玉米联合固氮菌Kosakonia radicincitans GXGL-4A转座突变体系的构建

【背景】长期以来,农业生产上过度施用化学氮肥造成了农田生态环境的破坏,引起土壤板结、次生盐渍化和重金属污染。此外,由于田间大量的氮素流失和淋溶导致水体富营养化和地下水污染,使得农产品硝酸盐含量超标,最终可能通过食物链危及人类的健康。因此,通过合理地开发和利用生物固氮菌,从而减少化学氮肥施用量,对于保护生态环境,促进农业的可持续生产具有十分重要的意义。【目的】对从玉米根部分离得到的联合固氮菌Kosakonia radicincitans GXGL-4A进行Tn5转座突变,从而创制大量的突变体,经筛选后应用于对固氮及其调控的分子机制和氮代谢调控网络解析等研究。【方法】以固氮菌K.radicincitans GXGL-4A为研究对象,通过PCR法克隆得到GXGL-4A菌株的亚硝酸还原酶基因nirBD。通过构建重组质粒pMOD-egfp-tet,并利用电击转化法将转座复合体导入GXGL-4A野生株,进行Tn5转座突变,从而获得大量突变菌株。【结果】筛选到4株亚硝酸盐还原酶活性显著降低的突变株,并克隆了突变株M36突变位点的侧翼序列。【结论】对玉米联合固氮菌K.radicincitans GXGL-4A进行Tn5转座突变是可行的,初步建立了该菌株稳定有效的插入突变技术体系。     

Analysis of transposable elements inserted in the genomes of bacteriophages Mu and P1.

We have examined the genomes of the temperate bacteriophages Mu and P1 and some of their insertion mutants for hybridization with the prokaryotic transposable elements IS1 and IS2. We used the DNA blotting-hybridization technique in which denatured DNA fragments are transferred to nitrocellulose paper directly from agarose gels and hybridized to 32P-labeled probe DNA. The 800 base pair insertion in an X mutant of Mu was found to hybridize with IS1. The chloramphenicol resistance transposon, Tn9, in Mu X cam mutants was found to be located at or close to the sites of IS1 insertion in X mutants; Tn9 also hybridized with IS1. The restriction endonuclease BalI cleaved IS1 once; it cleaved Tn9 in all Mu X cam mutants twice to release a fragment of about 1700 base pairs. These results support the conclusion that Tn9 contains one copy of IS1 at each end. In the P1cam isolate, from which Tn9 was transposed to Mu, BalI made a third cut in Tn9 giving rise to fragments of about 850 base pairs. The data further suggested that Tn9 is present in tandem copies in the P1cam isolate we examined. P1 itself was found to harbor IS1. The two P1 strains tested had a common fragment containing IS1; one strain had an additional copy of IS1. The IS1 element common to the P1 strains was shown to be the site of the Tn9 insertion in the P1cam isolate examined. No hybridization between IS2 and any of the Mu and P1 strains could be detected.     

利用发光酶基因标记技术跟踪棉花根圈中的绿针假单胞菌PL9L

采用细菌转化和杂交的方法,成功地将全套发光酶基因标记系统Tn7luxCDABE引入绿针假单胞菌(Pseudomonas chlororaphis)PL9,得到稳定的发光标记菌PL9L。采用发光菌落平板计数法和X射线胶片自显影法,通过盆栽试验和盒裁试验,研究了发光标记菌PL9L在棉花根圈的定殖动态和分布规律。盆栽试验结果表明,在灭菌土盆栽中,播种后6d左右PL9L在棉花根圈的定殖水平达最高(31×109cfu/g根土),播种后56d左右趋向稳定,PL9L数量为17×102cfu/g根土;未灭菌土盆载中,播种后8d左右PL9L的定殖水平达最高(11×109cfu/g根土),46d左右趋向稳定,菌数为14×102cfu/g根土。盒栽试验结果表明,PL9L可从种子向根尖方向扩散,但并不与根的伸长生长同步,播种后36d,灭菌土盒栽中PL9L可扩散至种子下方120cm以内,而未灭菌土盒栽中PL9L扩散至110cm以内。在棉花根尖区域均未检测到PL9L。     

Isolation of adenylate cyclase mutants from Rhizobium meliloti deficient in nodulation

Six Rhizobium meliloti mutants were isolated after Tn5-mediated mutagenesis as resistant to inhibition by a mixture of amino acids (serine, methionine, glycine and leucine). All were defective in adenylate cyclase activity and failed to form nodules in infected roots of Medicago sativa. Furthermore, like other nodulation mutants, they showed altered motility and increased secretion of exopolysaccharides; addition of cAMP to the growth medium abolished some of these phenotypic defects. The possibility that adenylate cyclase participates in the transduction of signals inducing nodulation is discussed.     

