Up-regulation of phosphoinositide metabolism in tobacco cells constitutively expressing the human type I inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase

To evaluate the impact of suppressing inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP(3)) in plants, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cells were transformed with the human type I inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase (InsP 5-ptase), an enzyme which specifically hydrolyzes InsP(3). The transgenic cell lines showed a 12- to 25-fold increase in InsP 5-ptase activity in vitro and a 60% to 80% reduction in basal InsP(3) compared with wild-type cells. Stimulation with Mas-7, a synthetic analog of the wasp venom peptide mastoparan, resulted in an approximately 2-fold increase in InsP(3) in both wild-type and transgenic cells. However, even with stimulation, InsP(3) levels in the transgenic cells did not reach wild-type basal values, suggesting that InsP(3) signaling is compromised. Analysis of whole-cell lipids indicated that phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdInsP(2)), the lipid precursor of InsP(3), was greatly reduced in the transgenic cells. In vitro assays of enzymes involved in PtdInsP(2) metabolism showed that the activity of the PtdInsP(2)-hydrolyzing enzyme phospholipase C was not significantly altered in the transgenic cells. In contrast, the activity of the plasma membrane PtdInsP 5 kinase was increased by approximately 3-fold in the transgenic cells. In vivo labeling studies revealed a greater incorporation of (32)P into PtdInsP(2) in the transgenic cells compared with the wild type, indicating that the rate of PtdInsP(2) synthesis was increased. These studies show that the constitutive expression of the human type I InsP 5-ptase in tobacco cells leads to an up-regulation of the phosphoinositide pathway and highlight the importance of PtdInsP(2) synthesis as a regulatory step in this system.     

A universal role for inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-mediated signaling in plant gravitropism

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) has been implicated in the early signaling events of plants linking gravity sensing to the initiation of the gravitropic response. However, at present, the contribution of the phosphoinositide signaling pathway in plant gravitropism is not well understood. To delineate the role of InsP3 in plant gravitropism, we generated Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants constitutively expressing the human type I inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase (InsP 5-ptase), an enzyme that specifically hydrolyzes InsP3. The transgenic plants show no significant differences in growth and life cycle compared to wild-type plants, although basal InsP3 levels are reduced by greater than 90% compared to wild-type plants. With gravistimulation, InsP3 levels in inflorescence stems of transgenic plants show no detectable change, whereas in wild-type plant inflorescences, InsP3 levels increase approximately 3-fold within the first 5 to 15 min of gravistimulation, preceding visible bending. Furthermore, gravitropic bending of the roots, hypocotyls, and inflorescence stems of the InsP 5-ptase transgenic plants is reduced by approximately 30% compared with the wild type. Additionally, the cold memory response of the transgenic plants is attenuated, indicating that InsP3 contributes to gravisignaling in the cold. The transgenic roots were shown to have altered calcium sensitivity in controlling gravitropic response, a reduction in basipetal indole-3-acetic acid transport, and a delay in the asymmetric auxin-induced beta-glucuronidase expression with gravistimulation as compared to the controls. The compromised gravitropic response in all the major axes of growth in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants reveals a universal role for InsP3 in the gravity signal transduction cascade of plants.     

高粱ATP合成酶E亚基基因(SbATPase-E)的克隆及其抗逆功能研究

高粱是一种抗旱性较强的禾谷类作物。本研究在高粱中克隆到一个全长为693 bp的编码ATP合成酶E亚基的基因(SbATPase-E)。在高粱幼苗期,SbATPase-E基因受Na Cl和脱落酸(ABA)处理诱导上调表达。该基因在拟南芥中过量表达可提高转基因植株的耐旱性和耐盐性,在逆境胁迫条件下转基因拟南芥植株较野生型植株根系发达,可能是转基因植株耐旱性和耐盐性提高的主要原因。在干旱胁迫条件下,转基因植株中DREB2A、P5CS1、RD29A、RAB18和ABI1基因的表达量相对于野生型植株中的表达量提高更为显著;在高盐处理条件下,转基因植株中SOS1和SOS2基因的表达量也较野生型植株中的表达量明显提高。这些抗逆相关基因的上调表达可能是转基因植株抗逆性提高的主要分子机制。     

A novel histidine kinase gene, ZmHK9, mediate drought tolerance through the regulation of stomatal development in Arabidopsis

Plants have developed complex signaling networks to regulate biochemical and physiological acclimation, environmental signals were perceived and transmitted to cellular machinery to activate adaptive responses. Here, a novel drought responsive histidine kinase gene was identified and designated as ZmHK9. Under normal conditions, ZmHK9 was predominantly expressed in roots, and the roots of ZmHK9-OX transgenic lines are markedly hypersensitive to ABA and ethylene, as compare to wild type. Consistent with its expression induced by PEG and exogenous ABA treatment, promoter sequence of this gene possessed drought and ABA responsive element. Moreover, the transgenic plants were much less affected by drought stress and recovered quickly after rewatering, stomatal complex size and stomatal density in the transgenic plants are significantly smaller and lower than those of the wild-type plants. In addition, ABA induced stomatal closure and the stomatal aperture of ZmHK9-OX lines was smaller than that of wild type. Collectively, it can be concluded that ZmHK9 regulates root elongation, stomatal development and drought tolerance through ABA dependent signaling pathway in Arabidopsis.     

