辽宁碱蓬胆碱单加氧酶基因克隆及转基因烟草的耐盐性

甜菜碱是生物体内普遍存在的一种很有效的渗透调节剂.在高等植物中,甜菜碱由胆碱经两步酶催氧化得到,即:胆碱→甜菜碱醛→甜菜碱,催化第一步反应的酶是胆碱单加氧酶(choline monooxygenase,CMO).用RT-PCR和RACE技术从盐生植物辽宁碱蓬(Suaeda liaotungensis Kitag)中分离了CMO cDNA全序列,其中包括5′端非编码区123 bp, 3′端非编码区368 bp, 开放阅读框1 329 bp,编码一个由442个氨基酸构成的多肽,与菠菜、甜菜和山菠菜CMO的氨基酸序列同源性分别为77%、72% 和74%.克隆了其编码区,构建了植物表达载体pBI121-CMO,根癌土壤杆菌(Agrobacterium tumefaciens)介导转化烟草(Nictiana tabacum L.cv.89),获得卡那霉素抗性植株.PCR和Southern杂交均证明外源CMO基因已整合到烟草基因组中,转基因烟草的甜菜碱含量明显高于对照,转基因烟草膜的相对电导率明显低于对照,说明盐胁迫下转基因烟草的膜结构所受损伤小于对照,转基因烟草具有一定的耐盐性,能在含250 mmol/L NaCl的培养基中正常生长.     

辽宁碱蓬胆碱单加氧酶基因克隆及转基因烟草的耐盐性

甜菜碱是生物体内普遍存在的一种很有效的渗透调节剂。在高等植物中,甜菜碱由胆碱经两步酶催氧化得到,即：胆碱→甜菜碱醛→甜菜碱,催化第一步反应的酶是胆碱单加氧酶（choline monooxygenase,CMO)。用RT-PCR和RACE技术从盐生植物辽宁碱蓬（Suaeda liaotungensis Kitag)中分离了CMOcDNA全序列,其中包括5′端非编码区123bp,3′端非编码区368bp。开放阅读框1329bp,编码一个由442个氨基酸构成的多肽,与菠菜,甜菜和山菠菜CMO的氨基酸序列同源性分别为77%,72%和74%。克隆了其编码区。构建了植物表达载体pBI121-CMO。根癌土壤杆菌（Agrobacterium tumefaciens)介导转化烟草（Nictiana tabacumL.cv.89),获得卡那霉素抗性植株,PCR和Southern杂交均证明外源CMO基因已整合到烟草基因组中,转基因烟草的甜菜碱含量明显高于对照。转基因烟草膜的相对电导率明显低于对照,说明盐胁迫下转基因烟草的膜结构所受损伤小于对照。转基因烟草具有一定的耐盐性。能在含250mmol/LNaCl的培养基中正常生长。     

梭梭CMO基因的克隆与植物表达载体的构建

采用RT-PCR、RACE等方法从超旱生耐盐植物梭梭(Haloxylon ammodendron)中扩增出甜菜碱合成过程中的限速酶胆碱单加氧酶(CMO)编码基因的cDNA序列(命名为HaCMO),其开放阅读框为1 344 bp,推测的氨基酸序列全长为447个氨基酸残基.根据已获得的开放阅读框,构建重组植物表达载体pCAMBIA2300-HaCMO.HaCMO核苷酸序列与藜科几种盐生植物如菠菜(Spinacia oleracea)、山菠菜(Atriplex hortensis)、辽宁碱蓬(Suaeda liaotungensis)、盐角草(Salicornia europaea)和甜菜(Beta vulgaris)等的一致性均在74.5%以上,推导编码蛋白的氨基酸序列一致性均在73.5%以上,表明CMO编码基因在藜科植物中是一种比较保守的基因.研究结果为进一步从分子水平探明梭梭的抗旱、耐盐机制,挖掘并利用植物抗逆基因奠定了基础.     

