盾叶薯蓣环阿屯醇合酶全长基因的克隆与分析

环阿屯醇合酶(cycloartenol synthase,CAS)是薯蓣皂甙元生物合成途径中的第一个关键酶.以基因组DNA为模板,利用染色体步行和长距离PCR方法首次克隆了盾叶薯蓣CAS全长基因.序列分析比较结果表明,盾叶薯蓣CAS全长基因为7 192 bp,由18个外显子和17个内含子组成.外显子总长为2 280 bp,编码759个氨基酸,最长的外显子为198 bp,最短的为47 bp;内含子总长4 912 bp,最长的内含子为1 551 bp,最短的为68 bp.Southern blot杂交分析表明,CAS基因在盾叶薯蓣基因组中为单拷贝.     

葫芦巴环阿屯醇合酶基因的分离及其对薯蓣皂素合成的影响

以薯蓣皂素合成植物葫芦巴(Trigonella foenum-graecum L.)为材料,从中分离了环阿屯醇合酶基因Tf CAS,并对其序列特征、基因的表达及其对葫芦巴薯蓣皂素生物合成的影响进行了分析。结果显示,该基因全长2271 bp,共编码756个氨基酸;其氨基酸序列与蒺藜苜蓿(Medicago truncatula Gaertn.)、豌豆(Pisum sativum L.)及百脉根(Lotus japonicus L.)环阿屯醇合酶氨基酸序列的同源性分别为94%、91%和89%。利用酵母表达系统对Tf CAS蛋白的生物化学功能进行了验证,结果表明该蛋白能够催化环阿屯醇的合成。进一步利用葫芦巴发根遗传转化体系在葫芦巴中过量表达Tf CAS基因,发现该基因的过量表达大幅提高了Tf CAS的表达,且促进了葫芦巴中β-谷甾醇和薯蓣皂素的生物合成,但与对照相比差异不显著。研究结果表明Tf CAS基因参与了葫芦巴薯蓣皂素的生物合成,但其并非为该合成途径中的限速酶。     

水杨酸对菊叶薯蓣中薯蓣皂素生物合成的影响

薯蓣皂素为甾体激素药物合成起始原料,主要来源于菊叶薯蓣等薯蓣属植物的块茎或根状茎,因而关于提高菊叶薯蓣中薯蓣皂素含量的研究有重要意义。利用水杨酸处理菊叶薯蓣的离体植株,研究其对薯蓣皂素生物合成的影响及作用机制。100μmol·L－1的水杨酸处理使薯蓣皂素积累量最大,且提高了叶绿素含量和可溶性糖含量,降低可溶性蛋白含量。半定量 RT-PCR 检测基因表达发现,除了法尼基二磷酸（FPP）基因,水杨酸增强菊叶薯蓣角鲨烯合酶（SQS）基因、甲基戊二酰辅酶 A 还原酶（HMGR）基因、环阿屯醇合成酶（CAS）基因的表达。研究结果为提高菊叶薯蓣中薯蓣皂苷的含量、揭示水杨酸促进薯蓣皂素生物合成的机制等研究提供了基础。     

丹参环阿屯醇合酶基因克隆及表达分析

以丹参cDNA为模板,克隆了丹参环阿屯醇合酶(cycloartenol synthase,CAS)基因的cDNA序列(SmCAS),对其序列进行生物信息学分析,并采用实时荧光定量PCR方法研究了该基因在丹参不同器官及不同胁迫处理下的表达模式。结果显示:该基因全长2 346bp,包含2 271bp开放阅读框,编码756个氨基酸。预测其编码蛋白分子量为86.16kD,具有氧化鲨烯环化酶超家族典型的DCTAE结构域和QW结构域。该基因推测的氨基酸序列与人参、田七、积雪草、甘草、拟南芥的相似性分别为83%、84%、83%、81%和80%。SmCAS基因在丹参根、茎、叶、花中均有表达,在花中表达量最高;而且SmCAS基因能够响应ABA、低温和干旱的诱导。     

