抗虫/耐草甘膦双价融合基因表达载体的构建及烟草转化

随着植物基因工程的发展,将多个基因转化植株已成为研究的热点之一,利用连接肽进行多个基因融合的策略巳引起广泛关注.利用连接多肽2A和LP4/2A分别将抗虫基因Bt(Bacillus thuringiensis,Bt) cry1Ah和耐革甘膦基因mG2epsps连接起来,构建了4个融合基因表达载体pHAG、pHLAG、pGAH、pGLAH和两个单基因载体pSAh、pSmG2,其中pHAG、pHLAG是Bt cry1Ah基因在前,mG2-epsps基因在后,pGAH、pGLAH是mG2-epsps基因在前,Bt cry1Ah基因在后,分别用2A和LP4/2A作为连接肽,由CaMV35S启动子驱动.利用农杆菌介导法将6个植物表达载体转入烟草,得到再生植株529株.经PCR检测,有261株再生苗为阳性植株,转化率达到49.3％.获得的转基因烟草可用于分析连接肽2A和LP4/2A的剪切效率以及不同基因与连接肽连接位置差异对基因表达的影响.     

连接肽在多基因转化中的应用

多基因转化是当今遗传转化研究的热点之一,在植物基因工程中利用有自我剪切功能的口蹄疫病毒片段2A和凤仙花种子的一段多肽LP4作为连接肽进行多基因融合是一种可以替代传统多基因转化方法的新手段,连接肽可以同时连接多个基因并且保证多基因的协同表达,将LP4和2A多肽杂合形成的新的多肽(LP4/2A)兼具两者优势,是一种更为有效的多基因转化策略。     

大肠杆菌多基因共表达策略

利用基因工程手段实现多个基因在同一宿主菌中共表达是大肠杆菌细胞发育调节研究和代谢途径改造的有效手段。介绍了单一转录单元的多基因共表达载体、多重转录单元的多基因共表达和单基因载体的构建原理、特点、优势及转化策略,并着重介绍了利用LIC衔接子实现基因在多基因载体上定位连接的原理和方法。     

Secretion cloning vectors in Escherichia coli

The DNA fragment coding for the signal peptide of the OmpA protein, a major outer membrane protein of Escherichia coli, has been inserted into the high-level expression vectors, pIN-III. A foreign DNA fragment can be cloned in any one of the three reading frames at the unique EcoRI, HindIII or BamHI sites immediately after the ompA signal peptide coding sequence. The cloned foreign gene is under the control of both the lpp promoter and the lac promoter-operator. The expression of the gene is regulated by the lac repressor produced by the same vectors. Using the pIN-III-ompA vector, the DNA fragment coding for only the mature portion of beta-lactamase was inserted into the EcoRI site. Upon induction of gene expression, beta-lactamase was secreted into the periplasmic space. The ompA signal peptide was correctly removed resulting in the production of beta-lactamase with four extra amino acid residues (Gly-Ile-Pro-Gly) at its amino terminus due to the linker sequence in the vector. After a 3-h induction, beta-lactamase was accumulated to 20% of total cellular protein without any detectable accumulation of pro-beta-lactamase. Using oligonucleotide-directed site-specific mutagenesis, we have also removed the linker sequence and upon induction of gene expression, beta-lactamase with the authentic NH2-terminal sequence was produced, in even larger amounts than the beta-lactamase with the linker sequence.     

融合基因在转基因植物中的应用

目前双基因和多基因转基因植物已经商品化,并展现了广泛的应用前景。但在转基因植物研究中,使多个基因同时在植物体中表达调控依然很难实现,是植物基因工程和生物技术发展中的难点。融合基因表达载体作为一种新型的方法,弥补了获得双价或多价转基因植物传统方法的缺点,具有更高的应用价值。本文对目前构建融合基因的方法作了评述,并对比较新颖的连接肽2A和LP4做了详细介绍。     

High-level expression of the simian virus 40 genes LP1, VP1 and VP2 as fusion proteins in Escherichia coli

