植物铜转运蛋白的结构和功能

铜(Cu)是植物必需的微量营养元素, 参与植物生长发育过程中的许多生理生化反应。Cu缺乏或过量都会影响植物的正常新陈代谢过程。因此, 植物需要一系列Cu转运蛋白协同作用以保持体内Cu离子的稳态平衡。通常, Cu转运蛋白可分为两类, 即吸收型Cu转运蛋白(如COPT、ZIP和YSL蛋白家族)和排出型Cu转运蛋白(如HMA蛋白家族), 主要负责Cu离子的跨膜转运及调节Cu离子的吸收和排出。然而, 最近有研究表明, 有些Cu伴侣蛋白家族可能是从Cu转运蛋白家族进化而来, 且它们在维持植物细胞Cu离子稳态平衡中也具重要功能。该文对Cu转运蛋白和Cu伴侣蛋白的表达、结构、定位及功能等研究进展进行综述。     

植物磷营养高效的分子生物学研究进展

挖掘利用植物自身的磷高效营养遗传资源是农业可持续发展的关键.磷高效营养性状涉及根形态、根分泌物、膜与体内磷转运以及菌根等许多方面,表现为数量遗传性状及受多基因控制.近年来,许多高亲和磷转运子基因已被克隆,磷向地上部转运和磷吸收负反馈调节的控制基因也被发现,对于根系分泌有机酸和酸性磷酸酶的基因的控制也有了一定的了解,但目前对于根毛、排根、根构型以及菌根的营养学意义性状的分子生物学研究进展缓慢.     

大豆磷、硫转运蛋白研究进展

磷、硫转运蛋白是大豆（Glycine max（L.）Merr.）体内磷、硫转运的重要载体,参与调节磷和硫酸盐的吸收与转运,对提高大豆的磷、硫利用效率至关重要。大豆磷转运蛋白可划分为Pht1、Pht2、Pht3、Pho1和Pho2 5大家族,目前对Pht1的研究最为深入。大豆14个Pht1家族可分为3个亚家族,他们对磷吸收和转运具有重要作用。大豆硫转运蛋白基因GmSULTR1;2b可在大豆根中特异性表达并被低硫胁迫诱导。本文基于大豆磷、硫的营养吸收、转运与利用过程中的相关性,对Pht1家族以及GmSULTR1;2b基因在大豆中的研究进展进行了综述,并对近年来大豆磷、硫转运蛋白的研究进展及未来的研究方向进行了展望。     

植物miRNA在调节低磷胁迫响应中的作用

植物MicroRNA(miRNA)是一类内源性非编码小分子RNA,它们参与调节植物的生长、发育和代谢过程中多种基因的表达。近期的研究发现miRNA参与调节磷的吸收和利用,对植物适应低磷胁迫具有重要作用。本文概述了植物磷吸收和转运的机制,介绍了低磷胁迫下miRNA的表达水平变化,重点对miRNA在植物响应低磷胁迫中的作用,如改变根系结构、提高磷的转运和再利用效率、参与花青素和抗氧化物生物合成等进行了综述,以期为揭示植物低磷胁迫响应分子机制,提高植物对磷的吸收效率提供借鉴。     

利用抑制性扣除杂交技术克隆水稻磷饥饿诱导基因

磷素是植物生长所必需的重要元素.在缺磷环境中,植物能够调节自身的形态、生理生化和基因表达水平来适应环境的变化.为研究水稻(Oryza sativa L.)耐低磷胁迫的分子机理,采用抑制性扣除杂交技术(SSH)构建磷饥饿诱导的水稻根系扣除cDNA文库.通过文库筛选和测序获得18个已知基因和47个功能未知基因.这些基因参与了不同的代谢过程,包括磷吸收和转运、信号传导、蛋白质合成和降解、碳水化合物代谢和胁迫反应.Northern杂交结果表明,在磷饥饿胁迫下这些基因呈现不同的表达模式,并且不同代谢过程中的基因对磷饥饿有着不同的反应.     

拟南芥COPT家族蛋白研究进展

铜(Cu)是植物必需的微量元素, 作为多种酶的辅因子参与许多植物生理生化反应。Cu缺乏和过量均影响植物正常生长发育, 因此植物进化出精妙复杂的调控网络来严格控制植物体内的Cu含量。植物Cu转运蛋白COPT家族成员与Cu有很高的亲和力, 能够调节植物对Cu的吸收和转运, 在维持植物体内Cu稳态平衡过程中发挥重要作用。COPT蛋白涉及不同的Cu转运功能, 如从外界环境中摄取Cu、从细胞器中输出Cu、长距离运输Cu以及在不同器官间动用和再分配Cu。此外, COPT蛋白在其它离子的稳态平衡维持、昼夜节律性生物钟调控、植物激素合成和植物对激素信号的感受过程中也发挥重要作用。该文综述了模式植物拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana) COPT家族各成员的表达和定位、调控机制以及生物学功能等方面的最新进展。     

