Chang-Sheng Wang

Production of two Highly Active Bacterial Phytases with Broad pH Optima in Germinated Transgenic Rice Seeds

Phytate is the main storage form of phosphorus in many plant seeds, but phosphate bound in this form is not available to monogastric animals. Phytase, an enzyme that hydrolyzes phosphate from phytate, has the potential to enhance phosphorus availability in animal diets when engineered in rice seeds as a feed additive. Two genes, derived from a ruminal bacterium Selenomonas ruminantium (SrPf6) and Escherichia coli (appA), encoding highly active phytases were expressed in germinated transgenic rice seeds. Phytase expression was controlled by a germination inducible α-amylase gene (αAmy8) promoter, and extracellular phytase secretion directed by an αAmy8 signal peptide sequence. The two phytases were expressed in germinated transgenic rice seeds transiently and in a temporally controlled and tissue-specific manner. No adverse effect on plant development or seed formation was observed. Up to 0.6 and 1.4 U of phytase activity per mg of total extracted cellular proteins were obtained in germinated transgenic rice seeds expressing appA and SrPf6 phytases, respectively, which represent 46–60 times of phytase activities compared to the non-transformant. The appA and SrPf6 phytases produced in germinated transgenic rice seeds had high activity over broad pH ranges of 3.0–5.5 and 2.0–6.0, respectively. Phytase levels and inheritance of transgenes in one highly expressing plant were stable over four generations. Germinated transgenic rice seeds, which produce a highly active recombinant phytase and are rich in hydrolytic enzymes, nutrients and minerals, could potentially be an ideal feed additive for improving the phytate-phosphorus digestibility in monogastric animals.

Chalcone Synthase mRNA and Activity Are Reduced in Yellow Soybean Seed Coats with Dominant I Alleles

The seed of all wild Glycine accessions have black or brown pigments because of the homozygous recessive i allele in combination with alleles at the R and T loci. In contrast, nearly all commercial soybean (Glycine max) varieties are yellow due to the presence of a dominant allele of the I locus (either I or i) that inhibits pigmentation in the seed coats. Spontaneous mutations to the recessive i allele occur in these varieties and result in pigmented seed coats. We have isolated a clone for a soybean dihydroflavonol reductase (DFR) gene using polymerase chain reaction. We examined expression of DFR and two other genes of the flavonoid pathway during soybean seed coat development in a series of near-isogenic isolines that vary in pigmentation as specified by combinations of alleles of the I, R, and T loci. The expression of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and DFR mRNAs was similar in all of the gene combinations at each stage of seed coat development. In contrast, chalcone synthase (CHS) mRNA was barely detectable at all stages of development in seed coats that carry the dominant I allele that results in yellow seed coats. CHS activity in yellow seed coats (I) was also 7- to 10-fold less than in the pigmented seed coats that have the homozygous recessive i allele. It appears that the dominant I allele results in reduction of CHS mRNA, leading to reduction of CHS activity as the basis for inhibition of anthocyanin and proanthocyanin synthesis in soybean seed coats. A further connection between CHS and the I locus is indicated by the occurrence of multiple restriction site polymorphisms in genomic DNA blots of the CHS gene family in near-isogenic lines containing alleles of the I locus.

Enhanced Methionine and Cysteine Levels in Transgenic Rice Seeds by the Accumulation of Sesame 2S Albumin

A chimeric gene encoding a precursor polypeptide of sesame 2S albumin, a sulfur-rich seed storage protein, was expressed in transgenic rice plants under the control of the glutelin promoter with the aim of improving the nutritive value of rice. Rice grains harvested from the first generation of ten different transformed lines inherited the transgene, and the accumulated sesame 2S albumin was presumably processed correctly as its mature form in sesame seed. This transgene was specifically expressed in maturing rice seeds with its encoded sesame 2S albumin exclusively accumulated in the seeds. The crude protein content in rice grains from five putative homozygous lines was increased by 0.64-3.54%, and the methionine and cysteine contents of these transgenic rice grains were respectively elevated by 29-76% and 31-75% compared with those of wild-type rice grains.

