Restoring full pollen fertility in transgenic male-sterile tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) by Cre-mediated site-specific recombination

Producing hybrid seed requires an efficient pollination control system to prevent unwanted self-pollination. For further breeding, it would be advantageous to restore pollen fertility in the hybrids. In this work we demonstrate the use of tapetum-specific expression of a stilbene synthase (sts) transgene to induce pollen sterility in tobacco as has been shown previously. The sts-coding region was flanked by loxP recognition sites for Cre-recombinase. From 10 T₀-plants obtained, five proved to be male-sterile. They had smaller flowers with shorter stamina, but the vegetative phenotype was just as in the wild-type. Crossing male-sterile sts-plants with tobacco lines expressing the cre recombinase transgene resulted in site-specific recombination in the hybrids. GUS activity caused by fusion of the tap1-promoter with a promoterless gusA coding region indicated recombination events already in early stages of flower bud development. In all plants which had contained single or double sts-copies before crossing, these were excised, and pollen fertility was fully restored. The phenotype of these restored plants was as in wild-type controls. Contrary, from male sterile plants containing multiple copies of the sts-gene, not all copies were removed, and pollen sterility was maintained.     

Excision of a selectable marker in transgenic rice (Oryza sativa L.) using a chemically regulated Cre/loxP system

Removal of a selectable marker gene from genetically modified (GM) crops alleviates the risk of its release into the environment and hastens the public acceptance of GM crops. Here we report the production of marker-free transgenic rice by using a chemically regulated, Cre/loxP-mediated site-specific DNA recombination in a single transformation. Among 86 independent transgenic lines, ten were found to be marker-free in the T₀ generation and an additional 17 lines segregated marker-free transgenic plants in the T₁ generation. Molecular and genetic analyses indicated that the DNA recombination and excision in transgenic rice were precise and the marker-free recombinant T-DNA was stable and heritable.The first two authors contributed equally to the work     

Cre/lox位点特异性重组系统在高等真核生物中的研究进展

来自于P1噬菌体的Cre/lox系统通过位点特异性重组可以迅速而有效地实现各种生理环境下的基因定点插入、删除、替换和倒位等操作。Cre/lox系统作为目前基因打靶技术的核心工具,已被广泛应用于拟南芥、水稻、小鼠、果蝇、斑马鱼等高等真核模式生物。文章较为全面地介绍了Cre/lox系统的基本概况及其在高等真核生物中的应用,讨论了Cre/lox系统在研究中存在的主要问题和今后的发展方向,为利用该系统在不同高等生物中进行基因操作提供有用的参考。     

Cre/lox位点特异性重组系统在高等真核生物中的研究进展

来自于P1噬菌体的Cre/lox系统通过位点特异性重组可以迅速而有效地实现各种生理环境下的基因定点插入、删除、替换和倒位等操作。Cre/lox系统作为目前基因打靶技术的核心工具, 已被广泛应用于拟南芥、水稻、小鼠、果蝇、斑马鱼等高等真核模式生物。文章较为全面地介绍了Cre/lox系统的基本概况及其在高等真核生物中的应用, 讨论了Cre/lox系统在研究中存在的主要问题和今后的发展方向, 为利用该系统在不同高等生物中进行基因操作提供有用的参考。     

一种利用Cre/loxP系统进行标记基因删除与靶基因置换的细胞模型研究

Cre/lox系统可以介导DNA的定点插入和定点删除,可利用其实现转基因动物中"友好位点"的重复利用及标记基因的有效删除.为直观地评估该系统介导的以上两种重组反应的效果,通过标记基因并利用大鼠乳腺癌细胞系SHZ-88进行了模型研究.首先构建了两个载体:a.整合载体pTE-lox2272-DsRed-loxP-GFP-loxP,含有红色荧光标记基因DsRed和绿色荧光标记基因GFP;b.置换载体pT-lox2272-neo-loxP,含有筛选标记基因neo,用以置换DsRed基因.然后,用整合载体转染SHZ-88细胞,并随机挑取了3个同时表达DsRed和GFP的稳定整合细胞克隆.随后用置换载体和Cre表达载体PBS185对以上每个克隆分别进行了3次共转染,通过G418筛选并扩增培养后,总共获得1 070个克隆.通过分析标记基因DsRed和GFP在这些克隆中的表达情况:Cre介导的删除效率为91.1%,定点置换效率为29.3%.最后对部分克隆进行了PCR和DNA印迹鉴定,分子鉴定结果与发光的表型状况一致.这一方法为Cre/lox系统在转基因家畜生产中的进一步应用提供了实验依据.     