拟南芥COPT家族蛋白研究进展

铜(Cu)是植物必需的微量元素, 作为多种酶的辅因子参与许多植物生理生化反应。Cu缺乏和过量均影响植物正常生长发育, 因此植物进化出精妙复杂的调控网络来严格控制植物体内的Cu含量。植物Cu转运蛋白COPT家族成员与Cu有很高的亲和力, 能够调节植物对Cu的吸收和转运, 在维持植物体内Cu稳态平衡过程中发挥重要作用。COPT蛋白涉及不同的Cu转运功能, 如从外界环境中摄取Cu、从细胞器中输出Cu、长距离运输Cu以及在不同器官间动用和再分配Cu。此外, COPT蛋白在其它离子的稳态平衡维持、昼夜节律性生物钟调控、植物激素合成和植物对激素信号的感受过程中也发挥重要作用。该文综述了模式植物拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana) COPT家族各成员的表达和定位、调控机制以及生物学功能等方面的最新进展。     

植物磷营养高效的分子生物学研究进展

挖掘利用植物自身的磷高效营养遗传资源是农业可持续发展的关键。磷高效营养性状涉及根形态、根分泌物、膜与体内磷转运以及菌根等许多方面,表现为数量遗传性状及受多基因控制。近年来,许多高亲和磷转运子基因已被克隆, 磷向地上部转运和磷吸收负反馈调节的控制基因也被发现, 对于根系分泌有机酸和酸性磷酸酶的基因的控制也有了一定的了解, 但目前对于根毛、排根、根构型以及菌根的营养学意义性状的分子生物学研究进展缓慢。     

两个小麦磷转运蛋白基因的分离、功能鉴定和表达研究

磷是能量代谢、核酸以及许多生物膜合成的重要底物。在光合作用、呼吸作用等过程中发挥了重要作用。中国大多数小麦产区的土壤存在着缺磷的问题。磷饥饿给小麦生产造成了很大损失。培育耐低磷小麦是解决这一问题的一个重要途径。在磷饥饿的过程中,哪些基因的表达发生了变化．它们是如何变化的,弄清楚这些问题对于培育转基因耐低磷小麦具有重要的意义。磷转运蛋白基因在植物吸收磷的过程中发挥着重要作用。利用RT—PCR的方法,我们从普通小麦“小偃54”中分离了两个磷转运蛋白基因TaPT8和TaPHT2;1。通过与酵母突变体互补分析表明这两个基因都能够与磷吸收功能存在缺陷的酵母突变体实现功能互补,在低磷条件下有促进酵母突变体吸收磷的作用。进一步分析表明TaPT8属于Pht1家族。TaPHT2;1属于Pht2家族。运用RQRT—PCR的方法进行分析后发现TaPT8在根中表达,受磷饥饿的诱导;TaPHT2;1主要在绿色组织中表达,受磷饥饿的抑制,受光的诱导。TaPT8可能主要参与了小麦的根从土壤中吸收磷的过程。TaPHT2;1可能在磷从细胞质向叶绿体内转运的过程中发挥了重要作用。     

Copper and iron homeostasis in Arabidopsis: responses to metal deficiencies, interactions and biotechnological applications

Plants have developed sophisticated mechanisms to tightly control the acquisition and distribution of copper and iron in response to environmental fluctuations. Recent studies with Arabidopsis thaliana are allowing the characterization of the diverse families and components involved in metal uptake, such as metal-chelate reductases and plasma membrane transporters. In parallel, emerging data on both intra- and intercellular metal distribution, as well as on long-distance transport, are contributing to the understanding of metal homeostatic networks in plants. Furthermore, gene expression analyses are deciphering coordinated mechanisms of regulation and response to copper and iron limitation. Prioritizing the use of metals in essential versus dispensable processes, and substituting specific metalloproteins by other metal counterparts, are examples of plant strategies to optimize copper and iron utilization. The metabolic links between copper and iron homeostasis are well documented in yeast, algae and mammals. In contrast, interactions between both metals in vascular plants remain controversial, mainly owing to the absence of copper-dependent iron acquisition. This review describes putative interactions between both metals at different levels in plants. The characterization of plant copper and iron homeostasis should lead to biotechnological applications aimed at the alleviation of iron deficiency and copper contamination and, thus, have a beneficial impact on agricultural and human health problems.     

Epigenetic regulation of iron homeostasis in Arabidopsis

Iron (Fe) is one of the most important microelement required for plant growth and development because of its unique property of catalyzing oxidation/reduction reactions. Iron deficiency impairs fundamental processes which could lead to a decrease in chlorophyll production and pollen fertility, thus influencing crop productivity and quality. However, iron in excess is toxic to the cell and is harmful to the plant. To exactly control the iron content in all tissues, plants have evolved many strategies to regulate iron homeostasis, which refers to 2 successive steps: iron uptake at the root surface, and iron distribution in vivo. In the last decades, a number of transporters and regulatory factors involved in this process have been isolated and identified. To cope with the complicated flexible environmental conditions, plants apply diverse mechanisms to regulate the expression and activity of these components. One of the most important mechanisms is epigenetic regulation of iron homeostasis. This review has been presented to provide an update on the information supporting the involvement of histone modifications in iron homeostasis and possible future course of the field.     

