拟南芥质体定位的叶酰谷氨酸合成酶基因在低氮条件下的功能分析

叶酰聚谷氨酸合成酶(folylpolyglutamate synthetase,FPGS)在细胞的不同位置负责将多个谷氨酸残基逐个加在单谷氨酸四氢叶酸(tetrahydrofolate,THF)的γ-羧基上,从而形成有活性的多尾形式四氢叶酸。AtDFB是定位在质体中的FPGS,利用AtDFB基因的T-DNA插入突变体Atdfb-3,通过比较野生型拟南芥及突变体在不同氮源条件下的生长状态以了解AtDFB基因的生物学功能。结果表明,低氮条件下AtDFB基因功能的缺失导致Atdfb-3突变体主根的急剧缩短,叶酸含量的明显下降;而在Atdfb-3突变体中过表达AtDFB基因后,在低氮条件下的表型恢复至野生型拟南芥水平,并且叶酸含量有所提高。综上所述,AtDFB基因在拟南芥叶酸合成代谢途径中发挥着重要作用,可能影响低氮环境下植物主根的发育。     

拟南芥突变体tgd表型和分子生物学特性分析

主要研究1个由Ds插入所造成的大片段缺失拟南芥突变体tgd(ten gene deletion)．这个突变体来自于基因陷阱拟南芥突变体库．对这一突变体的后代卡那霉素抗性分离比分析和Southern杂交表明,只有1个Ds拷贝插入此突变体基因组中,但是Tail-PCR和随后用特异基因序列为引物的验证PCR证实在Ds插入过程中造成了30 kb基因片段的缺失．根据对拟南芥基因组序列的注释,这30 kb的序列中包含10个基因．这一多基因缺失突变体有多效性表型．整株表现为株型矮小,发育迟缓,根系不发达,极易失水而死,茎细弱,较短,花序不正常．其中,莲座叶的表型最为明显,突变体叶形较细,叶片较厚．为了研究这些基因在多效性表型产生中所发挥的功能,对来自ABRC种子库中所有基因的T-DNA插入突变体,即salk line的表型进行了分析,发现所有基因的T-DNA插入突变体均没有可见的表型．这一现象暗示,突变体tgd的表型是10个基因缺失的综合效应,但是10个基因的相互关系以及与tgd表型的相互关系仍有待于继续研究．     

水稻谷氨酰半胱氨酸合成酶基因的结构和表达分析

利用该实验室T-DNA标签的编号为L395的水稻突变体,克隆了一个编码水稻谷胱苷肽(GSH)合成途径中关键酶即谷氨酰半胱氨酸合成酶(GCs)的基因,将其命名为OsGCS(Genbank accession No.AJ508915).该基因位于水稻第五染色体上,OsGCS基因含有15个外显子和14个内含子,编码492个氨基酸.该基因与拟南芥的GCS基因相比较,编码区域同源性较高,而启动子区域的序列没有显著的相似性.通过RT-PCR的方法确定OsGCS基因的转录起始位点可能位于翻译起始位点(ATG)上游211bp处.在L395突变体中,T-DNA是单拷贝形式插入在OsGCS基因的第二内含子和外显子连接处,并且造成了3个碱基的缺失.在重金属耐受性、OsGCS基因表达以及体内GsH含量方面突变体L395和对照中花11之间没有明显的差别.     

尖镰孢古巴专化型Focr4-1701突变体的生物学表型研究

由尖镰孢古巴专化型(Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.cubense,Foc)引起的香蕉枯萎病是香蕉生产中的毁灭性病害之一。Foc有4个小种,其中4号小种(Focr4)因其寄主范围广且无高抗病性的香蕉品种,对香蕉产业的危害最大,其致病机制至今尚不清楚。为研究其致病机制,本文对Focr4野生型菌株(Focr4-193-6)、因其T-DNA插入导致致病性严重减弱的突变体Focr4-1701、T-DNA插入标签基因敲除子△Focr4-1701及敲除基因互补子△Focr4-1701-cp-1为材料,从致病性测定、玻璃纸穿透试验、孢子形态观察、产孢量与孢子萌发率测定、粗毒素测定等方面对其与致病性相关的生物学表型进行了测定。结果表明:T-DNA插入突变体Focr4-1701和基因敲除突变体△Focr4-1701接种后的香蕉植株叶片没有表现发病症状,敲除基因互补菌株与野生型菌株一样表现出发病症状;T-DNA插入突变体和基因敲除突变体不能穿透玻璃纸生长,T-DNA插入突变体及基因敲除突变体在产孢量、孢子萌发率和产毒素能力上均极显著低于野生型菌株及互补菌株。这些表型性状差异说明Focr4-1701致病性严重减弱可能是T-DNA插入位点标签基因失活后导致了菌丝体侵染能力下降及产毒素能力降低造成的。     