Establishment of Cre/LoxP recombination system in transgenic rats

The rat has offered an important animal model in biomedical research including surgical procedure. However, advanced genetic manipulation has progressed less far in the rat than in the mouse. Here we report the Cre/LoxP transgenic rat system, demonstrating conditional chromosomal translocation both in the fertilization and adult stage, spatio-temporal gene controlling by catheter-based adenoviral gene transfer, and muscular fusion events in the limb transplant. Taking advantage of the larger body size of the rat than the mouse, this rat system provides a potential value to evaluate biomedical and therapeutic significance for gene therapy and regenerative medicine.     

Gene deletion from Plasmodium falciparum using FLP and Cre recombinases: Implications for applied site-specific recombination

The ability to manipulate the genome and induce site-specific recombination using either Flippase (FLP) or Cre recombinase has been useful in many systems including Plasmodium berghei for specific deletion events or to obtain conditional gene expression. To test whether these recombinases are active in Plasmodium falciparum we constructed gene knockouts that contain sequences recognised as templates for site-specific recombination. We tested the ability of FLP and Cre recombinases, expressed conditionally in P. falciparum, to mediate deletion of the human dihydrofolate reductase (hdhfr) drug resistance gene. We show that Cre recombinase is capable of efficient removal of hdhfr by site-specific recombination. In contrast, FLP recombinase is very inefficient, even at the optimum temperature of 30 °C for this enzyme. These results demonstrate that Cre recombinase can be utilised in P. falciparum for deletion of specific sequences such as drug resistance genes. This can be exploited for recycling of drug resistance cassettes and for the design of specific recombination events in P. falciparum.     

Genome editing of different strains of Aureobasidium melanogenum using an efficient Cre/loxp site-specific recombination system

It has been well known that different strains of Aureobasidium spp. can produce commercial pullulan, polymalate, liamocin, intracellular lipids, gluconic acid, siderophore, melanin and various enzymes. In order to fully elucidate their synthetic pathways and regulation, it is necessary to have an efficient gene editing system for genetic modification of Aureobasidium spp. In this study, an efficient Cre/loxp site-specific recombination system (pAMGDloxp-1, pAMEXlox-1 and pAMCRE1) was constructed. It was found that they could be successfully used to sequentially delete and express many genes in different strains of A. melanogenum. After each round of gene disruption and expression, over 0.5 positive cells per 1000 competent cells and over 49.8 positive transformants per 1.0 μg DNA were achieved. After each round of the antibiotics gene excision by using the Cre-loxp site-specific recombination, over 95.4 % of the antibiotics-resistant cells became sensitive to both hygromycin B and nourseothricin again. This demonstrated that the Cre/loxp site-specific recombination system constructed in this study can efficiently be used to simultaneously delete and express many genes in different strains of A. melanogenum. These systems are promising approaches for the easily modifying genomics of the yeast-like fungal strains with enhanced metabolic pathways through multicopy gene deletion and expression.     

利用Cre/lox重组系统建立反义基因工程雄性不育恢复系

利用Cre/lox重组系统中的Cre重组酶能特异性识别并介导两个同向lox位点之间DNA序列发生重组删除的特点,将TA29驱动下的反义豌豆卷须肌动蛋白基因置于两个同向lox位点之间并与Bar基因连锁,转化烟草Wisconsin 38后获得抗除草剂Basta的转基因植株.将Cre基因导入烟草Wisconsin 38建立雄性不育工程恢复系.反义Actin转基因植株与Cre转基因植株杂交获得F1,通过Cre重组酶将F1中的反义肌动蛋白基因表达盒删除实现育性的恢复.结果显示:来自豌豆卷须的肌动蛋白基因在Wisconsin 38烟草绒毡层中反义表达但未能导致明显的雄性不育,转基因植株在花器官形态、花粉形状、活力、结实、结籽等方面与野生型植株间无明显的差异.而获得的烟草Cre转基因工程恢复系除少量植株出现叶片褪绿、结果少等异常外,绝大多数植株形态结构及开花结果习性与野生型一致;其中3个Cre转基因工程恢复系与Actin反义肌动蛋白转基因植株TAA-3杂交后,杂交后代中的绝大多数反义肌动蛋白基因表达盒均被精确删除,表明将Cre/lox重组系统用于建立基于反义基因工程雄性不育的恢复系是可行的.     