穿龙薯蓣DnSQS基因的克隆及表达分析

角鲨烯合成酶(SQS)是植物甾醇和萜类化合物合成的关键酶之一。为了揭示穿龙薯蓣SQS基因的功能,该研究以穿龙薯蓣cDNA为模板,采用PCR方法克隆DnSQS基因,并对得到的序列进行生物信息学分析。采用HPLC方法检测不同组织的薯蓣皂苷元含量,采用实时荧光定量PCR技术分析DnSQS基因在不同组织、激素诱导及非生物胁迫下的表达特征。结果表明：(1)成功克隆得到穿龙薯蓣2个基因DnSQS1与DnSQS2,二者分别编码409和433个氨基酸,但编码的蛋白二级结构均以α螺旋和无规则卷曲为主,都存在由α螺旋折叠形成的保守催化中心以及2个富含天冬氨酸的功能结构,都具有2个跨膜螺旋结构,并且都定位于内质网。(2)DnSQS1和DnSQS2与盾叶薯蓣DzSQS的亲缘关系较近,2个DnSQS蛋白在进化上相对保守。(3)不同组织的薯蓣皂苷元含量存在差异,其含量大小依次为叶>根状茎>地上茎>根;DnSQS1与DnSQS2基因在不同组织中的表达也具有显著差异,其中DnSQS1在地上茎中表达水平最高,DnSQS2在叶中表达水平最高。(4)以激素MeJA、ABA、SA、Eth及非生物胁迫H     

盾叶薯蓣元素组成特点及其与土壤营养元素的关系研究

盾叶薯蓣(Dioscorea zingiberensis Wright)根状茎与地上部分各元素的含量明显不同,根状茎中含镍、铁、磷、铝量远高于地上部分,镁、钙、锰量远低于地上部分;盾叶磐蓣对钾、锌、铁等元素的吸收量大于农作物;根状拳与地上部分的比值(R2／U2)较大;大量元素在根状茎中的含量(A)及地上部分含量(B)的大小排序差别较大,微量元素含量A、B值的大小排序完全一致。盾叶薯蓣根状茎的皂素平均含量为2．87％,皂素含量与土壤有机质、全氮、全磷、全钾、有效铁、有效锌含量关系密切。薯蓣皂素含量高的盾叶薯蓣集中分布在大巴山北坡东段化龙山脉一线。     

盾叶薯蓣中薯蓣皂甙元不同提取方法的比较

为提高盾叶薯蓣(Dioscorea zingiberensis C.H.Wright)中薯蓣皂甙元得率,在实验室条件下,以薯蓣皂甙元含量为评价指标,采用4因素4水平的正交试验,用高效液相色谱法对16种提取方法所得的薯蓣皂甙元含量进行了比较分析.结果表明,硫酸的浓度对薯蓣皂甙元含量有极显著影响,在实验室条件下,可采用10 g样品加2.0mol·L-1硫酸200 mL水解4 h,水解物用石油醚回流提取5 h,能快速准确提取盾叶薯蓣中的薯蓣皂甙元.     

菊叶薯蓣DcPMK基因克隆及互作蛋白筛选

以菊叶薯蓣为研究材料,采用RT-PCR技术克隆获得DcPMK基因,进行生物信息学、组织特异性和诱导表达分析,并构建DcPMK的诱饵载体以筛选拟南芥酵母文库中互作蛋白,为深入研究菊叶薯蓣萜类物质的合成积累提供一定理论基础。结果表明：DcPMK基因开放阅读框大小为1 536 bp(GenBank登录号MZ171241),编码511个氨基酸。蛋白质序列比对分析发现DcPMK与近源种基因序列一致性达88.85%,具有1个保守的ATP结合位点Gly-X-Gly-XX-Ala。N-J进化树显示DcPMK与海枣（Phoenix dactylifera）等单子叶植物的遗传距离较近。HPLC结果显示菊叶薯蓣皂素主要在根茎中积累,qRT-PCR结果表明DcPMK基因在各组织中均有表达,在老茎中表达量最高,根茎中表达量最低;水杨酸诱导后皂素含量的变化与DcPMK表达量的变化趋势吻合：随着叶片中皂素含量提高,DcPMK上调表达。与阴性对照相比,DcPMK基因没有自激活性和细胞毒性,并筛选到27个互作明显的拟南芥基因,如生长发育相关基因AtKCR1(AT1G67730)、AtRPS9M(AT3G49080)、A...     

内生镰刀菌Dzf17多糖对盾叶薯蓣培养物薯蓣皂苷元积累的促进作用(英文)

从盾叶薯蓣(Dioscorea zingiberensis)内生镰刀菌(Fusarium oxysporum)Dzf17制备出胞外多糖(EPS)、菌丝水提多糖(WPS)和菌丝碱提多糖(SPS),研究了这3种多糖对盾叶薯蓣幼苗和细胞培养物薯蓣皂苷元积累的影响。3种多糖中,菌丝水提多糖对盾叶薯蓣幼苗和细胞培养物薯蓣皂苷元的积累有最明显的促进作用。向培养基中添加20 mg/L的菌丝水提多糖培养盾叶薯蓣幼苗和细胞,薯蓣皂苷元的产率分别为10.04 mg/L和2.40mg/L,是对照的3.11倍和3.87倍。结果表明,可以利用内生镰刀菌Dzf17多糖有效提高盾叶薯蓣培养物中薯蓣皂苷元的产量。     

