Towards the development of a nuclear transformation system for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dunaliella tertiolecta</Emphasis>

A nuclear transformation system for the microalga Dunaliella tertiolecta was explored using electroporation. Plasmids incorporating the D. tertiolecta RbcS1 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions flanking the Streptoalloteichus hindustanus gene encoding bleomycin resistance (ble) were introduced into D. tertiolecta cells both transiently and stably. Southern hybridisation was used to examine the fate of the plasmid following electroporation and revealed that the DNA was entering the cells but was quickly degraded. Using the same procedure one stably transformed line was recovered.     

Highly efficient integration of foreign DNA into the genome of the green sulfur bacterium,Chlorobium vibrioforme by homologous recombination

Highly efficient and reproducible transformation ofChlorobium vibrioforme with plasmid DNA has been achieved by electroporation. Specific parameters have been optimized for the electrotransformation procedure. The method was developed using a construct containing a full copy of thepscC gene encoding the cytochromec ₅₅₁ subunit of the photosynthetic reaction center complex and theaadA gene encoding streptomycin resistance as selectable marker. Southern blotting analysis showed that the tested colonies were true transformants with the plasmid integrated into the genome by single homologous recombination. No transformants were obtained using the vector without thepscC gene showing that this vector does not replicate inC. vibrioforme. Thus transformation is possible only by homologous recombination. When using constructs designed to inactivate thepscC gene by insertion no transformants were obtained, indicating that the gene is indispensable for growth. The vector pVS2 carrying genes for erythromycin and chloramphenicol resistance was shown to replicate inC. vibrioforme. The two transformations shown here, provide an important genetical tool in the further analysis of structure and function of the photosynthetic apparatus in green sulfur bacteria.     

Efficient transformation of Legionella pneumophila by high-voltage electroporation

A simple and reproducible method has been developed to transform Legionella pneumophila by electroporation. Effects of different conditions, including electric field strength, pulse length, DNA quality and cell density, were evaluated. Using our method, an efficiency of up to 6 x 10(7) transformants/microg DNA was obtained. This optimized transformation procedure should efficiently facilitate gene manipulations in L. pneumophila, such as plasmid transfer, transposon mutagenesis, library transformation for complementation cloning, etc.     

外源ble基因在杜氏盐藻中的瞬时表达

利用电击法将带有ble基因的pSP124S转入杜氏盐藻细胞内进行瞬时表达,研究了外源基因在盐藻内的存留及表达情况,确定了合适的电击转化条件,发现利用电击法可以使大量的质粒导入盐藻细胞,质粒在细胞中逐渐降解但至少96h内可以检测得到,外源启动子能够使ble基因有效转录,转录至少可以持续72h,ble基因能够在盐藻细胞中正确翻译,可以作为盐藻遗传转化研究的筛选标记。     

杜氏盐藻外源基因稳定表达系统的构建(英文)

A stable transformation system for the expression of foreign genes in the unicellular greenmarine alga (Dunaliella salina Teod.) was established. Using electroporation, the alga was transformed witha plasmid containing the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg） gene and the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase(CAT) gene as a selectable gene. PCR and Southern blotting analysis indicated that the HBsAEgene wasintegrated into the D. salina genome. Northern dotting analysis showed that the HBsAg gene was expressedat the mRNA level. The stable expression of HBsAg protein in transformants was confirmed by HBsAgenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (HBsAg EUSA) and Western blotting analysis. Also, PCR and Southernblotting analyses showed that the CA Tgene was integrated into the D, salina genome, and CAT EUSAindicated that CAT protein was stably expressed in the cells. The introduced HBsAg DNA and HBsAgprotein expression were stably maintained for at least 60 generations in media devoid of chloramphenicol.This is the first report of the stable expression of foreign genes in D. salina.     

