scholarly journals Analysis of recombination between viral RNAs and transgene mRNA under conditions of high selection pressure in favour of recombinants

2009 ◽  
Vol 90 (11) ◽  
pp. 2798-2807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Morroni ◽  
Jeremy R. Thompson ◽  
Mark Tepfer

One possible environmental risk related to the utilization of virus-resistant transgenic plants expressing viral sequences is the emergence of new viruses generated by recombination between the viral transgene mRNA and the RNA of an infecting virus. This hypothesis has been tested recently for cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) by comparing the recombinant populations in transgenic and non-transgenic plants under conditions of minimal selection pressure in favour of the recombinants. Equivalent populations were observed in transgenic and non-transgenic plants but, in both, there was a strongly dominant hotspot recombinant which was shown recently to be nonviable alone in planta, suggesting that its predominance could be reduced by applying an increased selection pressure in favour of viable recombinants. Partially disabled I17F-CMV mutants were created by engineering 6 nt deletions in five sites in the RNA3 3′-non-coding region (3′-NCR). One mutant was used to inoculate transgenic tobacco plants expressing the coat protein and 3′-NCR of R-CMV. A total of 22 different recombinant types were identified, of which 12 were, as expected, between the transgene mRNA and the mutated I17F-CMV RNA3, while 10 resulted from recombination between the mutated RNA3 and I17F-CMV RNA1. Twenty recombinants were of the aberrant type, while two, including the dominant one detected previously under conditions of minimal selection pressure, were homologous recombinants. All recombinants detected were very similar to ones observed in nature, suggesting that the deployment of transgenic lines similar to the one studied here would not lead to the emergence of new viruses.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlene Schiaffini ◽  
Clara Chicois ◽  
Aude Pouclet ◽  
Tiphaine Chartier ◽  
Elodie Ubrig ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTIn eukaryotes, general mRNA decay requires the decapping complex. The activity of this complex depends on its catalytic subunit, DCP2 and its interaction with decapping enhancers, including its main partner DCP1. Here, we report that in Arabidopsis, DCP1 also interacts with a NYN domain endoribonuclease, hence named DCP1-ASSOCIATED NYN ENDORIBONUCLEASE 1 (DNE1). Interestingly, we find DNE1 predominantly associated with DCP1 but not with DCP2 and reciprocally, suggesting the existence of two distinct protein complexes. We also show that the catalytic residues of DNE1 are required to repress the expression of mRNAs in planta upon transient expression. The overexpression of DNE1 in transgenic lines leads to growth defects and transcriptomic changes related to the one observed upon inactivation of the decapping complex. Finally, the combination of dne1 and dcp2 mutations, revealed a functional redundancy between DNE1 and DCP2 in controlling phyllotactic pattern formation in Arabidopsis. Our work identifies DNE1, a hitherto unknown DCP1 protein partner highly conserved in the plant kingdom and identifies its importance for developmental robustness.One-sentence summaryDNE1, a NYN domain protein interacts with the decapping activator DCP1 and, together with DCP2, specify phyllotactic patterns in Arabidopsis.


2001 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 941-945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Canto ◽  
Seung Kook Choi ◽  
Peter Palukaitis

Tobacco plants transgenic for RNA 1 of Cucumber mosaic virus and inoculated with transcript of RNAs 2 and 3 regenerated viral RNA 1 from the transgenic mRNA, and the plants became systemically infected by the reconstituted virus. cDNA fragments corresponding to the 3′ non-coding region (NCR) of viral RNA 1 were amplified, cloned and sequenced. In some clones the termini of the 3′ NCR corresponded to those of viral RNAs 2 or 3. This suggested that in some cases RNA 1 may have been regenerated during replication by a template switching mechanism between the inoculated transcript RNAs and the mRNA. However, encapsidated, recombinant RNA 1 with the 3′ NCR ends originating from RNAs 2 or 3 also was found in virus samples that had been passaged exclusively through non-transgenic plants. Thus, these chimeras occur naturally due to recombination between wild-type viral RNAs, and they are found encapsidated in low, but detectable amounts.


