Expression of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase gene and salinity tolerance in rice transgenic plants

Betaine as one of osmolytes plays an important role in osmoregulation of most high plants. Betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase C BADH) is the second enzyme involved in betaine biosynthesis. The BADH gene from a halophite, Atriplex hortensis, was transformed into rice cultivars by bombarment method. Totally 192 transgenic rice plants were obtained and most of them had higher salt tolerance than controls. Among transgenic plants transplanted in the saline pool containing 0.5% NaCl in a greenhouse, 22 survived, 13 of which set seeds, and the frequency of seed setting was very low, only 10% . But the controls could not grow under the same condition. The results of BADH ac-tivity assay and Northern blot showed that the BADH gene was integrated into chromosomes of transgenic plants and expressed.     

转基因植物中标记基因的消除

随着转基因植物的商业化,植物遗传转化技术将为农业生产带来一场新的革命,新的基因转化程序要求转基因为单拷贝,不带有标记基因,并在不同的转化体中表达一致,稳定遗传,本文讨论了转基因植物中有关标记基因及其安全性和标记基因消除的方法等问题。     

转基因抗虫水稻对生物多样性的影响

水稻是我国最重要的粮食作物,然而虫害造成的产量损失每年高达一千万吨以上。研究表明,转基因抗虫水稻对二化螟、三化螟和稻纵卷叶螟等水稻主要鳞翅目害虫具有高抗性,可以大幅度减少化学杀虫剂的使用。在不使用农药的情况下,在抗虫转基因水稻田中的害虫密度大幅度减少的同时,可以显著地增加中性昆虫及捕食性天敌数量和种类,显示出稻田生态系统和生物多样性的向良性发展的趋势。转基因水稻花粉向非转基因水稻品种的基因飘流实验表明,随着栽种距离的增大而显著减小,到间隔6.2 m时基因飘流频率已低于0.01%。转基因抗虫水稻的应用,对于保障我国粮食安全,保持农业可持续发展,保护生物多样性和生态环境尤其是在大幅度减少农药使用量方面具有重要意义。文章综述了转基因抗虫水稻研制进展及其对生物多样性的影响,并对农作物害虫防治的未来研究方向和发展趋势进行展望,以期为转基因抗虫水稻更好的应用提供借鉴。     

根癌农杆菌介导的转新城疫病毒融合蛋白基因水稻植株的获得

利用转基因植物作为生物反应器可以表达重组蛋白、生产外源蛋白质,也可以成为动物疫苗的廉价生产系统。以编码新城疫病毒融合蛋白(NDV-F)的基因为外源基因,以玉米泛素蛋白(Ubi)启动子为启动子,以潮霉素磷酸转移酶(HPT)基因作为选择标记基因,β-半乳糖苷酸酶(GUS)基因作为报告基因构建了适宜于农杆菌介导转化水稻的表达质粒pUNDV,并通过农杆菌介导转化水稻,获得了多株转基因植株。通过PCR分析和GUS活性检测,证实含有NDV-F基因的T-DNA已整合到水稻核基因组中,为研制廉价安全的转基因水稻新城疫基因工程疫苗奠定了基础。     

Isolation and characterization of a rice homebox gene, OSH15

In many eukaryotic organisms including plants, homeobox genes are thought to be master regulators that establish the cellular or regional identities and specify the fundamental body plan. We isolated and characterized a cDNA designated OSH15 (Oryza sativa homeobox 15) that encodes a KNOTTED-type homeodomain protein. Transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing the OSH15 cDNA showed a dramatically altered morphological phenotype caused by disturbance of specific aspects of tobacco development, thereby indicating the involvement of OSH15 in plant development. We analyzed the in situ mRNA localization of OSH15 through the whole plant life cycle, comparing the expression pattern with that of another rice homeobox gene, OSH1. In early embryogenesis, both genes were expressed as the same pattern at a region where the shoot apical meristem would develop later. In late embryogenesis, the expression pattern of the two genes became different. Whereas the expression of OSH1 continued within the shoot apical meristem, OSH15 expression within the shoot apical meristem ceased but became observable in a ring shaped pattern at the boundaries of some embryonic organs. This pattern of expression was similar to that observed around vegetative or reproductive shoots, or the floral meristem in mature plants. RNA in situ localization data suggest that OSH15 may play roles in the shoot organization during early embryogenesis and thereafter, OSH15 may be involved in morphogenetic events around the shoot apical meristem.     

