Analysis of leaf proteins in late flowering mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana

Late flowering monogenic mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. at the loci co, gi, fca, fve, fwa, fha, fpa, fy and their corresponding wild type, Landsberg erecta , were analysed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. All plants were grown under continuous light and proteins were extracted from leaves of the same age (20-day-old). The polypeptide patterns of the mutants at the loci co, gi, fca, fve, fwa, fha, fpa , and Landsberg erecta were identical. The mutant at the fy locus showed a qualitative difference with Landsberg erecta . Crosses were made between this line and the wild type Landsberg erecta . F2 plants, resulting from autopollination of the hybrid, were analysed and showed no cosegregation between the observed protein and the flowering phenotype, indicating that these two lines differ by more than a single mutation.     

新疆北部拟南芥自然居群表型变异与协变

拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)自然居群的表型特征代表其在自然环境下的适应状况, 不同居群间特征的对比可以为了解拟南芥表型变化规律, 进而分析其形成过程和机制提供重要线索。本研究以分布于新疆北部天山、塔尔巴哈台山和阿尔泰山的10个种群的9个表型性状为基础, 对比分析了小尺度、局域尺度和区域尺度环境下原生境拟南芥种群表型性状的变化。结果发现, 不同性状对环境变化的反应不同, 其中株高、株重、根重、根长、单个果实重、果实开裂力度在3种环境尺度下种群间的差异均达到极显著水平, 而分枝数、果实长度的种群间变化不显著, 种群间的表型分化系数较低。不同环境尺度下株重、根重、单株果数均表现出一致的协变格局, 反映了生理功能性状之间整合对拟南芥适应环境的重要性。同时, 各种群间整体的性状协变差异性明显, 根长、单个果实重、分枝数、果实长度、果实开裂力度等特征与其他特征协变具有明显的局部性, 局域尺度和区域尺度环境之间的变化较大。聚类分析发现区域尺度上的不同种群聚合在一起的现象非常突出, 进一步表明拟南芥的表型特征受微环境的强烈影响。Mantel检验表明, 小尺度上10个种群株高、株重、根重、单个果实重、果实长度、果实开裂力度6个性状变化存在显著的空间相关性, 而分枝数、根长的相关性却不显著。因此, 我们认为拟南芥表型变化受小尺度环境的影响强烈, 但在表型层面并非所有性状都与原生境气候存在遗传关联。     

天山北部拟南芥生存群落特征及其与环境的关系

为了解拟南芥在天山北部的分布状况及环境依赖特点, 分析拟南芥的自然选择特征, 本文对天山北部分布的13个拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)生存群落结构、组成及其与环境关系进行了研究, 并分析了拟南芥与群落主要物种的种间联结性。结果表明: 拟南芥生存的群落结构简单, 其中天山北坡中段的石河子、一四三团、沙湾、独山子地区的8个群落均为草本类型, 优势种相似, 而与伊犁果子沟、额敏和阿勒泰的5个群落差别较大。属的区系成分分析表明世界分布、北温带分布以及地中海、西亚至中亚分布型成分占大多数, 具有典型的地中海旱生植物区系分布特征, 体现了本地拟南芥分布及演化的干旱、半干旱的地理环境特点。采用双向指示种分析(TWINSPAN)将13个群落分为新疆绢蒿–猪毛菜–角果毛茛(Seriphidium kaschgaricum–Salsola collina–Ceratocephalus testiculatus)、新疆绢蒿–猪毛菜(S. kaschgaricum–S. collina)、新疆绢蒿–狭果鹤虱(S. kaschgaricum–Lappula semiglabra)、新疆绢蒿–旱麦草(S. kaschgaricum–Eremopyrum triticeum)、勿忘草–草原苔草(Myosotis sylvatica–Carex liparocarpos)5个群落类型。去势典范对应分析(DCCA)表明纬度、坡向、土壤有机质及pH值是决定天山北部拟南芥种群分布的主导因子。拟南芥分布与群落内其他物种有极强的依赖关系, 与13个群落62个主要物种的种间联结性分析表明, 共有119个正关联性种对, 明显高于72个负关联性种对, 与各群落优势种呈显著正关联。拟南芥种群分布数量在群落间差异较大, 分布于降雨较少的天山中部浅山地带拟南芥种群数量均高于降雨较丰富的天山西部伊犁果子沟地区, 是否发生适应性分化需要深入研究。     

拟南芥室内培养技术

本文报道了室内培养拟南芥的一些简便易行的改进技术.采用我们改进的营养土、蛭石、素沙混合培养介质和直播方式培养拟南芥,并根据其生物学特性在温度、空气湿度、土壤水分和光照等方面给予适当管理,能培养出生长更健壮、更好地满足实验要求的拟南芥植株.此外还介绍了播种、浇水、生育期调节、种子保存、病虫害防治和防混杂等环节的一些技巧措施.与其他培养方法相比,此法不仅简便、效果好,而且适合较简易的培养条件.     