Physical and genetic map of the organomercury resistance (Omr) and inorganic mercury resistance (Hgr) loci of the IncM plasmid R831b

Tn7 insertion mutagenesis has been used to facilitate the generation of a physical (restriction endonuclease) and genetic map of the IncM plasmid, R831b. The only selectable phenotypes carried by this 90-kb conjugative plasmid are resistances to inorganic mercury [Hg(II)] and to organomercury compounds. Mutants in the Hgr locus of R831b complemented previously described mutants in the mer operon of the IncFII plasmid R100, indicating functional homology of the locus in each of these different plasmids. However, the R831b Hgr locus is not notably similar in restriction site pattern to either the mer operon of R100 or the mercury resistance transposon, Tn501. Although the enzymes they encode are co-ordinately regulated, the Omr locus of R831b maps approx. 13.5 kb away from the Hgr locus. Three insertions which affect neither phenotype lie between the Hgr and Omr loci; thus, the loci are separated both physically and genetically. One mutant was obtained which tentatively identifies the position of the Tra locus of R831b as adjacent to the Hgr locus.     

An IS15 insertion generates an eight-base-pair duplication of the target DNA

In plasmid pIP1088 the transposable module IS15 is inserted at nucleotide position 1,430 of the vector plasmid pBR322. We have sequenced the termini of the IS15 element, which consists of two perfect inverted repeat sequences, 14 bp long. The sequence is 5′-GGCACTGTTGCAAA… TTTGCAACAGTGCC-3′. The integration event results in the duplication of 8 bp of target DNA.     

Construction and characterization of transposon TnphoZ for the identification of genes encoding exported proteins in Streptococcus agalactiae

Bacterial virulence often depends on exported proteins. To identify genes encoding exported proteins in the neonatal pathogen, group B streptococcus, the transposon TnphoZ was constructed. Here, the coding sequence for the secretion-dependent enzyme alkaline phosphatase from Enterococcus faecalis was fused to the left terminal repeat of Tn917, generating TnphoZ. A collection of TnphoZ mutants was isolated and the DNA flanking the transposon insertion sites was sequenced. Sequence data correlated the expression of high AP activity with transposon insertion into genes encoding predicted exported proteins. It is anticipated that TnphoZ will be suitable for use in other Gram-positive hosts.     

Aberrant O‐glycosylation contributes to tumorigenesis in human colorectal cancer

Aberrant O‐glycosylation is frequently observed in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, but it is unclear if it contributes intrinsically to tumorigenesis. Here, we investigated the biological consequences of aberrant O‐glycosylation in CRC. We first detected the expression profile of Tn antigen in a serial of human CRC tissues and then explored the genetic and biosynthetic mechanisms. Moreover, we used a human CRC cell line (LS174T), which express Tn antigen, to assess whether aberrant O‐glycosylation can directly promote oncogenic properties. It showed that Tn antigen was detected in around 86% human primary and metastatic CRC tissues. Bio‐functional investigations showed that T‐synthase and Cosmc were both impaired in cancer tissues. A further analysis detected an occurrence of hypermethylation of Cosmc gene, which possibly caused its loss‐of‐function and a consequent inactive T‐synthase. Transfection of LS174T cells with WT Cosmc restored mature O‐glycosylation, which subsequently down‐regulated cancer cell proliferation, migration and apoptotic‐resistant ability. Significantly, the expression of MUC2, a heavily O‐glycosylated glycoprotein that plays an essential role in intestinal function, was uniformly reduced in human CRC tissues as well as in LS174T cells. These data suggest that aberrant O‐glycosylation contributes to the development of CRC through direct induction of oncogenic properties in cancer cells.