外源ble基因在杜氏盐藻中的瞬时表达

利用电击法将带有ble基因的pSP124S转入杜氏盐藻细胞内进行瞬时表达．研究了外源基因在盐藻内的存留及表达情况,确定了合适的电击转化条件,发现利用电击法可以使大量的质粒导入盐藻细胞,质粒在细胞中逐渐降解但至少96h内可以检测得到。外源启动子能够使ble基因有效转录,转录至少可以持续72h,ble基因能够在盐藻细胞中正确翻译,可以作为盐藻遗传转化研究的筛选标记。     

杜氏盐藻外源基因稳定表达系统的构建

建立了一种单细胞海水绿藻--杜氏盐藻(Dunaliella salina Teod.)的外源基因稳定表达系统.通过电激法将携带乙肝病毒表面抗原基因(HBsAg)和氯霉素乙酰转移酶基因(CAT)的质粒转入盐藻细胞内,CAT基因为筛选基因.PCR和Southern杂交结果显示,HBsAg基因已经整合到盐藻基因组中.Northern杂交结果表明,转化成功细胞内的该基因已转录成mRNA.HBsAgELISA和Western杂交检测证明,HBsAg蛋白在转化的盐藻细胞内稳定地表达.同时,PCR和Southern杂交显示,CAT基因也已整合到盐藻基因组中.且CATELISA检测证明,CAT蛋白在转化体中也已稳定地表达.进一步对转化盐藻进行无氯霉素筛选培养,60代后,HBsAg基因依然稳定地存在并表达.本实验第一次报道了外源基因在杜氏盐藻细胞内的稳定表达.     

Production of bialaphos-resistant Nierembergia repens by electroporation

Transgenic plants with the herbicide-resistance gene (bar gene) were obtained via organogenesis from isolated mesophyll protoplasts of Nierembergia repens after applying electroporation. Transient β-glucuronidase (GUS) activity of electroporated protoplasts assayed 2 days after applying an electric pulse showed that optimum condition (transient GUS activity 319 pmol 4 MU/mg per min and plating efficiency 2.43%) for electroporation was 0.5 kV/cm in field strength and 100 μF in capacitance. The protoplasts electroporated with the bar gene at this condition initiated formation of microcolonies on medium after 2 weeks. After 4 weeks of culture, equal volume of fresh 1/2-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 0.2 mg/l bialaphos was added for selection of transformed colonies. After 6 weeks of culture, growing colonies were transferred onto regeneration medium containing 1.0 mg/l bialaphos, on which they formed adventitious shoots 1–2 months after electroporation. The adventitious shoots rooted easily after transfer onto MS medium with bialaphos lacking plant-growth regulators. Transformation of these regenerants with the bar gene was confirmed by Southern analysis. Some of the transformants showed strong resistance to the application of bialaphos solution at 10.0 mg/l.     

Transient expression of the GUS gene in a unicellular marine green alga,<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chlorella</Emphasis> sp.<Emphasis Type="Italic">MACC/C95</Emphasis>, via electroporation

A transient expression system for a unicellular marine green alga,Chlorella sp.MACC/C95, was developed using a reporter GUS gene coded for by plasmid pBI121. The results demonstrated a high transformation efficiency could be achieved by using electroporation to deliver DNA into intact cells and the CaMV35S promoter to drive the foreign gene expression inChlorella sp.MACC/C95. The use of a carrier DNA coupled with osmosis treatment improved the transformation efficiency, while linearization of the plasmid had minor effects. Investigation of the effects of DNA concentration and growth phases ofChlorella sp.MACC/C95 on transformation efficiency indicated that the highest level of transient expression was observed when 6 μg mL⁻¹ of plasmid DNA and cells 2–6 days old were used.     

Production of herbicide-resistant transgenic maize plants using electroporation of seed-derived embryos

The improvement of commercial maize lines via biotechnological approaches is limited by the lack of a transformation system that is tissue culture free. In this paper, the development of a genetic transformation system is presented using electroporation for gene delivery and seed-derived embryo as the gene target. Plasmid DNA (pBARGUS), which contained the selectablebar gene for resistance to the herbicide Basta and the screenablegus gene, was delivered into enzymatically wounded mature maize embryos via electroporation. Transformed plants were identified by their ability to grow on a selective medium containing 30 mg/L of phosphinothricin. Southern hybridization, plant resistance to the application of Basta, GUS expression, and segregation analysis indicated that a functionalbar gene had integrated into the maize genome and was inherited in a mendelian fashion by the progeny.     

