Wenzhong Xu

Overexpressing GSH1 and AsPCS1 simultaneously increases the tolerance and accumulation of cadmium and arsenic in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The goal of this study was to develop transgenic plants with increased tolerance for and accumulation of heavy metals and metalloids from soil by simultaneous overexpression of AsPCS1 and GSH1 (derived from garlic and bakers yeast) in Arabidopsis thaliana. Phytochelatins (PCs) and glutathione (GSH) are the main binding peptides involved in chelating heavy metal ions in plants and other living organisms. Single-gene transgenic lines had higher tolerance to and accumulated more Cd and As than wild-type. Compared to single-gene transgenic lines, dual-gene transformants exhibited significantly higher tolerance to and accumulated more Cd and As. One of the dual-gene transgenic lines, PG1, accumulated twice the amount of Cd as single-gene transgenic lines. Simultaneous overexpression of AsPCS1 and GSH1 led to elevated total PC production in transgenic Arabidopsis. These results indicate that such a stacking of modified genes is capable of increasing Cd and As tolerance and accumulation in transgenic lines, and represents a highly promising new tool for use in phytoremediation efforts.

The assembly of metals chelation by thiols and vacuolar compartmentalization conferred increased tolerance to and accumulation of cadmium and arsenic in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana.

Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana were developed to increase tolerance for and accumulation of heavy metals and metalloids by simultaneous overexpression of AsPCS1 and YCF1 (derived from garlic and bakers yeast) based on the fact that chelation of metals and vacuolar compartmentalization are the main strategies for heavy metals/metalloids detoxification and tolerance in plants. Dual-gene transgenic lines had the longest roots and the highest accumulation of Cd and As than single-gene transgenic lines and wildtype. When grown on cadmium or arsenic (arsenite/arsenate), Dual-gene transgenic lines accumulated over 2-10 folds cadmium/arsenite and 2-3 folds arsenate than wild type or plants expressing AsPCS1 or YCF1 alone. Such stacking modified genes involved in chelation of toxic metals and vacuolar compartmentalization represents a highly promising new tool for use in phytoremediation efforts.

Engineering arsenic tolerance and hyperaccumulation in plants for phytoremediation by a PvACR3 transgenic approach.

Arsenic (As) pollution is a global problem, and the plant-based cleanup of contaminated soils, called phytoremediation, is therefore of great interest. Recently, transgenic approaches have been designed to develop As phytoremediation technologies. Here, we used a one-gene transgenic approach for As tolerance and accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana . PvACR3, a key arsenite [As(III)] antiporter in the As hyperaccumulator fern Pteris vittata , was expressed in Arabidopsis , driven by the CaMV 35S promoter. In response to As treatment, PvACR3 transgenic plants showed greatly enhanced tolerance. PvACR3 transgenic seeds could even germinate and grow in the presence of 80 μM As(III) or 1200 μM arsenate [As(V)] treatments that were lethal to wild-type seeds. PvACR3 localizes to the plasma membrane in Arabidopsis and increases arsenite efflux into external medium in short-term experiments. Arsenic determination showed that PvACR3 substantially reduced As concentrations in roots and simultaneously increased shoot As under 150 μM As(V). When cultivated in As(V)-containing soil (10 ppm As), transgenic plants accumulated approximately 7.5-fold more As in above-ground tissues than wild-type plants. This study provides important insights into the behavior of PvACR3 and the physiology of As metabolism in plants. Our work also provides a simple and practical PvACR3 transgenic approach for engineering As-tolerant and -hyperaccumulating plants for phytoremediation.

Arabidopsis NIP3;1 Plays an Important Role in Arsenic Uptake and Root-to-Shoot Translocation under Arsenite Stress Conditions

In Arabidopsis, the nodulin 26-like intrinsic protein (NIP) subfamily of aquaporin proteins consists of nine members, five of which (NIP1;1, NIP1;2, NIP5;1, NIP6;1, and NIP7;1) were previously identified to be permeable to arsenite. However, the roles of NIPs in the root-to-shoot translocation of arsenite in plants remain poorly understood. In this study, using reverse genetic strategies, Arabidopsis NIP3;1 was identified to play an important role in both the arsenic uptake and root-to-shoot distribution under arsenite stress conditions. The nip3;1 loss-of-function mutants displayed obvious improvements in arsenite tolerance for aboveground growth and accumulated less arsenic in shoots than those of the wild-type plants, whereas the nip3;1 nip1;1 double mutant showed strong arsenite tolerance and improved growth of both roots and shoots under arsenite stress conditions. A promoter-β-glucuronidase analysis revealed that NIP3;1 was expressed almost exclusively in roots (with the exception of the root tips), and heterologous expression in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae demonstrated that NIP3;1 was able to mediate arsenite transport. Taken together, our results suggest that NIP3;1 is involved in arsenite uptake and root-to-shoot translocation in Arabidopsis, probably as a passive and bidirectional arsenite transporter.

