Likelihood Analysis of the Chalcone Synthase Genes Suggests the Role of Positive Selection in Morning Glories (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ipomoea</Emphasis>)

Chalcone synthase (CHS) is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of flavonoides, which are important for the pigmentation of flowers and act as attractants to pollinators. Genes encoding CHS constitute a multigene family in which the copy number varies among plant species and functional divergence appears to have occurred repeatedly. In morning glories (Ipomoea), five functional CHS genes (A–E) have been described. Phylogenetic analysis of the Ipomoea CHS gene family revealed that CHS A, B, and C experienced accelerated rates of amino acid substitution relative to CHS D and E. To examine whether the CHS genes of the morning glories underwent adaptive evolution, maximum-likelihood models of codon substitution were used to analyze the functional sequences in the Ipomoea CHS gene family. These models used the nonsynonymous/synonymous rate ratio ( = d_N/d_S) as an indicator of selective pressure and allowed the ratio to vary among lineages or sites. Likelihood ratio test suggested significant variation in selection pressure among amino acid sites, with a small proportion of them detected to be under positive selection along the branches ancestral to CHS A, B, and C. Positive Darwinian selection appears to have promoted the divergence of subfamily ABC and subfamily DE and is at least partially responsible for a rate increase following gene duplication.     

百合查尔酮合成酶(CHS)基因的克隆与分析

以东方百合“索邦”基因组DNA为模板进行PCR扩增,将得到的目的片段克隆至pGEM-T easy载体后进行测序.结果表明,目的序列全长1 307 bp,经BLA ST分析,与鸢尾、玉米、水稻等植物的查尔酮合成酶(CHS)基因核苷酸同源性在70%以上;与已经克隆的CHS cDNA序列相比,CHS DNA序列中包含2个外显子和1个内含子,内含子全长82 bp,符合TG-AG特征.将得到的序列提交G enB ank,序列号为DQ 471951.     

Identification and Characterization of Chalcone Synthase Gene Family Members in Nicotiana tabacum

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Chalcone synthase (CHS, EC 2.3.1.74) is a member of the plant polyketide synthase superfamily; it catalyzes the first committed step in the flavonoid...     

百合查尔酮合成酶基因克隆及其转化烟草的花色表达分析

以‘西伯利亚’百合为试材,利用PCR技术克隆了查尔酮合成酶基因(CHS),构建了CHS基因的正义和反义植物表达载体,采用农杆菌介导法转化烟草叶盘,获得了转正义CHS基因的本明烟草18株,转反义CHS基因的普通烟草21株,总转化率为26.0%。高效液相色谱法(HPLC)检测结果显示,正义CHS转基因的本明烟草类黄酮含量升高14.0%～59.7%,反义CHS转基因的普通烟草类黄酮含量降低44.5%～76.4%。花色观察结果显示,正义转基因烟草的花瓣颜色未见变化,反义转基因烟草部分植株的花瓣颜色变浅。研究表明,CHS基因遗传转化是进行花色调控的有效手段之一。     

Identification of Unique Type II Polyketide Synthase Genes in Soil

Many bacteria, particularly actinomycetes, are known to produce secondary metabolites synthesized by polyketide synthases (PKS). Bacterial polyketides are a particularly rich source of bioactive molecules, many of which are of potential pharmaceutical relevance. To directly access PKS gene diversity from soil, we developed degenerate PCR primers for actinomycete type II KS_α (ketosynthase) genes. Twenty-one soil samples were collected from diverse sources in New Jersey, and their bacterial communities were compared by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) analysis of PCR products generated using bacterial 16S rRNA gene primers (27F and 1525R) as well as an actinomycete-specific forward primer. The distribution of actinomycetes was highly variable but correlated with the overall bacterial species composition as determined by TRFLP. Two samples were identified to contain a particularly rich and unique actinomycete community based on their TRFLP patterns. The same samples also contained the greatest diversity of KS_α genes as determined by TRFLP analysis of KS_α PCR products. KS_α PCR products from these and three additional samples with interesting TRFLP pattern were cloned, and seven novel clades of KS_α genes were identified. Greatest sequence diversity was observed in a sample containing a moderate number of peaks in its KS_α TRFLP. The nucleotide sequences were between 74 and 81% identical to known sequences in GenBank. One cluster of sequences was most similar to the KS_α involved in ardacin (glycopeptide antibiotic) production by Kibdelosporangium aridum. The remaining sequences showed greatest similarity to the KS_α genes in pathways producing the angucycline-derived antibiotics simocyclinone, pradimicin, and jasomycin.     

