Shaoping Fu

Isopentenyl transferase gene (ipt) downstream transcriptionally fused with gene expression improves the growth of transgenic plants

This research reports a promising approach to increase a plant’s physiological cytokinin content. This approach also enables the increase to play a role in plant growth and development by introducing the ipt gene to downstream transcriptionally fuse with other genes under the control of a CaMV35S promoter, in which the ipt gene is far from the 35S promoter. According to Kozak’s ribosome screening model, expression of the ipt gene is reduced by the terminal codon of the first gene and the internal untranslated nucleotides between the fused genes. In the transgenic plants pVKH35S-GUS-ipt, pVKH35S-AOC-ipt, and pVKH35S-AtGolS2-ipt, cytokinins were increased only two to threefold, and the plants grew more vigorously than the pVKH35S-AOC or pVKH35S-AtGolS2 transgenic plants lacking the ipt gene. The vigorous growth was reflected in rapid plant growth, a longer flowering period, a greater number of flowers, more seed product, and increased chlorophyll synthesis. The AOC and AtGolS2 genes play a role in a plant’s tolerance of salt or cold, respectively. When the ipt gene transcriptionally fuses with AOC or AtGolS2 in the frame of AOC-ipt and AtGolS2-ipt, slight cytokinin increases were obtained in their transgenic plants; furthermore, those increases played a positive role in improvements of plant growth. Notably, an increased cytokinin volume at the physiological level, in concert with AtGolS2 expression, enhances a plant’s tolerance to cold.

Recombinant expressions of sweet plant protein mabinlin II in Escherichia coli and food-grade Lactococcus lactis.

Sweet plant proteins, which are safe, natural, low-calorie sweeteners, may be suitable replacements for sugars in the food and beverage industries. Mabinlin II, a sweet plant protein, shows the most pronounced heat stability and acid resistance of any of the six known types of plant sweet proteins. However, mabinlin II is difficult to extract from the Capparis masaikai plant, which is itself becoming increasingly scarce. This limits the use of naturally acquired mabinlin II. In this study, recombinant mabinlin II proteins were expressed and purified in Escherichia coli and in food-grade Lactococcus lactis. Recombinant mabinlin II proteins MBL-BH (containing the B-chains of mabinlinII downstream fused with His-tag) and MBL-ABH (containing the A- and B-chains of mabinlinII downstream fused with His-tag) were expressed in E. coli in the form of inclusion bodies. They were then purified and renatured. The refolded MBL-BH was found to be 100 times sweeter than sucrose by weight, but it was not heat-stable. Refolded MBL-ABH was neither sweet nor heat-stable. Recombinant mabinlin II proteins were secreted and expressed intracellularly in food-grade L. lactis, in which the concentrated cell samples and culture medium samples were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blotting analysis with anti-mabinlin II polyclonal antibody. This study demonstrated that the single B chain of mabinlin II has a sweet taste. The recombinant mabinlin II proteins have been successfully expressed in food-grade L. lactis, which is a crucial step in the production of mabinlin II through microorganism expression systems.

Structure, Expression, and Functional Analysis of the Hexokinase Gene Family in Cassava

Hexokinase (HXK) proteins play important roles in catalyzing hexose phosphorylation and sugar sensing and signaling. To investigate the roles of HXKs in cassava tuber root development, seven HXK genes (MeHXK1–7) were isolated and analyzed. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that the MeHXK family can be divided into five subfamilies of plant HXKs. MeHXKs were clearly divided into type A (MeHXK1) and type B (MeHXK2–7) based on their N-terminal sequences. MeHXK1–5 all had typical conserved regions and similar protein structures to the HXKs of other plants; while MeHXK6–7 lacked some of the conserved regions. An expression analysis of the MeHXK genes in cassava organs or tissues demonstrated that MeHXK2 is the dominant HXK in all the examined tissues (leaves, stems, fruits, tuber phloems, and tuber xylems). Notably, the expression of MeHXK2 and the enzymatic activity of HXK were higher at the initial and expanding tuber stages, and lower at the mature tuber stage. Furthermore, the HXK activity of MeHXK2 was identified by functional complementation of the HXK-deficient yeast strain YSH7.4-3C (hxk1, hxk2, glk1). The gene expression and enzymatic activity of MeHXK2 suggest that it might be the main enzyme for hexose phosphorylation during cassava tuber root development, which is involved in sucrose metabolism to regulate the accumulation of starch.