The ER luminal binding protein (BiP) alleviates Cd2+-induced programmed cell death through endoplasmic reticulum stress–cell death signaling pathway in tobacco cells

Cadmium (Cd) is very toxic to plant cells and Cd(2+) stress induces programmed cell death (PCD) in Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. bright yellow-2 (BY-2) cells. In plants, PCD can be regulated through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-cell death signaling pathway. However, the mechanism of Cd(2+)-induced PCD remains unclear. In this study, we found that Cd(2+) treatment induced ER stress in tobacco BY-2 cells. The expression of two ER stress markers NtBLP4 and NtPDI and an unfolded protein response related transcription factor NtbZIP60 were upregulated with Cd(2+) stress. Meanwhile, the PCD triggered by prolonged Cd(2+) stress could be relieved by two ER chemical chaperones, 4-phenylbutyric acid and tauroursodeoxycholic acid. These results demonstrate that the ER stress-cell death signaling pathway participates in the mediation of Cd(2+)-induced PCD. Furthermore, the ER chaperone AtBiP2 protein alleviated Cd(2+)-induced ER stress and PCD in BY-2 cells based on the fact that heterologous expression of AtBiP2 in tobacco BY-2 cells reduced the expression of NtBLP4 and a PCD-related gene NtHsr203J under Cd(2+) stress conditions. In summary, these results suggest that the ER stress-cell death signaling pathway regulates Cd(2+)-induced PCD in tobacco BY-2 cells, and that the AtBiP2 protein act as a negative regulator in this process.

Arsenate reduces copper phytotoxicity in gametophytes of Pteris vittata

The fern Pteris vittata is an arsenic (As) hyperaccumulator and can take up very high concentrations of arsenic from the soil. However, little is known about its response to co-contamination with arsenic and copper (Cu). In this study, we used an in vitro model system of P. vittata gametophytes to investigate the impact of changes in As and Cu status on growth, chlorophyll (chl) concentration, metal accumulation, and subcellular localization. A remarkable inhibition of growth occurred when gametophytes were exposed to concentrations >or=1.0mM Na(3)AsO(4) or >or=0.5mM CuSO(4). chl concentration decreased significantly when gametophytes were exposed to >0.25mM of CuSO(4), but increased steadily with concentration to <or=2mM Na(3)AsO(4). Interestingly, the inhibitory effect caused by Cu was reduced in the presence of 0.25mM Na(3)AsO(4). However, the inhibition caused by exposure to 1.0mM Na(3)AsO(4) was not alleviated by 0.25mM CuSO(4). Further studies showed that 0.25mM Na(3)AsO(4) increased cell viability (CV) and chl concentration, while decreasing cell membrane permeability (CMP) of gametophytes with 1.0mM CuSO(4) stress. In contrast, 0.25mM CuSO(4) decreased CV and chl concentration, while increasing CMP when gametophytes were treated with 1.0mM Na(3)AsO(4). In addition, the subcellular distribution of As and Cu in P. vittata gametophytes differed. As was found primarily in the cytoplasm, while Cu was mainly localized in the cell wall. These results suggest that As can reduce Cu phytotoxicity in the As hyperaccumulator P. vittata, and that this may serve as a biological mechanism for the fern to adapt to soils co-contaminated with As and Cu.

Surface Plasmon Resonance Detection of Transgenic Cry1Ac Cotton (Gossypium spp.)

The detection and identification of genetically modified (GM) plants are challenging issues that have arisen from the potential negative impacts of extensive cultivation of transgenic plants. The screening process is a long-term focus and needs specific detection strategies. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has been used to detect a variety of biomolecules including proteins and nucleic acids due to its ability to monitor specific intermolecular interactions. In the present study, two high-throughput, label-free, and specific methods based on SPR technology were developed to detect transgenic Cry1Ac cotton ( Gossypium spp.) by separately targeting protein and DNA. In the protein-based detection system, monoclonal anti-Cry1Ac antibodies were immobilized on the surface of a CM5 sensor chip. Conventional cotton samples were used to define the detection threshold. Transgenic cotton was easily identified within 5 min per sample. For the DNA-based model, a 25-mer biotinylated oligonucleotide probe was immobilized on an SA sensor chip. PCR products of Cry1Ac (230 bp) were used to investigate the reaction conditions. The sensitivity of the constructed sensor chip was identified at concentrations as low as 0.1 nM based on its complementary base pairing.