Identification of Genes Associated with Chlorophyll Accumulation in Flower Petals

Plants have an ability to prevent chlorophyll accumulation, which would mask the bright flower color, in their petals. In contrast, leaves contain substantial amounts of chlorophyll, as it is essential for photosynthesis. The mechanisms of organ-specific chlorophyll accumulation are unknown. To identify factors that determine the chlorophyll content in petals, we compared the expression of genes related to chlorophyll metabolism in different stages of non-green (red and white) petals (very low chlorophyll content), pale-green petals (low chlorophyll content), and leaves (high chlorophyll content) of carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.). The expression of many genes encoding chlorophyll biosynthesis enzymes, in particular Mg-chelatase, was lower in non-green petals than in leaves. Non-green petals also showed higher expression of genes involved in chlorophyll degradation, including STAY-GREEN gene and pheophytinase. These data suggest that the absence of chlorophylls in carnation petals may be caused by the low rate of chlorophyll biosynthesis and high rate of degradation. Similar results were obtained by the analysis of Arabidopsis microarray data. In carnation, most genes related to chlorophyll biosynthesis were expressed at similar levels in pale-green petals and leaves, whereas the expression of chlorophyll catabolic genes was higher in pale-green petals than in leaves. Therefore, we hypothesize that the difference in chlorophyll content between non-green and pale-green petals is due to different levels of chlorophyll biosynthesis. Our study provides a basis for future molecular and genetic studies on organ-specific chlorophyll accumulation.     

百合查尔酮合成酶基因的克隆与分析

以西伯利亚百合为试材,通过半巢式PCR和RT-PCR技术分别克隆了查尔酮合成酶基因(CHS)的DNA和cDNA.生物信息学分析显示,CHS的DNA序列全长1 397 bp(登录号HM622754),包含2个外显子和1个内含子;cDNA序列编码区全长1 182 bp(登录号HQ161731),编码393个氨基酸,具有3个典型的CHS蛋白结构域:N-末端结构域(Lys3-Pro229)、C-末端结构域(Gln239-Pro389)和聚合酶Ⅲ结构域(Met1-Thr391);不同百合品种的CHS基因编码的氨基酸序列相似性高达98%,表明百合CHS基因在进化上呈现出十分保守的趋势;不同植物CHS基因序列的系统进化邻接树结果表明:百合与单子叶植物鸢尾及禾本科的水稻、大麦、玉米等亲缘关系更为接近.     

普通菜豆抗炭疽病基因鉴定与分子标记

菜豆炭疽病是世界菜豆生产中的主要病害之一,使幕豆产量和品质受到严重影响,对抗炭疽病基因的研究可以为培育抗炭疽病品种奠定基础。幕豆炭疽病病菌生理分化比较复杂,由于菜豆品种的抗病性和地域不同,菜豆炭疽菌的致病性分化不同。10个已知抗炭疽病基因中,9个基因（Co-1、Co-2、Co-3／Co-9、Co-4^2、Co-5、Co-6、Co-7、Co-10）已被确认为独立显性基因,其中Co-3／Co-9是等位基因;Co-1、Co-4和Co-9存在等位基因,co-8为隐性基因。除Co-5、Co-7和co-8三个基因还没有被定位外,其他基因被定位在不同的连锁群上。     