Serotonin accumulation in transgenic rice by over-expressing tryptophan decarboxlyase results in a dark brown phenotype and stunted growth

A mutant M47286 with a stunted growth, low fertility and dark-brown phenotype was identified from a T-DNA-tagged rice mutant library. This mutant contained a copy of the T-DNA tag inserted at the location where the expression of two putative tryptophan decarboxlyase genes, TDC-1 and TDC-3, were activated. Enzymatic assays of both recombinant proteins showed tryptophan decarboxlyase activities that converted tryptophan to tryptamine, which could be converted to serotonin by a constitutively expressed tryptamine 5′ hydroxylase (T5H) in rice plants. Over-expression of TDC-1 and TDC-3 in transgenic rice recapitulated the stunted growth, dark-brown phenotype and resulted in a low fertility similar to M47286. The degree of stunted growth and dark-brown color was proportional to the expression levels of TDC-1 and TDC-3. The levels of tryptamine and serotonin accumulation in these transgenic rice lines were also directly correlated with the expression levels of TDC-1 and TDC-3. A mass spectrometry assay demonstrated that the dark-brown leaves and hulls in the TDC-overexpressing transgenic rice were caused by the accumulation of serotonin dimer and that the stunted growth and low fertility were also caused by the accumulation of serotonin and serotonin dimer, but not tryptamine. These results represent the first evidence that over-expression of TDC results in stunted growth, low fertility and the accumulation of serotonin, which when converted to serotonin dimer, leads to a dark brown plant color.

Starch biosynthesizing enzymes in developing grains of rice cultivar Tainung 67 and its sodium azide-induced rice mutant

The relationships between the rate of starch accumulation and the activities of enzymes involving starch biosynthesis in developing grains of field grown rice (Oryza sativa) cultivar Tainung 67 and its sodium azide-induced mutant SA419 were investigated and compared throughout the grain filling period. The results indicated that the activities of most of the grain enzymes involving sugar‐starch conversion rose and reached their maximum between 7 and 14 days after anthesis (DAA), but declined rapidly after 21 DAA. The changes in the rate of starch accumulation correlated well with the changes in the activities of sucrose synthase (SUS), invertase, hexokinase, AGPglucose pyrophosphorylase, UDPglucose pyrophosphorylase, phosphoglucoisomerase, phosphoglucomutase, soluble starch synthase (SSS), granule bound starch synthase (GBSS), starchbranching enzyme (SBE) and starch debranching enzyme (SDBE), during the grain filling period. The rapid grain-fill and shorter period of grain filling in mutant SA419, as compared with Tainung 67, were associated with its higher activity of starch synthesizing at the early phase of grain growth. The lower amylose content of SA419 grains (8%) in comparison with Tainung 67 grains (20%) was possibly due to their inferiority to synthesize amylose through GBSS and SDBE. # 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Different effects on triacylglycerol packaging to oil bodies in transgenic rice seeds by specifically eliminating one of their two oleosin isoforms

Expression of OLE16 and OLE18, two oleosin isoforms in oil bodies of rice seeds, was suppressed by RNA interference. Electron microscopy revealed a few large, irregular oil clusters in 35S::ole16i transgenic seed cells, whereas accumulated oil bodies in 35S::ole18i transgenic seed cells were comparable to or slightly larger than those in wild-type seed cells. Large and irregular oil clusters were observed in cells of double mutant seeds. These unexpected differences observed in oil bodies of 35S::ole16i and 35S::ole18i transgenic seeds were further analyzed. In comparison to wild-type plants, OLE18 levels were reduced to approximately 40% when OLE16 was completely eliminated in 35S::ole16i transgenic plants. In contrast, OLE16 was reduced to only 80% of wild-type levels when OLE18 was completely eliminated in 35S::ole18i transgenic plants. While the triacylglycerol content of crude seed extracts of 35S::ole16i and 35S::ole18i transgenic seeds was reduced to approximately 60% and 80%, respectively, triacylglycerol in isolated oil bodies was respectively reduced to 45% and 80% in accordance with the reduction of their oleosin contents. Oil bodies isolated from both 35S::ole16i and 35S::ole18i transgenic seeds were found to be of comparable size and stability to those isolated from wild-type rice seeds, although they were merely sheltered by a single oleosin isoform. The drastic difference between the triacylglycerol contents of crude seed extracts and isolated oil bodies from 35S::ole16i transgenic plants could be attributed to the presence of large, unstable oil clusters that were sheltered by insufficient amounts of oleosin and therefore could not be isolated together with stable oil bodies.