低氮下拟南芥叶酰聚谷氨酸合成酶突变体atdfb根发育研究

利用叶酰聚谷氨酸合成酶功能缺失突变体atdfb解析叶酸在拟南芥根发育过程中的生物学功能。纯合T-DNA插入功能缺失突变体atdfb 在土壤培养条件下生长3周,与野生型表型无明显差异。在氮源充足的1/2MS培养基上,atdfb的主根显著短于野生型,互补植株的主根长度恢复到野生型水平,说明主根缩短的表型是由AtDFB基因功能缺失造成的。在1/2MS培养基生长11 d的突变体主根长度只有野生型的23%。在低氮条件下,突变体的生长发育几乎停滞,培养11 d的突变体主根长度只有野生型的4%;5-甲酰四氢叶酸(5-F-THF)可以恢复低氮条件下atdfb-3的表型,其主根长度、根毛长度及静止中心的细胞排列均得到恢复。进一步分析发现,低氮条件下培养少于3 d的atdfb-3补充充足的5-F-THF,3 d后能像野生型一样适应低氮环境。由此说明叶酸对拟南芥根部发育及对低氮环境的适应是必需的。     

Disruption of phytoene desaturase gene results in albino and dwarf phenotypes in Arabidopsis by impairing chlorophyll, carotenoid, and gibberellin biosynthesis

Carotenoids play an important role in many physiological processes in plants and the phytoene desaturase gene （PDS3） encodes one of the important enzymes in the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway. Here we report the identification and analysis of a T-DNA insertion mutant of PDS3 gene. Functional complementation confirmed that both the albino and dwarfphenotypes ofthepds3 mutant resulted from functional disruption of the PDS3 gene. Chloroplast development was arrested at the proplastid stage in thepds3 mutant. Further analysis showed that high level ofphytoene was accumulated in the pds3 mutant. Addition of exogenous GA3 could partially rescue the dwarf phenotype, suggesting that the dwarf phenotype ofthepds3 mutant might be due to GA deficiency. Microarray and RT-PCR analysis showed that disrupting PDS3 gene resulted in gene expression changes involved in at least 20 metabolic pathways, including the inhibition of many genes in carotenoid, chlorophyll, and GA biosynthesis pathways. Our data suggest that the accumulated phytoene in the pds3 mutant might play an important role in certain negative feedbacks to affect gene expression of diverse cellular pathways.     

An Arabidopsis embryonic lethal mutant with reduced expression of alanyl—t RNA synthetase gene

In present paper,one of the T-DNA insertional embryonic lethal mutant of Arabidopsis is identified and designated as acd mutant.The embryo developmant of this mutant is arrested in globular stage,The cell division pattern is abnormal during early embryogenesis and results in distubed cellular differentiation.Most of mutant embryos are finally degenerated and aborted in globular stage,However,a few of them still can germinate in agar palte and produce seedlings with shoter hypoctyl and distorted shoot meristem.To understand the molecular basis of the phenotype of this mutant,the joint fragment of T-DNA/plant DNA is isolated by plasmid rescue and Dig-labeled as probe for cDNA library screening.According to the sequence analysis and similarity searching,a 936 bp cDNA sequence(EMBL accession #:Y12555)from selectoed positive clone shows a 99.8%(923/925bp) sequence homolgy with Alanyl-tRNA Synthetase(AlaRS) gene of Arabidopsis thaliana.Furthermore,the data of in situ hybridization experiment indicate that the expression of Ala RS gene is weak in early embryogenesis and declines along with globular embryodevelopment in this mutant Accordingly,the reduced expression of Ala RS gene may be closely related to the morphological changes in early embryogenesis of this lethal mutant.     

