out segregation of the cry1B gene from the T-DNA insertion site was observed in 17 T1 plants, representing 10 independent repositioning events without selection. Western analysis of leaf protein extracts of these plants revealed detectable Cry1B in all the plants indicating efficient expression of the transgene reinsertions. Stability of position and expression of the cry1B transgene was further confirmed in T2 progeny of T-DNA-free T1 plants. New T-DNA-free repositioning events were also identified in T2 progenies of T1 plants heterozygous for the T-DNA. Furthermore, preliminary whole plant bioassay of T-DNA-free lines challenged with striped stem borer larvae suggested that they are protected against SSB attacks. These results indicate that transposon mediated relocation of the gene of interest is a powerful method for generating T-DNA integration site-free transgenic plants and exploiting favourable position effects in the plant genome.     

水稻单拷贝Xa21近等转基因系的培育与抗性分析

植物转基因的表达在一定程度上受其所在宿主基因组整合位置的影响 ,通常称为转基因位置效应。利用农杆菌介导法将抗白叶枯病基因Xa21转入水稻品种明恢 63,获得带有不同转基因拷贝数的转化体。对转化体连续自交 ,并对转基因整合位点进行鉴定和筛选 ,获得了明恢63遗传背景下整合在不同染色体位点的单拷贝Xa21转基因纯合系。这些转基因系除一个单拷贝转基因整合位点外 ,在基因组水平上是等同的 ,构成了近等转基因系。经分子杂交和遗传定位验证 ,共获得明恢63遗传背景下的6个近等转基因系。对这些近等转基因系进行抗白叶枯病分析,显示出几乎相同的高抗水平。这表明整合位点对Xa21的抗性没有影响 ,不存在转基因位置效应.     

The plastidic Arabidopsis protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase gene, with or without the transit sequence, confers resistance to the diphenyl ether herbicide in rice

Agrobacterium‐mediated gene transformation was used to introduce plastidic protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase (Protox) genes from Arabidopsis, with and without the transit sequence, into the rice genome. They were placed under the control of the constitutive and ubiquitous maize ubiquitin promoter, and their abilities to confer resistance to the diphenyl ether‐type herbicide, oxyfluorfen were compared. The integration and expression of the transgene in the T₁ generation was examined by Southern, northern and western blot analyses. Surprisingly, as judged by an in vivo seed germination assay and an in vitro cellular leakage assay, both lines were similarly resistant to oxyfluorfen. The tolerance to cellular damage (lipid peroxidation and electrolyte leakage) was higher in transgenic plants than in wild‐type plants. In transgenic plants, the degree of herbicide resistance varied directly with the absolute amount of Protox protein expression. Both the intact protein and the protein with the transit sequence deleted were accumulated in plastids.     

Development of leaffolder resistant transgenic rice expressing <Emphasis Type="Italic">cry2AX1</Emphasis> gene driven by green tissue-specific <Emphasis Type="Italic">rbcS</Emphasis> promoter

The insecticidal cry genes of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been successfully used for development of insect resistant transgenic rice plants. In this study, a novel cry2AX1 gene consisting a sequence of cry2Aa and cry2Ac gene driven by rice rbcS promoter was introduced into a rice cultivar, ASD16. Among 27 putative rice transformants, 20 plants were found to be positive for cry2AX1 gene. The expression of Cry2AX1 protein in transgenic rice plants ranged from 5.95 to 122.40 ng/g of fresh leaf tissue. Stable integration of the transgene was confirmed in putative transformants of rice by Southern blot hybridization analysis. Insect bioassay on T₀ transgenic rice plants against rice leaffolder (Cnaphalocrosis medinalis) recorded larval mortality up to 83.33 %. Stable inheritance and expression of cry2AX1 gene in T₁ progenies was demonstrated using Southern and ELISA. The detached leaf bit bioassay with selected T₁ plants showed 83.33–90.00 % mortality against C. medinalis. The whole plant bioassay for T₁ plants with rice leaffolder showed significant level of resistance even at a lower level of Cry2AX1 expression varying from 131 to 158 ng/g fresh leaf tissue during tillering stage.