T-DNA Activation Tagging as a Tool to Isolate Salvia miltiorrhiza Transgenic Lines for Higher Yields of Tanshinones

The study of functional genomics has paved the way for directed approaches to the generation of genetically modified plants that produce novel and/or improved yields of pharmaceuticals. In the present study, an activation tagging mutagenesis (ATM) population of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, a medicinal plant, was established by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The optimum conditions for Agrobacterium transformation were determined by the expression of green fluorescent protein. Under these optimized conditions, we isolated 1435 ATM cell lines with our initial antibiotic selection. Of these 1435 ATM cell lines, six lines (T1-T6) showed a red color on a selective medium containing 4.5 microM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), which is used as a phenotypic model system to identify the accumulation of tanshinones. 700 out of 1435 ATM cell lines were tested with a beta-glucuronidase (GUS) assay, 35 showed GUS activity. Southern blotting analysis revealed that the T1-T7 ATM cell lines have a single copy of the T-DNA insertion. Comparative analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography of the tanshinones expressed by non-transformed and ATM-transformed calli revealed varying quantities of tanshinones. There were negligible tanshinones in non-transformed white calli induced with 2,4-D. ATM lines T1-T6 showed significant increases in the yields of tanshinone-I (up to 43-fold), tanshinone-IIA (up to 26-fold) and cryptotanshinone (up to 104-fold) compared with those of the non-transgenic lines on 2,4-D medium. Interestingly, the yield of cryptotanshinone from line T4 on 2,4-D medium was two times higher than that of the non-transgenic lines on Trans-zeatin riboside medium. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a quantitative and qualitative improvement in quinoid diterpene production achieved in a medicinally important plant species by activation tagging.

Rice Biotech Research at the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute

The article is about the rice biotech research at the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute.

γ-Oryzanol, tocol and mineral compositions in different grain fractions of giant embryo rice mutants.

BACKGROUND Rice embryo is concentrated with lipid, protein and some bioactive chemicals. Two rice mutants IR64-GE and TNG71-GE (M7 generation) were characterised by an enlarged embryo compared with their wild types. In the present study, distributions of protein, lipid, total phenolics, γ-oryzanol, tocols and some essential minerals in these two giant embryo mutants and their respective normal embryo wild types IR64 and TNG71 were compared. RESULTS The embryo dry weights of giant embryo mutants IR64-GE and TNG71-GE were 0.92 and 1.32 mg per seed respectively. These values were higher than those of their respective normal embryo genotypes (0.50 and 0.62 mg per seed). Large variations in protein, lipid, phenolic, γ-oryzanol, tocol and minerals levels were found between mutant and wild-type pairs. The brown rice of TNG71-GE had higher total γ-oryzanol (average of 24% increase) and total tocol (average of 75% increase) levels than TNG71, IR64 and IR64-GE. CONCLUSION The embryo and bran parts of giant embryo mutant TNG71-GE were found to be good sources of vitamin E and γ-oryzanol. Therefore it could be used to produce high-value by-products from milled embryo and bran parts and as a genetic resource for rice improvement programmes. TNG71-GE can also be used as a nutrient-fortified rice cultivar.

A proteomic study of rice cultivar TNG67 and its high aroma mutant SA0420.

Fragrance is a very important economic trait for rice cultivars. To identify the aroma genes in rice, we performed a proteomics analysis of aroma-related proteins between Tainung 67 (TNG67) and its high aroma mutant SA0420. Seventeen of the differentially identified proteins were close related with the aroma phenotype of SA0420. Among them, 9 were found in leaves and 8 were found in grains. One protein (L3) was identified as the chloroplastic glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase B (OsGAPDHB) which was less abundant in SA0420 than TNG67. Sequence analysis demonstrated that this protein in SA0420 carries a P425S mutation in the C-terminal extension domain, which might hinder the formation of holoenzyme, thereby changing the profile of aroma compounds. The protein profile of OsGAPDHB showed only a weak correlation to its transcription profile. This result indicated that the reduction of OsGAPDHB in SA0420 is regulated by post-translational processes and can only be analyzed by proteomics approach. Transgenic lines suppressing OsGAPDHB through RNAi harbored more fragrance than TNG67 but less than SA0420. With betaine-aldehyde dehydrogenase as the only fragrance gene identified in rice to date, OsGAPDHB may serve as the second protein known to contribute to the aroma phenotype.