An improved method of electroporation for introducing biologically active foreign genes into cultured mammalian cells

We have developed a modified, reproducible, and efficient method for introducing cloned genes into mammalian cells by using an electric field followed by treatment with sodium butyrate. Transfection frequencies with plasmid pSV2-neo, consisting of an antibiotic (G418) resistance gene and simian virus 40 (SV40) early promoter, by electroporation were higher than those by calcium phosphate DNA precipitation. Treatment with sodium butyrate following electroporation significantly increased the frequency of transfection in various types of cell lines and primary cultured cells including human skin fibroblasts. Treatment with sodium butyrate also increased the transient expression of the gene for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (acetyl-CoA; chloramphenicol O3-acetyltransferase, CAT, EC 2.3.1.28) when the gene was introduced into BALB/c 3T3 cells by electroporation. Electroporation combined with sodium butyrate treatment is an improved method for stable and transient biochemical transformation of foreign genes in cultured mammalian cells.     

Effect of various irradiation treatments of plant protoplasts on the transformation rates after direct gene transfer

Summary In P. hybrida and B. nigra an enhancement of transformation rates (direct gene transfer) of about six to seven-fold was obtained after irradiation of protoplasts with 12.5 Gy (X-ray). The effect of protoplast irradiation was similar in experiments where protoplasts were irradiated 1h before transformation (X-ray/DNA) or 1h after completion of the transformation procedure (DNA/X-ray). Increased X-ray doses up to 62.5 Gy resulted in further enhancement of percentages of transformed colonies, indicating a correlation between relative transformation frequencies (RTF) and the doses applied. Estimation of degradation rates of plasmid sequences in plant protoplasts yielded a reduction of plasmid concentration to 50% 8–12 h after transformation. In 1-day-old protoplasts, the level of plasmid fragments dropped to 0%–10% compared to 1h after transformation. The results demonstrate that the integration rates of plasmid sequences into the plant genome may in part be governed by DNA repair mechanisms. This could be an explanation for the observed genotypic dependence of transformation rates in different plant species and plant genotypes. Gene copy number reconstructions revealed enhanced integration rates of plasmid sequences in transformed colonies derived from irradiated protoplasts.     

Transformation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by electroporation

A method for introducing heterologous DNA into Saccharomyces cerevisiae rapidly and efficiently by electroporation was developed. Transformant colonies appeared somewhat sooner than by the LiCl or spheroplast transformation method, and the time spent in manipulation was much less than for these two methods. The pores in the cell membrane formed by the high voltage of electroporation were resealed within 6 to 7 min after electroporation. At a capacitance of 25 microF, the optimum voltage was 2.0 to 2.25 kV/cm. Log-phase cells concentrated to 10 to 20 units at an optical density of 600 nm in 200 microliters of fresh rich medium and electroporated at 2.25 kV/cm in the presence of 0.1 microgram of supercoiled plasmid DNA will yield 1,000 to 4,500 colonies per microgram of DNA.     

Transformation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by electroporation.

A method for introducing heterologous DNA into Saccharomyces cerevisiae rapidly and efficiently by electroporation was developed. Transformant colonies appeared somewhat sooner than by the LiCl or spheroplast transformation method, and the time spent in manipulation was much less than for these two methods. The pores in the cell membrane formed by the high voltage of electroporation were resealed within 6 to 7 min after electroporation. At a capacitance of 25 microF, the optimum voltage was 2.0 to 2.25 kV/cm. Log-phase cells concentrated to 10 to 20 units at an optical density of 600 nm in 200 microliters of fresh rich medium and electroporated at 2.25 kV/cm in the presence of 0.1 microgram of supercoiled plasmid DNA will yield 1,000 to 4,500 colonies per microgram of DNA.     

Electroporation-mediated transformation of Aeromonas hydrophila

A strain of Aeromonas hydrophila producing copolyesters of 3-hydroxybutyrate and 3-hydroxyhexanoate, abbreviated as PHBHHx, was successfully transformed by electroporation. The plasmid used was a broad host range plasmid pBBR1MCS. Electroporation conditions were varied systemically to develop an electroporation protocol. The optimal yield of transformant was approximately 4x10(2) CFU/microg DNA at 12.5 kV/cm and 1000 Omega, resulting in a time constant of approximately 5 ms. The A. hydrophila transformants expressed plasmid-encoded resistance to chloromphenicol. Plasmid DNA in the A. hydrophila transformant was stably maintained. This is the first report of transformation of bacteria A. hydrophila.     