植物查尔酮合成酶超基因家族的分子进化

查尔酮合成酶(CHS)超基因家族又称为植物类型III聚酮合酶超基因家族, 其编码酶通过催化和合成一系列结构多样及生理活性各异的次生代谢物, 在植物生长发育和适应环境的过程中扮演着重要角色。为全面了解CHS超基因家族在植物中的进化规律, 重建其进化历史, 该研究利用14种具有全基因组数据的代表植物, 通过生物信息学手段, 深入挖掘和分析了不同植物类群基因组中查尔酮合成酶超基因家族的成员构成, 推测了其可能的扩增机制和功能分歧, 并探讨了该超基因家族在植物中的总体进化趋势。结果共识别144条具有表达信息的同源序列, 它们全部来自9种陆生植物的基因组, 藻类植物基因组中没有发现相关序列。系统发育和进化分析表明, CHS超基因家族的起源古老, 它们可能为适应复杂的生态环境而出现在早期的陆生植物中, 之后在长期的进化过程中不断发生谱系的特异扩张和拷贝丢失, 最后通过功能分歧的形式在不同植物类群中被分别固定。此外, 进化检验也显示, 尽管CHS超基因家族内部发生了多样的遗传改变, 但整个超基因家族仍处于强烈的纯化选择之下, 并且个体基因中也无任何单氨基酸位点受到正向选择的影响。     

金银花花形基因的发掘及生物信息学分析

金银花作为我国重要的中药材,具有消炎、抗菌、抗病毒、抗氧化、防癌等多种功效。随着金银花市场供需矛盾日益加剧,通过分子标记辅助选择育种方法来培育高产优质品种势在必行。通过NCBI的Blast工具扫描金银花蛋白组数据发掘花形候选基因,并执行候选基因的亲缘关系分析、结构域分析、表达模式分析、理化性质分析、蛋白质结构预测等一系列生物信息学分析。依据拟南芥调控花形的ABE类基因,通过NCBI-Blast工具扫描金银花氨基酸序列,筛选出包含MADS结构域的8个调控花形的金银花候选基因。经LjaFGD表达模式分析发现,金银花的花中GWHGAAZE016592和GWHGAAZE014905表达量显著高于其他部位,可能正向调控金银花花形。GWHGAAZE014905是一个包含MADS结构域的调控花器官发育的B类基因;GWHGAAZE016592是AP3同源基因。生物信息学分析发现,GWHGAAZE016592和GWHGAAZE014905均是稳定的亲水蛋白,属于非分泌蛋白,包括Motif1、Motif3、Motif4、Motif2、Motif6和Motif5,蛋白质三级结构模板为6byy.2.A和4ox0.2.C。GWHGAAZE014905被定位到细胞核上,而GWHGAAZE016592被定位到叶绿体上,且包含1个位于151~173 bp的跨膜螺旋区域,属于膜蛋白。研究结果为分子标记辅助选择方式培育道地高产优质金银花品种提供了基因资源和分子标记。     

Sugar-Dependent Expression of the CHS-A Gene for Chalcone Synthase from Petunia in Transgenic Arabidopsis

Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants were constructed by introduction of a fusion of the gene for β-glucuronidase (GUS) to the CHS-A gene, which is one of the two genes for chalcone synthase that are actively expressed in the floral organs of petunia. The expression of the fusion gene CHS-A::GUS was low in transgenic Arabidopsis plantlets, but it was enhanced when plantlets or detached leaves were transferred to a medium that contained 0.3 molar sucrose, glucose, or fructose. No enhancement was observed when plantlets were transferred to a medium that contained 0.3 molar mannitol. Measurements of cellular levels of sugars revealed a tight linkage between the level of expression of the CHS-A::GUS gene and the level of accumulation of exogenously supplied sugars, in particular sucrose. The parallelism between the organ-specific accumulation of sugar and the organ-specific expression of the CHS-A::GUS gene was also observed in petunia and A. thaliana plants grown under normal conditions in soil. The consensus sequences for sugar responses, such as boxes II and III in members of the family of sporamin genes from the sweet potato, were found in the promoter region of the CHS-A gene that was used for fusion to the GUS gene. It is suggested that the expression of the CHS-A gene is regulated by sugars, as is the expression of other sugar-responsive genes, such as the genes for sporamin. A putative common mechanism for the control of expression of “sugar-related” genes, including the CHS-A gene, is discussed.     

