Agrobacterium-Mediated Plant Transformation: the Biology behind the “Gene-Jockeying” Tool

Agrobacterium tumefaciens and related Agrobacterium species have been known as plant pathogens since the beginning of the 20th century. However, only in the past two decades has the ability of Agrobacterium to transfer DNA to plant cells been harnessed for the purposes of plant genetic engineering. Since the initial reports in the early 1980s using Agrobacterium to generate transgenic plants, scientists have attempted to improve this “natural genetic engineer” for biotechnology purposes. Some of these modifications have resulted in extending the host range of the bacterium to economically important crop species. However, in most instances, major improvements involved alterations in plant tissue culture transformation and regeneration conditions rather than manipulation of bacterial or host genes. Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation is a highly complex and evolved process involving genetic determinants of both the bacterium and the host plant cell. In this article, I review some of the basic biology concerned with Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation. Knowledge of fundamental biological principles embracing both the host and the pathogen have been and will continue to be key to extending the utility of Agrobacterium for genetic engineering purposes.     

Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation: the biology behind the "gene-jockeying" tool.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens and related Agrobacterium species have been known as plant pathogens since the beginning of the 20th century. However, only in the past two decades has the ability of Agrobacterium to transfer DNA to plant cells been harnessed for the purposes of plant genetic engineering. Since the initial reports in the early 1980s using Agrobacterium to generate transgenic plants, scientists have attempted to improve this "natural genetic engineer" for biotechnology purposes. Some of these modifications have resulted in extending the host range of the bacterium to economically important crop species. However, in most instances, major improvements involved alterations in plant tissue culture transformation and regeneration conditions rather than manipulation of bacterial or host genes. Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation is a highly complex and evolved process involving genetic determinants of both the bacterium and the host plant cell. In this article, I review some of the basic biology concerned with Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation. Knowledge of fundamental biological principles embracing both the host and the pathogen have been and will continue to be key to extending the utility of Agrobacterium for genetic engineering purposes.     

一种提取质粒DNA的改良方法

本文详细介绍了一种改良碱裂解法提取质粒ＤＮＡ的方法,该法采用ＮＨ４Ａｃ代替苯酚和氯份的抽提过程,得率高,质量好,完全达到了分子生物学常规实验的要求,如酶切、连接、转化大肠杆菌、ＰＣＲ等,甚至用于序列测定和植物遗传转化,该法重复性好,操作简单、实用．     

根癌农杆菌介导的香蕉遗传转化研究进展

香蕉的栽培品种绝大多数是三倍体, 常规育种难度大, 工作周期长, 难以采用传统的育种方法进行遗传改良, 因此转基因技术成为改良香蕉种质的有效方法。根癌农杆菌介导的香蕉的遗传转化从20世纪90年代起取得的了较大的进步, 但仍然存在着很多问题。文章分析了影响农杆菌介导香蕉转化的几个重要环节, 并对其研究现状、存在的问题及应用前景作简要概述。     

Transformation of rice mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Agrobacterium tumefaciens has been routinely utilized in gene transfer to dicotyledonous plants, but monocotyledonous plants including important cereals were thought to be recalcitrant to this technology as they were outside the host range of crown gall. Various challenges to infect monocotyledons including rice with Agrobacterium had been made in many laboratories, but the results were not conclusive until recently. Efficient transformation protocols mediated by Agrobacterium were reported for rice in 1994 and 1996. A key point in the protocols was the fact that tissues consisting of actively dividing, embryonic cells, such as immature embryos and calli induced from scutella, were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium in the presence of acetosyringonc, which is a potent inducer of the virulence genes. It is now clear that Agrobacterium is capable of transferring DNA to monocotyledons if tissues containing competent cells are infected. The studies of transformation of rice suggested that numerous factors including genotype of plants, types and ages of tissues inoculated, kind of vectors, strains of Agrobacterium, selection marker genes and selective agents, and various conditions of tissue culture, are of critical importance. Advantages of the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in rice, like on dicotyledons, include the transfer of pieces of DNA with defined ends with minimal rearrangements, the transfer of relatively large segments of DNA, the integration of small numbers of copies of genes into plant chromosomes, and high quality and fertility of transgenic plants. Delivery of foreign DNA to rice plants via A. tumefaciens is a routine technique in a growing number of laboratories. This technique will allow the genetic improvement of diverse varieties of rice, as well as studies of many aspects of the molecular biology of rice.     

