Isocitrate lyase and malate synthase genes from Brassica napus L. are active in pollen.
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The light-regulated expression of eight nuclear-encoded genes for plastid proteins from spinach (Spinacia oleracea) (RBCS-1 and CAB-1; ATPC and ATPD, encoding the subunits gamma and delta of the ATP synthase; PC and FNR; PSAD and PSAF, encoding the subunits II and III of photosystem I reaction center) was analyzed with promoter/beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene fusions in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana plumbaginifolia) seedlings and mature plants under standardized light and growth conditions. Unique response patterns were found for each of these promoters. GUS activities differed more than 30-fold. Strong promoters were found for the PC and PSAD genes. On the other hand, the ATPC promoter was relatively weak. Expression of the CAB/GUS gene fusion in etiolated material was at the detection limit; all other chimeric genes were expressed in the dark as well. Light stimulation of GUS activities ranged from 3- (FNR promoter) to more than 100-fold (CAB-1 promoter). The FNR promoter responded only to red light (RL) and not significantly to blue light (BL), whereas the PC promoter contained regions with different sensitivities toward RL and BL. Furthermore, different RNA accumulation kinetics were observed for the PSAF, CAB, FNR, and PC promoter/GUS gene fusions during de-etiolation, which, at least in the case of the PSAF gene, differed from the regulation of the corresponding endogenous genes in spinach and tobacco. The results suggest either that not all cis elements determining light-regulated and quantitative expression are present on the spinach promoter fragments used or that the spinach cis-regulatory elements respond differently to the host (tobacco) regulatory pathway(s). Furthermore, as in tobacco, but not in spinach, the trans-gene hardly responds to single light pulses that operate through phytochrome. Taken together, the results suggest that the genes have been independently translocated from the organelle to the nucleus during phylogeny. Furthermore, each gene seems to have acquired a unique set of regulatory elements.
Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) contains a large family of tyrosine/dihydroxyphenylalanine decarboxylase (tydc) genes involved in the biosynthesis of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids and cell wall-bound hydroxycinnamic acid amides. Eight members from two distinct gene subfamilies have been isolated, tydc1, tydc4, tydc6, tydc8, and tydc9 in one group and tydc2, tydc3, and tydc7 in the other. The tydc8 and tydc9 genes were located 3.2 kb apart on one genomic clone, suggesting that the family is clustered. Transcripts for most tydc genes were detected only in roots. Only tydc2 and tydc7 revealed expression in both roots and shoots, and TYDC3 mRNAs were the only specific transcripts detected in seedlings. TYDC1, TYDC8, and TYDC9 mRNAs, which occurred in roots, were not detected in elicitor-treated opium poppy cultures. Expression of tydc4, which contains a premature termination codon, was not detected under any conditions. Five tydc promoters were fused to the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene in a binary vector. All constructs produced transient GUS activity in microprojectile-bombarded opium poppy and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cell cultures. The organ- and tissue-specific expression pattern of tydc promoter-GUS fusions in transgenic tobacco was generally parallel to that of corresponding tydc genes in opium poppy. GUS expression was most abundant in the internal phloem of shoot organs and in the stele of roots. Select tydc promoter-GUS fusions were also wound induced in transgenic tobacco, suggesting that the basic mechanisms of developmental and inducible tydc regulation are conserved across plant species.
Camptothecin is an anticancer drug produced by the monoterpene indole alkaloid pathway in Camptotheca acuminata. As part of an investigation of the camptothecin biosynthetic pathway, we have cloned and characterized a gene from C. acuminata encoding the beta-subunit of tryptophan (Trp) synthase (TSB). In C. acuminata TSB provides Trp for both protein synthesis and indole alkaloid production and therefore represents a junction between primary and secondary metabolism. TSB mRNA and protein were detected in all C. acuminata organs examined, and their abundance paralleled that of camptothecin. Within each shoot organ, TSB was most abundant in vascular tissues. Within the root, however, TSB expression was most abundant in the outer cortex. TSB has been localized to chloroplasts in Arabidopsis, but there was little expression of TSB in C. acuminata tissues where the predominant plastids were photosynthetically competent chloroplasts. Expression of the promoter from the C. acuminata TSB gene in transgenic tobacco plants paralleled expression of the native gene in C. acuminata in all organs except roots. TSB is also highly expressed in C. acuminata during early seedling development at a stage corresponding to peak accumulation of camptothecin, consistent with the idea that Trp biosynthesis and the secondary indole alkaloid pathway are coordinately regulated.