油菜素内酯不敏感型的拟南芥突变型筛选

自1979年Grove等首次从油菜（＆．wM－。。WL·）花粉中分离出油菜素内酯（brassinolide,BR）以来,人们已在该激素的生理反应和对植物生长发育等方面进行了许多研究（Kalinich等1985,Mandava1988,吴登如和赵硫橘1993）。但由于这类激素在10－'mol／L浓度水平就能诱导大豆、水稻等多种植物细胞的生长和分裂（Sasse1991）,而且在植物体内含量极低,因此用传统的方法研究它的作用方式非常困难。目前,利用激素突变体来研究激素代谢及其分子机制已有不少成功的例子,如生长素（Keily和Bradford1986,Lincoln等1990）、赤霉素（Singh…     

Prenylcysteine methylesterase in Arabidopsis thaliana

Prenylated proteins undergo a series of post-translational modifications, including prenylation, proteolysis, and methylation. Collectively, these modifications generate a prenylcysteine methylester at the carboxyl terminus and modulate protein targeting and function. Prenylcysteine methylation is the only reversible step in this series of modifications. However, prenylcysteine -carboxyl methylesterase (PCME) activity has not been described in plants. We have detected a specific PCME activity in Arabidopsis thaliana membranes that discriminates between biologically relevant and irrelevant prenylcysteine methylester substrates. Furthermore, we have identified an Arabidopsis gene (At5g15860) that encodes measurable PCME activity in recombinant yeast cells with greater specificity for biologically relevant prenylcysteine methylesters than the activity found in Arabidopsis membranes. These results suggest that specific and non-specific esterases catalyze the demethylation of prenylcysteine methylesters in Arabidopsis membranes. Our findings are discussed in the context of prenylcysteine methylation/demethylation as a potential regulatory mechanism for membrane association and function of prenylated proteins in Arabidopsis.     

Proteomic analysis of S-nitrosylated proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana undergoing hypersensitive response

Nitric oxide (NO) has a fundamental role in the plant hypersensitive disease resistance response (HR), and S-nitrosylation is emerging as an important mechanism for the transduction of its bioactivity. A key step toward elucidating the mechanisms by which NO functions during the HR is the identification of the proteins that are subjected to this PTM. By using a proteomic approach involving 2-DE and MS we characterized, for the first time, changes in S-nitrosylated proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana undergoing HR. The 16 S-nitrosylated proteins identified are mostly enzymes serving intermediary metabolism, signaling and antioxidant defense. The study of the effects of S-nitrosylation on the activity of the identified proteins and its role during the execution of the disease resistance response will help to understand S-nitrosylation function and significance in plants.     

拟南芥叶片数目变化突变体对营养生长时相转变的影响

拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)的营养生长可以分为2个阶段: 幼龄期与成熟期。由幼龄期向成熟期的转变(VPC)与叶片的形态学特征、茎顶端分生组织(SAM)形状、远轴面表皮毛的出现以及SPL家族转录因子表达水平的变化相关。研究表明, 造成这种转变的信号来源于叶原基。该研究利用2种莲座叶数目改变了的突变体和对野生型切除叶片的方法, 分析了叶片数目对VPC的影响。结果表明, 莲座叶数目的减少推迟了VPC的发生; 而莲座叶数目增多突变体amp1-1并未使VPC的发生提前, 推测叶源信号的产生受到了光合作用的影响。     

The Arabidopsis thaliana genome encodes at least four thioredoxins m and a new prokaryotic-like thioredoxin

Screening of cDNA libraries at low stringency and complete sequencing of EST clones with homology to thioredoxins allowed us to characterize five new prokaryotic type Arabidopsis thaliana thioredoxins. All present N-terminal extensions with characteristics of transit peptides. Four are clustered in a phylogenetic tree with the chloroplastic thioredoxin m from red and green algae and higher plants, and their transit peptides have typical characteristics of chloroplastic transit peptides. One is clearly divergent and defines a new prokaryotic thioredoxin type that we have named thioredoxin x. Its transit peptide sequence presents characteristics of both chloroplastic and mitochondrial transit peptides. The five corresponding genes are expressed at different levels, but mostly in green tissues and in in-vitro cultivated cells.     