The complete sequences of the SV40 agnogene (LP1) and the genes coding for the capsid proteins VP1 and VP2 have been cloned into Escherichia coli expression plasmids. High levels of expression were obtained when the SV40 genes were inserted into the coding sequence of the influenza virus NS1 gene, which has previously been expressed in E. coli. The NS1A-LP1 and NS1A-VP2 chimeric proteins consist of the 81 N-terminal residues of NS1 (designated as peptide NS1A) fused to the complete sequence of the corresponding SV40 protein. The NS1A-VP1 chimera consists of NS1A followed by a linker of nine arbitrary residues and the complete sequence of the SV40 major capsid protein. The observed levels of expression vary considerably among the three chimeric proteins, ranging from approx. 70 micrograms/ml in the case of NS1A-LP1 to approx. 5 micrograms/ml in the case of NS1A-VP2. Cyanogen bromide cleavage of the NS1A-LP1 fusion protein produces fragments with Mrs expected for isolated NS1A and LP1 peptides. A plasmid has also been constructed which expresses the NS1A peptide in high yield.     

三种连接子多肽对抗癌融合蛋白翻译后剪切效果比较研究

IL-24和Smac为靶向癌症的多基因治疗研究中重要的候选基因.在构建IL-24和Smac双基因表达载体过程中,选择一个稳定高效的连接子非常关键.利用三个不同的连接子多肽序列IETD、EEED、F2A构建三个真核表达质粒pcDNA3.1(+)-IL-24-IETD-Smac、pcDNA3.1(+)-IL-24-EEED-Smac、pcDNA3.1(+)-IL-24-F2A-Smac,并联合5-氟尿嘧啶(5-FU)处理研究各连接子介导的融合蛋白剪切效果.上述实验结果表明,在三种IL-24-linker-Smac双基因表达载体中,F2A连接子剪切效果最佳且与caspase活性成正相关.IETD、EEED连接子介导的融合蛋白都有一定的剪切,但IETD/EEED多肽影响了上游IL-24蛋白的半衰期,加速了剪切后IL-24蛋白的泛素化降解.本研究为构建靶向癌症应用的双基因或多基因载体提供了设计参考.     

Fusions to the 5' end of a gene encoding a two-domain analogue of staphylococcal protein A.

A novel gene fusion system has been constructed for fusions to the 5' end of gene zz, encoding a two-domain analogue of staphylococcal protein A designated ZZ. Four different genes were fused to the 5' end of zz, and their gene products were analyzed. One of the genes encodes a protein located intracellularly in Escherichia coli and the other three genes encode gene products destined for secretion across the cytoplasmic membrane by the presence of an amino terminal signal sequence. After production in E. coli, the fusion proteins were purified in a single step by IgG-affinity chromatography. The purified ZZ fusions could be used directly for amino terminal sequencing to confirm the start of translation of the intracellular product and the processing of the signal peptide of the translocated products. This is the first example of ZZ fusions to the C-terminus of gene products. To simplify the general use of fusions to the 5' end of zz, a new plasmid vector was constructed containing a multi restriction enzyme cloning linker and the lacZ' gene which enables screening for production in alpha-complementing supE strains of E. coli on indicator plates.     

Construction of a lentiviral T/A vector for direct analysis of PCR-amplified promoters

The promoter plays an important role in the regulation of gene expression. To analyze a promoter’s activity, we developed a novel lentiviral T/A vector that contains two reporter genes, a luciferase (Luc2) gene and a green fluorescent protein (Venus) gene, that are linked via an internal ribosome entry site (IRES2). To test the performance of this vector, phosphoglycerate kinase-1 (PGK) and elongation factor-1α (EF1α) promoters were amplified by PCR and inserted into this lentiviral T/A vector using T4 DNA ligase, yielding two promoter–reporter vectors: pLent-T-PGK and pLent-T-EF1α. When these vectors were transfected into 293T cells, we observed a higher level of Venus expression under a fluorescence microscopy in the case of pLent-T-EF1α as compared to pLent-T-PGK. The results of the luciferase reporter assay showed that the ratio of the promoter activities of EF1α and PGK was approximately 9:1. The two promoter–reporter vectors were also packaged as lentiviral particles to conduct promoter activity assay in cultured cells. The ratio of the promoter activities of EF1α and PGK was 4.23:1 when they were infected into 293T cells at a multiplicity of infection of 1. This value is comparable to that of a parallel experiment using the commercial luciferase reporter vector pGL4.10 with an activity ratio of 5.99:1 for EF1α and PGK. These results indicate that lentiviral T/A vector will be a useful tool for analysis of promoter activity and specificity.     

