GNOM-LIKE 2, Encoding an Adenosine Diphosphate-Ribosylation Factor-Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor Protein Homologous to GNOM and GNL1, is Essential for Pollen Germination in Arabidopsis

In flowering plants, male gametes are delivered to female gametophytes by pollen tubes. Although it is important for sexual plant reproduction, little is known about the genetic mechanism that controls pollen germination and pollen tube growth. Here we report the identification and characterization of two novel mutants, gnom-like 2-1 （gnl2-1） and gn12-2 in Arabidopsis thaliana, in which the pollen grains failed to germinate in vitro and in vivo. GNL2 encodes a protein homologous to the adenosine diphosphate-ribosylation factor-guanine nucleotide exchange factors, GNOM and GNL1 that are involved in endosomal recycling and endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi vesicular trafficking. It was prolifically expressed in pollen grains and pollen tubes. The results of the present study suggest that GNL2 plays an important role in pollen germination.     

GNOM-LIKE 2, Encoding an Adenosine Diphosphate-Ribosylation Factor-Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor Protein Homologous to GNOM and GNL1, is Essential for Pollen Germination in Arabidopsis

In flowering plants, male gametes are delivered to female gametophytes by pollen tubes. Although it is important for sexual plant reproduction, little is known about the genetic mechanism that controls pollen germination and pollen tube growth. Here we report the identification and characterization of two novel mutants, gnom-like 2-1 ( gnl2-1 ) and gnl2-2 in Arabidopsis thaliana , in which the pollen grains failed to germinate in vitro and in vivo . GNL2 encodes a protein homologous to the adenosine diphosphate-ribosylation factor-guanine nucleotide exchange factors, GNOM and GNL1 that are involved in endosomal recycling and endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi vesicular trafficking. It was prolifically expressed in pollen grains and pollen tubes. The results of the present study suggest that GNL2 plays an important role in pollen germination.     

谷胱甘肽转移酶基因过量表达能加速盐胁迫下转基因拟南芥的生长

盐地碱蓬谷胱甘肽转移酶基因(glutathione s-transferase gene,GST)克隆到植物表达载体pROKⅡ35s启动子的下游,通过农杆菌介导,利用花絮浸泡法转化拟南芥.转化子在含有卡那霉素的培养基上经过筛选以后,将初步验证为阳性的转基因植株通过PCR-Southem进一步证实.经过选育,筛选并分离到卡那霉素的抗性并且遗传稳定的T3代纯合子转基因拟南芥品系.通过Northern杂交证实外源基因在转基因拟南芥中表达.在盐胁迫条件下,通过测量转基因植株(GT)和野生型植株(wY)的生物量和谷胱甘肽(氧化型:GSSG;还原型:GsH)发现:转基因植株的生物量较野生型有一定程度的提高;GssG含量在转基因品系中比野生型的含量明显高.因此,过量表达GsT能够提高转基因植株在盐胁迫条件下的生长,而且这很可能是由于还原型谷胱甘肽被氧化的结果.     

Overexpression of a Chloroplast-located Peroxiredoxin Q Gene, SsPrxQ, Increases the Salt and Low-temperature Tolerance of Arabidopsis

Ablotlc stress, such as salt, drought and extreme temperature, can result in enhanced production of reactive oxygen species （ROS）. Plants have developed both enzymatic ROS-scavenging and non-enzymatic ROS-scavenging systems. The major ROS-scavenging enzymes of plants include superoxide dismutase （SOD）, ascorbate peroxldaae （APX）, catalaae （CAT）, glutathione peroxldaae （GPX） and peroxiredoxina （Prxa）. In the present work, we identified a gene encoding chloroplast-located peroxiredoxin Q, SsPrxQ, from Suaeda salsa L. located at chloroplast. Overexpression of SsPrxQ In Arabidopsis leads to an increase In salt and low-temperature tolerance.     

