The effect of MAR elements on variation in spatial and temporal regulation of transgene expression

The level of transgene expression often differs among independent transformants. This is generally ascribed to different integration sites of the transgene into the plant genome in each independently obtained transformant (position effect). It has been shown that in tobacco transformants expressing, for example, a cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter-driven -glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene, these position-induced quantitative differences among individual transformants were reduced by the introduction of matrix-associated regions (MAR elements) on the T-DNA. We have previously shown by imaging of in planta firefly luciferase (luc) reporter gene activity that quantitative differences in transgene activity can be the result of either a variation in (1) level, (2) spatial distribution and/or (3) temporal regulation of transgene expression between independent transformants. It is not known which of these three different aspects of transgene expression is affected when the transgene is flanked by MAR elements. Here we have used the firefly luciferase reporter system to analyse the influence of MAR elements on the activity of a CaMV 35S-luc transgene in a population of independently transformed tobacco plants. Imaging of in planta LUC activity in these tobacco plant populations showed that the presence of MAR elements does not result in less variation in the average level of transgene expression between individual transformants. This result is different from that obtained previously with a 35S-GUS reporter gene flanked by MAR elements and reflects the differences in the stability of the LUC and GUS reporter proteins. Also the variation in spatial patterns of in vivo LUC activity is not reduced between independent transformants when the transgene is flanked by MAR elements. However, MAR elements do seem to affect the variation in temporal regulation of transgene expression between individual transformants. The potential effects of MAR elements on the variability of transgene expression and the relation to the stability of the (trans)gene product are discussed.     

植物的MAR及其对转基因表达的效应

与核基质结合的DNA序列称为基质附着区（matrix attachment regions,MARs）,可提高转基因的表达水平并降低转基因在不同转基因系间的表达差异,因其在植物基因工程中的巨大应用潜力而引起了研究者的极大兴趣。对植物中MAR的研究尚处于早期阶段,本文综述了植物中MAR的分离鉴定、序列特征及MAR对植物中转基因表达的影响,并进一步讨论了MAR对转基因效应的可能机制。 Abstract：DNA sequences called matrix attachment regions (MARs) have recently attracted mu ch attention because of their perceived capacity to increase levels of transgene expression and to reduce transformant-to-transformant variation of transgene ex pression in plants. Work with MARs in plants is in its early stage .In the prese nt paper ,we reviewed the procedure to isolate and identify MAR sequences from higher plants, the sequence characteristics of the plant MARs and the effect of MARs on the transgene expression in plants. Funthermore, the possible mechanism to explain how MARs affect transgene expression in transformants was discussed.     

Molecular Characteristics of Transgenic Wheat and the Effect on Transgene Expression

A population of R0 transgenic wheat plants, generated by particle bombardment, was analyzed to define molecular, genetic and phenotypic properties resulting from transformation with a cointegrate vector, or cotransformation with two separate plasmids. By evaluating the progeny of 70 independently-derived transgenic plants, we also identified rare events such as chimerism and transgene elimination, which provide valuable information concerning the development of transgenic cereal plants following bombardment experiments. The frequency of chimerism in our transgenic wheat plants was very low. Furthermore, while transgene elimination did occur, this was also a very rare event. We determined the copy numbers of integrated transgenes and the levels of transgene expression. Comparisons to transgenic rice plants generated in the same manner demonstrated some similarities, but also important differences in transgene behavior. Whereas in rice there is no evidence for any direct relationship between transgene copy number and transgene expression or stability, multicopy populations in wheat demonstrated a bias towards higher levels of expression for the two genes and the maize ubiquitin promoter evaluated in the present study.     

植物转基因沉默研究进展

植物基因沉默现象是转基因植物在广泛应用中遇到的一个重要障碍.主要就引起植物转基因沉默因素、相应对策以及研究意义作一综述.     

Intercalary heterochromatin in Drosophila melanogaster polytene chromosomes and the problem of genetic silencing

The morphological characteristics of intercalary heterochromatin (IH) are compared with those of other types of silenced chromatin in the Drosophila melanogaster genome: pericentric heterochromatin (PH) and regions subject to position effect variegation (PEV). We conclude that IH regions in polytene chromosomes are binding sites of silencing complexes such as PcG complexes and of SuUR protein. Binding of these proteins results in the appearance of condensed chromatin and late replication of DNA, which in turn may result in DNA underreplication. IH and PH as well as regions subject to PEV have in common the condensed chromatin appearance, the localization of specific proteins, late replication, underreplication in polytene chromosomes, and ectopic pairing.     

玉米核基质结合区在烟草中对外源转基因表达水平的影响

为研究核基质结合区(matrix attachment region, MAR)在转基因植物中的功能,将来自玉米基因组的MAR序列构建在植物表达载体T-DNA中, 并将报告基因β-葡糖醛酸酶(β-glucuronidase, GUS)基因(uidA)插入两段MARs序列之间.将此载体与不包含MARs序列的植物表达载体分别转化烟草(Nicotiana tabacum L.).GUS活性检测表明,MARs可以显著提高外源基因uidA在转基因烟草中的表达水平,平均表达水平提高2倍,最高单株活性可达10倍.并且转基因植株GUS活性高低与稳定mRNA的量成正比,表明MARs在转录水平提高基因表达.     

The Influence of Matrix Attachment Regions on Transgene Expression in Transgenic Tobaccos

To investigate the effect of matrix attachment regions (MARs) on levels of transgene expression in transgenic plants, β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene ( uidA ) was flanked by the MARs isolated from the genome of pea ( Pisum sativum L.) to form plant expression vector. The plant expression vectors with and without MARs were transferred into tobaccos ( Nicotiana tabacum L.) via Agrobacterium -mediated transformation procedure. The results of GUS activity showed that MARs could increase levels of uidA gene expression, the mean GUS activity could be increased two fold compared with that of transformants without MARs, the highest GUS activity of transformant could arrive at five fold.     

