沙冬青AmFAD2-1基因的克隆及其功能分析

细胞膜脂的不饱和度主要由脂肪酸去饱和酶(fatty acid desaturase,FAD)决定,二者与植物抵抗低温和高盐等逆境胁迫密切相关。沙冬青(Ammopiptanthus mongolicus)是中亚荒漠区唯一的常绿旱生阔叶植物,具有很强的耐寒、耐旱和耐盐碱等特性。该研究利用RT-PCR方法克隆到沙冬青油酸去饱和酶基因AmFAD2-1的cDNA和gDNA,其中后者不含内含子。在AmFAD2-1蛋白(含382个氨基酸残基)序列中含有FAD家族必须的保守组氨酸簇和内质网定位信号及跨膜结构域。进化分析表明,AmFAD2-1与大豆(Glycine max)和柠条锦鸡儿(Caragana korshinskii)等豆科植物的FAD2距离较近,而与玉米(Zea mays)和拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)等其他植物的FAD2距离较远。qRT-PCR分析表明,在室内培养的沙冬青幼苗中,AmFAD2-1的表达量在低温处理2～24h和干旱处理6～13d期间显著上调,在盐胁迫处理期间则呈现升高、降低、再升高的变化趋势;在野外生长的沙冬青成株嫩叶中,其表达量在秋季和冬季总体上明显高于春季和夏季。成功构建了植物表达载体p3300-35S-AmFAD2-1并通过根癌农杆菌介导法转化野生型拟南芥,获得16株转AmFAD2-1基因植株。耐逆性鉴定表明,转基因株系的耐冻性较野生型拟南芥显著提高,其耐旱性和耐盐性也比后者有较明显的改善。     

蒙古沙冬青AmRD22基因的克隆及耐逆功能研究

脱水应答蛋白22(RD22)属于植物特有的BURP蛋白家族中的一个亚族,与耐逆性关系密切。该研究从中国西北荒漠区特有的强耐逆植物蒙古沙冬青克隆到一个RD22基因(AmRD22)的全长cDNA,并对其编码蛋白、表达模式和耐逆功能进行了研究。结果表明：(1)AmRD22蛋白(360 aa)的初级结构中含有RD22亚族共有的4个结构域,预测其定位于细胞壁;在功能已知的RD22蛋白中,AmRD22与大豆GmRD22的进化关系最近。(2)在室内培养的蒙古沙冬青幼苗中,AmRD22的表达受失水、高盐、低温和ABA胁迫的诱导显著上调,其中失水和低温胁迫诱导其上调幅度较大;在野外生长的蒙古沙冬青植株嫩叶中,其表达量从中秋至隆冬远高于其他季节。(3)转AmRD22基因拟南芥的耐盐性显著提高且Na⁺含量降低,其耐旱性也有较明显的改善且在种子萌发早期对外源ABA的敏感性降低,但耐冷性和耐冻性无明显变化。     

沙冬青子叶原生质体瞬时表达体系的建立及其AmDREB1蛋白的亚细胞定位

以沙冬青(Ammopiptanthus mongolicus(Maxim.ex Kom.)Cheng f.)幼苗的子叶为材料,对其原生质体的分离、纯化和瞬时表达体系进行了研究。结果表明,子叶原生质体分离的最佳酶解液组成为CPW溶液+3.0%纤维素酶R-10+0.5%离析酶R-10+0.3%半纤维素酶+9.0%甘露醇(p H5.8);最佳酶解条件为室温、避光、40 r/min轻摇14 h。采用W5溶液作为漂洗液将酶解物稀释后进行过滤,将过滤液在4℃、700 r/min条件下离心5 min,所得纯化原生质体的产量约为2.50×106cells/g,活力达到90%;以纯化的原生质体作为受体,利用聚乙二醇(PEG)介导法成功将植物瞬时表达载体p BI-GFP导入其中,转化效率达到50.8%。利用本研究建立的原生质体瞬时表达体系,检测到沙冬青脱水应答转录因子Am DREB1定位于细胞核内。     