拟南芥ABA敏感突变体asm1的分离与鉴定

以拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)为研究材料,从T-DNA突变体库中筛选分离得到1株脱落酸(ABA)敏感突变体asm1(ABA sensitive mutant 1,asm1),在含有ABA的培养基中,与野生型相比,asm1突变体的根伸长明显受到抑制,且其种子萌发结果显示asm1对ABA同样表现出敏感特性。在生长发育方面,asm1突变体抽苔时间提前,植株矮化,并且荚果长度明显小于野生型。利用远红外成像系统分析发现,在干旱胁迫下asm1突变体叶面温度高于野生型;失水率分析显示突变体失水率降低以及水分散失减少。遗传学分析表明,asm1是单基因隐性突变且与一个T-DNA插入共分离;通过图位克隆成功获得候选基因ASM1。RT-PCR结果显示,在突变体中ASM1的表达受到抑制,并且能够调控多种ABA信号通路和胁迫应答基因的表达水平。研究结果表明,ASM1可能参与调控ABA信号转导并应答干旱胁迫。     

Nitrogen uptake

Summary Nitrogen uptake from applied nutrient solutions was evaluated in two old fields, in a pine plantation, and in a hardwood stand, to test the idea that plant communities become more efficient trappers and retainers of plant nutrients during succession. Uptake was estimated as the difference between nutrient concentrations in water collected from beneath soil profiles with and without roots by lysimeters within each successional stage. Results suggest that nitrate uptake decreased while ammonia uptake increased with succession. This apparent shift from a nitrate to an ammonia nitrogen economy during succession has been reported by other workers and is evolutionarily significant as an energy, nitrogen, and cation saving mechanism.     

Nitrogen Productivity Depends on Photosynthetic Nitrogen Use Efficiency and on Nitrogen Allocation Within the Plant

The concept of plant nitrogen productivity was introduced atthe end of the 1970s to interpret the dependency of plant growthon internal nitrogen. It is defined as the increase in plantdry matter per unit time and per unit plant nitrogen content.Recently, plant nitrogen productivity has been expressed asthe product of two terms: the leaf nitrogen ratio, which isthe proportion of the plant's nitrogen present in the leaves,and the leaf nitrogen productivity, which is defined as theincrease in plant dry matter per unit time and leaf nitrogencontent. In the present paper we use two data sets obtainedfrom C₃ herbaceous species to evaluate the relative importanceof variation in leaf nitrogen ratio and leaf nitrogen productivityin determining interspecific variation in plant nitrogen productivity.Further, we analyse to what extent leaf and plant nitrogen productivitiesdepend on photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency. Results showthat in all cases, photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency isa major determinant of both plant and leaf nitrogen productivities.A positive relationship between leaf nitrogen ratio and plantnitrogen productivity was found only when comparisons were madeover broad taxonomic groups.Copyright 1995, 1999 Academic Press Interspecific variation, leaf nitrogen ratio, nitrogen productivity, photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency     

The Sensitivity of Moss-Associated Nitrogen Fixation towards Repeated Nitrogen Input

Nitrogen (N₂) fixation is a major source of available N in ecosystems that receive low amounts of atmospheric N deposition. In boreal forest and subarctic tundra, the feather moss Hylocomium splendens is colonized by N₂ fixing cyanobacteria that could contribute fundamentally to increase the N pool in these ecosystems. However, N₂ fixation in mosses is inhibited by N input. Although this has been shown previously, the ability of N₂ fixation to grow less sensitive towards repeated, increased N inputs remains unknown. Here, we tested if N₂ fixation in H. splendens can recover from increased N input depending on the N load (0, 5, 20, 80, 320 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1) after a period of N deprivation, and if sensitivity towards increased N input can decrease after repeated N additions. Nitrogen fixation in the moss was inhibited by the highest N addition, but was promoted by adding 5 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1, and increased in all treatments during a short period of N deprivation. The sensitivity of N₂ fixation towards repeated N additions seem to decrease in the 20 and 80 kg N additions, but increased in the highest N addition (320 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1). Recovery of N in leachate samples increased with increasing N loads, suggesting low retention capabilities of mosses if N input is above 5 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1. Our results demonstrate that the sensitivity towards repeated N additions is likely to decrease if N input does not exceed a certain threshold.     

