Cold shock domain proteins in the extremophyte Thellungiella salsuginea (salt cress): gene structure and differential response to cold

Four genes encoding cold shock domain (CSD) proteins have been identified in salt cress [Thellungiella salsuginea (halophila), an extremophyte currently recognized as a promising model for studying stress tolerance]. The deduced proteins prove highly homologous to those of Arabidopsis thaliana (up to 95% identity) and are accordingly enumerated TsCSDP1-TsCSDP4; after the N-proximal conserved CSD, they have respectively 6, 2, 7, and 2 zinc finger motifs evenly spaced by Gly-rich stretches. Much lower similarity (approximately 45%) is observed in the regions upstream of TATA-box promoters of TsCSDP1 vs. AtCSP1, with numerous distinctions in the sets of identifiable cis-regulatory elements. Plasmid expression of sCSDP1 rescues a cold-sensitive cup-lacking mutant of Escherichia coli, confirming that the protein is functional. In leaves of salt cress plants under normal conditions, the mRNA levels for the four TsCSDPs relate as 10: 27: 1: 31. Chilling to 4 degrees C markedly alters the gene expression; the 4-day dynamics are different for all four genes and quite dissimilar from those reported for their Arabidopsis homologues under comparable conditions. Thus, the much greater cold hardiness of Thellungiella vs. Arabidopsis cannot be explained by structural distinctions of its CSDPs, but rather may be due to expedient regulation of their expression at low temperature.     

Cloning and characterization of a flowering time gene from Thellungiella halophila

Thellungiella halophila (T. halophila) (salt cress) is a close relative of Arabidopsis and a model plant for salt tolerance research. However, the nature of its later flowering causes some difficulties in genetic analysis. The FRIGIDA (FRT) gene plays a key role in the Arabidopsis vernalization flowering pathway, whose homolog in T. halophila may also be a key factor in controlling flowering time. In order to study the molecular mechanism of vernalization responses in T. halophila , a full length cDNA named ThFRI (Thellungiella halophila FRIGIDA) was isolated from the young seedlings of T. halophila by RT-PCR and RACE. The ThFRI cDNA was 2017 bp in length and contained an open reading frame encoding a putative protein of 605 ami no acids. The ThFRI showed significant homology to AtFRI (74.5% at the nucleotide level and 63.9% at the ami no acid level). To study its function, ThFRI cDNA was transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana , driven by CaMV 35S promoter. Transgenic plants expressing ThFRI exhibited late-flowering phenotype, which suggests that ThFRI is the funtional FRI homolog in T. halophila . The cloning and funtional characterization of the FRI homolog of T. halophila will faciliate further study of flowering time control in T. halophila .     

Cloning and characterization of a human lysyl oxidase-like 3 gene (hLOXL3).

Using the PCR primers generated from human expressed sequence tag (EST), the cDNA of lysyl oxidase-like gene 3 (LOXL3), a new member of human lysyl oxidases gene family, was cloned from the human fetal brain mRNA. The predicted amino acid sequence of the hLOXL3 gene was highly homologous to mLOR2. Bioinformatics analysis shows that hLOXL3 protein is also a member of the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich family, which contains a 25 amino acids signal peptide. The hLOXL3 gene was mapped to human 2p13 locus by BLAST search and at least 14 exons were found. Expression of the hLOXL3 gene was detected in several human tissues and especially high in spleen and testis.     

盐芥miR396的表达分析、前体克隆及靶基因预测

利用实时定量PCR的方法分析了tsa-mi R396在盐芥不同组织的表达情况及盐、冷胁迫下的表达量变化,结果显示tsami R396在盐芥的不同组织均有表达,且在盐芥幼苗受盐、冷胁迫处理2 h后其表达量明显上升,随后呈波动性变化。利用在线软件ps RNATarget预测到25个tsa-mi R396的靶基因并进行功能分类。成功克隆tsa-mi R396前体,并利用Mfold在线软件分析该前体能够折叠形成茎环结构。     