小麦耐逆基因-TaLEA2转化拟南芥的研究

研究小麦第3组LEA基因中T aLEA2对耐旱和耐盐性能的影响.将小麦第3组LEA基因T aLEA2连接在双元表达载体pB I121 C aM V 35S启动子下游,构建了能在植物中高效表达的载体pB I121-T aLEA2.通过农杆菌介导的真空渗透法,将其转入野生拟南芥中,经抗性筛选及PCR验证,获得T0代转基因植株,并用不同浓度的PEG 4000和N aC l对转基因拟南芥的耐逆性进行检测.结果表明,这些转基因植株可明显改进拟南芥在10%PEG及0.8%N aC l培养基上的生长状态.在实验条件下,转基因拟南芥的耐旱性及耐盐性均有所提高,提示T aLEA2基因在植物水分调节方面有重要作用.     

沙冬青脱水素基因转化紫花苜蓿的耐寒性研究

以紫花苜蓿品种‘中苜2号’为野生型材料,采用农杆菌介导法将沙冬青脱水素基因(dehydrin,AmDHN)导入紫花苜蓿基因组中并获得转基因植株,通过PCR和Southern blot杂交鉴定转基因植株,利用RT-PCR和qRT-PCR检测转基因植株中AmDHN基因及低温胁迫相关基因的表达量,并测定低温胁迫下苜蓿叶片的脯氨酸(Pro)和丙二醛(MDA)含量,从分子水平和生理指标两个层面研究转基因植株的抗寒特性,为进一步获得抗寒性较强的转基因苜蓿新材料提供依据。结果显示:(1)AmDHN基因已整合在转基因苜蓿植株基因组中,而且在不同的转基因株系中AmDHN的表达量也各不相同。(2)低温(4℃)处理后转基因植株中冷胁迫相关基因CBF2、CBF3、ProDH和CAS17的表达量明显高于同期野生对照;CBF2、CBF3和CAS17表达量在冷处理5h后都显著增加并达到最大值,而ProDH表达量在冷处理7d时最高,它们的最高值分别是对照的2.5、4、1.6和3倍左右。(3)苜蓿叶片的Pro和MDA含量均随低温处理时间延长而逐渐增加,转AmDHN基因苜蓿叶片的Pro含量始终高于同期野生型植株,而其MDA含量却始终低于同期野生型植株,且两类植株间差异均在胁迫14d时达到显著水平。因此,推测转AmDHN基因苜蓿中积累的AmDHN蛋白可能对一些酶的活性及膜系统起冷冻保护作用,从而使得转AmDHN基因紫花苜蓿的植株抗寒性提高,同时AmDHN也可能通过调控与低温相关基因的表达间接调节植物的耐低温能力。     

小拟南芥ApZFP基因异源超表达促进拟南芥开花并提高耐逆性

锌指蛋白(ZFP)是一类重要的转录因子, 广泛参与植物的生长发育和非生物胁迫应答。新疆小拟南芥(Arabidopsispumila)又名无苞芥, 是十字花科短命植物, 具有高光效、繁殖力强和适应干旱等生物学特征, 而且比模式植物拟南芥(A.thaliana)更耐高盐胁迫。将前期克隆的小拟南芥锌指蛋白基因ApZFP通过花滴法转化到哥伦比亚生态型拟南芥(Col-0)中,获得了独立表达的转基因株系。表型观察发现, 过量表达ApZFP基因可促使拟南芥在长短日照下均提前开花。实时荧光定量PCR结果显示, 转基因拟南芥株系中, 光周期途径中的CO基因和年龄途径中的SPL基因表达上调; 春化、环境温度和自主途径中的FLC基因表达下调; 编码成花素的基因FT及下游开花相关基因AP1和LFY的表达量均升高。进一步通过盐、干旱和ABA胁迫处理ApZFP转基因株系的种子和幼苗, 发现在胁迫处理下, 与对照相比, 转基因拟南芥种子萌发率较高, 幼苗主根较长。因此推测, ApZFP在植物发育过程中具有多种功能, 可能既参与植物的开花转变过程, 又同其它植物的锌指蛋白基因一样, 参与植物的耐逆过程。     