Development of a simple and efficient system for excising selectable markers in Arabidopsis using a minimal promoter::Cre fusion construct

The development of rapid and efficient strategies to generate selectable marker-free transgenic plants could help increase the consumer acceptance of genetically modified (GM) plants. To produce marker-free transgenic plants without conditional treatment or the genetic crossing of offspring, we have developed a rapid and convenient DNA excision method mediated by the Cre/loxP recombination system under the control of a −46 minimal CaMV 35S promoter. The results of a transient expression assay showed that −46 minimal promoter::Cre recombinase (−46::Cre) can cause the loxP-specific excision of a selectable marker, thereby connecting the 35S promoter and β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene. Analysis of stable transgenic Arabidopsis plants indicated a positive correlation between loxP-specific DNA excision and GUS expression. PCR and DNA gel-blot analysis further revealed that nine of the 10 tested T₁ transgenic lines carried both excised and nonexcised constructs in their genomes. In the subsequent T₂ generation plants, over 30% of the individuals for each line were marker-free plants harboring the excised construct only. These results demonstrate that the −46::Cre fusion construct can be efficiently and easily utilized for producing marker-free transgenic plants.     

Cre/<Emphasis Type="Italic">lox</Emphasis> system to develop selectable marker free transgenic tobacco plants conferring resistance against sap sucking homopteran insect

A binary expression vector was constructed containing the insecticidal gene Allium sativum leaf agglutinin (ASAL), and a selectable nptII marker gene cassette, flanked by lox sites. Similarly, another binary vector was developed with the chimeric cre gene construct. Transformed tobacco plants were generated with these two independent vectors. Each of the T(0) lox plants was crossed with T(0) Cre plants. PCR analyses followed by the sequencing of the target T-DNA part of the hybrid T(1) plants demonstrated the excision of the nptII gene in highly precised manner in certain percentage of the T(1) hybrid lines. The frequency of such marker gene excision was calculated to be 19.2% in the hybrids. Marker free plants were able to express ASAL efficiently and reduce the survivability of Myzus persiceae, the deadly pest of tobacco significantly, compared to the control tobacco plants. Results of PCR and Southern blot analyses of some of the T(2) plants detected the absence of cre as well as nptII genes. Thus, the crossing strategy involving Cre/lox system for the excision of marker genes appears to be very effective and easy to execute. Documentation of such marker excision phenomenon in the transgenic plants expressing the important insecticidal protein for the first time has a great significance from agricultural and biotechnological points of view.     

Expression of stilbene synthase gene in transgenic tomato using salicylic acid-inducible Cre/loxP recombination system with self-excision of selectable marker

A plant transformation vector, pCLKSCLA25 (EU327498), was developed to contain eight cloning sites and the inducible self-excision system which provided an effective approach to eliminate the selectable marker gene(s) from transgenic plants. Upon induction by salicylic acid, the cre gene produced a recombinase that eliminated sequences encoding the selectable marker neomycin phosphotransferase and cre itself. The excision efficiency was 41% in transgenic tomato regenarants. The stilbene synthase gene (vst1) from Vitis vinifera L. was cloned into pCLKSCLA25. The expression of vst1 gene contributed to the accumulation of trans-reveratrol from 3.4 to 8.7 μg/g fresh wt in different marker-free transgenic tomato lines. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

A one-plasmid conditional color-switching transgenic system for multimodal bioimaging