农杆菌T-复合物的形成与转运研究进展

在简要介绍农杆菌T-DNA转运全过程的基础上,结合作者近年的工作,重点对T-复合物的形成和T-复合物在农杆菌细胞内的转运机理的最新进展进行归纳和评述．农杆菌能够将其Ti质粒上的一段DNA以单链DNA-蛋白质复合物(简称T-复合物)的形式,通过其细胞两端的四型分泌系统(typeⅣ secretion system,T4SS)转运到宿主植物中,并使宿主发生遗传转化,因而农杆菌介导的T-DNA转运技术已成为应用最广泛的植物转基因技术,同时,由于转运T-复合物的T4SS也是某些质粒接合转移和许多病源微生物分泌致病效应蛋白的通道,因此,农杆菌T-DNA转运机理的研究受到了广泛的重视和关注,使得这方面的研究进展非常迅速．     

农杆菌介导转基因植物T-DNA的整合方式

农杆菌介导的遗传转化已被广泛应用于植物转基因研究。作为外源基因的载体,农杆菌T-DNA片段在植物基因组中的整合方式,不仅影响外源基因的整合效率及稳定性,还会影响外源基因的表达特性。文章就农杆菌介导的T-DNA整合的两种主要模式、规律及相关研究手段进行综述,为农杆菌介导的转基因及T-DNA插入突变等相关研究提供借鉴。     

Transfer of T-DNA and Vir proteins to plant cells by Agrobacterium tumefaciens induces expression of host genes involved in mediating transformation and suppresses host defense gene expression

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a plant pathogen that incites crown gall tumors by transferring to and expressing a portion of a resident plasmid in plant cells. Currently, little is known about the host response to Agrobacterium infection. Using suppressive subtractive hybridization and DNA macroarrays, we identified numerous plant genes that are differentially expressed during early stages of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Expression profiling indicates that Agrobacterium infection induces plant genes necessary for the transformation process while simultaneously repressing host defense response genes, thus indicating successful utilization of existing host cellular machinery for genetic transformation purposes. A comparison of plant responses to different strains of Agrobacterium indicates that transfer of both T-DNA and Vir proteins modulates the expression of host genes during the transformation process.     

影响根癌农杆菌转化的因素及其在单子叶作物上的应用

在植物转基因方法中,根癌农杆菌介导的遗传转化应用最为广泛,进一步提高其转化频率并扩大其宿主范围到禾谷类作物是人们所关注的问题。有多种因素影响根癌农杆菌的转化频率,包括植物的受伤反应、细菌的吸附、致病基因的诱导、植物细胞ＤＮＡ合成及修复的活力、外植体的状态等。最近的研究结果证明在适宜的条件下,根癌农杆菌还是可以有效地转化禾谷类作物。本文试就这两方面的研究进展作一论述。     

Genetic transformation of Robinia pseudoacacia by Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Transgenic Robinia pseudoacacia plants were obtained by Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated gene transfer. Agrobacterium strain LBA4404 harbouring a binary vector that contained the chimeric neomycin phosphotransferase II (NPTII) and beta-glucuronidase (GUS) genes was co-cultivated with hypocotyl segments of in vitro raised seedlings of Robinia. Parameters important for high efficiency regeneration and transformation rates included type of explant, pre-conditioning of explants and appropriate length of co-cultivation period with Agrobacterium. A transformation frequency 16.67% was obtained by 48 hr of pre-conditioning followed by 48 hr of co-cultivation. Transformed tissue was selected by the ability to grow on kanamycin containing medium. Successful regeneration was followed after histochemical GUS assay for the detection of transgenic tissue. This transformation procedure has the potential to expand the range of genetic variation in Robinia.     

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of cereals: a promising approach crossing barriers

Cereal crops have been the primary targets for improvement by genetic transformation because of their worldwide importance for human consumption. For a long time, many of these important cereals were difficult to genetically engineer, mainly as a result of their inherent limitations associated with the resistance to Agrobacterium infection and their recalcitrance to in vitro regeneration. The delivery of foreign genes to rice plants via Agrobacterium tumefaciens has now become a routine technique. However, there are still serious handicaps with Agrobacterium -mediated transformation of other major cereals. In this paper, we review the pioneering efforts, existing problems and future prospects of Agrobacterium -mediated genetic transformation of major cereal crops, such as rice, maize, wheat, barley, sorghum and sugarcane.     