A cDNA clone that encodes a feedback-insensitive anthranilate synthase (AS), ASA2, isolated from a 5-methyl-tryptophan (Trp) (5MT)-resistant tobacco cell line under the control of the constitutive cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter, was introduced into the forage legume Astragalus sinicus by Agrobacterium rhizogenes with kanamycin selection. The 35S-ASA2 gene was expressed constitutively as demonstrated by northern-blot hybridization analyses and the presence of feedback-insensitive AS. Hairy root lines transformed with 35S-ASA2 grew in concentrations of up to 100 microM 5MT, whereas the controls were completely inhibited by 15 microM 5MT. Expression of the feedback-insensitive ASA2 resulted in a 1.3- to 5.5-fold increase in free Trp. Kinetic studies of the AS activity demonstrate the Trp feedback alterations and indicate that the ASA2 alpha-subunit can interact with the native A. sinicus beta-subunit to form an active enzyme. The ASA2 transcript and high free Trp were also detected in the leaves, stems, and roots of plants regenerated from the transformed hairy roots. Thus, we show for the first time that ASA2 can be used to transform plants of a different species to increase the levels of the essential amino acid Trp and impart 5MT resistance.
The effects of deleting DNA sequences upstream from the phytohemagglutinin-L gene of Phaseolus vulgaris have been examined with respect to the level of gene product produced in the seeds of transgenic tobacco. Our studies indicate that several upstream regions quantitatively modulate expression. Between -1000 and -675, a negative regulatory element reduces expression approximately threefold relative to shorter deletion mutants that do not contain this region. Positive regulatory elements lie between -550 and -125 and, compared with constructs containing only 125 base pairs of upstream sequences (-125), the presence of these two regions can be correlated with a 25-fold and a 200-fold enhancement of phytohemagglutinin-L levels. These experiments were complemented by gel retardation assays, which demonstrated that two of the three regions bind cotyledon nuclear proteins from mid-mature seeds. One of the binding sites maps near a DNA sequence that is highly homologous to protein binding domains located upstream from the soybean seed lectin and Kunitz trypsin inhibitor genes. Competition experiments demonstrated that the upstream regions of a bean beta-phaseolin gene, the soybean seed lectin gene, and an oligonucleotide from the upstream region of the trypsin inhibitor gene can compete differentially for factor binding. We suggest that these legume genes may be regulated in part by evolutionarily conserved protein/DNA interactions.
The plastid rbcL gene, encoding the large subunit of ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase, in higher plants is transcribed from a sigma70 promoter by the eubacterial-type RNA polymerase. To identify regulatory elements outside of the rbcL -10/-35 promoter core, we constructed transplastomic tobacco plants with uidA reporter genes expressed from rbcL promoter derivatives. Promoter activity was characterized by measuring steady state levels of uidA mRNA on RNA gel blots and by measuring promoter strength in run-on transcription assays. We report here that the rbcL core promoter is sufficient to obtain wild-type rates of transcription. Furthermore, the rates of transcription were up to 10-fold higher in light-grown leaves than in dark-adapted plants. Although the rates of transcription were lower in the dark, rbcL mRNA accumulated to similar levels in light-grown and dark-adapted leaves. Accumulation of uidA mRNA from most rbcL promoter deletion derivatives directly reflected the relative rates of transcription: high in the light-grown and low in the dark-adapted leaves. However, uidA mRNA accumulated to high levels in a light-independent fashion as long as a segment encoding a stem-loop structure in the 5' untranslated region was included in the promoter construct. This finding indicates that lower rates of rbcL transcription in the dark are compensated by increased mRNA stability.