抗菌肽CM4与绿色荧光蛋白融合基因的真核载体构建及表达

目的：构建绿色荧光蛋白（GFP）与抗菌肽CM4融合基因的真核表达载体。方法：采用递归PCR（rPCR）将GFP基因与CM4基因通过一段核苷酸片段连接成GFP-CM4融合基因,构建真核表达载体pcDNA3-GFP-CM4,用脂质体介导转染人K562白血病细胞,用MTT检测其活性。结果：融合基因可在K562细胞中表达,抗菌肽CM4的表达可抑制K562细胞的生长。结论：为全面了解抗菌肽的生物学活性及其在基因治疗中的可能作用提供了重要的理论依据。     

Overexpressions of dihydroxyacetone synthase and dihydroxyacetone kinase in chloroplasts install a novel photosynthetic HCHO-assimilation pathway in transgenic tobacco using modified Gateway entry vectors

Dihydroxyacetone synthase (DAS) and dihydroxyacetone kinase (DAK) are two key enzymes for formaldehyde assimilation in methylotrophic yeasts. In order to using a Gateway LR recombination reaction to construct a plant expression vector that contains the expression cassettes for the das and dak genes and allow the proteins encoded by the two target genes to be localized to the chloroplasts of transgenic plants, the entry vector pEN-L4*-PrbcS-*T-gfp-L3* contained the tomato rbcS 3C promoter (PrbcS) with its transit peptide sequence (*T) and a GFP reporter gene (gfp) was constructed in this study. To verify the applicability of pEN-L4*-PrbcS-*T-gfp-L3*, we generated an entry vector for the dak gene by replacing the gfp gene in this entry vector with the dak gene. We also generated an entry vector for the das gene by replacing the gus gene in another entry vector (pENTR*-PrbcS-*T-gus) with the das gene. Using these entry vectors and pK7m34GW2-8m21GW3, we successfully constructed the pKm-35S-PrbcS-*T-gfp-PROLD-PrbcS-*T-gus and the pKm-35S-PrbcS-*T-dak-PROLD-PrbcS-*T-das expression vectors. Our results showed that high expression of GUS was achieved in leaves, and the expressed GFP, DAS and DAK proteins could be targeted to the chloroplasts after the two expression vectors were used to transform tobacco. The overexpressions of DAS and DAK in the chloroplasts successfully created a novel photosynthetic HCHO-assimilation pathway in transgenic tobacco. By utilizing these expression vectors, we not only successfully expressed two target genes with one transformation but also localized the expressed proteins to chloroplasts via the transit peptide sequence (*T). Therefore, the construction of pEN-L4*-PrbcS-*T-gfp-L3* establishes a technique platform that provides a convenient means for chloroplast genetic engineering.     

Development of baculovirus triple and quadruple expression vectors: co-expression of three or four bluetongue virus proteins and the synthesis of bluetongue virus-like particles in insect cells.

Baculovirus multiple gene transfer vectors pAcAB3 and pAcAB4 have been developed to facilitate the insertion of three or four foreign genes respectively into the Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV) genome by a single co-transfection experiment. The pAcAB3 vector contains a polyhedrin promoter and two p10 promoters on either side of the polyhedrin promoter but in opposite orientations. The pAcAB4 vector has an additional polyhedrin promoter in opposite orientation to the first copy that is in juxtaposition to the first p10 promoter. Each of these derived vectors (pAcAB3, pAcAB4) have been used for the simultaneous expression of three or four bluetongue virus (BTV) genes respectively. When Spodoptera frugiperda cells were infected with the recombinant virus (AcBT-3/2/7/5) expressing the four major structural genes of BTV, double-capsid, virus-like particles consisting of VP2, VP3, VP5 and VP7 of BTV were assembled.     

Differential gene expression of TRPM1, the potential cause of congenital stationary night blindness and coat spotting patterns (LP) in the Appaloosa horse (Equus caballus)