Identification and characterization of plant genes involved in Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation by virus-induced gene silencing

Genetic transformation of plant cells by Agrobacterium tumefaciens represents a unique case of trans-kingdom sex requiring the involvement of both bacterial virulence proteins and plant-encoded proteins. We have developed in planta and leaf-disk assays in Nicotiana benthamiana for identifying plant genes involved in Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) as a genomics tool. VIGS was used to validate the role of several genes that are either known or speculated to be involved in Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation. We showed the involvement of a nodulin-like protein and an alpha-expansin protein (alpha-Exp) during Agrobacterium infection. Our data suggest that alpha-Exp is involved during early events of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation but not required for attaching A. tumefaciens. By employing the combination of the VIGS-mediated forward genetics approach and an in planta tumorigenesis assay, we identified 21 ACG (altered crown gall) genes that, when silenced, produced altered crown gall phenotypes upon infection with a tumorigenic strain of A. tumefaciens. One of the plant genes identified from the screening, Histone H3 (H3), was further characterized for its biological role in Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation. We provide evidence for the role of H3 in transfer DNA integration. The data presented here suggest that the VIGS-based approach to identify and characterize plant genes involved in genetic transformation of plant cells by A. tumefaciens is simple, rapid, and robust and complements other currently used approaches.     

农杆菌介导的玉米遗传转化研究进展

本文就农杆菌介导的玉米遗传转化的技术要点及原理等进行了综述,并对各种影响农杆菌转化玉米效率的关键因子包括农杆菌的菌株与载体、标记基因、受体材料的基因型、来源和发育状态以及组织培养的条件等进行了讨论。     

The effect of temperature on Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer to plants

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is generally used to achieve genetic transformation of plants. The temperatures that have been used for infection with Agrobacterium in published transformation protocols differ widely and, to our knowledge, the effect of temperature on the efficiency of T-DNA transfer to plants has not been investigated systematically. Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains harbouring a binary vector with the β-glucuronidase ( uidA ) gene and either a nopaline-, an octopine- or an agropine/ succinamopine-type helper plasmid were tested in two transformation systems at temperatures between 15 and 29°C. One system involved cocultivation of Phaseolus acutifolius callus whereas in the other system Nicotiana tabacum leaves were vacuum-infiltrated. In both situations, irrespective of the type of helper plasmid, the levels of transient uidA expression decreased notably when the temperature was raised above 22°C. Expression was low at 27°C and undetectable at 29°C. We anticipate that the efficiency of many published transformation protocols can be improved by reconsidering the factor of temperature.     

植物的遗传转化及其应用(英文)

近年来,植物遗传转化研究有了长足的发展。已经达到能够通过简单的遗传控制手段研究具有新表现型的植物,甚至达到进入商业化的程度。这些手段包括植物生物学的主要研究技术以及植物组织培养和树种改良的一些实用方法。尽管采用农瘤杆菌和鸟枪法等技术的植物遗传转化系统已经得到了广泛的应用,但是在如何开发具有能够得到控制表达的转基因高产植物方面,在如何使所得到的转基因植物远离遗传危害等方面,目前的转化系统遇到了极大的技术挑战。已经提出了各种各样的方法用于将新基因稳定地导入120多种不同植物的核基因组。本文将讨论这些遗传转化系统所需的生物学要求和实际应用方面的需求、基因转化和转基因表达的研究策略、遗传转化植物的鉴定以及转基因植物与大众的认可。本文将分为七个部分加以讨论:一、导言;二 、基因转化到细胞里的方法;三、植物遗传转化策略;四、植物遗传转化的鉴定;五、植物遗传转化的实际应用;六、转基因植物与环境;七、未来植物遗传转化的需求与发展方向。     

根癌农杆菌介导灭蚊卵菌贵阳腐霉的遗传转化

Pythium guiyangense is a mosquito pathogen, and has been proved to be a promising agent for biological control of mosquitoes. In order to develop the strains adaptable to different ecological environment having stable virulence to mosquito larvae, and being able to prolong the shelf life, an effort was made on transforming the fungus by using homologous or heterologous virulence genes. In this paper, a genetic transformation experiment of P. guiyangense mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens is reported. As a result, an A. tumefaciens mediated genetic transformation system was established successfully.     

根癌农杆菌介导的日本曲霉转化体系的建立

【目的】通过根癌农杆菌介导的方法构建日本曲霉转化子库,从而筛选出高产甘没氧化酶的日本曲霉突变菌株。【方法】本文通过三亲杂交的方法将双元载体pBI-hphII转移至根癌农杆菌EHA105中并作为侵染菌株,以日本曲霉As5999为受体菌株,建立了农杆菌介导的日本曲霉转化体系,构建了突变体库,并对影响转化效率的根癌农杆菌浓度,乙酰丁香酮(As)加入与否,共培养时间,共培养温度等因素进行了分析。【结果】对转化子的PCR检测和Southern杂交分析表明,T-DNA已整合进日本曲霉基因组中,随机挑选的9个转化子连续转接10代后均能稳定遗传。【结论】该转化体系的建立为筛选出高产甘油氧化酶的日本曲霉突变菌株奠定了基础。