Expression of the Sesbania rostrata leghemoglobin glb3 gene was analyzed in transgenic Lotus corniculatus and tobacco plants harboring chimeric glb3-uidA (gus) gene fusions to identify cis-acting elements involved in nodule-specific gene expression and general transcriptional control. A 1.9-kilobase fragment of the glb3 5'-upstream region was found to direct a high level of nodule-specific beta-glucuronidase (GUS) activity in L. corniculatus, restricted to the Rhizobium-infected cells of the nodules. The same fragment directed a low level of GUS activity in tobacco, restricted primarily to the roots and to phloem cells of the stem and petiole vascular system. A deletion analysis revealed that the region between coordinates -429 and -48 relative to the ATG was sufficient for nodule-specific expression. Replacement of the -161 to -48 region, containing the glb3 CAAT and TATA boxes, with the heterologous truncated promoters delta-p35S and delta-pnos resulted in a loss of nodule specificity and reduction of GUS activity in L. corniculatus but a significant increase in tobacco, primarily in the roots. The same fragment could not direct nodule-specific expression when fused to a heterologous enhancer in cis. This region contains DNA sequences required, but not sufficient, for nodule-specific expression in L. corniculatus that function poorly or may be involved in promoter silencing in tobacco. By fusing further upstream fragments to the delta-p35S and delta-pnos promoters, two positive regulatory regions were delimited between coordinates -1601 and -670, as well as -429 and -162. The former region appears to function as a general enhancer because it significantly increased promoter activity in both orientations in L. corniculatus and tobacco. The latter region could enhance gene expression in both orientations in tobacco, but only in the correct orientation in L. corniculatus. These results show that efficient expression of the S. rostrata glb3 gene in nodules is mediated by an ATG-proximal, tissue-specific element, as well as further 5'-upstream positive elements; that the S. rostrata glb3 promoter is induced in a nodule-specific fashion in the heterologous legume L. corniculatus, suggesting a high degree of conservation of the relevant regulatory signals; and that the S. rostrata lb promoter is not silent in the nonlegume tobacco, but is expressed primarily in the roots.
Regulatory properties of a 1.4-kilobase promoter fragment of the bean chalcone synthase CHS8 gene were examined by analysis of glucuronidase (GUS) activity in transgenic tobacco containing a CHS8-GUS gene fusion. The promoter was highly active in the root apical meristem and in petals, exclusively in those cells of the inner epidermis that accumulate anthocyanins. The gene fusion was only weakly expressed in other floral organs, mature leaves, and stems. The early stages of seedling development were characterized by an apparent wound induction of the promoter in the endosperm and strong expression in the immature root, which became localized to the apical meristem and perivascular tissue at the root-hypocotyl junction. The promoter became active during lateral root formation in both the new root and damaged tissue of the main root. The gene fusion was also expressed in greening cotyledons and primary leaves but not in the shoot apical meristem. Light modulated expression in the cotyledons and root-shoot junction but had no effect on other aspects of the developmental program. Wounding or fungal elicitor treatment of mature leaves activated the promoter in a well-defined zone adjacent to the stress site. Stress induction occurred in mesophyll and vascular tissues as well as in the epidermis. We conclude that the CHS8 promoter contains cis-elements required to establish temporal and spatial control of flavonoid biosynthesis during development and in response to diverse environmental stimuli.
We have used DNase I footprinting to characterize nuclear factors that bind to the light-responsive promoter of pea rbcS-3A, one member of the gene family encoding the small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase. A sequence-specific binding activity, designated 3AF1, binds to an AT-rich sequence present at the -45 region of the rbcS-3A promoter. A tetramer of the 3AF1 binding site, designated as Box VI, can form multiple complexes with tobacco leaf and root nuclear extracts. Mutations of 3 base pairs in Box VI severely reduce DNA-protein complex formation in vitro. The wild-type Box VI tetramer, but not the mutant tetramer, is active in transgenic tobacco plants when placed upstream of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter truncated at -90. These results correlate binding of 3AF1 to the in vivo function of Box VI. The Box VI tetramer/35S chimeric construct confers expression in diverse cell types and organs and its activity is not dependent on light. By using the Box VI tetramer as a probe to screen a cDNA expression library, we have obtained a putative cDNA clone for the 3AF1 DNA-binding activity. Lysogen extracts of Escherichia coli expressing the cDNA clone give sequence-specific complexes with Box VI. The deduced amino acid sequence of the protein encoded by the cDNA contains two stretches of about 100 residues that are 80% homologous. Moreover, in each of the two repeats, there is an arrangement of histidines and cysteines, which may be related to the two known types of zinc-finger motifs found in many DNA-binding proteins. Consistent with the expectation that metal coordination plays an important role in DNA binding by this protein, we found that 1,10-phenanthroline can abolish the formation of DNA-protein complexes. Interestingly, we found that the same treatment did not abolish the DNA binding activity of 3AF1 in crude nuclear extracts of tobacco. These data indicate that the nuclear 3AF1 activity is likely due to multiple DNA-binding proteins all interacting with Box VI in vitro. RNA gel blot analysis shows that multiple transcripts homologous to this cDNA clone are expressed in different tobacco organs.