山菠菜EREBP／AP2类DNA结合蛋白基因的克隆及其耐逆性研究

EREBP/AP2类蛋白是一个仅存在于植物中的DNA结合蛋白（DBP）大家族,其中一些成员如SPETALA2和AtDREB/CBF分别调控花的发育和植物对环境胁迫的反应,为了阐明在植物响应盐胁迫过程中所涉及的转录因子的特点,用高盐浓度处理盐生植物山菠菜,构建了cDNA文库。并从此文库中分离得到了一个编码EREBP/AP2类蛋白的基因,此cDNA包含一个723bp的开放读码框和一个长达655bp的3′端非编码区,推导的氨基酸序列显示基有一个保守的EREBP/AP2的DNA结合域,此基因被命名为AhDREB1,将AhDREB1置于CaMV35S启动子下转入烟草,获得9个独立的转基因株系,对其进行了长期的盐胁迫实验。结果显示。AhDREB1的组成性表达显著提高了转基因烟草的耐盐能力。这可能是由于其激活了一些具有抗盐效应的下游基因。通过与拟南芥的全基因组进行同源性比较8得到了具有较高相似性的7个EREBP/AP2家族成员,二级结构预测显示了它们在DNA结合区段的α螺旋结构上具有相似性。     

沙冬青RING型锌指蛋白基因AmRFP1的克隆与功能初步分析

利用RT-PCR方法,从强抗逆植物蒙古沙冬青克隆到1个受寒旱诱导的锌指蛋白基因AmRFP1。预测其编码蛋白由366个氨基酸残基组成,其中含有1个C3H2C3型锌指结构域,故属于RING-H2(C3H2C3)型锌指蛋白。该蛋白还含有2个跨膜区,很可能定位于细胞质膜。半定量RT-PCR分析表明,在不同季节野外生长沙冬青植株嫩叶中,AmRFP1在夏季只有低水平表达,进入秋季后表达量明显增加,尤其在秋末冬初其表达量迅速增加并达到全年最高峰,但在进入最寒冷的隆冬后又回落至秋季水平并维持到翌年春季基本未变。将该基因在拟南芥中超表达,则明显降低了转基因拟南芥的抗冻性。     

新疆沙冬青叶片氨基酸和蛋白质的测试与分离以及抗冻蛋白的鉴定结果分析

提取并纯化了新疆沙冬青(Ammopiptanthus nanus)叶片总蛋白,得到了适合新疆沙冬青叶片总蛋白提取的最佳缓冲体系;用DEAE52-C分离了各蛋白质组分,并用SDS-PAG测定了纯度和分子量(14~90 kD之间);氨基酸组成分析显示了新疆沙冬青属内种遗传的一致性。对抗冻活性分析讨论证实了与蒙古沙冬青同属的新疆沙冬青中也含有抗冻蛋白(AFPs)。     

TaNHX2基因植物表达载体的构建及在拟南芥中的功能分析

将TaNHX2基因重组于质粒pBIN438的CaMV 35S启动子下游,构建含TaNHX2基因的植物双元表达载体pBIN438-TaNHX2。采用根癌农杆菌介导的真空渗透法转化拟南芥,得到T0代转基因拟南芥种子。经含Kan的平板筛选及PCR鉴定,获得54株阳性植株,选取生长一致的转基因阳性植株进行耐盐、耐旱分析,结果表明TaNHX2能够提高转基因植株的耐盐性和耐旱性。     

沙冬青AmCaM1基因的克隆及其功能初步分析

钙调素(calmodulins, CaMs)是一类非常保守的Ca2+感受蛋白,在Ca2+信号转导中起重要调节作用。本研究分析了强抗逆植物沙冬青(Ammopiptanthus mongolicus)AmCaM1在非生物胁迫下的表达变化,克隆了该基因并将其构建到植物表达载体上,然后转化拟南芥进行了初步的功能分析。结果表明,AmCaM1的转录水平在低温、干旱和盐胁迫下迅速上调;其cDNA编码区由450 bp组成,编码蛋白含149个氨基酸残基,在其一级结构中具有四个保守的EF-手型基序;将该基因转化拟南芥可提高种子萌发期对水分胁迫的耐性,而对耐盐和耐冷性无明显作用。     