Chromatin structure of transferred genes in transgenic plants

The chromatin structure of foreign genes in transgenic tobacco plants was investigated by digestion of nuclei with DNase I and micrococcal nuclease, respectively, followed by restriction and Southern analysis of the digestion products. The results were compared to the differential expression of the different transgenes. Two model systems were used: plants harbouring vector DNA derived from the disarmed vector pGV 3850 and plants harbouring the light-regulated and organ-specifically expressed potato ST-LS1 gene and the cotransferred ncpaline synthase (nos) reporter gene. Our results show that transferred genes are located in DNase l-sensitive domains in all transformants. Slight variations of DNase l-sensitivity of the transferred ST-LS1 constructs in different transformants neither reflected the between-transformant variability of expression nor the organ-specific activity of the transgenes. A deletion event was found responsible for silencing the ST-LS1 gene but not the nos gene in one of the transformants. Whereas no DNase l-hypersensitive sites were found within the 3850-T-DNA and the ST-LS1 gene, one prominent site was mapped to the nos promoter within the ST-LS1 construct in all transformants. Digestion of chromatin harbouring 3850-T-DNA with micrococcal nuclease resulted in a blurred nucleosomal pattern as compared to nucleolar and bulk chromatin, the extent of blurring being independent of the expression of transferred genes. The present results favour the “permissive domain” hypothesis which capitalizes on the chromatin surrounding the integration site as the determining factor for the chromatin structure of incoming alien genes. However, between-transformant variability of expression is not reflected by differential sensitivity to DNase I. Hence, other factors than chromatin structure must be involved in creating “position effects”.     

Inheritance of gusA and neo genes in transgenic rice

Inheritance of foreign genes neo and gusA in rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. IR54 and Radon) has been investigated in three different primary (T₀) transformants and their progeny plants. T₀ plants were obtained by co-transforming protoplasts from two different rice suspension cultures with the neomycin phosphotransferase II gene [neo or aph (3) II] and the -glucuronidase gene (uidA or gusA) residing on separate chimeric plasmid constructs. The suspension cultures were derived from callus of immature embryos of indica variety IR54 and japonica variety Radon. One transgenic line of Radon (AR2) contained neo driven by the CaMV 35S promoter and gusA driven by the rice actin promoter. A second Radon line (R3) contained neo driven by the CaMV 35S promoter and gusA driven by a promoter of the rice tungro bacilliform virus. The third transgenic line, IR54-1, contained neo driven by the CaMV 35S promoter and gusA driven by the CaMV 35S.Inheritance of the transgenes in progeny of the transgenic rice was investigated by Southern blot analysis and enzyme assays. Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA showed that, regardless of copy numbers of the transgenes in the plant genome and the fact that the two transgenes resided on two different plasmids before transformation, the introduced gusA and neo genes were stably transmitted from one generation to another and co-inherited together in transgenic rice progeny plants derived from self-pollination. Analysis of GUS and NPT II activities in T₁ to T₂ plants provided evidence that inheritance of the gusA and neo genes was in a Mendelian fashion in one plant line (AR2), and in an irregular fashion in the two other plant lines (R3 and IR54-1). Homozygous progeny plants expressing the gusA and neo genes were obtained in the T₂ generation of AR2, but the homozygous state was not found in the other two lines of transgenic rice.     

农杆菌介导将白叶枯病抗性基因Xa21导入水稻获得转基因植株

利用农杆菌介导的高效遗传转化系统,将白叶枯病抗性基因Xa21转入黄淮稻区主栽品种豫粳6号的胚性愈伤组织,获得转基因植株,GUS染色和PCR分析证明Xa21基因已整合到水稻基因组中,其自交T1代植株经GUS染色和白叶枯病接种鉴定呈现3：1分离,研究为培育抗白叶枯病水稻品种奠定了基础。     

OsPNH1 regulates leaf development and maintenance of the shoot apical meristem in rice

The Arabidopsis PINHEAD/ZWILLE (PNH/ZLL) gene is thought to play an important role in the formation of the shoot apical meristem (SAM) and in leaf adaxial cell specification. To investigate the molecular mechanisms of rice development, we have isolated a rice homologue of PNH/ZLL, called OsPNH1. Around the SAM, OsPNH1 was strongly expressed in developing leaf primordia, specifically in the presumptive vascular domains, developing vascular tissues, a few cell-layers of the adaxial region, and future bundle sheath extension cells. In the SAM, only weak expression was observed in the central region, whereas strong expression was detected in the mid-vein region of leaf founder cells in the peripheral SAM domain. We produced transgenic rice plants containing the antisense OsPNH1 strand. The antisense OsPNH1 plants developed malformed leaves with an altered vascular arrangement and abnormal internal structure. These plants also formed an aberrant SAM with reduced KNOX gene expression. We examined the subcellular localization of the OsPNH1-GFP fusion protein and found that it was localized in the cytoplasm. On the basis of these observations, we propose that OsPNH1 functions not only in SAM maintenance as previously thought, but also in leaf formation through vascular development.     