In previous studies using leaves of light-grown transgenic tobacco plants, we have shown that sequences located within the transcribed region of the pea Fed-1 gene (encoding ferredoxin I) are major cis-acting determinants of light-regulated mRNA accumulation. However, we show here that these internal sequences are less important for the Fed-1 light response in etiolated tobacco seedlings than they are in green leaves and that upstream elements confer organ specificity and contribute significantly to Fed-1 light responses in etiolated material. Light effects mediated by upstream response elements are thus most pronounced during the initial induction of gene activity, whereas internal elements play a more prominent role in modulating Fed-1 expression once the gene is already active.
There is growing evidence that AT-rich promoter elements play a role in transcription of plant genes. For the promoter of the nuclear gene for chloroplast glutamine synthetase from pea (GS2), the deletion of a 33-bp AT-rich sequence (box 1 native) from the 5' end of a GS2 promoter-beta-glucuronidase (GUS) fusion resulted in a 10-fold reduction in GUS activity. The box 1 native element was used in gel shift analysis and two distinct complexes were detected. One complex is related to the low-mobility complex reported previously for AT-rich elements from several other plant promoters. A multimer of the box 1 sequence was used to isolate a cDNA encoding an AT-rich DNA binding protein (ATBP-1). ATBP-1 is not a high-mobility group protein, but it is a novel protein that combines a high-mobility group I/Y-like DNA binding domain with a glutamine-rich putative transcriptional domain.
Functional analyses previously identified minimal promoter regions required for maintaining high-level expression of the late anther tomato LAT52 and LAT59 genes in tomato pollen. Here, we now define elements that direct pollen specificity. We used a transient assay system consisting of two cell types that differentially express the LAT genes and both "loss-of-function" and "gain-of-function" approaches. Linker substitution mutants analyzed in the transient assay and in transgenic plants identified 30-bp proximal promoter regions of LAT52 and LAT59 that are essential for their expression in pollen and that confer pollen specificity when fused to the heterologous cauliflower mosaic virus 35S core promoter. In vivo competition experiments demonstrated that a common trans-acting factor interacts with the pollen specificity region of both LAT gene promoters and suggested that a common mechanism regulates their coordinate expression. Adjacent upstream elements, the 52/56 box in LAT52 and the 56/59 box in LAT59, are involved in modulating the level of expression in pollen. The 52/56 box may be a target for the binding of a member of the GT-1 transcription factor family.
The conserved bifactorial endosperm box found in the promoter of wheat storage protein genes comprises two different cis elements that are thought to be involved in regulating endosperm-specific gene expression. Endosperm nuclear extracts contain binding activities. One is called ESBF-I, which binds to the endosperm motif (EM), and the other is called ESBF-II, which binds to the GCN4-like motif(GLM). Here, we present a functional analysis of the endosperm box of a low-molecular-weight glutenin gene found on the 1D1 chromosome of hexaploid wheat (LMWG-1D1) in transgenic tobacco plants. Our analysis demonstrates the necessity of the EM and GLM for endosperm-specific gene expression and suggests the presence in tobacco of functional counterparts of wheat ESBF-I and ESBF-II. Furthermore, we describe the isolation and characterization of cDNA clones encoding SPA, a seed-specific basic leucine zipper protein from wheat that can activate transcription from the GLMs of the -326-bp LMWG-1D1 promoter in both maize and tobacco leaf protoplasts. This activation is also partially dependent on the presence of functional EMs, suggesting interactions between SPA with ESBF-I-like activities.