4种薯蓣属植物的分子鉴别和亲缘关系研究

为揭示薯蓣属植物的亲缘关系,根据叶绿体matK、rbcL、trnL-F和psbA-trnH序列片段,对小花盾叶薯蓣(Dioscorea sinopatviflora)、盾叶薯蓣(D.zingibiernsis)、黄独(D.bulbifera)和山药(D.polystachya)进行种间分子鉴别研究,并探讨这4个片段在薯蓣属植物系统发育上的意义。结果表明,4种薯蓣属植物共22份材料的matK、rbcL、trnL-F和psbA-trnH序列片段的长度分别为1026~1142 bp、1156~1178 bp、744~822 bp和355~599 bp。用PAUP 4.0b10和贝叶斯推断构建的系统发育树分析表明,云南的黄独与盾叶薯蓣的亲缘关系较近;小花盾叶薯蓣与盾叶薯蓣的亲缘关系很近;而非洲的黄独与云南的黄独的亲缘关系很远。但仅用这4个cpDNA片段还不能完全区分小花盾叶薯蓣和盾叶薯蓣,这说明基于这4个序列片段的系统发育证据与4种薯蓣属植物属内的分类划分并不十分吻合。     

Squalene cyclase and oxidosqualene cyclase from a fern

Ferns are the most primitive vascular plants. The phytosterols of ferns are the same as those of higher plants, but they produce characteristic triterpenes. The most distinct feature is the lack of oxygen functionality at C-3, suggesting that the triterpenes of ferns may be biosynthesized by direct cyclization of squalene. To obtain some insights into the molecular bases for the biosynthesis of triterpenes in ferns, we cloned ACX, an oxidosqualene cyclase homologue, encoding a cycloartenol synthase (CAS) and ACH, a squalene cyclase homologue, encoding a 22-hydroxyhopane synthase from Adiantum capillus-veneris. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that ACH is located in the cluster of bacterial SCs, while ACX is in the cluster of higher plant CASs.     

Plant lanosterol synthase: divergence of the sterol and triterpene biosynthetic pathways in eukaryotes

Sterols, essential eukaryotic constituents, are biosynthesized through either cyclic triterpenes, lanosterol (fungi and animals) or cycloartenol (plants). The cDNA for OSC7 of Lotus japonicus was shown to encode lanosterol synthase (LAS) by the complementation of a LAS-deficient mutant yeast and structural identification of the accumulated lanosterol. A double site-directed mutant of OSC7, in which amino acid residues crucial for the reaction specificity were changed to the cycloartenol synthase (CAS) type, produced parkeol and cycloartenol. The multiple amino acid sequence alignment of a conserved region suggests that the LAS of different eukaryotic lineages emerged from the ancestral CAS by convergent evolution.     

Plant Oxidosqualene Metabolism: Cycloartenol Synthase–Dependent Sterol Biosynthesis in Nicotiana benthamiana

The plant sterol pathway exhibits a major biosynthetic difference as compared with that of metazoans. The committed sterol precursor is the pentacyclic cycloartenol (9β,19-cyclolanost-24-en-3β-ol) and not lanosterol (lanosta-8,24-dien-3β-ol), as it was shown in the late sixties. However, plant genome mining over the last years revealed the general presence of lanosterol synthases encoding sequences (LAS1) in the oxidosqualene cyclase repertoire, in addition to cycloartenol synthases (CAS1) and to non-steroidal triterpene synthases that contribute to the metabolic diversity of C₃₀H₅₀O compounds on earth. Furthermore, plant LAS1 proteins have been unambiguously identified by peptidic signatures and by their capacity to complement the yeast lanosterol synthase deficiency. A dual pathway for the synthesis of sterols through lanosterol and cycloartenol was reported in the model Arabidopsis thaliana, though the contribution of a lanosterol pathway to the production of 24-alkyl-Δ⁵-sterols was quite marginal (Ohyama et al. (2009) PNAS 106, 725). To investigate further the physiological relevance of CAS1 and LAS1 genes in plants, we have silenced their expression in Nicotiana benthamiana. We used virus induced gene silencing (VIGS) based on gene specific sequences from a Nicotiana tabacum CAS1 or derived from the solgenomics initiative (http://solgenomics.net/) to challenge the respective roles of CAS1 and LAS1. In this report, we show a CAS1-specific functional sterol pathway in engineered yeast, and a strict dependence on CAS1 of tobacco sterol biosynthesis.     