杜氏盐藻psaB基因cDNA的克隆与序列分析

根据真核生物莱茵衣藻(Chlamydomonas reinhardtii)、Chlamydomonas moewusii、Chlorella vulgaris以及Mesostigma viride的psaB基因的氨基酸高度保守序列,设计一对简并引物,利用TRIzol试剂提取杜氏盐藻（Dunaliella salina）细胞的总RNA,通过RT-PCR,得到的一段长为1.8kb左右的cDNA片段。PCR产物经T-A克隆并测序分析以及测序结果推导成氨基酸序列进行同源性比较,表明所克隆的1815bp序列为杜氏盐藻psaB cDNA片段,GenBank收录号为AY820754。根据已经得到的psaB序列推导成氨基酸序列与一些已知物种的psaB基因相比较,同源性分别为Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 92%,Chlamydomonas moewusii 91%,Chlorella vulgaris 86% , Mesostigma viride 85%,Physcomitrella patens subsp.Patens 85%, Nephroselmis olivacea 84%。据此可推断本实验中所克隆的序列为杜氏盐藻psaBcDNA序列。     

单引物方法克隆盐角草orf25基因

采用单引物RTPCR扩增的方法,从新疆野生植物盐角草（Salicornia europaea）中克隆获得了1.7kb的cDNA片段,经过测序和序列分析,发现基因片段包含了orf25基因完整的读码框架。采用序列同源性分析方法,结果显示新疆盐角草orf25基因与甜菜线粒体同源性高达98%,与烟草线粒体同源性达到95%,与小麦同源性为92%,与玉米同源性为88%,表明orf25 基因在植物中是高度保守的一种基因, 同时说明野生植物盐角草中也存在与农作物相似的雄性不育相关基因,orf25 基因编码的功能性蛋白可能在影响植物雄性不育改良作物品种方面具有重要的意义。     

菜甜菜碱醛脱氢酶基因的克隆和序列分析

以耐盐的菠菜mRNA为横板．经反转录合成甜菜碱醛脱氢酶(BADH)基因第一链cDNA。在人工合成的两端引物引导下,通过多聚酶链式反应(PCR)。扩增获得双链cDNA。把重组有BADH基因的pucl9转化至E．Coli DH5a菌株,亚克隆后测定了基因的全序列。所得到的BADH基因全长序列为1491bp,编码497个氨基酸。与文献报道的相比较,核苷酸序列同源性99．8％．氨基酸序列同源性达99．6％。在此基础上,构建了BADH基因的高等植物表达载体．     

吸水链霉菌Streptomyces hygroscopicus 17997中噬菌体基因转移系统的建立及其应用

由吸水链霉菌Streptomyces hygroscopicus 17997产生的格尔德霉素geldanamycin(GA)属安莎类抗生素, 具有良好的抗肿瘤和抗病毒活性。本文应用链霉菌温和噬菌体C31衍生的KC515载体,在吸水链霉菌S.hygroscopicus 17997中建立并优化了S. hygroscopicus　17997的基因转染体系。利用所建立的基因转染体系,以基因阻断技术从S. hygroscopicus 17997基因文库含有多组PKS基因柯斯质粒中,鉴定了与GA PKS生物合成相关基因的柯斯质粒,该工作为GA生物合成基因簇的克隆奠定了基础。     

中度嗜盐细菌Halomonas sp. BYS-1甜菜碱醛脱氢酶基因的克隆和表达

Halomonas sp.BYS1是一株能矿化苯乙酸的中度嗜盐细菌,该菌能在0～20% NaCl 的条件下生长。甜菜碱是其主要渗透保护剂,通过在培养基中添加甜菜碱合成前体(胆碱、甘氨酸)的方法发现它能以胆碱为前体合成甜菜碱。通过PCR的方法克隆了甜菜碱醛脱氢酶基因(betB),测序后在大肠杆菌中进行了高效表达,表达产物占菌体总蛋白的31.5%,酶活为38.5 U/mg,为构建耐盐的转基因植物提供了材料。     