Effects of ozone on the plasma membrane proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) leaves

The protein pattern of leaf plasma membranes from Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Landsberg erecta was analysed in order to detect changes induced by acute short-term ozone treatment. Plasma membranes were isolated 0, 3 and 8 h after the end of a 2 h fumigation of the plants with 500 nmol mol^?1 of O₃. Proteins extracted from plasma membranes were separated by high-performance two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Eight hours after the end of fumigation, one new protein appeared and the amounts of two other proteins increased significantly. The reported study is a first step towards the identification of plasmalemma proteins altered by ozone and to a more detailed characterization of structural changes occurring in the plasma membrane after ozone exposure.     

The heterotrimeric G‐protein β subunit,AGB1, plays multiple roles in the Arabidopsis salinity response

Salinity stress includes both osmotic and ionic toxicity. Sodium homeostasis is influenced by Na⁺ uptake and extrusion, vacuolar Na⁺ compartmentation and root to shoot Na⁺ translocation via transpiration. The knockout mutant of the Arabidopsis heterotrimeric G‐protein Gβ subunit, agb1, is hypersensitive to salt, exhibiting a leaf bleaching phenotype. We show that AGB1 is mainly involved in the ionic toxicity component of salinity stress and plays roles in multiple processes of Na⁺ homeostasis. agb1 mutants accumulate more Na⁺ and less K⁺ in both shoots and roots of hydroponically grown plants, as measured by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. agb1 plants have higher root to shoot translocation rates of radiolabelled ²⁴Na⁺ under transpiring conditions, as a result of larger stomatal apertures and increased stomatal conductance. ²⁴Na⁺ tracer experiments also show that ²⁴Na⁺ uptake rates by excised roots of agb1 and wild type are initially equal, but that agb1 has higher net Na⁺ uptake at 90 min, implicating possible involvement of AGB1 in the regulation of Na⁺ efflux. Calcium alleviates the salt hypersensitivity of agb1 by reducing Na⁺ accumulation to below the toxicity threshold. Our results provide new insights into the regulatory pathways underlying plant responses to salinity stress, an important agricultural problem.     

拟南芥叶边缘锯齿状突变体的分离与鉴定

叶的极性建立直接决定叶的平展性发育,极性改变导致叶形态异常,影响植物体的各种正常生理活动。利用反向遗传学方法,从拟南芥基因激活标签突变体库中分离到一个叶片边缘锯齿状表型的突变体（命名为pCB1294）,该突变体同时表现出叶表皮腺毛形态发育异常。通过TailPCR方法成功定位突变基因为At5g41663,该基因编码miR319b基因。Real time PCR显示,pCB1294突变体植株中miR319b基因的表达量是野生型（col）植株的11倍多。所得结果为进一步研究miRNA调控叶极性的分子机制和进一步分析miR319b与叶形态发生的关系奠定了基础。     

拟南芥抗盐突变体的RAPD分析

以筛选得到可以稳定遗传的抗盐单基因突变体2^#和15^#以及野生型拟南芥为材料进行RAPD分析,150条引物中有3条引物在突变体之间扩增出多态性,不仅证明了DNA水平突变的发生,而且表明它们之间遗传背景相似,是一系列抗盐性不同的近似等位基因系。1条引物在突变体的扩增产物比在野生型的扩增产物多出一个大小约为1200bp的片段,初步认为该片段与抗盐的主效基因有关。     

拟南芥未知功能基因At4g22890 编码蛋白的叶绿体定位

蛋白质的亚细胞定位信息对于深入了解该蛋白质的功能具有重要意义。本文对一个预测的拟南芥叶绿体未知功能基因At4g22890 编码蛋白进行了叶绿体定位研究。我们克隆了该基因5′端长208 bp 的DNA 片段, 与绿色荧光蛋白(GFP) 基因构建重组表达载体pMON530-cTP-GFP, 经农杆菌介导转化拟南芥。转基因植株经激光共聚焦显微镜观察, GFP 荧光仅在叶绿体中观察到, 表明所克隆的DNA 序列编码的多肽能够将At4g22890 编码蛋白质引导进入叶绿体, 由此推测该蛋白质为叶绿体蛋白质。     

拟南芥RopGEFs家族基因在外源脱落酸处理下的表达分析

ABA不同浓度和不同时间处理拟南芥野生型7天龄幼苗,采用实时荧光定量PCR方法,分析小G蛋白ROP10和ROP乌苷酸交换因子RopGEFs基因的表达水平差异。结果表明,RopGEF7-10,12及33没有检测到表达,而RopGEFI-6,11,14ROP10在ABA处理下表现出不同的应答趋势,其中RopGEF5基因的表达变化与ROP10的变化相似。推测RopGEF5有可能在ROP10介导的ABA信号转导途经中起调控作用。     

