Molecular Cloning and Characterization of the PsbP Domain Protein 1 Gene (GhPPD1) in Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

As a member of the PsbP superfamily in plants, the PsbP protein is essential for the water splitting reaction in photosynthesis. PsbP-like proteins (PPLs) are required for the repair of photodamaged photosystem II (PSII) under high-intensity light and the accumulation of chloroplast NADPH dehydrogenase (NDH). However, to date, studies on PsbP domain proteins (PPDs) are rather limited with literature reported on only PPD5 and PPD6. Other PPDs have not been studied yet. In this study, a cotton PsbP domain protein 1 gene (GhPPD1, GenBank accession no. HQ404251) encoding the PPD1 protein was cloned by rapid amplification of complementary DNA (cDNA) ends-polymerase chain reaction. The full-length cDNA is 951 bp and encodes an open reading frame of 257 amino acids with deduced molecular weight of 29 kDa. The GhPPD1 protein shared 77–86 % identity at the amino acid level with PPD1 isolated from Populus trichocarpa, Ricinus communis, Vitis vinifera, Glycine max, and Arabidopsis thaliana. The corresponding genomic DNA containing three exons and two introns was isolated and analyzed. The 5′ flanking region was also analyzed to identify a group of putative cis-acting elements. DNA gel blot analysis revealed that the GhPPD1 gene has two to five copies in the cotton genome. Additionally, real-time PCR analysis revealed that GhPPD1 was expressed in cotton leaves, anthers, and stems, and its expression level in leaves was much higher than those in anthers and stems. It was minimally expressed in other tissues. On the basis of these results, we propose that GhPPD1 is not only associated with photosynthesis but also related to pollen activity and male fertility.     

Overexpression of a Common Wheat Gene <Emphasis Type="Italic">GALACTINOL SYNTHASE3</Emphasis> Enhances Tolerance to Zinc in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis> and Rice Through the Modulation of Reactive Oxygen Species Production

Galactinol synthase (GolS, EC 2.4.1.123), a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs), plays roles in plant growth and developmental processes. The in vitro roles of GolS in plant responses against heavy metal stress are not well clarified. In the present study, a suppression-subtractive hybridization (SSH) cDNA library has been constructed using RNA extracted from wheat cultivar Jinan 18 treated with ZnCl₂ as the tester and RNA from untreated seedlings as the driver. Sixteen expressed sequence tags (ESTs) highly homologous with known proteins associated with stress tolerance have been obtained. Among these, a 1000-bp cDNA sequence encoding GolS protein has been isolated and designated as TaGolS3. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis revealed that TaGolS3 was mainly expressed in young roots and upregulated by exogenous ABA treatment and several abiotic stresses, such as ZnCl₂, CuCl₂, low temperature, and NaCl. Subcellular localization analysis showed that TaGolS3 protein is a nuclear-localized protein. A detailed analysis of Arabidopsis and rice transgenic plants overexpressing TaGolS3 gene displayed that transgenic plants exhibited increased lateral root number, primary root length, plant survival rate, and plant height. Moreover, in comparison with the wild-type (WT) plants, the TaGolS3-overexpressing lines showed a higher expression of ROS-scavenging genes, activities of antioxidative enzymes, proline contents, and a lower level of malondialdehyde (MDA) contents and electrolyte leakage under zinc stress. These results confirmed the positive roles of TaGolS3 in improving plant tolerance to heavy metal stress, indicating a potential resource in the transgenic breeding to enhance heavy metal stress tolerance in crop plants.     