A simple method for the production of highly competent cells ofAgrobacterium for transformation via electroporation

The introduction of binary plasmids intoAgrobacterium hosts forAgrobacterium-mediated transformation of plants is most readily achieved by electroporation. However, occasionally, no transformed colonies are recovered and the transformation program is delayed. Poor transformation rates are commonly associated with particular combinations ofAgrobacterium strains and plasmid-selection markers. In order to avoid this problem, it is important for the bacteria to have a highly competent status for reception of plasmid DNA. It is also important to optimize the level of antibiotic for the selection of transformed colonies. In this article, we demonstrate that transformation competence is strongly related to the phase of growth at which a bacterial culture is prepared for electroporation, and we describe a simple procedure that allows the level of transformation-competent cells to be maximized. We have observed that there is significant variation between transformedAgrobacterium strains in the levels of antibiotic tolerance; we define the antibiotic levels that are appropriate for selection of threeArgobacterium tumefaciens (EHA101, LBA4404, C58) and twoArgobacterium rhizogenes (LBA9402, Ar2626) strains, transformed with three alternative resistance markers (spectinomycin^res, kanamycin^res, and gentamycin^res).     

Hepcidin的基因克隆及其在毕赤酵母中的分泌表达

根据已知hepcidin氨基酸序列,参照毕赤氏巴斯德酵母(Pichia pastoris)密码子偏好性,设计合成了hepcidin目的基因。所合成的hepcidin基因全长96bp,其5′端引入KEX2基因产物(Kex2)的特异性识别位点序列,以保证表达产物具有天然N端。通过基因重组的方法将hepcidin基因克隆到pPicZαA载体中,构建了分泌型重组酵母表达载体pPICZαA-Hepc,经电转至毕赤酵母GS115中表达。使用浓度高达1500μg/mL的Zeocin筛选得到高拷贝插入GS115菌株,经摇瓶发酵和甲醇诱导,上清液有明显的hepcidin表达,表达量达到100mg/L。初步抗菌特性研究表明,该表达产物对枯草芽孢杆菌有明显的抑菌作用,而对大肠杆菌抑菌效果不明显。     

Transformation of the forage legume Trifolium repens L. using binary Agrobacterium vectors

A system was established for introducing cloned genes into white clover (Trifolium repens L.). A high regeneration white clover genotype was transformed with binary Agrobacterium vectors containing a chimaeric gene which confers kanamycin resistance. Transformed kanamycin resistant callus was obtained by culturing Agrobacterium inoculated stolon internode segments on selective medium. The kanamycin resistance phenotype was stable in cells and in regenerated shoots. Transformation was confirmed by the expression of an unselected gene, nopaline synthase in selected cells and transgenic shoots and by the detection of neomycin phosphotransferase II enzymatic activity in kanamycin resistant cells. Integration of vector DNA sequences into plant DNA was demonstrated by Southern blot hybridisation.     

Electroporation of Bradyrhizobium japonicum

Summary Electroporation offers a fast, efficient and reproducible way to introduce DNA into bacteria. We have successfully used this technique to transform two commercially important strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum, the nitrogen-fixing soybean symbiont. Initially, electroporation conditions were optimized using plasmid DNA which had been prepared from the same B. japonicum strain into which the{imDNA was to b}e transformed. Efficiencies of 10⁵-10⁶ transformants/g DNA were obtained for strains USDA 110 and 61A152 with ready-to-use frozen cells. Successful electroporation of B. japonicum with plasmid DNA prepared from Escherichia coli varied with the E. coli strain from which the plasmid was purified. The highest transformation efficiencies (10⁴ transformants/g DNA) were obtained using DNA prepared from a dcm ^– dam ^– strain of E. coli. This suggests that routine isolation of DNA from an E. coli strain incapable of DNA modification should help in increasing transformation efficiencies for other strains of bacteria where DNA restriction appears to be a significant obstacle to successful transformation. We have also monitored the rate of spontaneous mutation in electroporated cells and saw no significant difference in the frequency of streptomycin resistance for electroporated cells compared to control cells.