Biomedical subjects

Ray Wu

Publications and source records attributed to Ray Wu.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

An efficient method for producing an indexed, insertional-mutant library in rice.

Generation of an indexed, saturated, insertional-mutant library is an aid to understanding the functions of genes in an organism. However, 10 years of work by many investigators have not yet yielded such a library in rice. The major reason is that determining the chromosomal locations of a very large number of random insertion mutants by flanking sequence analysis is highly labor intensive, and therefore, libraries that do exist have not been indexed. We report here an efficient procedure to construct an indexed, region-specific, insertional-mutant library of rice. The procedure makes use of efficient long-PCR-based high-throughput indexing, coupled with a random but anchored population of Ds transposants. Long-PCR indexing allows rapid and simultaneous determination of the chromosomal locations of a large number of mutants that surround a particular anchor line, thus converting a random library into an indexed one. Such a library can be used directly, without the need to screen a large random library for a desired mutant plant.

Chromosome Mapping↗

PubMed2006

Evaluation of the stress-inducible production of choline oxidase in transgenic rice as a strategy for producing the stress-protectant glycine betaine.

Glycine betaine (GB) is a compatible solute that is also capable of stabilizing the structure and function of macromolecules. Several GB-producing transgenic rice lines were generated in which the Arthrobacter pascens choline oxidase (COX) gene, fused to a chloroplast targeting sequence (TP) was expressed under the control of an ABA-inducible promoter (SIP; stress-inducible promoter) or a ubiquitin (UBI) gene promoter that is considered to be constitutive. This comparison led to interesting observations that suggest complex regulation with respect to GB synthesis and plant growth response under stress. In spite of the use of the well-studied stress-inducible promoter, the highest level of GB accumulation (up to 2.60 micromol g(-1) DW) in the SIP lines grown under saline conditions was not as high as in the UBI lines (up to 3.12 micromol g(-1) DW). Therefore, the use of an ABA-inducible promoter was not more beneficial for de novo production of GB. Interestingly, saline growth conditions enhanced GB accumulation by up to 89% in the SIP lines, whereas up to 44% increase was seen in a UBI line. In all these cases the GB levels were many-fold below the range reported for plant species that produce GB naturally. In spite of lower GB concentrations, statistically greater levels of stress tolerance were found in SIP lines than in UBI lines, suggesting that the stress protection observed in SIP plants cannot be totally explained by the increase in the GB content.

Abscisic Acid↗

PubMed2004

Making an impact.

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Advisory Committees↗

PubMed2003

Co-expression of a modified maize ribosome-inactivating protein and a rice basic chitinase gene in transgenic rice plants confers enhanced resistance to sheath blight.

Chitinases, beta-1,3-glucanases, and ribosome-inactivating proteins are reported to have antifungal activity in plants. With the aim of producing fungus-resistant transgenic plants, we co-expressed a modified maize ribosome-inactivating protein gene, MOD1, and a rice basic chitinase gene, RCH10, in transgenic rice plants. A construct containing MOD1 and RCH10 under the control of the rice rbcS and Act1 promoters, respectively, was co-transformed with a plasmid containing the herbicide-resistance gene bar as a selection marker into rice by particle bombardment. Several transformants analyzed by genomic Southern-blot hybridization demonstrated integration of multiple copies of the foreign gene into rice chromosomes. Immunoblot experiments showed that MOD1 formed approximately 0.5% of the total soluble protein in transgenic leaves. RCH10 expression was examined using the native polyacrylamide-overlay gel method, and high RCH10 activity was observed in leaf tissues where endogenous RCH10 is not expressed. R1 plants were analyzed in a similar way, and the Southern-blot patterns and levels of transgene expression remained the same as in the parental line. Analysis of the response of R2 plants to three fungal pathogens of rice, Rhizoctonia solani, Bipolaris oryzae, and Magnaporthe grisea, indicated statistically significant symptom reduction only in the case of R. solani (sheath blight). The increased resistance co-segregated with herbicide tolerance, reflecting a correlation between the resistance phenotype and transgene expression.

Blotting, Southern↗