The DNA sequence of the pea cytosolic glutamine synthetase GS3A gene promoter has been determined and the start of transcription mapped using S1 nuclease. The full-length promoter and a series of 5' deletions were fused to beta-glucuronidase (GUS) and introduced into transgenic tobacco and alfalfa. In transgenic tobacco the GS3A promoter directed GUS expression in the phloem cells of the vasculature in leaves, stems and roots. GUS expression was also detected in the vasculature of cotyledons and the root tips of germinating T1 seedlings. The promoter conferred a similar expression pattern in transgenic alfalfa, and expression was also observed in root nodules. Nodule expression was located in nodule primordia, as well as the meristem, symbiotic zone, and vasculature of mature nodules. The promoter was found to be active even when deleted to -132 relative to the start of transcription. DNA mobility-shift analysis identified a protein present in nuclear and whole-cell plant extracts which bound to a 17 bp DNA element contained within the minimal -132 promoter required for expression.
Huanglongbing (HLB) disease, associated with the fastidious bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), has a significant impact on citrus production worldwide. Conventional biochemical and genetic evaluation studies to identify potential disease resistance strategies have been mainly hindered due to the inability to culture CLas in a defined medium and the general recalcitrance of Citrus cultivars (grapefruits and oranges) to Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation. We previously demonstrated the utility of plant hairy roots to co-cultivate CLas. In this study, we developed a hairy root transformation system using citron (Citrus medica L.), which is highly amenable to Rhizobium-mediated hairy root transformation. The explant survival and hairy root transformation efficiencies were up to 100% and 73%, respectively, and transgenic roots can be attained in as little as 30-60 days. We demonstrate the utility of this citron-based hairy root transformation for rapid CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing, transgene evaluation, and antimicrobial efficacy testing. The citron-based hairy root transformation system will significantly help the research community to speed-track the assessment of potential HLB disease resistance strategies.
Anthocyanin pathway-specific transcriptional activators R and C1 from the monocot maize were expressed in two dicots, Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum. Expression of R caused augmented anthocyanin pigmentation in both plant species and augmented trichome (hair) production in Arabidopsis. Alone, C1 had no effect. Hybrid transgenic Arabidopsis expressing both C1 and R produced anthocyanins in root, petal, and stamen tissues that normally never express anthrocyanins. When R was expressed in the transparent testa glabrous (without anthocyanins and trichomes) mutant of Arabidopsis, the deficiency was complemented and both anthocyanins and trichomes were restored.
When coresident with the Ti (tumor-inducing) plasmid, the 21-kDa product of the osa gene of the plasmid pSa can suppress crown gall tumorigenesis incited by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Neither T-DNA processing nor vir (virulence) gene induction is affected by the presence of osa in the bacterium. We used Arabidopsis thaliana root segments and tobacco leaf discs to demonstrate that Osa inhibits A. tumefaciens from transforming these plants to the stable phenotypes of tumorigenesis, kanamycin resistance, and stable beta-glucuronidase (GUS) expression. When A. tumefaciens contained osa, the lack of expression of transient GUS activity in infected plant tissues, as well as the lack of systemic viral symptoms following agroinfection of Nicotiana benthamiana by tomato mottle virus, suggested that oncogenic suppression by Osa occurs before T-DNA enters the plant nucleus. The extracellular complementation of an A. tumefaciens virE2 mutant (the T-DNA donor strain) by an A. tumefaciens strain lacking T-DNA but containing a wild-type virE2 gene (the VirE2 donor strain) was blocked when osa was present in the VirE2 donor strain, but not when osa was present in the T-DNA donor strain. These data indicate that osa inhibits VirE2 protein, but not T-DNA export from A. tumefaciens. These data further suggest that VirE2 protein and T-DNA are separately exported from the bacterium. The successful infection of Datura stramonium plants and leaf discs of transgenic tobacco plants expressing VirE2 protein by an A. tumefaciens virE2 mutant carrying osa confirmed that oncogenic suppression by osa does not occur by blocking T-DNA transfer. Overexpression of virB9, virB10, and virB11 in A. tumefaciens did not overcome oncogenic suppression by osa. The finding that the expression of the osa gene by itself, rather than the formation of a conjugal intermediate with pSa, blocks transformation suggests that the mechanism of oncogenic suppression by osa may differ from that of the IncQ plasmid RSF1010.