四翅滨藜盐胁迫应答基因AcPsbQ1的克隆及其在酵母中的功能分析

光系统II亚基蛋白Q(Photosystem II subunit Q, PsbQ)是组成光系统II(PSII)复合体的重要外周蛋白之一,对维持PSII放氧活力起重要作用。在盐胁迫下,高浓度的Na⁺和Cl^-在叶绿体中积累会严重破坏叶绿体的结构,抑制光合作用,使植物生长缓慢。文章通过筛选盐生植物四翅滨藜(Atriplex canescens) cDNA文库,获得一个在PSII中与放氧关系密切的放氧复合体蛋白基因PsbQ,命名为AcPsbQ1(GenBank登录号：KJ027025)。AcPsbQ1基因开放阅读框为699 bp,编码由233个氨基酸组成的前体蛋白。为了研究该基因的功能,文章克隆了AcPsbQ1基因并转化至酵母中,高盐和干旱胁迫处理实验表明转AcPsbQ1基因酵母相比于野生型酵母对高盐和干旱有更强的耐受力。为了进一步研究AcPsbQ1是否参与植物抗逆应答反应,利用实时荧光定量PCR法测定AcPsbQ1在胁迫处理条件下的表达变化。结果表明,用0.4 mol/L NaCl处理四翅滨藜12 h后,AcPsbQ1基因的表达量明显高于未处理的对照,表明AcPsbQ1基因的表达受盐胁迫诱导,同时,干旱胁迫也会提高AcPsbQ1基因的表达水平。上述结果表明该基因可能参与盐生植物四翅滨藜的抗逆胁迫应答反应。     

Cloning of an H+-PPase gene from Thellungiella halophila and its heterologous expression to improve tobacco salt tolerance

An H(+)-pyrophosphatase (PPase) gene named TsVP involved in basic biochemical and physiological mechanisms was cloned from Thellungiella halophila. The deduced translation product has similar characteristics to H(+)-PPases from other species, such as Arabidopsis and rice, in terms of bioinformation. The heterologous expression of TsVP in the yeast mutant ena1 suppressed Na(+) hypersensitivity and demonstrated the function of TsVP as an H(+)-PPase. Transgenic tobacco overexpressing TsVP had 60% greater dry weight than wild-type tobacco at 300 mM NaCl and higher viability of mesophyll protoplasts under salt shock stress conditions. TsVP and AVP1, another H(+)-PPase from Arabidopsis, were heterologously expressed separately in both the yeast mutant ena1 and tobacco. The salt tolerance of TsVP or AVP1 yeast transformants and transgenic tobacco were improved to almost the same level. The TsVP transgenic tobacco lines TL3 and TL5 with the highest H(+)-PPase hydrolytic activity were studied further. These transgenic tobacco plants accumulated 25% more solutes than wild-type plants without NaCl stress and 20-32% more Na(+) under salt stress conditions. Although transgenic tobacco lines TL3 and TL5 accumulated more Na(+) in leaf tissues, the malondialdehyde content and cell membrane damage were less than those of the wild type under salt stress conditions. Presumably, compartmentalization of Na(+) in vacuoles reduces its toxic effects on plant cells. This result supports the hypothesis that overexpression of H(+)-PPase causes the accumulation of Na(+) in vacuoles instead of in the cytoplasm and avoids the toxicity of excessive Na(+) in plant cells.     

Cloning, expression and characterization of metallothionein from the Antarctic clam Laternula elliptica

The genes for two apparent subtypes of metallothionein (MT) isoform were isolated from the Antarctic clam Laternula elliptica. Determination of the nucleotide sequence showed that the gene consists of 222 bp that code a 73-amino acid protein. The comparison between MT cDNA sequences of L. elliptica and other bivalves showed strong homologies on positions of cysteine residues, which are important for their metal binding abilities. The gene for the MT was inserted into a pET vector and overexpressed as a carboxyl terminal extension of glutathionein-S-transferase (GST) in Escherichia coli. After the GST fusion proteins had been purified by glutathione-Sepharose affinity chromatography column and digested with enterokinase, the MT was purified with gel filtration and analyzed for its biochemical properties. Recombinant MTs were reconstituted with Cd, Cu, and Zn, and kinetic studies of the reactions with electrophilic disulphide, DTNB, were investigated to explore their metal binding ability. It is revealed that the Cd-MT and Zn-MT react with DTNB biphasically, and that Zn-MT reacts with DTNB more rapidly, and with a significantly greater pseudo-first-order rate constant. Cu-MT reacts monophasically and releases metal slowly from MT.     

