纤毛鹅观草DREB类基因RcDREB1的克隆及其蛋白结合干旱应答元件DRE的功能验证

以纤毛鹅观草为材料,通过RT-PCR和RACE技术,作者首次克隆了一个纤毛鹅观草DREB类基因的全长cDNA序列,命名为RcDREB1。该基因编码蛋白含有一个保守的AP2结构域,表明该基因是AP2大家族的一个新成员。种系发生树分析表明,RcDREB1与小麦AP2家族DREB类基因高度同源。酵母单杂交试验表明,RcDREB1表达的蛋白具有特异结合干旱应答DRE元件的功能;通过实时定量PCR分析发现,高盐、干旱、重金属镉和低温胁迫均可诱导RcDREB1表达,但其对高盐反应较为显著。本研究表明,RcDREB1是DREB类转录因子基因,在介导植物响应逆境信号方面可能发挥着重要生物学功能,为进一步分析小麦族的进化和转基因应用奠定了基础。     

CBF/DREB转录因子与植物矮化的相关性研究进展

CBF/DREB转录因子即干旱应答元件结合蛋白,是一类可以调控多个与干旱、高盐及低温耐性有关的功能基因表达的转录因子家族。很多报道称CBF/DREB转录因子的过量表达使转基因植株产生矮化、晚花现象。着重探讨CBF/DREB转录因子与植物矮化现象相关性与其矮化机理,并对草坪草育种新方向进行展望。     

Reevaluation of the Subunit Molecular Weights of Soybean 11S Globulin

The acidic and basic subunits are the main constituents of soybean 11S globulin. Each of these two subunits consists of three major polypeptides of similar size. The molecular weights of the acidic and basic subunits have been previously estimated to be 37,000 and 22,000, respectively, by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Catsimpoolas et al, J. Set Food. Agric., 22, 448 (1971)). Reevaluation of the molecular weights by 6 m guanidine gel chromatography gave the values of 28,000 and 18,000, respectively. These are supported by results of equilibrium sedimentation in the same solvent. The previously reported values seem to have been overestimated, especially for the acidic subunits. The overestimations seem to be related to the high percentage of acidic amino acids, which causes the conformation of the SDS-protein polypeptide complexes of these subunits to deviate from those of proteins usually employed as standards for molecular weight estimations.     

ZmDREB2A regulates ZmGH3.2 and ZmRAFS,shifting metabolism towards seed aging tolerance over seedling growth

Seed aging tolerance and rapid seedling growth are important agronomic traits for crop production; however, how these traits are controlled at the molecular level remains largely unknown. The unaged seeds of two independent maize DEHYDRATION‐RESPONSIVE ELEMENT‐BINDING2A mutant (zmdreb2a) lines, with decreased expression of GRETCHEN HAGEN3.2 (ZmGH3.2, encoding indole‐3‐acetic acid [IAA] deactivating enzyme), and increased IAA in their embryo, produced longer seedling shoots and roots, than the null segregant (NS) controls. However, the zmdreb2a seeds, with decreased expression of RAFFINOSE SYNTHASE (ZmRAFS) and less raffinose in their embryo, exhibit decreased seed aging tolerance, than the NS controls. Overexpression of ZmDREB2A in maize protoplasts increased the expression of ZmGH3.2, ZmRAFS genes and that of a Rennila LUCIFERASE reporter (Rluc) gene, which was controlled by either the ZmGH3.2‐ or ZmRAFS‐promoter. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay quantitative polymerase chain reaction showed that ZmDREB2A directly binds to the DRE motif of the promoters of both ZmGH3.2 and ZmRAFS. Exogenous supplementation of IAA to the unaged, germinating NS seeds increased subsequent seedling growth making them similar to the zmdreb2a seedlings from unaged seeds. These findings provide evidence that ZmDREB2A regulates the longevity of maize seed by stimulating the production of raffinose while simultaneously acting to limit auxin‐mediated cell expansion.     

Organization and expression of two Arabidopsis DREB2 genes encoding DRE-binding proteins involved in dehydration- and high-salinity-responsive gene expression

In plants, a cis-acting element, DRE/CRT, is involved in ABA-independent gene expression in response to dehydration and low-temperature stress. To understand signal transduction pathways from perception of the dehydration stress signal to gene expression, we characterized a gene family for DRE/CRT-binding proteins DREB2A and DREB2B in Arabidopsis thaliana. Northern analysis showed that both genes are induced by dehydration and high-salt stress. Organ-specific northern analysis with gene-specific probes showed that these genes are strongly induced in roots by high-salt stress and in stems and roots by dehydration stress. The DREB2A gene is located on chromosome 5, and DREB2B on chromosome 3. We screened an Arabidopsis genomic DNA library with cDNA fragments of DREB2A and DREB2B as probes, and isolated DNA fragments that contained 5-flanking regions of these genes. Sequence analysis showed that both genes are interrupted by a single intron at identical positions in their leader sequence. Several conserved sequences were found in the promoter regions of both genes. The -glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene driven by the DREB2 promoters was induced by dehydration and high-salt stress in transgenic Arabidopsis plants.     

Multiple hydrophobic motifs in Arabidopsis CBF1 COOH-terminus provide functional redundancy in trans-activation

The Arabidopsis CBF proteins activate expression of a set of genes whose upstream regulatory sequences typically harbor one or more copies of the CRT/DRE low temperature cis-acting DNA regulatory element. Using domain swap experiments in both yeast and Arabidopsis we show that the NH₃-terminal 115 amino acids direct CBF1 to target genes and the COOH-terminal 98 amino acids function in trans-activation. Mutational analysis through the COOH-terminus using truncation and alanine-substitution mutants in yeast revealed four motifs that contribute positively towards activation. Overexpression of mutants in plants support this conclusion and also indicated that disruption of a single motif did not seriously compromise activity unless combined with the disruption of a second. These motifs consist of clusters of hydrophobic residues which are delimited from one another by short stretches of Asp, Glu, Pro and other residues favoring the formation of loops. This structural pattern is conserved across plant taxa as revealed through alignment of Arabidopsis CBF1 with homologous sequences from a diverse array of plant species. Overexpression in plants of the CBF1 COOH-terminus as a fusion with the yeast GAL4 DNA binding domain also resulted in severe stunting of growth, a phenotype which was alleviated if the activation domain was rendered ineffective. Taken together these results suggest that high level overexpression of an active, CBF activation domain compromises plant growth.     

转DREB基因烟草悬浮细胞系(BY-2)的建立及其几个与抗盐和抗渗透胁迫相关指标的检测

用基因枪法将DREB基因和诱导型启动子rd29B构建的载体pBAC128F转入烟草悬浮细胞。通过除草剂抗性筛选、PCR和PCR-Southern检测,获得转DREB基因的细胞系。以300mmol·L-1NaCl和15%PEG6000处理14d后,转基因细胞系存活并生长,而野生型则接近死亡。转基因细胞系的脯氨酸含量和超氧物歧化酶活性普遍高于野生型的,而丙二醛含量则相反。