圈卷产色链霉菌尼可霉素生物合成基因——sanH和sanI的研究

通过反向遗传学方法克隆到圈卷产色链霉菌尼可霉素生物合成基因簇中约7.0kb的DNA片段。该片段除含有尼可霉素生物合成基因sanF外,对sanF上游约22kb的BglⅡDNA片段进行序列测定及分析表明,还含有两个完整的开放阅读框(ORF)。ORF1由1233个核苷酸组成,ORF2由195个核苷酸组成,它们分别编码由410个氨基酸残基和64个氨基酸残基组成的蛋白质,依次命名为sanH和sanI。蛋白序列数据库比较结果表明,SanH和SanI与浅灰链霉菌(\%Streptomyces griseolus)\%中共转录的细胞色素P450(cytochrome P450)和铁氧还蛋白(ferredoxin)有较高的同源性,一致性分别为46%和56%,相似性分别为62%和70%。基因功能研究表明,sanH基因的破坏虽不影响圈卷产色链霉菌产生的尼可霉素的生物活性,但该基因可能参与了尼可霉素羟基化反应的生物合成。     

盐生植物盐爪爪甜菜碱醛脱氢酶基因的克隆及在盐胁迫下的BADH基因的表达

根据已发表的几种藜科植物甜菜碱醛脱氢酶(BADH)基因的同源保守区设计了一对引物,采用RT-PCR方法从盐生植物盐爪爪(Kalidium foliatum)中扩增出BADH基因的1个开放阅读框架,其核苷酸序列长1503bp,推测的氨基酸序列全长为500个氨基酸残基。核苷酸序列与藜科几种盐生植物如滨藜、碱蓬、菠菜、山菠菜和甜菜等的同源性为81%,与甜土植物水稻的同源性为69%。氨基酸序列与以上两类植物(盐生植物和甜土植物)的同源性比对为80%和71%,说明BADH基因在藜科盐生植物中是一种较高保守的基因。BADH基因编码的多肽在高等植物中行使重要的功能。用不同浓度的NaCl胁迫处理盐爪爪植株,BADHmRNA的表达水平比对照植株高,说明盐爪爪BADH基因的表达受盐诱导,间接说明甜菜碱醛脱氢酶催化合成的甜菜碱作为渗透调节的小分子物质,它的积累与盐胁迫存在紧密关联,本研究为进一步从生理和分子水平阐明盐爪爪的耐盐机制提供一定的参考。     

Osmotic Stress Induces Expression of Choline Monooxygenase in Sugar Beet and Amaranth

Choline monooxygenase (CMO) catalyzes the committing step in the synthesis of glycine betaine, an osmoprotectant accumulated by many plants in response to salinity and drought. To investigate how these stresses affect CMO expression, a spinach (Spinacia oleracea L., Chenopodiaceae) probe was used to isolate CMO cDNAs from sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L., Chenopodiaceae), a salt- and drought-tolerant crop. The deduced beet CMO amino acid sequence comprised a transit peptide and a 381-residue mature peptide that was 84% identical (97% similar) to that of spinach and that showed the same consensus motif for coordinating a Rieske-type [2Fe-2S] cluster. A mononuclear Fe-binding motif was also present. When water was withheld, leaf relative water content declined to 59% and the levels of CMO mRNA, protein, and enzyme activity rose 3- to 5-fold; rewatering reversed these changes. After gradual salinization (NaCl:CaCl₂ = 5.7:1, mol/mol), CMO mRNA, protein, and enzyme levels in leaves increased 3- to 7-fold at 400 mm salt, and returned to uninduced levels when salt was removed. Beet roots also expressed CMO, most strongly when salinized. Salt-inducible CMO mRNA, protein, and enzyme activity were readily detected in leaves of Amaranthus caudatus L. (Amaranthaceae). These data show that CMO most probably has a mononuclear Fe center, is inducibly expressed in roots as well as in leaves of Chenopodiaceae, and is not unique to this family.     