A post-genomic approach to understanding sphingolipid metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana

AIMS: To highlight the importance of sphingolipids and their metabolites in plant biology. SCOPE: The completion of the arabidopsis genome provides a platform for the identification and functional characterization of genes involved in sphingolipid biosynthesis. Using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as an experimental model, this review annotates arabidopsis open reading frames likely to be involved in sphingolipid metabolism. A number of these open reading frames have already been subject to functional characterization, though the majority still awaits investigation. Plant-specific aspects of sphingolipid biology (such as enhanced long chain base heterogeneity) are considered in the context of the emerging roles for these lipids in plant form and function. CONCLUSIONS: Arabidopsis provides an excellent genetic and post-genomic model for the characterization of the roles of sphingolipids in higher plants.     

Complete structure of the chloroplast genome of Arabidopsis thaliana.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the chloroplast genome of Arabidopsis thaliana has been determined. The genome as a circular DNA composed of 154,478 bp containing a pair of inverted repeats of 26,264 bp, which are separated by small and large single copy regions of 17,780 bp and 84,170 bp, respectively. A total of 87 potential protein-coding genes including 8 genes duplicated in the inverted repeat regions, 4 ribosomal RNA genes and 37 tRNA genes (30 gene species) representing 20 amino acid species were assigned to the genome on the basis of similarity to the chloroplast genes previously reported for other species. The translated amino acid sequences from respective potential protein-coding genes showed 63.9% to 100% sequence similarity to those of the corresponding genes in the chloroplast genome of Nicotiana tabacum, indicating the occurrence of significant diversity in the chloroplast genes between two dicot plants. The sequence data and gene information are available on the World Wide Web database KAOS (Kazusa Arabidopsis data Opening Site) at http://www.kazusa.or.jp/arabi/.     

Characterization of Arabidopsis thaliana methyl-CpG-binding domain (MBD) proteins

Cytosine methylation at symmetrical CpG and CpNpG sequences plays a key role in the epigenetic control of plant growth and development; yet, the way by which the methylation signal is interpreted into a functional state has not been elucidated. In animals, the methylation signal is recognized by methyl-CpG-binding domain (MBD) proteins that specifically bind methylated CpG dinucleotides. In Arabidopsis thaliana, 12 putative MBD proteins were identified and classified into seven subclasses. Here, we characterized six MBD proteins representing four subclasses (II, III, IV, and VI) of the Arabidopsis MBD family. We found that AtMBD7 (subclass VI), a unique protein containing a double MBD motif, as well as AtMBD5 and AtMBD6 (subclass IV), bind specifically symmetrically methylated CpG sites. The MBD motif derived from AtMBD6, but not from AtMBD2, was sufficient for binding methylated CpG dinucleotides. AtMBD6 precipitated histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity from the leaf nuclear extract. The examined AtMBD proteins neither bound methylated CpNpG sequences nor did they display DNA demethylase activity. Our results suggest that AtMBD5, AtMBD6, and AtMBD7 are likely to function in Arabidopsis plants as mediators of the CpG methylation, linking DNA methylation-induced gene silencing with histone deacetylation.     

A proteomic approach to identification of transmembrane proteins and membrane-anchored proteins of Arabidopsis thaliana by peptide sequencing.

A proteomic approach was developed for the identification of membrane-bound proteins of Arabidopsis thaliana. A subcellular fraction enriched in vacuolar membranes was prepared from 4-week-old plants and was washed with various agents to remove peripheral membrane proteins and contaminating soluble proteins. The remaining membrane-bound proteins were then subjected to proteomic analysis. Given that these proteins were resolved poorly by standard two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, we subjected them instead to SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and to protein digestion within gel slices with lysylendopeptidase. The resulting peptides were separated by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and subjected to Edman sequencing. From the 163 peptide peaks analyzed, 69 peptide sequences were obtained, 64 of which were informative. The proteins corresponding to these peptide sequences were identified as belonging to 42 families, including two subfamilies, by comparison with the protein sequences predicted from annotation of the A. thaliana genome. A total of 34 proteins was identified definitively with protein-specific peptide sequences. Transmembrane proteins detected in the membrane fraction included transporters, channels, receptors, and unknown molecules, whereas the remaining proteins, categorized as membrane-anchored proteins, included small GTPases, GTPase binding proteins, heat shock protein 70-like proteins, ribosomal proteins, and unknown proteins. These membrane-anchored proteins are likely attached to membranes by hydrophobic anchor molecules or through tight association with other membrane-bound proteins. This proteomic approach has thus proved effective for the identification of membrane-bound proteins.