油菜BnrbcS基因超表达提高拟南芥种子重量和含油量

为深入分析光合作用关键酶二磷酸核酮糖羧化酶（Rubisco）小亚基在油菜等＂绿色种子＂发育过程中的作用,采用RT-PCR技术从油菜种胚中克隆了一个含Rubisco小亚基全长编码区的cDNA序列,命名为BnrbcS（GenBank登录号DQ242646）。BnrbcS编码181个氨基酸残基,其推导的氨基酸序列中包含典型的Rubisco小亚基功能域并与其他高等植物Rubisco小亚基具有很高的同源性,暗示BnrbcS基因产物与拟南芥等植物的Rubisco小亚基在结构和功能上可能十分相似。除了在叶、子叶、角果皮等光合器官中有很高表达外,BnrbcS在贮藏物质高速积累时期的未成熟油菜种子中亦有中等水平的表达,且其＂钟型＂表达模式与一些脂肪酸合成酶系基因的表达模式相类似。将NAPIN启动子驱动的BnrbcS种子特异超表达结构转入拟南芥,转化株系的种子含油量和种子重量有一定程度提高,显示BnrbcS在调控种子油脂等贮藏物质积累过程中具有作用。     

Ectopic gene conversions increase the G + C content of duplicated yeast and Arabidopsis genes

Allelic recombination has previously been shown to increase the GC-content of the sequences of a wide variety of eukaryotic species. Ectopic recombination between clustered tandemly repeated genes has also been shown to increase their GC-content. Here we show that gene conversions between the dispersed genes found in the duplicated regions of the yeast and Arabidopsis genomes also increase their GC-content when these genes are more than 88% similar.     

拟南芥转录因子CBF的冷调控机制研究进展

拟南芥中CBF(C-repeat binding factor)转录因子在抗寒性方面起重要作用,低温可诱导CBF转录因子的表达。CBF转录因子能够特异结合启动子中含有CRT/DRE(C-repeat/dehydration responsive element)的顺式元件,激活COR等基因的表达,从而增强植株抗寒能力,对调控逆境诱导基因的表达具有非常重要的作用。对CBF转录因子的结构特点、功能、表达调控以及与CBF相关的其它低温调节途径进行了综述,为提高植物综合抗逆性的研究提供参考。     

Nerve Growth Factor Effect on Adenosine Transport in Cultured Chromaffin Cells

Chromaffin cells both recently isolated or in culture present a high-affinity adenosine transporter with a Km value of 1 microM. When cells were exposed to nerve growth factor (NGF; 10 ng/ml), the adenosine transporter affinity decreased to 3 microM. This value was maintained from 3 days after plating to the end of the culture period. A change in the transport capacity was observed, with a significant increase (approximately 200-260%) in NGF-cultured cells throughout the period studied.     

人组织激肽释放酶成熟蛋白在大肠杆菌中的高效表达

将编码人组织激肽释放酶成熟蛋白的基因片段扩增并分别克隆到原核表达载体pET2 8(b)及分泌型表达载体pET2 0 (b)中 ,使其C端融合 6×HisTag序列 .转化不同受体菌 ,IPTG诱导表达后利用SDS PAGE、免疫印记等方法对重组蛋白进行分析 .在 6株基因工程菌株中 ,均表达出分子量约30kD的激肽释放酶融合蛋白 ,其中激肽释放酶在pET2 8载体中的表达水平高于pET2 0载体 .pET2 8和pET2 0载体表达的重组激肽释放酶蛋白分别占菌体总蛋白约 2 6 %和 10 % .Western印迹分析表明 ,目的蛋白可与抗人血清KK单克隆抗体发生特异性反应 .未经纯化的激肽释放酶融合蛋白具有一定的水解苯甲酰精胺酸乙酯 (BAEE)的能力 .在大肠杆菌中获得了人组织激肽释放酶的高效表达 ,表达产物具有免疫原性和生物活力 ,这为研究其生物功能和开发基因工程药物奠定基础     

Overexpression of Multiple Dehydrin Genes Enhances Tolerance to Freezing Stress in Arabidopsis