棉花PTS2受体基因(GhPex7)的克隆及表达分析

利用cDNA—AFLP差异片段F010,通过RACE延伸、EST、检索等方法获得了一个棉花过氧化物酶体定位信号2受体蛋白基因(peroxisomal targetingsignal type 2 receptor,GhPex7p)的编码序列。该cDNA包含一个954bp的开放阅读框,编码317个氨基酸,推测其等电点为5．603。同源性分析表明：推测GhPex7与拟南芥、酵母、果蝇、小鼠和人的Pex7p基因存在序列相似性,其中与拟南芥的同源性最高,为83％,并具有3段WD-40蛋白家族的保守域,与拟南芥AtPex7的编码蛋白同类。Southern杂交结果表明该基因在陆地棉基因组中存在两个拷贝。Northern blotting和RT-PCR分析表明该基因在棉花根、茎、叶、花、胚珠和纤维中均表达,但茎、叶组织中的表达水平明显高于胚珠和纤维。     

Molecular cloning and characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">GhAPm</Emphasis>, a gene encoding the μ subunit of the clathrin-associated adaptor protein complex that is associated with cotton (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gossypium hirsutum</Emphasis>) fiber development

The clathrin-associated adaptor protein (AP) complexes are the primary clathrin adaptors that contribute to the formation of clathrin-coated vesicles (CCVs). The GhAPm gene (GenBank accession number: GU359054), which encodes the medium subunit of the AP complexes, was cloned from cotton by rapid amplification of cDNA ends-polymerase chain reaction (RACE-PCR). The full-length cDNA was 1590 bp in size and encoded an open reading frame (ORF) of 416 amino acids with a molecular weight of 46 kDa. The GhAPm protein shared 81–85% identity at the amino acid level with the AP complex μ subunits isolated from Vitis vinifera, Glycine max, Populus trichocarpa, Ricinus communis and Arabidopsis thaliana, respectively. The corresponding genomic DNA, containing eight exons and seven introns, was isolated and analyzed. Also, a 5′-flanking region was analyzed, and a group of putative cis-acting elements were identified. DNA gel blot analysis showed that there is only one GhAPm gene in the cotton genome. Real-time RT-PCR analysis revealed that GhAPm is expressed in the root, stem, leaf, petal, ovule, and fiber. However, the interesting finding is that GhAPm expression level was shown to increase steadily as the cotton fiber develops. In 30 DPA fibers, expression increases sharply and arrives at a peak then the expression levels decrease rapidly. Based on these data, we propose that GhAPm has a critical role in cotton membrane trafficking and fiber development.     

Cotton LIM domain‐containing protein GhPLIM1 is specifically expressed in anthers and participates in modulating F‐actin

As one form of actin binding protein (ABP), LIM domain protein can trigger the formation of actin bundles during plant growth and development. In this study, a cDNA (designated GhPLIM1) encoding a LIM domain protein with 216 amino acid residues was identified from a cotton flower cDNA library. Quantitative RT‐PCR indicated that GhPLIM1 is specifically expressed in cotton anthers, and its expression levels are regulated during anther development of cotton. GhPLIM1:eGFP transformed cotton cells display a distributed network of eGFP fluorescence, suggesting that GhPLIM1 protein is mainly localised to the cell cytoskeleton. In vitro high‐speed co‐sedimentation and low co‐sedimentation assays indicate that GhPLIM1 protein not only directly binds actin filaments but also bundles F‐actin. Further biochemical experiments verified that GhPLIM1 protein can protect F‐actin against depolymerisation by Lat B. Thus, our data demonstrate that GhPLIM1 functions as an actin binding protein (ABP) in modulating actin filaments in vitro, suggesting that GhPLIM1 may be involved in regulating the actin cytoskeleton required for pollen development in cotton.     