Identification, Expression, and Functional Analysis of the Fructokinase Gene Family in Cassava

Fructokinase (FRK) proteins play important roles in catalyzing fructose phosphorylation and participate in the carbohydrate metabolism of storage organs in plants. To investigate the roles of FRKs in cassava tuber root development, seven FRK genes (MeFRK1–7) were identified, and MeFRK1–6 were isolated. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the MeFRK family genes can be divided into α (MeFRK 1, 2, 6, 7) and β (MeFRK 3, 4, 5) groups. All the MeFRK proteins have typical conserved regions and substrate binding residues similar to those of the FRKs. The overall predicted three-dimensional structures of MeFRK1–6 were similar, folding into a catalytic domain and a β-sheet ‘‘lid” region, forming a substrate binding cleft, which contains many residues involved in the binding to fructose. The gene and the predicted three-dimensional structures of MeFRK3 and MeFRK4 were the most similar. MeFRK1–6 displayed different expression patterns across different tissues, including leaves, stems, tuber roots, flowers, and fruits. In tuber roots, the expressions of MeFRK3 and MeFRK4 were much higher compared to those of the other genes. Notably, the expression of MeFRK3 and MeFRK4 as well as the enzymatic activity of FRK were higher at the initial and early expanding tuber stages and were lower at the later expanding and mature tuber stages. The FRK activity of MeFRK3 and MeFRK4 was identified by the functional complementation of triple mutant yeast cells that were unable to phosphorylate either glucose or fructose. The gene expression and enzymatic activity of MeFRK3 and MeFRK4 suggest that they might be the main enzymes in fructose phosphorylation for regulating the formation of tuber roots and starch accumulation at the tuber root initial and expanding stages.

Isolation and Characterization of Ftsz Genes in Cassava

The filamenting temperature-sensitive Z proteins (FtsZs) play an important role in plastid division. In this study, three FtsZ genes were isolated from the cassava genome, and named MeFtsZ1, MeFtsZ2-1, and MeFtsZ2-2, respectively. Based on phylogeny, the MeFtsZs were classified into two groups (FtsZ1 and FtsZ2). MeFtsZ1 with a putative signal peptide at N-terminal, has six exons, and is classed to FtsZ1 clade. MeFtsZ2-1 and MeFtsZ2-2 without a putative signal peptide, have seven exons, and are classed to FtsZ2 clade. Subcellular localization found that all the three MeFtsZs could locate in chloroplasts and form a ring in chloroplastids. Structure analysis found that all MeFtsZ proteins contain a conserved guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) domain in favor of generate contractile force for cassava plastid division. The expression profiles of MeFtsZ genes by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis in photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic tissues found that all of the MeFtsZ genes had higher expression levels in photosynthetic tissues, especially in younger leaves, and lower expression levels in the non-photosynthetic tissues. During cassava storage root development, the expressions of MeFtsZ2-1 and MeFtsZ2-2 were comparatively higher than MeFtsZ1. The transformed Arabidopsis of MeFtsZ2-1 and MeFtsZ2-2 contained abnormally shape, fewer number, and larger volume chloroplasts. Phytohormones were involved in regulating the expressions of MeFtsZ genes. Therefore, we deduced that all of the MeFtsZs play an important role in chloroplast division, and that MeFtsZ2 (2-1, 2-2) might be involved in amyloplast division and regulated by phytohormones during cassava storage root development.

The Sesuvium portulacastrum Plasma Membrane Na+/H+ Antiporter SpSOS1 Complemented the Salt Sensitivity of Transgenic Arabidopsis sos1 Mutant Plants

The plasma membrane (PM) Na+/H+ antiporter SOS1 (salt overly sensitive 1) has emerged as a key factor in regulating plant salt tolerance. The SpSOS1 gene, which encodes a PM Na+/H+ antiporter, was cloned from the halophyte Sesuvium portulacastrum and transformed into Arabidopsis sos1 mutant plants. As shown from the results, the SpSOS1 expression complemented the salt sensitivity of the sos1 mutant plants. Upon salinity stress, SpSOS1-transgenic Arabidopsis sos1 mutant seeds displayed higher germination ratio compared to the sos1 mutant. The sos1 mutant plants expressing SpSOS1 grew better and had a lower Na+/K+ ratio than that of the sos1 mutant and wild-type (WT) plants when they were treated with NaCl. In addition, SpSOS1-overexpressed Arabidopsis accumulated less malondialdehyde (MDA) and had a lower level of electrolyte leakage than that in the sos1 mutant and WT plants under salt stress. Furthermore, the SpSOS1 expression in transgenic sos1 mutant plants also increased the transcript levels of some salt stress-related genes, such as AtHKT1;1 (high-affinity K+ transporter 1;1), AtSOS2 (salt overly sensitive 2), AtSCABP8 (SOS3-like calcium binding protein 8), and AtNHX1 (Na+/H+ exchanger 1). These results suggested that SpSOS1 improved the plant salt tolerance by regulating ion homeostasis and protecting the plasma membrane against oxidative damage under salt stress.