To elucidate the contribution of dehydrins (DHNs) to freezing stress tolerance in Arabidopsis, transgenic plants overexpressing multiple DHN genes were generated. Chimeric double constructs for expression of RAB18 and COR47 (pTP9) or LTI29 and LTI30 (pTP10) were made by fusing the coding sequences of the respective DHN genes to the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. Overexpression of the chimeric genes in Arabidopsis resulted in accumulation of the corresponding dehydrins to levels similar or higher than in cold-acclimated wild-type plants. Transgenic plants exhibited lower LT50 values and improved survival when exposed to freezing stress compared to the control plants. Post-embedding immuno electron microscopy of high-pressure frozen, freeze-substituted samples revealed partial intracellular translocation from cytosol to the vicinity of the membranes of the acidic dehydrin LTI29 during cold acclimation in transgenic plants. This study provides evidence that dehydrins contribute to freezing stress tolerance in plants and suggests that this could be partly due to their protective effect on membranes.     

Overexpression of Wheat <i>TaELF3-1BL</i> Delays Flowering in Arabidopsis

EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3), a light zeitnehmer (time-taker) gene, regulates circadian rhythm and photoperiodic flowering in Arabidopsis, rice, and barley. The three orthologs of ELF3 (TaELF3-1AL, TaELF3-1BL, andTaELF3-1DL) have been identified in wheat too, and one gene, TaELF3-1DL, has been associated with headingdate. However, the basic characteristics of these three genes and the roles of the other two genes, TaELF3-1BLand, TaELF3-1AL, remain unknown. Therefore, the present study obtained the coding sequences of the threeorthologs (TaELF3-1AL, TaELF3-1BL, and TaELF3-1DL) of ELF3 from bread wheat and characterized themand investigated the role of TaELF3-1BL in Arabidopsis. Protein sequence comparison revealed similarities amongthe three TaELF3 genes of wheat; however, they were different from the Arabidopsis ELF3. Real-time quantitativePCR revealed TaELF3 expression in all wheat tissues tested, with the highest expression in young spikes; the threegenes showed rhythmic expression patterns also. Furthermore, the overexpression of the TaELF3-1BL gene inArabidopsis delayed flowering, indicating their importance in flowering. Subsequent overexpression ofTaELF3-1BL in the Arabidopsis ELF3 nonfunctional mutant (elf3 mutant) eliminated its early flowering phenotype, and slightly delayed flowering. The wild-type Arabidopsis overexpressing TaELF3-1BL demonstratedreduced expression levels of flowering-related genes, such as CONSTANS (AtCO), FLOWERING LOCUS T (AtFT),and GIGANTEA (AtGI). Thus, the study characterized the three TaELF3 genes and associated TaELF3-1BL withflowering in Arabidopsis, suggesting a role in regulating flowering in wheat too. These findings provide a basis forfurther research on TaELF3 functions in wheat.     

Overexpression of rice phytochrome A partially complements phytochrome B deficiency in Arabidopsis

The red/far-red reversible phytochromes play a central role in regulating the development of plants in relation to their light environment. Studies on the roles of different members of the phytochrome family have mainly focused on light-labile, phytochrome A and light-stable, phytochrome B. Although these two phytochromes often regulate identical responses, they appear to have discrete photosensory functions. Thus, phytochrome A predominantly mediates responses to prolonged far-red light, as well as acting in a non-red/far-red-reversible manner in controlling responses to light pulses. In contrast, phytochrome B mediates responses to prolonged red light and acts photoreversibly under light-pulse conditions. However, it has been reported that rice (Oryza sativa L.) phytochrome A operates in a classical red/far-red reversible fashion following its expression in transgenic tobacco plants. Thus, it was of interest to determine whether transgenic rice phytochrome A could substitute for loss of phytochrome B in phyB mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. We have observed that ectopic expression of rice phytochrome A can correct the reduced sensitivity of phyB hypocotyls to red light and restore their response to end-of-day far-red treatments. The latter is widely regarded as a hallmark of phytochrome B action. However, although transgenic rice phytochrome A can correct other aspects of elongation growth in the phyB mutant it does not restore other responses to end-of-day far-red treatments nor does it restore responses to low red:far-red ratio. Furthermore, transgenic rice phytochrome A does not correct the early-flowering phenotype of phyB seedlings. Received: 12 July 1998 / Accepted: 13 August 1998