Long-Term Nitrogen Additions and Nitrogen Saturation in Two Temperate Forests

This article reports responses of two different forest ecosystems to 9 years (1988–96) of chronic nitrogen (N) additions at the Harvard Forest, Petersham, Massachusetts. Ammonium nitrate (NH₄NO₃) was applied to a pine plantation and a native deciduous broad-leaved (hardwood) forest in six equal monthly doses (May–September) at four rates: control (no fertilizer addition), low N (5 g N m^-2 y^-1), high N (15 g N m^-2 y^-1), and low N + sulfur (5 g N m^-2 y^-1 plus 7.4 g S m^-2 y^-1). Measurements were made of net N mineralization, net nitrification, N retention, wood production, foliar N content and litter production, soil C and N content, and concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) in soil water. In the pine stand, nitrate losses were measured after the first year of additions (1989) in the high N plot and increased again in 1995 and 1996. The hardwood stand showed no significant increases in nitrate leaching until 1995 (high N only), with further increases in 1996. Overall N retention efficiency (percentage of added N retained) over the 9-year period was 97–100% in the control and low N plots of both stands, 96% in the hardwood high N plot, and 85% in the pine high N plot. Storage in aboveground biomass, fine roots, and soil extractable pools accounted for only 16–32% of the added N retained in the amended plots, suggesting that the one major unmeasured pool, soil organic matter, contains the remaining 68–84%. Short-term redistribution of ¹⁵N tracer at natural abundance levels showed similar division between plant and soil pools. Direct measurements of changes in total soil C and N pools were inconclusive due to high variation in both stands. Woody biomass production increased in the hardwood high N plot but was significantly reduced in the pine high N plot, relative to controls. A drought-induced increase in foliar litterfall in the pine stand in 1995 is one possible factor leading to a measured increase in N mineralization, nitrification, and nitrate loss in the pine high N plot in 1996. Received 2 April 1999; Accepted 29 October 1999.     

外来入侵植物的氮代谢及其土壤氮特征

研究了4种外来入侵植物(五爪金龙、南美蟛蜞菊、金腰箭和马缨丹)和1种本地植物鸡矢藤(对照)的氮代谢及其土壤氮特征.结果表明:外来人侵植物的组织硝酸还原酶活性、根际土壤NH4-N、NO3-N含量、蛋白酶活性和脲酶活性均较高,分别为鸡矢藤的1.65～4.34、1.56～2.15、1.72～3.11、1.43～3.23和1.41～3.33倍,而植物组织硝态氮含量则较低,仅为鸡矢藤的17.5%～50.6%.相关分析表明:植物组织硝酸还原酶活性与根际土壤总氮、NH4-N、NO3-N含量呈显著正相关(P<0.05),与蛋白酶活性和脲酶活性呈极显著正相关(P<0.01).这说明,外来植物入侵使土壤氮代谢加快,氮的生物有效性增强,氮同化能力提高,并且较好地将植物体氮素代谢与土壤氮素代谢协调起来.因此,较强的氮素同化能力与加速土壤氮素的转化可能是植物成功入侵的重要机制之一.     

Nitrogen Fixation and Nitrogen Assimilation in a Temperate Saline Ecosystem

As nitrogen is known to be a limiting factor for plant growth, we were interested in the relationship between soil microbial activity and the nitrogen assimilation of 5 different halophytes from 4 saline sites near the lake “Neusiedlersee”, Austria. The following were studied between May and October 1985: nitrogen fixation (¹⁵N₂ and acetylene reduction): N-mineralization; several soil characteristics and in vivo nitrate reductase activity of roots and shoots of these plants. NO^?₃, org. N- and carboxylate contents of both roots and shoots, as well as the effect of NO^?₃-fertilization on the amounts of these substances, were determined on plants growing in the field during a 3-day period in September 1985. Fertilization led to a decrease in acetylene reduction activity at most sites, and an increase in the nitrate reductase activity of the shoots of all plants. Overall, carboxylate and organic nitrogen contents of these halophytes did not change in response to fertilization. Only in the roots of Aster tripolium and Atriplex hastata was there a marked increase in the nitrate reductase activity in response to fertilization. Species growing at the same site, such as Plantago maritima and Lepidium crassifolium showed contrasting levels of assimilatory activity. Apparent low rates of ammonification and nitrification were detected in soils from the 4 sites. The results are discussed in relation to the nitrogen and carbon economies of the microorganisms and plants.