麻疯树核糖体失活蛋白基因的克隆和表达

麻疯树(Jatropha curcas L.)核糖体失活蛋白(curcin)是存在于麻疯树种子中的一种毒性较强的蛋白,它与蓖麻毒蛋白和相思子毒蛋白的性质相似,属Ⅰ型核糖体失活蛋白.从麻疯树种子中分离得到一种分子量为28.2 kD的蛋白质,其对无细胞系统中蛋白质合成的抑制活性较强,IC50为(0.19±0.01)nmol/L,具有RNA N-糖苷酶活性.依据curcin的N端部分氨基酸设计简并引物,通过RT-PCR和5'-RACE技术从未成熟种子总RNA中克隆到curcin全长cDNA序列.该cDNA全长由1 173个碱基组成,包含一个编码293个氨基酸的前体蛋白,前42个氨基酸为信号肽.推测的多肽序列与测定的蛋白质N端序列相同,与多种己发表的Ⅰ型核糖体失活蛋白和Ⅱ型核糖体失活蛋白的A链有一定的同源性.将curcin的编码区与表达载体pQE-30相连后,转入大肠杆菌(Escherichia coil)M15菌株中得到了有效的表达.将表达的融合蛋白纯化后发现,它具有抑制无细胞系统蛋白质合成的能力.     

麻疯树逆境蛋白(curcin 2)基因在烟草中的表达

麻疯树（Jatropha curcas）幼苗在干旱、高低温胁迫和真菌浸染下,其叶片中诱导产生了一种新的毒蛋白curcin 2。这意味着curcin 2在其它植物中的异源表达可能会增强植物对外界胁迫的抵抗。curcin 2 cDNA的两个片断：cur2p片断（编码前成熟蛋白）和cur2m片断（编码成熟蛋白）,通过农杆菌的介导分别转化烟草并获得转基因植株。但是,只有在插入了cur2p片断的烟草中检测到了curcin 2蛋白的表达。同时,curcin 2在烟草中的表达增强了植株对烟草花叶病毒（TMV）的抗性。     

麻疯树种子的研究进展

麻疯树（Jatropha curcas L．）为大戟科（Euphorbiaceae）麻疯树属半肉质小乔木或大灌木,具有很强的抗旱、耐贫瘠的特性。麻疯树的根、树皮、叶和种子均可人药。种子中主要含有脂肪类物质、蛋白质和萜类物质,其毒素为麻疯树毒蛋白和种子油。种仁中的含油量约为50％,可作为理想的生物柴油;毒蛋白、种子油及其他种子提取物可作为生物农药。关于麻疯树种子的发育、脱水行为及其调控研究较少。麻疯树是二种具有重要经济价值的战略资源。     

麻疯树curcin 启动子的分离及其在转基因烟草中的功能分析

核糖体失活蛋白是一类可以使核糖体28S rRNA的保守a茎环结构域脱嘌呤的蛋白质。麻疯树毒蛋白(curcin)前体基因编码麻疯树胚乳I 型核糖体失活蛋白。从麻疯树基因组中克隆得到其5'侧翼区0.6 kb长的片段, 将该片段插入pBI121载体置换其中的CaMV 35S启动子并在相应的转基因烟草中检测报告基因GUS的表达情况。经过GUS活性检测分析发现, 该0.6 kb长的片段能够启动报告基因在种子中的表达, 并且其在种子不同发育阶段的表达活性存在差异。同时, GUS组织化学染色定位分析表明, 在双子叶植物中该启动子片段是胚乳特异性表达的, 它从心形胚时期开始持续地在烟草的胚乳中发挥启动活性。     

麻疯树curcin启动子的分离及其在转基因烟草中的功能分析

核糖体失活蛋白是一类可以使核糖体28S rRNA的保守α茎环结构域脱嘌呤的蛋白质。麻疯树毒蛋白（curcin）前体基因编码麻疯树胚乳I型核糖体失活蛋白。从麻疯树基因组中克隆得到其5＇侧翼区0.6 kb长的片段,将该片段插入pBI121载体置换其中的CaMV 35S启动子并在相应的转基因烟草中检测报告基因GUS的表达情况。经过GUS活性检测分析发现,该0.6 kb长的片段能够启动报告基因在种子中的表达,并且其在种子不同发育阶段的表达活性存在差异。同时,GUS组织化学染色定位分析表明,在双子叶植物中该启动子片段是胚乳特异性表达的,它从心形胚时期开始持续地在烟草的胚乳中发挥启动活性。     