Heterologous Expression of Two Gentian Cytochrome P450 Genes can Modulate the Intensity of Flower Pigmentation in Transgenic Tobacco Plants

Two different heterologous expression systems, microsomal fractions of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and transgenic tobacco plants, were used to investigate the enzymatic activities of flavonoid 3′-hydroxylase (GtF3′H) and flavone synthase II (GtFSII) homologues isolated from gentian petals. Recombinant GtF3′H expressed in yeast showed hydroxylation activities in the 3′ position with several flavonoid substrates, while recombinant GtFSII was able to produce flavone from flavanone. GtF3′ H-expressing transgenic tobacco plants showed a slight increase in anthocyanin content and flower color intensity, and conversion of the flavonol quercetin from kaempferol. On the other hand, GtFSII-expressing plants showed a remarkable reduction in anthocyanin content and flower color intensity, and additional accumulation of flavone, especially luteolin derivatives. We demonstrated that two cytochrome P450s from gentian petals have F3′H and FSII enzymatic activities both in vitro and in vivo, and might therefore be useful in modification of flower color using genetic engineering.     

参与调控桂花花朵开放的SPL基因鉴定及表达分析

SPL(SQUAMOSA-promoter binding protein-like)是植物特有的基因家族,在花发育过程中具有重要调控作用。该研究以桂花全基因组数据为基础,对SPL基因家族成员的蛋白理化性质、系统进化、基因结构和不同组织的表达模式进行生物信息学分析,筛选出花组织中较高表达的基因进行实时荧光定量、亚细胞定位及酵母自激活验证,为解析SPL基因参与调控桂花花朵开放过程中的作用机制和功能提供基因资源。结果显示:(1)共鉴定出29个桂花SPL基因家族成员,它们均具有SBP结构域,且不均匀分布在15条染色体上。(2)与拟南芥构建系统进化树,聚类可分为8大亚群,同亚群的OfSPL基因具有高度相似的基因结构。(3)RNA-seq数据分析表明,OfSPL9/10/17/19/21/27/28整体FPKM值较高,在花组织中具有一定的特异性;qRT-PCR分析表明,OfSPL10/21在花朵开放过程中的相对表达量呈先升后降的趋势。(4)亚细胞定位和转录自激活活性分析显示,OfSPL10/21编码蛋白主要定位于细胞核上,不具有转录自激活活性。研究推测,OfSPL10/21可能参与调控桂花花色与...     

Stilbene Synthase and Chalcone Synthase : Two Different Constitutive Enzymes in Cultured Cells of Picea excelsa

Cultured cells of Picea excelsa capable of forming stilbenes and flavanoids have been established. Unlike needles of intact plants containing piceatannol (3,3′,4′,5-tetrahydroxystilbene) and stilbene glycosides the cultured cells converted phenylalanine and p-coumaric acid primarily into resveratrol monomethyl ether (3,4′-dihydroxy-5-methoxystilbene) and naringenin. Partially purified enzyme preparations were assayed for chalcone synthase as well as for stilbene synthase activity converting malonyl-CoA plus p-coumaroyl-CoA into 3,4′,5-trihydroxystilbene (resveratrol).

Although stilbene synthase and chalcone synthase use the same substrates and exhibit similar molecular properties, i.e. molecular weight and subunit molecular weight, they are two different proteins. This difference was demonstrated by gel electrophoresis and by means of monospecific antibodies.