MAR提高重组CHO细胞中转基因表达的分子特征分析

分析核基质结合区（matrix attachment region,MAR）调控转基因表达的分子序列特征,鉴定能有效提高CHO细胞转基因表达的MAR特征性元件。将人β-珠蛋白MAR片段从5′到3′ 端分为6个分段（1～540,421～1 020,901～1 500,1 381～1 980,1 861～2 460,2 341～2 999位置）,分别采用PCR进行克隆,经测序证实正确后,分别连接到含有氯霉素乙酰转移酶（chloramphenicol acetyltransferase,CAT）报告基因的表达载体SV40启动子及上游,构建β-珠蛋白MAR渐次片段介导的表达载体,转染CHO细胞,G418筛选出稳定表达细胞株,ELISA分析CAT报告基因的表达水平,生物信息学分析MAR序列特征。结果表明,β-珠蛋白MAR全长能显著提高转基因的表达,6个渐次片段相比较,421～1 020位的第2个分段和 901～1 500位的第3个分段提高转基因表达作用显著。生物信息学分析结果显示,MAR-like motif有助于转基因表达提高。     

核基质结合区的位置对转基因表达的影响

为研究核基质结合区 (MAR）序列不同插入位置对转基因表达作用的影响,PCR扩增人β 珠蛋白MAR分别插入到含氯霉素乙酰转移酶（chloramphenicol acetyltransferase,CAT）报告基因真核表达载体pCATG表达盒两侧、5′端及3′端.酶切鉴定后,用阳离子聚合物转染CHO细胞,G418筛选出阳性细胞克隆,ELISA分析CAT基因的表达水平,半定量PCR分析CAT基因相对拷贝数.结果表明,表达盒两侧含MAR序列的载体能提高介导的转基因表达水平平均提高10.4倍,5′端含MAR序列的载体表达水平平均提高3.9倍,3′端含MAR序列的载体反而降低转基因表达水平.5′端含MAR序列的表达载体其转基因相对拷贝数高于其它两组载体的基因拷贝数,转基因表达量与基因拷贝数不成正比.     

阿尔茨海默病相关转基因小鼠模型的构建

将人类淀粉样前体蛋白瑞典型突变基因（APPSW）与血小板衍生的生长因子α链（PDGFα）的顺式调控因子结合,构建成PDGF－APPSW转基因;并通过原核显微注射法将之导入C57小鼠受精卵内,成功地获得PDAPSW转基因小鼠模型,共出生22只仔鼠,其中5只基因组内有PDAPSW整合。     

药用植物转基因研究进展

随着医疗事业的发展,药用植物的遗传转化越来越成为人们关注的焦点.近年来药用植物的遗传转化取得了很大进展,已成功培育了多种转基因药用植物.从遗传转化方法、转化受体和转化的目的基因等方面来论述了近年来药用植物转基因的研究进展,并对以后的发展提出了展望.     

Approaches to Minimize Variation of Transgene Expression in Plants

Genetic transformation of plants has become a widely used technology that serves multiple purposes in plant biology research. However, considerable variation of transgene expression is often observed within populations of transgenic plants transformed with the same transgene construct. This inter-transformant variation of transgene expression hampers proper evaluation of transgenes and might be most undesirable when high-throughput transgene screening is intended. The general plant transformation strategy today is to generate a sufficiently high number of transgenic plants to find some transformants with the desired level of expression. To reduce cost, labor and interpretational flaws, multiple efforts are being directed toward achieving stable expression of transgenes with an expected level of expression. Various factors are thought to contribute to transgene expression variation including the transgene copy number, RNA silencing, transgene insertion site and the employment of certain regulatory sequences to drive transgene expression. This review provides an update on current methodologies to minimize inter-individual variation of transgene expression in nuclear transformed plants.     

植物转基因沉默研究进展

随着转基因技术在植物中的广泛应用,转基因沉默受到越来越多的重视。转基因沉默可发生在转录和转录后两种水平,其基本特征就是依赖于同源的重复序列。转基因的重复拷贝间,转基因与同源的内源基因间及RNA病毒与同源转基因间都会发生基因沉默。可能有不同的机制导致转基因沉默,本文综述了转基因沉默的机理研究及转基因沉默在植物抗病基因工程和植物功能基因组学方面的应用 。     

人c-myc转基因细胞的建立

目的:建立人c-myc转基因细胞。方法:通过成功构建c-myc逆转录病毒表达载体,并经脂质体介导转染包装细胞293T,收集产重组病毒的293T培养上清,运用NIH3T3细胞测定了病毒滴度,用适当浓度的病毒感染L929细胞,经用Zeocin选择性培养基筛选细胞。结果:得到稳定高表达c-myc基因的L929转基因细胞。结论:运用逆转录病毒转染法可得到高表达的转基因细胞。     

Transgene integration,organization and interaction in plants

It has been appreciated for many years that the structure of a transgene locus can have a major influence on the level and stability of transgene expression. Until recently, however, it has been common practice to discard plant lines with poor or unstable expression levels in favor of those with practical uses. In the last few years, an increasing number of experiments have been carried out with the primary aim of characterizing transgene loci and studying the fundamental links between locus structure and expression. Cereals have been at the forefront of this research because molecular, genetic and cytogenetic analysis can be carried out in parallel to examine transgene loci in detail. This review discusses what is known about the structure and organization of transgene loci in cereals, both at the molecular and cytogenetic levels. In the latter case, important links are beginning to be revealed between higher order locus organization, nuclear architecture, chromatin structure and transgene expression.