Expression of CaMV35S-GUS gene in transgenic rice plants

Summary To understand the properties of the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter in a monocotyledonous plant, rice (Oryza sativa L.), a transgenic plant and its progeny expressing the CaMV35S-GUS gene were examined by histochemical and fluorometric assays. The histochemical study showed that -glucuronidase (GUS) activity was primarily localized at or around the vascular tissue in leaf, root and flower organs. The activity was also detected in the embryo and endosperm of dormant and germinating seeds. The fluorometric assay of various organs showed that GUS activity in transgenic rice plants was comparable to the reported GUS activity in transgenic tobacco plants expressing the CaMV35S-GUS gene. The results indicate that the level of expression of the CaMV 35S promoter in rice is similar to that in tobacco, a dicotyledonous plant, suggesting that it is useful for expression of a variety of foreign genes in rice plants.     

Overexpression of SBPase enhances photosynthesis against high temperature stress in transgenic rice plants

Activity of the Calvin cycle enzyme sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase (SBPase) was increased by overexpression of a rice plants 9,311 (Oryza sativa L.) cDNA in rice plants zhonghua11 (Oryza sativa L.). The genetic engineering enabled the plants to accumulate SBPase in chloroplasts and resulted in enhanced tolerance to high temperature stress during growth of young seedlings. Moreover, CO₂ assimilation of transgenic plants was significantly more tolerant to high temperature than that of wild-type plants. The analyses of chlorophyll fluorescence and the content and activation of SBPase indicated that the enhancement of photosynthesis to high temperature was not related to the function of photosystem II but to the content and activation of SBPase. Western blotting analyses showed that high temperature stress led to the association of SBPase with the thylakoid membranes from the stroma fractions. However, such an association was much more pronounced in wild-type plants than that in transgenic plants. The results in this study suggested that under high temperature stress, SBPase maintained the activation of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (Rubisco) by preventing the sequestration of Rubisco activase to the thylakoid membranes from the soluble stroma fraction and thus enhanced the tolerance of CO₂ assimilation to high temperature stress. The results suggested that overexpression of SBPase might be an effective method for enhancing high temperature tolerance of plants.     

转基因水稻基因流的发生与生态学后果

中国是水稻的起源中心之一,分布着丰富的野生种质资源.自转基因水稻获得安全证书以来,转基因水稻与其近缘野生种间的基因流受到广泛关注.本文对转基因水稻基因流的发生及其可能引起的生态学后果进行了综述和展望.认为转基因水稻能够与栽培稻、野生稻、杂草稻、稗草等成功杂交,但基因流发生频率较低且变化较大.基因流成功发生后,由于转基因水稻具转基因新性状而有适合度优势,转基因可能只通过少数几代就进入野生种群.当转基因植株进入野生种群并在自然条件下长期存在时,转基因植株与近缘野生种间的竞争关系和相对适合度将决定混合种群的动态变化.研究转基因水稻基因流的影响及其长期生态学后果对合理保护与利用野生种质资源具有重要意义.     

Expression of rice OSH1 gene is localized in developing vascular strands and its ectopic expression in transgenic rice causes altered morphology of leaf

Transgenic rice plants (Oryza sativa cv. Nipponbare) carrying 1 or 2 copies of a rice homeobox gene, OSH1, under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter were generated. The transgene caused altered morphology of leaf, such as ligule-replacement and abnormal division of sclerenchyma cells. The phenotype of these leaves resembles that of maize leaf morphological mutant, Knotted 1, which is caused by duplication of the KN1 gene (Veit et al., 1990). The in situ hybridization analysis has revealed that the expression of endogenous OSH1 is mainly localized in developing vascular strands of stem. We have discussed the biological roles of OSH1 in rice based on these results.     