The R3-MYB Gene GhCPC Negatively Regulates Cotton Fiber Elongation

Cotton (Gossypium spp.) fibers are single-cell trichomes that arise from the outer epidermal layer of seed coat. Here, we isolated a R3-MYB gene GhCPC, identified by cDNA microarray analysis. The only conserved R3 motif and different expression between TM-1 and fuzzless-lintless mutants suggested that it might be a negative regulator in fiber development. Transgenic evidence showed that GhCPC overexpression not only delayed fiber initiation but also led to significant decreases in fiber length. Interestingly, Yeast two-hybrid analysis revealed an interaction complex, in which GhCPC and GhTTG1/4 separately interacted with GhMYC1. In transgenic plants, Q-PCR analysis showed that GhHOX3 (GL2) and GhRDL1 were significantly down regulated in −1–5 DPA ovules and fibers. In addition, Yeast one-hybrid analysis demonstrated that GhMYC1 could bind to the E-box cis-elements and the promoter of GhHOX3. These results suggested that GhHOX3 (GL2) might be downstream gene of the regulatory complex. Also, overexpression of GhCPC in tobacco led to differential loss of pigmentation. Taken together, the results suggested that GhCPC might negatively regulate cotton fiber initiation and early elongation by a potential CPC-MYC1-TTG1/4 complex. Although the fibers were shorter in transgenic cotton lines than in the wild type, no significant difference was detected in stem or leaf trichomes, even in cotton mutants (five naked seed or fuzzless), suggesting that fiber and trichome development might be regulated by two sets of genes sharing a similar model.     

Characterization and Expression of a Phytochelatin Synthase Gene in Birch-leaf Pear (Pyrus betulaefolia Bunge)

Phytochelatins play a major role in metal detoxification in plants. However, the molecular mechanisms of heavy metal detoxification remain unknown, and birch-leaf pear genes related to metal detoxification have not yet been identified. Here, we report the isolation of cDNA and genomic DNA sequences encoding a phytochelatin synthase (PCS) from birch-leaf pear (Pyrus betulaefolia Bunge). The PbPCS1 cDNA sequence contained 1,965 nucleotides of a 1,494?bp open reading frame (ORF), which encodes a 497-amino-acid protein with a molecular weight of 55.00?kDa. Its corresponding genomic DNA sequence consists of 3,820 nucleotides and eight?exons separated by seven?introns. The deduced amino acid sequence of PbPCS1 contains five Cys residues (56, 90, 91, 109 and 113 amino acids) that are highly conserved in the plant PCS1 family, and 12 cysteine residues putatively involved in heavy metal binding sites, which included three adjacent Cys?CCys components (331?C332, 351?C352 and 369?C370 amino acids) in the C-terminal variable domain. Homology analysis of the deduced PbPCS1 amino acid sequence revealed that it shares a high sequence similarity amongst N-terminal amino acids and low similarity with C-terminal amino acids with plant PCS1 proteins deposited with NCBI. PbPCS1 was most related to PCS1 from legume plants Lotus japonicus (GenBank accession no. AAT80342) and soybean (Glycine max L.; AAL78384) as they were clustered into the same clade in a neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) expression analysis revealed that PbPCS1 had a very low basal expression level in untreated whole seedlings, and levels were higher in roots than in leaves and stems. After 24?h of exposure to 20???M CdSO₄, CuSO₄ or ZnSO₄, PbPCS1 expression increased significantly in different organs. In addition, L-buthionine-sulfo-ximine (BSO) can inhibit PbPCS1 expression in roots, stems and leaves, while L-glutathionereduced (GSH) stimulates PbPCS1 expression in different organs of birch-leaf pear.     

Identification of a novel C22-?4-producing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) specific polyunsaturated fatty acid desaturase gene from Isochrysis galbana and its expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Isochrysis galbana, produces long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3). A novel gene (IgFAD4-2), encoding a C22-?4 polyunsaturated fatty acid specific desaturase, has been isolated and characterized from I. galbana. A full-length cDNA of 1,302?bp was cloned by LA-PCR technique. The IgFAD4-2 encoded a protein of 433 amino acids that shares 78?% identity with a previously reported ?4-desaturase (IgFAD4-1) from I. galbana. The function of IgFAD4-2 was deduced by its heterologous expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which then desaturated docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, 22:5n-3) to DHA. The conversion ratio of DPA to DHA was 34?%, which is higher than other ?4-desaturases cloned from algae. However, IgFAD4-2 did not catalyze the desaturation or elongation reactions with other fatty acids. These results confirm that IgFAD4-2 has C22-?4-PUFAs-specific desaturase activity.