Biological Characterization of Heat-stable Antifreeze Proteins from Leaves of Ammopiptanthus mongolicus

Antifreeze protein(afp) was purified from the heat stable proteins in the leaves of Ammopiptanthus mongolicus (Maxim.) Cheng f. by two-dimensional electrophoresis-electrophoretic elution. Its molecular weight and pi are about 40 kD and 9.0 respectively, and its thermal hysteresis activity (THA) is 0.9 ℃ at 20 g/L. afp is different from other antifreeze proteins. The N-terminal 20 amino acids of afp is SDDLSFTFNKFVPCQTDILF. alp is abundant in leaves and may play an important role in the antifreeze process in A. mongolicus during the period of ovenwintering.     

Ectopic expression of an Ammopiptanthus mongolicus H+-pyrophosphatase gene enhances drought and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis

An orthologue of the vacuolar H⁺-pyrophosphatase (H⁺-PPase) gene, AmVP1, was isolated from a desert plant, Ammopiptanthus mongolicus (Leguminosae), by RACE-PCR. AmVP1 has a total length of 2,875?bp, with an open reading frame of 2,316?bp, which encodes a predicted polypeptide of 771 amino acids. Sequence analysis revealed that it has high similarity with the VP1 proteins from other plants. AmVP1 was strongly induced by drought stress, but only responded initially to a salt stress. In addition, a 1.8?kb upstream sequence of AmVP1 was isolated from the genomic DNA of A. mongolicus by TAIL-PCR. Cis-element as well as promoter prediction analysis indicated that it contained three promoter sequences and more than 50 cis-elements. Heterologous expression of AmVP1 in the yeast mutant ena1 could partially suppress its hypersensitivity to NaCl. Over-expressing AmVP1 resulted in enhanced tolerances to both drought and salt stresses in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. The transgenic plants accumulated more sodium and potassium in their leaves after salt stress, and retained more water while producing less malondialdehyde during drought stress. A comparative study of salt tolerance between AtVP1 (an H⁺-PPase from Arabidopsis) and AmVP1 transgenic Arabidopsis suggested that the efficiency of AmVP1 is more than threefold higher than AtVP1. Our work suggested that AmVP1 functioned as a typical VP1 gene, but might be a more efficient orthologue than AtVP1 and therefore a valuable gene for improving plant salt and drought tolerances.     

Liver-specific and seasonal expression of transgenic Atlantic salmon harboring the winter flounder antifreeze protein gene

We have analyzed the inheritance and expression of a line of transgenic salmon harboring the antifreeze protein gene from the winter flounder. The genomic clone 2A-7 coding for a major liver-type antifreeze protein gene (wflAFP-6) was integrated into the salmon genome. From a transgenic founder (# 1469), an F3 generation was produced. In this study, southern blot analysis showed that only one copy of the antifreeze protein transgene was integrated into a unique site in F3 transgenic fish. The integration site was cloned and characterized. Northern analysis indicated that the antifreeze protein mRNA was only expressed in the liver and showed seasonal variation. All of the F3 offspring contained similar levels of the antifreeze protein precursor protein in the sera and the sera of these offspring showed a characteristic hexagonal ice crystal pattern indicating the presence of antifreeze activity. In addition, the antifreeze protein precursor protein level was found to vary with the season, being highest in the month of November and lowest in May. This study had demonstrated a tissue-specific and stable expression of the antifreeze protein transgene in the F3 generation of the transgenic salmon 1469 line.     

Overexpression of a TFIIIA-type zinc finger protein gene ZFP252 enhances drought and salt tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

We previously identified a salt and drought stress-responsive TFIIIA-type zinc finger protein gene ZFP252 from rice. Here we report the functional analysis of ZFP252 using gain- and loss-of-function strategies. We found that overexpression of ZFP252 in rice increased the amount of free proline and soluble sugars, elevated the expression of stress defense genes and enhanced rice tolerance to salt and drought stresses, as compared with ZFP252 antisense and non-transgenic plants. Our findings suggest that ZFP252 plays an important role in rice response to salt and drought stresses and is useful in engineering crop plants with enhanced tolerance to salt and drought stresses.