转基因水稻外源基因向近缘种群漂流和渐渗的研究进展

水稻是我国最重要的粮食作物之一,我国有8亿以上的人口以稻米作为主食。但在水稻生产中,由于病、虫、草害及不良气候等逆境因子的影响,严重制约了水稻的高产、稳产。转基因生物技术的迅速发展,为水稻抗性育种提供了新途径。自20世纪80年代以来,我国全方位地开展了转基因水稻的研发,目前已经培育出大量的抗病、抗虫、抗除草剂和抗逆的转基因水稻品种,这将为提高我国水稻的生产力和确保粮食安全做出重要的贡献。但转基因水稻的基因漂流及其可能带来的生物安全问题备受关注。已有报道证明,外源转基因可以通过异交向非转基因品种和野生近缘种漂流。在不同的试验条件下,抗除草剂基因有0．05％-0．53％逃逸的可能,其向不育系的最大漂移频率可达4．518％。抗虫基因向相邻非转基因水稻的平均漂移频率最高为0．875％。因此,本文对水稻与其近缘野生种的杂交情况,转基因水稻外源基因向非转基因品种、野生近缘种以及野生非近缘种的漂流和渐渗及其潜在的生态环境风险等方面进行了简要分析,并对转基因水稻的发展进行了展望,以期为转基因水稻的安全应用提供参考。     

Transcriptional silencing and developmental reactivation of cry1Ab gene in transgenic rice

One transgenic rice line lacking CrylAb expression product was screened in the progenies of Agrobacterium-transformed transgenic rice variety Zhong 8215 with a cry1Ab gene under field releasing conditions by using GUS histochemical assay and Western blot. Molecular hybridization results revealed that the crylAb gene was silenced in the transgenic rice variety Zhong 8215 and two copies of ubiquitin promoter were integrated into the rice genome. The silencing of crylAb gene in transgenic rice was found to be due to the methylation of the ubiquitin promoter as revealed by methylation analysis. Meanwhile, different concentrations of demethylation reagent 5-azacytidine combining with different treatment time were employed to treat the silenced transgenic rice seeds. The results indicated that 5-azacytidine could reactivate 8%-30% of the silenced transgenic rice plants and the expression level of the reactivated cry1Ab transgene could reach as high as 0.147% of the total soluble protein. Treatment with low con     

Culturable bacterial communities on leaf sheaths and panicles of rice plants in Japan

Culturable bacterial communities on rice plants were investigated from 2001 to 2003. In total, 1,394 bacterial isolates were obtained from the uppermost leaf sheaths at 1 month before heading time and from leaf sheaths and panicles at heading time. The average culturable bacterial population on the leaf sheaths was larger at heading time than at 1 month previously. Furthermore, the population was significantly larger on panicles than on leaf sheaths, suggesting that the bacterial population is influenced by the organs of rice plants. Larger proportions of bacteria were obtained from the macerates of leaf sheaths after washing with phosphate buffer, and most culturable bacteria were verified to inhabit the inside or inner surface, rather than the outer surface, of the tissues. Verification of the bacterial composition based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that genera of Sphingomonas, Microbacterium, Methylobacterium, and Acidovorax tended to be dominant colonizers on leaf sheaths, whereas Pseudomonas and Pantoea were isolated mainly from the panicles, indicating that leaf sheaths and panicles harbor distinct communities. Furthermore, the richness of bacterial genera was less on both leaf sheaths and panicles at heading time compared with that observed 1 month before heading time. Phylogenetic analyses using bacterial isolates belonging to the four dominant genera inhabiting leaf sheaths at heading time revealed that particular bacterial groups in each genus colonized the leaf sheaths.     

Transcriptional silencing and developmental reactivation of cry1Ab gene in transgenic rice

One transgenic rice line lacking Cry1Ab expression product was screened in the progenies of Agrobacterium-transformed transgenic rice variety Zhong 8215 with a cry1Ab gene under field releasing conditions by using GUS histochemical assay and Western blot. Molecular hybridization results revealed that the cry1Ab gene was silenced in the transgenic rice variety Zhong 8215 and two copies of ubiquitin promoter were integrated into the rice genome. The silencing of cry1Ab gene in transgenic rice was found to be due to the methylation of the ubiquitin promoter as revealed by methylation analysis. Meanwhile, different concentrations of demethylation reagent 5-azacytidine combining with different treatment time were employed to treat the silenced transgenic rice seeds. The results indicated that 5-azacytidine could reactivate 8%–30% of the silenced transgenic rice plants and the expression level of the reactivated cry1Ab transgene could reach as high as 0.147% of the total soluble protein. Treatment with low concentration of 5-azacytidine (45 mg/L for 1 d and 2 d) could lead to the highest reactivation ratio and the highest expression level of the cry1Ab gene.