Metabolic engineering of glycine betaine synthesis: plant betaine aldehyde dehydrogenases lacking typical transit peptides are targeted to tobacco chloroplasts where they confer betaine aldehyde resistance

Certain higher plants synthesize and accumulate glycine betaine, a compound with osmoprotectant properties. Biosynthesis of glycine betaine proceeds via the pathway choline betaine aldehyde glycine betaine. Plants such as tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) which do not accumulate glycine betaine lack the enzymes catalyzing both reactions. As a step towards engineering glycine betaine accumulation into a non-accumulator, spinach and sugar beet complementary-DNA sequences encoding the second enzyme of glycine-betaine synthesis (betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase, BADH, EC 1.2.1.8) were expressed in tobacco. Despite the absence of a typical transit peptide, BADH was targeted to the chloroplast in leaves of transgenic plants. Levels of extractable BADH were comparable to those in spinach and sugar beet, and the molecular weight, isoenzyme profile and K _m for betaine aldehyde of the BADH enzymes from transgenic plants were the same as for native spinach or sugar beet BADH. Transgenic plants converted supplied betaine aldehyde to glycine betaine at high rates, demonstrating that they were able to transport betaine aldehyde across both the plasma membrane and the chloroplast envelope. The glycine betaine produced in this way was not further metabolized and reached concentrations similar to those in plants which accumulate glycine betaine naturally. Betaine aldehyde was toxic to non-transformed tobacco tissues whereas transgenic tissues were resistant due to detoxification of betaine aldehyde to glycine betaine. Betaine aldehyded ehydrogenase is therefore of interest as a potential selectable marker, as well as in the metabolic engineering of osmoprotectant biosynthesis.Abbreviations BADH betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase - bp base pairs - FAB-MS fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry - GAPDH NADP-linked glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase We thank Dr. G. An for the gift of the vector pGA643 and Mr. Sylvain Lebeurier for help in maintaining plants. This work was supported, in part, by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and by gifts from CIBAGEIGY Biotechnology.     

Salt-inducible betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase from sugar beet: cDNA cloning and expression

Members of the Chenopodiaceae, such as sugar beet and spinach, accumulate glycine betaine in response to salinity or drought stress. The last enzyme in the glycine betaine biosynthetic pathway is betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH). In sugar beet the activity of BADH was found to increase two- to four-fold in both leaves and roots as the NaCl level in the irrigation solution was raised from 0 to 500 mM. This increase in BADH activity was paralleled by an increase in level of translatable BADH mRNA. Several cDNAs encoding BADH were cloned from a gt10 libary representing poly(A)⁺ RNA from salinized leaves of sugar beet plants, by hybridization with a spinach BADH cDNA. Three nearly full-length cDNA clones were confirmed to encode BADH by their nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence identity to spinach BADH; these clones showed minor nucleotide sequence differences consistent with their being of two different BADH alleles. The clones averaged 1.7 kb and contained an open reading frame predicting a polypeptide of 500 amino acids with 83% identity to spinach BADH. RNA gel blot analysis of total RNA showed that salinization to 500 mM NaCl increased BADH mRNA levels four-fold in leaves and three-fold in the taproot. DNA gel blot analyses indicated the presence of at least two copies of BADH in the haploid sugar beet genome.     

Compatibility of glycinebetaine in rice plants: evaluation using transgenic rice plants with a gene for peroxisomal betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase from barley

Glycinebetaine is synthesized in plants by the two‐step oxidation of choline, with betaine aldehyde as the intermediate. The reactions are catalyzed by choline mono‐oxygenase and betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase. Rice plants, which do not accumulate glycinebetaine, possess a gene encoding betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase, whose activity is detectable at low levels. To evaluate the compatibility in rice of glycinebetaine on growth and tolerance to salt, cold and heat, we produced transgenic rice plants by introduction of a cDNA for betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase of barley, which is localized in peroxisomes unlike the chloroplast‐specific localization of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase in spinach and sugar beet. The transgenic rice plants converted high levels of exogenously applied betaine aldehyde (up to 10 mol m^–3) to glycinebetaine more efficiently than did wild‐type plants. The elevated level of glycinebetaine in transgenic plants conferred significant tolerance to salt, cold and heat stress. However, very high levels of glycinebetaine, resulting from conversion of applied betaine aldehyde to glycinebetaine or from exogenous application, inhibited increases in length of rice plants but not increases in dry weight. Our results suggested that the benefits of accumulation of glycinebetaine by rice plants might be considerable under high light conditions.     