The appaloosa coat spotting pattern in horses is caused by a single incomplete dominant gene (LP). Homozygosity for LP (LP/LP) is directly associated with congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) in Appaloosa horses. LP maps to a 6-cM region on ECA1. We investigated the relative expression of two functional candidate genes located in this LP candidate region (TRPM1 and OCA2), as well as three other linked loci (TJP1, MTMR10, and OTUD7A) by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. No large differences were found for expression levels of TJP1, MTMR10, OTUD7A, and OCA2. However, TRPM1 (Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel, Subfamily M, Member 1) expression in the retina of homozygous appaloosa horses was 0.05% the level found in non-appaloosa horses (R = 0.0005). This constitutes a >1800-fold change (FC) decrease in TRPM1 gene expression in the retina (FC = -1870.637, P = 0.001) of CSNB-affected (LP/LP) horses. TRPM1 was also downregulated in LP/LP pigmented skin (R = 0.005, FC = -193.963, P = 0.001) and in LP/LP unpigmented skin (R = 0.003, FC = -288.686, P = 0.001) and was downregulated to a lesser extent in LP/lp unpigmented skin (R = 0.027, FC = -36.583, P = 0.001). TRP proteins are thought to have a role in controlling intracellular Ca(2+) concentration. Decreased expression of TRPM1 in the eye and the skin may alter bipolar cell signaling as well as melanocyte function, thus causing both CSNB and LP in horses.     

Development and characterization of a binary gene expression system based on bacteriophage T7 components in adenovirus vectors

To explore the utility of the bacteriophage T7 binary system in adenovirus (Ad) vectors we constructed three Ad5-based vectors containing the T7 RNA polymerase (T7pol) gene in either early region 1 (E1) or E3. The recombinant Ad vectors were either deficient (AdT7pol1, AdT7pol2) or competent (AdT7pol3) for replication in human cells other than Ad5 transformed (293) cells. To test the ability of the T7 polymerase produced by these vectors to drive gene expression, a reporter vector was constructed with an E1 substitution comprising the bacterial β-galactosidase (βGal) (lacZ) gene under the control of the T7 gene 10 promoter (T7pro) and linked to the encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) internal ribosome entry site (IRES) (AdBHG10T7βGal). Coinfections were performed with the various AdT7pol vectors and the reporter vector, and expression was analysed in three different human cell lines: 293, A549 and MRC-5. Depending on the AdT7pol vector used, different levels of expression were obtained from the reporter gene. In 293 cells, expression was detected following infection at very low multiplicities of infection (moi) with all of the T7pol vectors when coinfected with the reporter vector AdBHG10T7βGal. In A549 and MRC-5 cells very little expression was detected using AdT7pol1 or pol2 and efficient expression was only obtained when relatively high moi values of the replication-competent vector were used in the coinfections. We also constructed a single vector containing both elements of the T7 system (T7pol in E3 and T7 promoter driving expression of the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (cat) gene in E1). This vector proved difficult to rescue but was stable once isolated. Finally, experiments performed to evaluate the `leakiness' of the Ad-T7 system detected very little expression from the T7pro in the absence of T7 polymerase suggesting this system may be useful for the cloning and expression of genes encoding cytotoxic proteins.     

Expression of synthetic genes coding for completely new, nutritionally rich, artificial proteins

Synthetic genes (A, AB and AHB) constructed and cloned into pKK233-2 vector were recloned from the parent plasmid into the new procaryotic expression vectors pGFY221N and pBI052. Gene AF-B (coding for all amino acids besides phenylalanine) was obtained by 'cassette mutagenesis' from gene AB. The plasmid pGFY221N was constructed from pGFY218L by replacing the PstI by an NcoI site; plasmid pBI052 was derived from pGFY221N through replacing the 221-bp EcoRI/NcoI fragment with a synthetic DNA segment of 52 bp representing the Escherichia coli atpE gene translational initiation region. The genes A, AB, AHB and AF-B in the vector pGFY221N were expressed with a six-amino-acid-long leader sequence; in pBI052 the genes were expressed directly. In vitro expression experiments were successfully with all the genes except with the AHB gene integrated into pGFY221N. In the E. coli minicell system expression was demonstrated with the A gene in pGFY221N and the AF-B and AHB genes in pBI052. Complete translation of the expressed genes AB, AF-B and AHB in either the in vitro or in vivo systems could be shown by using 35S-labelled N-terminal methionine and C-terminal cysteine. Both amino acids occur only once in the peptide sequences.     