Cloning and characterization of a non-TIR-NBS-LRR type disease resistance gene analogue from peach.

Cloning of plant disease resistant genes is greatly helpful for disease resistant breeding in plants and the insight of resistance mechanism. However, there are less relevant researches in peach [prunus persica (L.) Batch]. In this study, four NBS-LRR type resistance gene analogs (RGAs) were cloned from genomic DNA of peach. The PNBS2 fragment was also amplified from peach cDNA and the full-length cDNA of PNBS2 (PRPM1, GenBank accession no. AY599223) has been cloned. Sequence analysis indicated that the cDNA of PRPM1 is 3007 bp in length and that the contained ORF encodes for a polypeptide of 917 amino acids. Compared with known NBS-LRR genes, it presented relatively high amino acid sequence identity. The polypeptide has typical structure of non-TIR-NBS-LRR genes, with NB-ARC, LZ, LRR and transmembrane domains. Southern analysis indicated that the PRPM1 gene might be a single copy in peach genome. Northern blot and RT-PCR analysis showed that the expression of PRPM1 was not induced by salicylic acid (SA) in peach young leaves. The isolation of putative resistance genes from peach provided useful bases for studying the structure and function of peach disease-resistance relating genes and disease resistant genetic breeding in peach.     

一个新的二色补血草金属硫蛋白基因LbMT2的克隆及其表达分析

从二色补血草cDNA文库中分离出一个新的金属硫蛋白基因LbMT2全长cDNA序列。该基因全长518 bp, 其中5′非翻译区(UTR)64 bp, 3′非翻译区205 bp, 开放阅读框(ORF)249 bp, 编码由82个氨基酸组成的蛋白质, 编码蛋白的分子量为8.1 kDa, 理论等电点(pI)为4.72。利用实时定量PCR方法研究了二色补血草在CuSO4、CdCl2、NaCl、低温和PEG胁迫下不同时间该基因的表达模式。结果表明, CuSO4、CdCl2、NaCl和低温处理均能诱导LbMT2基因在二色补血草的根和叶中的表达, 而PEG处理则抑制了LbMT2在根和叶中的表达。构建LbMT2基因的原核表达载体pGEX-LbMT2, 通过IPTG诱导在大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli) BL21中融合表达, SDS-PAGE 电泳获得35 kDa 的蛋白条带, 大小与预期相符。     

Cloning and molecular characterization of a gene coding D-xylulokinase (CmXYL3) from Candida maltosa

AIMS: To clone and identify a gene (CmXYL3) coding D-xylulokinase from Candida maltosa Xu316 and understand its physiological function. METHODS AND RESULTS: Based on the conserved regions of the known D-xylulokinase-encoding genes, a pair of degenerate primers was designed to clone the CmXYL3 gene from C. maltosa Xu316. The coding region and sequences flanking the CmXYL3 gene were obtained by PCR-based DNA walking method. Southern blotting analysis suggested that there is a single copy of the CmXYL3 gene in the genome. The open reading frame starting from ATG and ending with TAG stop codon encoded 616 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 68889.743 Da. The CmXYL3 gene under the control of the GPD1 promoter was heterologously expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae deficient in D-xylulokinase (deltaScXKS1::LEU2) activity, and restored growth on D-xylulose. The specific activity of D-xylulokinase varied during xylose fermentation and was correlated with aeration level. After growth on different pentoses and pentitols as sole carbon sources, the highest specific activity of D-xylulokinase was observed on D-xylose. CONCLUSIONS: The CmXYL3 gene isolated from C. maltosa Xu316 encodes a novel D-xylulokinase that plays a pivotal role in xylulose metabolism. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This is the first report that describes the isolation and cloning of D-xylulokinase gene (CmXYL3) from C. maltosa Xu316. D-xylulokinase is pivotal for growth and product formation during xylose metabolism. Better understanding of the biochemical properties and the physiological function of D-xylulokinase will contribute to optimizing fermentation conditions and determining the strategies for metabolic engineering of C. maltosa Xu316 for further improvement of xylitol yield and productivity.