BhbZIP60 from Resurrection Plant Boea hygrometrica Is an mRNA Splicing-Activated Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Regulator Involved in Drought Tolerance

Adverse environmental conditions cause endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in plants. To mitigate ER stress damage, ER associated transcription factors and inositol-requiring enzyme-1 (IRE1)-mediated bZIP60 mRNA splicing are activated in plants. A drought-induced gene, encoding the ortholog of AtbZIP60, was identified in the resurrection plant Boea hygrometrica, termed BhbZIP60. In response to ER stress and dehydration, BhbZIP60 mRNA can be spliced to create a frame shift in the C terminus by the excision of 23b segment in a manner of its ortholog in other plants, thus translocating to the nucleus instead of the cytoplasm. The splicing-activated BhbZIP60 (BhbZIP60S) could function in the same way as its Arabidopsis ortholog by restoring the molecular phenotype of the mutant atbzip60. When overexpressed in Arabidopsis, BhbZIP60S provided transgenic plants with enhanced tolerance to drought, tunicamycin and mannitol stresses with upregulation of the expressions of ER quality control (QC) genes (BiP2, BiP3, CNX1, and sPDI) and abscisic acid (ABA) responsive genes (RD29A, RAB18, and RD17). Furthermore, in the yeast one-hybrid system, BhbZIP60S was capable of interacting with ER stress responsive elements (ERSE and ERSE-II) that exist in the promoters of known ER-QC genes, but not binding to ABA responsive cis-elements (ABREs). Our results demonstrated that drought-induced BhbZIP60 may have a function in drought tolerance via the splicing-activated BhbZIP60S to mediate ER-QC by direct binding to the promoters of ER-QC genes. This study evidently demonstrates the involvement of ER-QC in the drought tolerance of Arabidopsis and the desiccation tolerance of the resurrection plant B. hygrometrica.

Functional analysis of synthetic DELLA domain peptides and bioactive gibberellin assay using surface plasmon resonance technology

DELLA proteins and phytohormone gibberellin act together to control convergence point of plant development. A gibberellin-bound nuclear receptor that interacts with the N-terminal domain of DELLA proteins is required for gibberellin induced degradation of DELLA proteins. N-terminal DELLA domain includes two conserved motifs: DELLA and VHYNP. However, their respective functions remain unclear. Meanwhile, the identification and detection of several bioactive gibberellins from the more than 100 gibberellin metabolites are overwhelmingly difficult for their similar structures. Using in vitro biochemical approach, our work demonstrates for the first time that the synthetic GAI N-terminal DELLA domain peptides have similar bioactive function as the expressed protein to interact with AtGID1a receptor. Furthermore, our results reveal that DELLA motif is vitally important region and DELLA segment is essentially required region to recognize AtGID1a receptor. Finally, based on bioactive GA-dependent of the interaction between AtGID1a and DELLA protein, we generated a new method that could identify and detect bioactive GAs accurately and rapidly with surface plasmon resonance assays.

High-throughput screening-compatible assays of As(III) S-adenosylmethionine methyltransferase activity.

Arsenic is a naturally existing toxin and carcinogen. As(III) S-adenosylmethionine methyltransferases (AS3MT in mammals and ArsM in microbes) methylate As(III) three times in consecutive steps and play a central role in arsenic metabolism from bacteria to humans. Current assays for arsenic methylation are slow, laborious, and expensive. Here we report the development of two in vitro assays for AS3MT activity that are rapid, sensitive, convenient, and relatively inexpensive and can be adapted for high-throughput assays. The first assay measures As(III) binding by the quenching of the protein fluorescence of a single-tryptophan derivative of an AS3MT ortholog. The second assay utilizes time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer to directly measure the conversion of the AS3MT substrate, S-adenosylmethionine, to S-adenosylhomocysteine catalyzed by AS3MT. These two assays are complementary, one measuring substrate binding and the other catalysis, making them useful tools for functional studies and future development of drugs to prevent arsenic-related diseases.