金沙江干热河谷地区麻疯树单粒种子核糖体失活蛋白含量及其与种子性状的相关性

对金沙江干热河谷地区麻疯树(Jatropha curcas L.)种子中具有抗肿瘤活性的核糖体失活蛋白curcin含量及其生物学性状进行研究。结果表明,用酶联免疫吸附法测定麻疯树单颗种子的curcin含量为0.275～3.183 mg g-1,平均(1.369±0.055)mg g-1。Pearson相关性分析表明:单粒麻疯树种子的curcin含量与种子其他性状的相关性均未达显著水平,但与种子质量、种仁质量及含油量存在一定程度的负相关,而与出仁率和可溶性蛋白含量存在一定的正相关,且与可溶性蛋白含量的正相关系数(0.190)和与含油率的负相关系数(–0.177)较高。这表明可在金沙江干热河谷地区开展高curcin含量麻疯树种质资源收集和选育工作,以及培育高含油量、高curcin含量的双高品种,以提高麻疯树生物燃油产业的综合效益。     

Isolation and Characterization of a Curcin Promoter from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Jatropha curcas</Emphasis> L. and Its Regulation of Gene Expression in Transgenic Tobacco Plants

Ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) represent those proteins that universally depurinate conserved α-sarcin loops of large rRNAs. In this study, a 0.6-kb fragment of a 5′ flanking region preceding a curcin gene, encoding a type I RIP curcin, of Jatropha curcas L. endosperm was cloned, and its regulation of expression of the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene was investigated in transgenic tobacco. Analysis of GUS activities showed that the 0.6-kb flanking fragment of the curcin gene was sufficient to drive the GUS reporter gene expression in tobacco seed. The activity of this flanking fragment was analyzed at different stages of seed development. Histochemical localization of GUS activity indicated that the promoter was specifically active in the endosperm tissue of the dicotyledonous tobacco embryo. Moreover, this activity was first initiated at the heart-shaped embryonic stage during seed development.     

Expression, purification and anti-tumor activity of curcin

Curcin,purified from the seeds of Jatropha curcas,can be used as a cell-killing agent.Understanding the anti-tumor activity of the recombinant protein of curcin is important for its application inclinical medicine.The segment encoding the mature protein of curcin was inserted into Escherichia colistrain M 15,and the recombinant strain was induced to express by isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside at aconcentration of 0.5 mM.The recombinant protein was expressed in the form of inclusion bodies andpurified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography.The target protein was incubated with the tumor cells atdifferent concentrations for different times and the results demonstrated that the target protein could inhibitthe growth of tumor cells (NCL-H446,SGC-7901 and S180) at 5μg/ml.     

Transformation of Jatropha curcas L. for production of larger seeds and increased amount of biodiesel

The development of green energy is important to mitigate global warming. Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) is a promising candidate for the production of alternative biofuel, which could reduce the burden on the Earth’s resources. Jatropha seeds contain a large quantity of lipids that can be used to produce biofuel, and the rest of the plant has many other uses. Currently, techniques for plant genetic transformation are extensively employed to study, create, and improve the specific characteristics of the target plant. Successful transformation involves the alteration of plants and their genetic materials. The aim of this study was to generate Jatropha plants that can support biofuel production by increasing their seed size using genes found via the rice FOX-hunting system. The present study improved previous protocols, enabling the production of transgenic Jatropha in two steps: the first step involved using auxins and dark incubation to promote root formation in excised shoots and the second step involved delaying the timing of antibiotic selection in the cultivation medium. Transgenic plants were subjected to PCR analysis; the transferred gene expression was confirmed via RT-PCR and the ploidy level was investigated. The results suggest that the genes associated with larger seed size in Arabidopsis thaliana, which were found using the rice FOX-hunting system, produce larger seeds in Jatropha.     

A promoter analysis of MOTHER OF FT AND TFL1 1 (JcMFT1), a seed-preferential gene from the biofuel plant Jatropha curcas

MOTHER OF FT AND TFL1 (MFT)-like genes belong to the phosphatidylethanoamine-binding protein (PEBP) gene family in plants. In contrast to their homologs FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT)-like and TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1)-like genes, which are involved in the regulation of the flowering time pathway, MFT-like genes function mainly during seed development and germination. In this study, a full-length cDNA of the MFT-like gene JcMFT1 from the biodiesel plant Jatropha curcas (L.) was isolated and found to be highly expressed in seeds. The promoter of JcMFT1 was cloned and characterized in transgenic Arabidopsis. A histochemical β-glucuronidase (GUS) assay indicated that the JcMFT1 promoter was predominantly expressed in both embryos and endosperms of transgenic Arabidopsis seeds. Fluorometric GUS analysis revealed that the JcMFT1 promoter was highly active at the mid to late stages of seed development. After seed germination, the JcMFT1 promoter activity decreased gradually. In addition, both the JcMFT1 expression in germinating Jatropha embryos and its promoter activity in germinating Arabidopsis embryos were induced by abscisic acid (ABA), possibly due to two ABA-responsive elements, a G-box and an RY repeat, in the JcMFT1 promoter region. These results show that the JcMFT1 promoter is seed-preferential and can be used to control transgene expression in the seeds of Jatropha and other transgenic plants.     