Morphological correlates of tail length in the catarrhine sacrum

Taillessness is a distinctive synapomorphy of the Hominoidea that has implications for interpretation of the locomotor behaviors and phylogenetic affinities of the clade’s earliest members. However, difficulties persist in confidently identifying taillessness in the catarrhine fossil record, stemming largely from our limited knowledge of the anatomical features with which the tail is associated. Here, we compare the morphology of the sacrum, the sole bony link between the tail and the rest of the body, among extant tailless hominoids and a broad sample of extant cercopithecoids known to vary in tail length (i.e., ‘very short’, ‘short’, and ‘long’) in order to identify morphological correlates of tail length. We examine three features of the sacrum, including the shape of the sacrum’s caudal articular surface (CAS), the sacrocaudal articulation (SCA) angle, and the lateral expansion of the last sacral vertebra’s transverse processes. Compared with all other taxa, ‘long’-tailed cercopithecoids have significantly more circularly-shaped CASs, more acute SCA angles, and more laterally expanded transverse processes of the last sacral vertebra. Tailless hominoids have significantly more elliptically-shaped CASs and less laterally expanded transverse processes than all tailed cercopithecoids, but in the latter parameter, they only differ significantly from ‘long’-tailed cercopithecoids. Cercopithecoids with ‘short’ and ‘very short’ tails are intermediate between tailless hominoids and ‘long’-tailed cercopithecoids with respect to CAS shape and lateral expansion of the transverse processes. SCA angle distinguishes clearly among all three cercopithecoid tail length groups. The results of this study provide evidence for significant differences in sacral morphology among extant catarrhines known to differ in tail length, and have implications for making inferences about tail length and function in extinct catarrhines.     

Cloning and functional expression of cycloartenol synthases from mangrove species Rhizophora stylosa Griff. and Kandelia candel (L.) Druce

To obtain cDNAs encoding oxidosqualene cyclase (OSC), we cloned two cDNAs, KcCAS and RsCAS, from roots of Kandelia candel (L.) Druce and leaves of Rhizophora stylosa Griff. by homology based PCR method respectively. The deduced amino acid sequences of both OSCs showed 82% homology to cycloartenol synthases from Lotus japonicus (OSC5) and Ricinus cummunis (RcCAS), suggesting that these are cycloartenol synthases of K. candel and R. stylosa. The genes obtained were expressed in a lanosterol synthase deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ERG7) strain, GIL77. GC-MS analysis identified the accumulated reaction product in the yeast transformant to be cycloartenol, indicating that both KcCAS and RsCAS encode cycloartenol synthase.     

Cloning and Functional Expression of Cycloartenol Synthases from Mangrove Species Rhizophora stylosa Griff. and Kandelia candel (L.) Druce

To obtain cDNAs encoding oxidosqualene cyclase (OSC), we cloned two cDNAs, KcCAS and RsCAS, from roots of Kandelia candel (L.) Druce and leaves of Rhizophora stylosa Griff. by homology based PCR method respectively. The deduced amino acid sequences of both OSCs showed 82% homology to cycloartenol synthases from Lotus japonicus (OSC5) and Ricinus cummunis (RcCAS), suggesting that these are cycloartenol synthases of K. candel and R. stylosa. The genes obtained were expressed in a lanosterol synthase deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ERG7) strain, GIL77. GC–MS analysis identified the accumulated reaction product in the yeast transformant to be cycloartenol, indicating that both KcCAS and RsCAS encode cycloartenol synthase.     

Characterization of an Arabidopsis thaliana Homologue of the Nuclear Export Receptor CAS by its Interaction with Importinα

Abstract: We have previously described four genes encoding different Importin α-like proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana . Here we describe the putative nuclear export receptor for Importin α. Using protein interaction assays in the yeast two-hybrid system, we characterized an Arabidopsis protein showing high similarity to human CAS, the nuclear export receptor for Importin α. Arabidopsis CAS specifically bound to four different plant Importin α proteins but not to proteins containing leucine-rich nuclear export signals (NESs) that are recognized by Exportin 1 (XPO1/CRM1). Like all members of the Importin β family, Arabidopsis CAS also interacted with the regulatory GTPase Ran. Deletion of 15 amino acid residues from the amino terminus of CAS abolished binding of Importin α, but did not influence the interaction with the GTPase Ran. We found two regions of Importin α1 that profoundly influence the binding to CAS: the amino terminal Importin beta-binding (IBB) domain and the carboxy terminus. Whereas the IBB domain did not directly bind to CAS, but might rather affect the interaction through conformational changes within the Importin α protein, the carboxy terminal domain strongly interacted with CAS.