Plant responses to metal toxicity

Metal toxicity for living organisms involves oxidative and/or genotoxic mechanisms. Plant protection against metal toxicity occurs, at least in part, through control of root metal uptake and of long distance metal transport. Inside cells, proteins such as ferritins and metallothioneins, and glutathion-derived peptides named phytochelatins, participate in excess metal storage and detoxification. Low molecular weight organic molecules, mainly organic acids and amino acids and their derivatives, also play an important role in plant metal homeostasis. When these systems are overloaded, oxidative stress defense mechanisms are activated. Molecular and cellular knowledge of these processes will be necessary to improve plant metal resistance. Occurrence of naturally tolerant plants which hyperaccumulate metals provides helpful tools for this research.     

Functional biology of plant phosphate uptake at root and mycorrhiza interfaces

Phosphorus (P) is an essential plant nutrient and one of the most limiting in natural habitats as well as in agricultural production world-wide. The control of P acquisition efficiency and its subsequent uptake and translocation in vascular plants is complex. The physiological role of key cellular structures in plant P uptake and underlying molecular mechanisms are discussed in this review, with emphasis on phosphate transport across the cellular membrane at the root and arbuscular-mycorrhizal (AM) interfaces. The tools of molecular genetics have facilitated novel approaches and provided one of the major driving forces in the investigation of the basic transport mechanisms underlying plant P nutrition. Genetic engineering holds the potential to modify the system in a targeted way at the root-soil or AM symbiotic interface. Such approaches should assist in the breeding of crop plants that exhibit improved P acquisition efficiency and thus require lower inputs of P fertilizer for optimal growth. Whether engineering of P transport systems can contribute to enhanced P uptake will be discussed.     

The phosphate uptake mechanism

The slow rate of diffusion of phosphate in soil results in a zone of depletion of phosphate ions in solution around the roots of plants in low phosphate soils. Transfer of phosphate to the site of uptake into the root symplasm limits phosphate uptake in such soils. This transfer involves movement across the depletion zone and through the root apoplasm. The apoplasm is made up of the cell walls of epidermal and cortical cells, together with the associated intercellular spaces. Although the pores in the open latticework of these cell walls permit movement of nutrients around cells, they increase the path length across which phosphate ions have to diffuse. The structural components and net negative charges of the cell walls also influence the effective concentrations of phosphate in the apoplasm. This concentration may be further modified by excreted organic compounds around cell walls and the presence of micro-organisms that use such compounds as carbon sources. A membrane on the inner surface of the cell wall, the plasmalemma, separates the apoplasm from the symplasm. Uptake of nutrients into the root symplasm occurs through transporter proteins embedded in this membrane. Understanding of the mechanisms by which phosphate is transported across the plasmalemma into the plant symplasm has advanced considerably over the past 4 years due to the application of molecular techniques. Genes encoding the transporters involved in this process have been isolated from a number of plant species. These transporters belong to a family of membrane proteins characterized by having 12 membrane-spanning domains arranged in a '6+6' configuration. H₂PO₄ ^– ions, together with protons, are transported through this protein. This transport process is driven by the potential across the membrane maintained by the action of a H⁺-ATPase, the `proton pump', that extrudes protons to the outer surface of the membrane. The expression of genes encoding high-affinity root phosphate transporters is regulated by the phosphorus (P) status of the plant. The transduction pathway involved in this regulation is not known at present. It is a systemic response rather than a localized response, however, the overall phosphate status of the plant being the controlling factor. Under phosphate stress, the expression of genes encoding these phosphate transporters is up-regulated. This results in a greater number of transporter proteins in the plasmalemma and enhanced phosphate uptake rates, if phosphate is available at the membrane surface. Uptake occurs around the root tip, into epidermal cells with their associated root hairs and into cells in the outer layers of the root cortex. Further back along the root axis, phosphate can also be taken up by transfer from mycorrhizal fungi to root cortical cells.Strategies for increasing nutrient uptake by overexpressing genes encoding high-affinity phosphate transporters are likely to be mainly applicable to situations where a reasonable phosphate concentration can be maintained at the outer surface of the plasmalemma. Maintaining such a concentration is a major problem in the phosphate deficient soils of the semi-arid tropics (SAT), so emphasis in these soils is on strategies to improve the movement of phosphate to the surface of the plasmalemma. There may be scope, however, for manipulating the expression of genes involved in the internal mobilisation of phosphate within the plant, thereby improving phosphate utilisation.