We have developed a new construct to generate transgenic mice with one plasmid that offers: (1) Cre/loxP-mediated spatial and temporally-controlled tissue-specific transgene expression; (2) A color-switching mechanism that uses spectrum-complementary genetically-encoded red (mRFP) and green (eGFP) fluorescent markers to label the transgene-expressing cells; (3) A bioluminescent marker that turns-on in the transgene-expressing cells; (4) eGFP as a cell surface marker in the transgene-expressing cells that facilitates the isolation and targeting of these cells. This vector was tested in vitro by co-transfection of the transgenic plasmid and a plasmid containing Cre recombinase into cultured cells and by establishing a transgenic mouse line. We show that this method allows versatile transgene expression targeting and color-switching to facilitate fluorescent and bioluminescent imaging both in cultured cells and in vivo. Our strategy provides time-saving features in tissue-specific transgene expression, bioimaging and primary cell isolation and can be used for generation of gene-specific transgenic mice.     

A Cre/loxP-mediated self-activating gene excision system to produce marker gene free transgenic soybean plants

Marker-gene-free transgenic soybean plants were produced by isolating a developmentally regulated embryo-specific gene promoter, app1, from Arabidopsis and developing a self-activating gene excision system using the P1 bacteriophage Cre/loxP recombination system. To accomplish this, the Cre recombinase gene was placed under control of the app1 promoter and, together with a selectable marker gene (hygromycin phosphotransferase), were cloned between two loxP recombination sites. This entire sequence was then placed between a constitutive promoter and a coding region for either β-glucuronidase (Gus) or glyphosate acetyltransferase (Gat). Gene excision would remove the entire sequence between the two loxP sites and bring the coding region to the constitutive promoter for expression. Using this system marker gene excision occurred in over 30% of the stable transgenic events as indicated by the activation of the gus reporter gene or the gat gene in separate experiments. Transgenic plants with 1 or 2 copies of a functional excision-activated gat transgene and without any marker gene were obtained in T0 or T1 generation. This demonstrates the feasibility of using developmentally controlled promoters to mediate marker excision in soybean.     

Novel mutations in the TBX5 gene in patients with Holt-Oram Syndrome

The Holt-Oram syndrome (HOS) is an autosomal dominant condition characterized by upper limb and cardiac malformations. Mutations in the TBX5 gene cause HOS and have also been associated with isolated heart and arm defects. Interactions between the TBX5, GATA4 and NKX2.5 proteins have been reported in humans. We screened the TBX5, GATA4, and NKX2.5 genes for mutations, by direct sequencing, in 32 unrelated patients presenting classical (8) or atypical HOS (1), isolated congenital heart defects (16) or isolated upper-limb malformations (7). Pathogenic mutations in the TBX5 gene were found in four HOS patients, including two new mutations (c.374delG; c.678G > T) in typical patients, and the hotspot mutation c.835C > T in two patients, one of them with an atypical HOS phenotype involving lower-limb malformations. Two new mutations in the GATA4 gene were found in association with isolated upper-limb malformations, but their clinical significance remains to be established. A previously described possibly pathogenic mutation in the NKX2.5 gene (c.73C > 7) was detected in a patient with isolated heart malformations and also in his clinically normal father.     

利用Cre/LoxP系统删除转基因山羊体内的选择标记基因

在制备转基因家畜过程中的一个关键步骤是使用选择标记基因 (Selectable marker genes,SMGs) 将转基因整合细胞从大量的正常细胞中筛选出来,这导致了SMGs整合入家畜的基因组内持续传递给后代。SMGs已被证明能够显著影响基因组内整合位点处的基因调控,也增加了对转基因动物安全评价的复杂性。为了确定转基因山羊制备过程中SMGs的删除时机和删除方法,在体细胞克隆前后两个时段内,利用Cre/loxP系统删除SMGs的可行性,同时比较了蛋白转导和质粒共转染两种Cre导入方式的删除效率。结果表明：尽管在首次对山羊成纤维细胞进行遗传修饰后即可进行SMGs删除,但两次遗传修饰导致细胞严重老化,无法用于后续的体细胞克隆羊制备。在转基因山羊的成体细胞中删除SMGs不存在上述问题,成功率高,缺点是试验周期长、耗资增大。Cre表达质粒瞬时转染能够删除SMGs,但有超过30%的无SMGs细胞克隆中整合有质粒序列。TAT-CRE蛋白质转导方法可以避免引入的新外源基因,SMGs删除率达到43.9%~72.8%,是一种较佳的SMGs删除手段。     