新型真核表达质粒pcDNA6/myc-his-EGFP B 的构建及其在重组基因表达中的应用

增强型绿色荧光蛋白（EGFP, enhanced green fluorescent protein）、myc抗原和6×His已在众多真核表达载体中用作重组蛋白的表达标记,EGFP能发出的绿色荧光,myc抗原能用相应的抗体检测,6×His能被相应的树脂特异吸附。但目前为止,没有一个质粒表达载体能够同时整合三者的功能。本研究构建了一个能够同时整合EGFP、myc抗原和6×His功能的新型真核质粒表达载体,我们将其命名为pcDNA6/myc-his-EGFP B。值得注意的是,为确保目的基因与EGFP基因融合表达后,融合表达产物各组成部分能够保持原有的生物活性,我们运用LINKER程序在EGFP基因的5'端设计了一段编码八肽的连接DNA序列。将一段含有人白细胞介素2（IL-2, human interleukin 2）信号肽编码序列的基因亚克隆进pcDNA6/myc-his-EGFP B的多克隆位点中,使之与EGFP、myc抗原和6×His融合表达,构建成质粒pMHES。用pcDNA6/myc-his-EGFP B和pMHES转染2.2.15细胞,48 h后成功观察到绿色荧光;用pcDNA6/myc-his-EGFP B尾静脉注射Balb/c小鼠,8 h后在小鼠肝脏冰冻切片中同样观察到绿色荧光。用同源建模软件Modeller8V2模拟IL-2与EGFP、myc抗原和6×His融合表达产物的三维结构,结果表明：IL-2、EGFP、myc和6×His各部分互不干扰,连接八肽具有一定的柔性。以上结果表明pcDNA6/myc-his-EGFP B可望作为外源基因在哺乳动物细胞中表达研究和基因治疗的新型载体。     

Expression vectors for Methanococcus maripaludis: overexpression of acetohydroxyacid synthase and beta-galactosidase.

A series of integrative and shuttle expression vectors was developed for use in Methanococcus maripaludis. The integrative expression vectors contained the Methanococcus voltae histone promoter and multiple cloning sites designed for efficient cloning of DNA. Upon transformation, they can be used to overexpress specific homologous genes in M. maripaludis. When tested with ilvBN, which encodes the large and small subunits of acetohydroxyacid synthase, transformants possessed specific activity 13-fold higher than that of the wild type. An expression shuttle vector, based on the cryptic plasmid pURB500 and the components of the integrative vector, was also developed for the expression of heterologous genes in M. maripaludis. The beta-galactosidase gene from Escherichia coli was expressed to approximately 1% of the total cellular protein using this vector. During this work, the genes for the acetohydroxyacid synthase (ilvBN) and phosphoenolpyruvate synthase (ppsA) were sequenced from a M. maripaludis genomic library.     

Adenovirus type 7 penton purification of soluble pentamers from Escherichia coli and development of an integrin-dependent gene delivery system.

Adenoviral gene therapy vectors suffer from the disadvantages of toxicity and immunogenicity associated with the expression of adenoviral genes from the vector backbone. We report here an alternative strategy for gene delivery that utilizes a single component of the adenoviral type 7 capsid, the penton base (Ad7PB). The Ad7PB gene was sequenced and its amino-acid composition was deduced from its nucleotide sequence. The penton was expressed in Escherichia coli as a soluble C-terminal fusion with glutathione S-transferase (GST-Ad7PB) and was purified by single-step affinity chromatography. Both GST-Ad7PB and cleaved (GST-free) Ad7PB retained the ability to fold into pentamers as observed by electron microscopy. GST-Ad7PB was able to bind a synthetic peptide (FK20) derived from the Ad type 7 fiber and retard DNA through a polylysine chain present at the C-terminus of this linker peptide. GST-Ad7PB was an effective cell transfecting agent when assayed on 293 cells. Transfection was not dependent upon the presence of lysosomotropic agents indicating efficient endosome escape capability. Excess of an RGD-containing peptide derived from Ad7PB was able to inhibit transfection indicating specific integrin-mediated uptake of the GST-Ad7PB-FK20-DNA complexes. We propose that Ad7 pentons can be developed into integrin-specific gene delivery agents.     

根癌农杆菌介导的转aroAM12基因棉花植株的草甘膦抗性

以中棉35无菌苗下胚轴为外植体,采用农杆菌介导法将含有通过基因优化技术获得的草甘膦抗性突变基因aroAM12导入棉花中.以aroAM12为选择标记,利用草甘膦直接筛选获得65棵再生植株.PCR和Southerablot分析表明,经过草甘膦筛选出的To代植株均整合有aroAM12基因.Western blot分析表明整合进的aroAM12基因得到了有效表达,且不同植株之间的表达不尽相同.大棚喷洒的实验结果表明To代转化植株具有很高的草甘膦抗性.对T1代棉花的草甘膦抗性遗传分析表明,aroAM12基因以孟德尔方式遗传.