Assay,Purification, and Partial Characterization of Choline Monooxygenase from Spinach

The osmoprotectant glycine betaine is synthesized via the path-way choline -> betaine aldehyde -> glycine betaine. In spinach (Spinacia oleracea), the first step is catalyzed by choline monooxygenase (CMO), and the second is catalyzed by betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase. Because betaine aldehyde is unstable and not easily detected, we developed a coupled radiometric assay for CMO. [14C]Choline is used as substrate; NAD+ and betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase prepared from Escherichia coli are added to oxidize [14C]betaine aldehyde to [14C]glycine betaine, which is isolated by ion exchange. The assay was used in the purification of CMO from leaves of salinized spinach. The 10-step procedure included polyethylene glycol precipitation, polyethyleneimine precipitation, hydrophobic interaction, anion exchange on choline-Sepharose, dimethyldiethanolamine-Sepharose, and Mono Q, hydroxyapatite, gel filtration, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Following gel filtration, overall purification was about 600-fold and recovery of activity was 0.5%. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed a polypeptide with a molecular mass of 45 kD. Taken with the value of 98 kD estimated for native CMO (R. Brouquisse, P. Weigel, D. Rhodes, C.F. Yocum, A.D. Hanson [1989] Plant Physiol 90: 322-329), this indicates that CMO is a homodimer. CMO preparations were red-brown, showed absorption maxima at 329 and 459 nm, and lost color upon dithionite addition, suggesting that CMO is an iron-sulfur protein.     

Regulation of betaine synthesis by precursor supply and choline monooxygenase expression in Amaranthus tricolor

In plants, betaine is synthesized upon abiotic stress via choline oxidation, in which choline monooxygenase (CMO) is a key enzyme. Although it had been thought that betaine synthesis is well regulated to protect abiotic stress, it is shown here that an exogenous supply of precursors such as choline, serine, and glycine in the betaine-accumulating plant Amaranthus tricolor further enhances the accumulation of betaine under salt stress, but not under normal conditions. Addition of isonicotinic acid hydrazide, an inhibitor of glycine decarboxylase, inhibited the salinity-induced accumulation of betaine. Salt-induced accumulation of A. tricolor CMO (AmCMO) and betaine was much slower in roots than in leaves, and a transient accumulation of proline was observed in the roots. Antisense expression of AmCMO mRNA suppressed the salt-induced accumulation of AmCMO and betaine, but increased the level of choline approximately 2- 3-fold. This indicates that betaine synthesis is highly regulated by AmCMO expression. The genomic DNA, including the upstream region (1.6 kbp), of AmCMO was isolated. Deletion analysis of the AmCMO promoter region revealed that the 410 bp fragment upstream of the translation start codon contains the sequence responsive to salt stress. These data reveal that the promoter sequence of CMO, in addition to precursor supply, is important for the accumulation of betaine in the betaine-accumulating plant A. tricolor.     

Functional characterization of choline monooxygenase,an enzyme for betaine synthesis in plants

In plants, the first step in betaine synthesis was shown to be catalyzed by a novel Rieske-type iron-sulfur enzyme, choline monooxygenase (CMO). Although CMO so far has been found only in Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae, the recent genome sequence suggests the presence of a CMO-like gene in Arabidopsis, a betaine non-accumulating plant. Here, we examined the functional properties of CMO expressed in Escherichia coli, cyanobacterium, and Arabidopsis thaliana. We found that E. coli cells in which choline dehydrogenase (CDH) was replaced with spinach CMO accumulate betaine and complement the salt-sensitive phenotype of the CDH-deleted E. coli mutant. Changes of Cys-181 in spinach CMO to Ser, Thr, and Ala and His-287 to Gly, Val, and Ala abolished the accumulation of betaine. The Arabidopsis CMO-like gene was transcribed in Arabidopsis, but its protein was not detected. When the Arabidopsis CMO-like gene was expressed in E. coli, the protein was detected but was found not to promote betaine sysnthesis. Overexpression of spinach CMO in E. coli, Synechococcus sp. PCC7942, and Arabidopsis conferred resistance to abiotic stress. These facts clearly indicate that CMO, but not the CMO-like protein, could oxidize choline and that Cys-181 and His-287 are involved in the binding of Fe-S cluster and Fe, respectively.