Restoration of normal stamen development and pollen formation by fusion of different cytoplasmic male-sterile cultivars of Nicotiana tabacum

Summary Fusion of two cytoplasmic male-sterile cultivars of Nicotiana tabacum, one with N. bigelovii cytoplasm and one with N. undulata cytoplasm, resulted in the restoration of male fertility in cybrid plants. All male-fertile cybrids exhibited fused corollas, which is characteristic for the cultivar with N. undulata cytoplasm, while their stamen structures varied from cybrid to cybrid, some producing stamens with anthers fused to petal-like appendages and one producing stamens of a normal appearance for N. tabacum. Restriction enzyme digestion and agarose gel electrophoresis of mitochondrial DNA showed that mitochondrial DNA of the fertile cybrids was more similar to the male-sterile cultivar with the cytoplasm of N. undulata than to the cultivar with N. bigelovii cytoplasm. Some restriction fragments were unique to the male-fertile cybrids. Comparisons between stamen structure and mitochondrial DNA for eight fertile progeny from one cybrid plant led to the identification of several restriction fragments that appeared at enhanced levels in connection with normal stamen development.     

A Self-Excising Cre Recombinase Allows Efficient Recombination of Multiple Ectopic Heterospecific Lox Sites in Transgenic Tobacco

To study the impact of different DNA configurations on the stability of transgene expression, a variant of the cre gene was developed. This variant allows for the highly efficient in planta removal of its own loxP-flanked coding sequence as well as other DNAs flanked by ectopic heterospecific lox sites, either lox511 or lox2272 or both, in trans. The plant intron-containing cre gene, cre ^INT , was configured in such a way that self-excision generated an intact hygromycin resistance selectable marker gene. In this combination, all selected transformants showed highly efficient excision. Plants obtained showed no indication of any chimerism, indicating a cell autonomous nature of the hygromycin selection during transformation and regeneration. The highly efficient concomitant removal of wildtype and heterospecific lox site-flanked DNA demonstrated that upon retransformation with the self-excising cre ^INT , sufficient amounts of Cre enzyme were produced prior to its removal. Plants obtained with cre ^INT showed much less frequently the Cre-associated phenomenon of reduced fertility than plants obtained with a continuous presence of Cre recombinase. The cre ^INT system has therefore advantages over systems with a continuously present Cre. The cre ^INT system was successfully used for removal of two chromatin boundary elements from transgene cassettes in tobacco. Analysis of plants with and without boundary elements on the same chromosomal location will contribute to a better evaluation of the role of such elements in the regulation of transgene expression in plants.     

Differences in pollen viability in relation to different deceptive pollination strategies in Mediterranean orchids

Background and Aims

To date, current research involving pollen viability has been evaluated in a relatively low number of orchid species. In the present study, we focused on five related Mediterranean orchid genera (Anacamptis, Orchis, Dactylorhiza, Ophrys and Serapias) that are characterized by different types of deceptive pollination.

Methods

The in vitro germination ability of increasingly aged pollinaria of eight food-, seven sexually and two shelter-deceptive species was evaluated. Pollination experiments on two food-, one sexually and one shelter-deceptive species were also performed and the percentage of embryonate seeds derived from the increasingly aged pollinaria was checked.

Key Results

All of the examined species showed long-term viabilities (=50 % pollen tube growth) that ranged from 8 to 35 d. Species with the same deceptive pollination strategies exhibited the same pollen viability trends. Interestingly, pollen viabilities of species groups with different deception types have shown significant differences, with sexually and shelter- deceptive species exhibiting a shorter life span than food-deceptive species.

Conclusions

This study confirms the prolonged germination and fertilization capacities of orchid pollinaria, and to our knowledge is the first report demonstrating a clear relationship between pollen viability and pollination system. It is proposed that this relationship is attributed to the different types of reproductive barriers, pre- or post-zygotic, that characterixe Ophrys and Serapias and the food-deceptive species, respectively.