The suppression of the glutelin storage protein gene in transgenic rice seeds results in a higher yield of recombinant protein

Glutelin is a major seed storage protein, accounting for 60?C80?% of the total endosperm protein content in rice. To test whether we could augment the expression of an introduced recombinant protein in rice by suppressing the glutelin gene, we generated transgenic glutelin RNAi (glu RNAi) rice seeds. RNA gel blot analyses confirmed that the endogenous glutelin gene was severely suppressed in these transgenic rice lines. RT-PCR analysis further revealed that all the members of glutelin multigene family were downregulated. Transgenic glu RNAi rice seeds expressing a recombinant red fluorescent protein (RFP) showed stronger fluorescence than seeds transformed with the RFP gene only. Western blot analysis further revealed that the relative accumulation of RFP in glu RNAi seeds was twofold higher than that in the RFP-only transgenic seeds. These results suggest that RNAi targeting of an endogenous storage protein could be of great utility in obtaining higher transgene expression in genetically engineered rice and other plant lines.     

Cloning,expression, and antitumor activity of recombinant protein of curcin

Curcin, a protein isolated from the seeds of Jatropha curcas can be used as a cell-killing agent. To elaborate the purification methods and investigate the antitumor activity of the recombinant protein, the fragment encoding the mature protein of curcin was inserted into E. coli strain M15 and the recombinant strain was induced to express by the optimum inducer (0.5 mM isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside). The recombinant protein was expressed in the form of the inclusion body and was purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. The protein of interest was incubated with the tumor cells at various concentrations for different time. It was shown that the target protein could inhibit the growth of NCL-H446, SGC-7901, and S180 at a very low concentration. Published in Russian in Fiziologiya Rastenii, 2007, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 229–234. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Tomato sugar transporter genes associated with mycorrhiza and phosphate

A new kind of ribosome-inactivating protein (curcin 2), induced by several different kinds of stress from Jatropha curcas leaves, under the control of the CaMV (cauliflower mosaic virus) 35S promoter, was introduced into the tobacco genome by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation method. The curcin 2 protein was only detected in the transgenic tobacco plantlets transformed with the cur2p fragment (coding premature curcin 2 protein), but not in the plantlets with the cur2m fragment (coding mature curcin 2 protein). The T1 population of the transgenic lines shows an increased tolerance to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and a fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani by delaying the development of systemic symptoms of TMV and reducing the damage caused by the fungal disease. The increases of the tolerances correspond to the curcin 2 level in the transgenic plants.     

Overexpression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from Jatropha curcas increases fatty acid accumulation in Nicotiana tabacum

Jatropha curcas L. is an excellent biofuel crop, which displays a high efficiency of carbon absorption, and seed oil of Jatropha can be efficiently processed to produce high-quality biodiesel. Plant phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylases (PEPCs) play important roles not only in initial fixation of atmospheric CO₂ in C₄ and Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants, but also in fatty acid biosynthesis in seeds of oil plants by regulating carbon partitioning. Here, we identified JcPEPC1 from J. curcas L. by homology cloning, and alignment analysis of protein sequence revealed JcPEPC1 was a plant C₃-type PEPC, and shared high similarity to PEPC of castor oil plant Ricinus communis. We implemented detailed functional characterization of JcPEPC1 by expression analysis and transgenic tobacco. JcPEPC1 gene expressed in the leaves and seeds of J. curcas L., and remarkable increase of expression level was also detected at seed oil-accumulating stages. We overexpressed JcPEPC1 in tobacco, and showed the enzymatic activity of PEPC in transgenic plants was notably higher than wild type. Gas chromatography (GC) analysis elucidated the composition and total content of fatty acids were also altered. This study indicated JcPEPC1 played a fundamental role in fatty acid biosynthesis in Jatropha seeds. Our results proposed enhanced PEPC activity of Jatropha could improve biosynthesis of fatty acid, which implied critical functions in primary metabolism of non-photosynthetic PEPC.     

JcLEA,a Novel LEA-Like Protein from Jatropha curcas,Confers a High Level of Tolerance to Dehydration and Salinity in Arabidopsis thaliana

Jatropha curcas L. is a highly drought and salt tolerant plant species that is typically used as a traditional folk medicine and biofuel crop in many countries. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie the response to various abiotic environmental stimuli, especially to drought and salt stresses, in J. curcas could be important to crop improvement efforts. In this study, we cloned and characterized the gene for a late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) protein from J. curcas that we designated JcLEA. Sequence analyses showed that the JcLEA protein belongs to group 5, a subgroup of the LEA protein family. In young seedlings, expression of JcLEA is significantly induced by abscisic acid (ABA), dehydration, and salt stress. Subcellular localization analysis shows that that JcLEA protein is distributed in both the nucleus and cytoplasm. Moreover, based on growth status and physiological indices, the overexpression of JcLEA in transgenic Arabidopsis plants conferred increased resistance to both drought and salt stresses compared to the WT. Our data suggests that the group 5 JcLEA protein contributes to drought and salt stress tolerance in plants. Thus, JcLEA is a potential candidate gene for plant genetic modification.