Overproduction of the Membrane-bound Receptor-like Protein Kinase 1, RPK1, Enhances Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis

RPK1 (receptor-like protein kinase 1) localizes to the plasma membrane and functions as a regulator of abscisic acid (ABA) signaling in Arabidopsis. In our current study, we investigated the effect of RPK1 disruption and overproduction upon plant responses to drought stress. Transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing the RPK1 protein showed increased ABA sensitivity in their root growth and stomatal closure and also displayed less transpirational water loss. In contrast, a mutant lacking RPK1 function, rpk1-1, was found to be resistant to ABA during these processes and showed increased water loss. RPK1 overproduction in these transgenic plants thus increased their tolerance to drought stress. We performed microarray analysis of RPK1 transgenic plants and observed enhanced expression of several stress-responsive genes, such as Cor15a, Cor15b, and rd29A, in addition to H₂O₂-responsive genes. Consistently, the expression levels of ABA/stress-responsive genes in rpk1-1 had decreased compared with wild type. The results suggest that the overproduction of RPK1 enhances both the ABA and drought stress signaling pathways. Furthermore, the leaves of the rpk1-1 plants exhibit higher sensitivity to oxidative stress upon ABA-pretreatment, whereas transgenic plants overproducing RPK1 manifest increased tolerance to this stress. Our current data suggest therefore that RPK1 overproduction controls reactive oxygen species homeostasis and enhances both water and oxidative stress tolerance in Arabidopsis.     

拟南芥非生物胁迫应答基因表达的调节子研究概况

分子生物学研究表明,植物中由诸如干旱、高盐和低温等环境胁迫因子诱导的几个基因具有多种功能。大多数干旱应答基因是由植物激素脱落酸（ABA）诱导的,但也有少数基因例外。对模式植物拟南芥基因表达中的干旱应答基因的分析表明,至少存在4个独立调节系统（调节子）。对典型胁迫诱导表达的一些基因中启动子的顺势作用元件和影响这些基因表达的转录子也已进行了分析。已经分离出与脱水效应元件/C重复序列（DRE/CRT）顺势作用元件结合的转录因子,并命名为DRE结合蛋白1/C重复序列结合因子（DREB1/CBF）和DRE结合蛋白2（DREB2）。在转基因拟南芥植株中,DREB1/CBF过量表达可增加其抗寒、抗旱和抗盐碱的能力。DREB1/CBF基因已成功地在许多不同作物中得到应用,从而提高作物对非生物胁迫的耐受性。与胁迫反应相关的其他转录因子的研究也正在取得进展。     

异源过表达齿肋赤藓ScABI3基因改变拟南芥气孔表型并提高抗旱性

ABI3是ABA信号通路中关键的转录调控因子, 参与种子休眠、质体发育及苔藓耐干等重要生理过程, 在植物抗逆中发挥关键作用。以荒漠耐干苔藓——齿肋赤藓(Syntrichia caninervis)为材料, 克隆了抗逆基因ScABI3并获得3个独立的pCAMBIA1301-ScABI3转基因拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)纯合株系。结果表明, 转基因拟南芥叶片气孔孔径增大, 单位面积气孔数量减少, 植株水分利用效率提高; 在干旱处理14天后转基因拟南芥植株存活率显著高于野生型, 离体叶片失水率显著低于野生型。进一步研究发现, ScABI3转基因拟南芥通过提高自身活性氧(ROS)清除能力增强植株抗旱性。研究结果可为开发利用荒漠植物基因资源培育抗逆作物品种奠定基础。     

Enhancing Arabidopsis salt and drought stress tolerance by chemical priming for its abscisic acid responses

Drought and salt stress tolerance of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants increased following treatment with the nonprotein amino acid beta-aminobutyric acid (BABA), known as an inducer of resistance against infection of plants by numerous pathogens. BABA-pretreated plants showed earlier and higher expression of the salicylic acid-dependent PR-1 and PR-5 and the abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent RAB-18 and RD-29A genes following salt and drought stress. However, non-expressor of pathogenesis-related genes 1 and constitutive expressor of pathogenesis-related genes 1 mutants as well as transgenic NahG plants, all affected in the salicylic acid signal transduction pathway, still showed increased salt and drought tolerance after BABA treatment. On the contrary, the ABA deficient 1 and ABA insensitive 4 mutants, both impaired in the ABA-signaling pathway, could not be protected by BABA application. Our data demonstrate that BABA-induced water stress tolerance is based on enhanced ABA accumulation resulting in accelerated stress gene expression and stomatal closure. Here, we show a possibility to increase plant tolerance for these abiotic stresses through effective priming of the preexisting defense pathways without resorting to genetic alterations.     

Two cysteine proteinase inhibitors from Arabidopsis thaliana, AtCYSa and AtCYSb, increasing the salt, drought, oxidation and cold tolerance

Two cysteine proteinase inhibitors (cystatins) from Arabidopsis thaliana, designated AtCYSa and AtCYSb, were characterized. Recombinant GST-AtCYSa and GST-AtCYSb were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. They inhibit the catalytic activity of papain, which is generally taken as evidence for cysteine proteinase inhibitor function. Northern blot analyses showed that the expressions of AtCYSa and AtCYSb gene in Arabidopsis cells and seedlings were strongly induced by multiple abiotic stresses from high salt, drought, oxidant, and cold. Interestingly, the promoter region of AtCYSa gene contains a dehydration-responsive element (DRE) and an abscisic acid (ABA)-responsive element (ABRE), which identifies it as a DREB1A and AREB target gene. Under normal conditions, AtCYSa was expressed in 35S: DREB1A and 35S: AREB1 plants at a higher level than in WT plants, while AtCYSa gene was expressed in 35S: DREB2A plants at the same level as in WT plants. Under stress conditions (salt, drought and cold), AtCYSa was expressed more in all three transgenic plants than in WT plants. Over-expression of AtCYSa and AtCYSb in transgenic yeast and Arabidopsis plants increased the resistance to high salt, drought, oxidative, and cold stresses. Taken together, these data raise the possibility of using AtCYSa and AtCYSb to genetically improve environmental stresses tolerance in plants.