2002 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 826-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kriton Kalantidis ◽  
Stavros Psaradakis ◽  
Martin Tabler ◽  
Mina Tsagris

Expression or introduction of double-stranded (ds)RNA in eukaryotic cells can trigger sequence-specific gene silencing of transgenes, endogenes, and viruses. Transgenic plants producing dsRNAs with homology to viral sequences are likely to exhibit pathogen-derived resistance to the virus. Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), a very widespread virus with over 1,000 host species, has the natural ability to suppress silencing in order to establish infection. Here, we report the generation of transgenic tobacco lines, where a DNA transgene containing an inverted repeat of CMV cDNA had been introduced. Expression of this DNA construct delivered an RNA transcript that is able to form an intramolecular double strand. Transgenic plants were challenged with CMV. Three categories of plants could be discriminated: susceptible plants, which typically reacted with milder symptoms than the wild-type control; a “recovery” phenotype, in which newly emerging leaves were free of symptoms; and plants that showed complete resistance. Northern analysis showed that the expression of CMV dsRNA caused, in some transgenic lines, the generation of short RNAs characteristic of posttranscriptional gene silencing. Those lines were CMV resistant. The correlation between the detection of short RNAs and virus resistance provides a molecular marker that makes it possible to predict success in attempts to engineer virus resistance by dsRNA.


1993 ◽  
Vol 342 (1301) ◽  
pp. 197-201 ◽  

A reliable system for transformation and regeneration of rice protoplasts yielding fertile transgenic plants has been established. After co-electroporation of DNAs encoding a selectable marker and the gene of interest, protoplasts are regenerated to yield fertile plants. To date more than 70 different genes of interest have been successfully introduced and their patterns of expression are being studied. As in the case of dicot plants transformed by the Ti-plasm id vector approach, integration and expression appear to be stable in the transgenic monocots over several generations. Detailed com parative studies on gene expression in rice are underway using promoters for triosephosphate isomerase, a ubiquitously expressed gene encoding a cytosolic enzyme vital in the glycolytic cycle, two genes encoding members of the cyclophilin family, peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans -isomerases that are abundant in meristematic regions and are thought to participate in the correct folding of nascent proteins, and a gene encoding a tissue (root)- specific protein. Initial analyses suggest that the spatial expression of these genes in transgenic plants, using GUS reporter constructs, appears to be very sensitive to the nature of the 3' flanking region present in the gene construct. Constructs containing a coding region for arcelin, a bean seed protein with putative anti-insecticidal properties, and others containing viral sequences that may provide novel approaches for protection against tungro and other viral infections have been introduced into rice plants.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Elena O. Vidyagina ◽  
Nikolay N. Kharchenko ◽  
Konstantin A. Shestibratov

Axillary buds of in vitro microshoots were successfully frozen at –196 °C by the one-step freezing method using the protective vitrification solution 2 (PVS2). Microshoots were taken from 11 transgenic lines and three wild type lines. Influence of different explant pretreatments were analyzed from the point of their influence towards recovery after cryopreservation. It was found out that the use of axillary buds as explants after removal of the apical one increases recovery on average by 8%. The cultivation on growth medium of higher density insignificantly raises the regenerants survival rate. Pretreatment of the osmotic fluid (OF) shows the greatest influence on the survival rate. It leads to the increase in survival rate by 20%. The cryopreservation technology providing regenerants average survival rate of 83% was developed. It was based on the experimental results obtained with explant pretreatment. Incubation time in liquid nitrogen did not affect the explants survival rate after thawing. After six months cryostorage of samples their genetic variability was analyzed. Six variable simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci were used to analyze genotype variability after the freezing-thawing procedure. The microsatellite analysis showed the genetic status identity of plants after cryopreservation and of the original genotypes. The presence of the recombinant gene in the transgenic lines after cryostorage were confirmed so as the interclonal variation in the growth rate under greenhouse conditions. The developed technique is recommended for long-term storage of various breeding and genetically modified lines of aspen plants, as it provides a high percentage of explants survival with no changes in genotype.


Author(s):  
Ai-Hua Wang ◽  
Lan Yang ◽  
Xin-Zhuan Yao ◽  
Xiao-Peng Wen

AbstractPhosphoethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEAMTase) catalyzes the methylation of phosphoethanolamine to produce phosphocholine and plays an important role in the abiotic stress response. Although the PEAMT genes has been isolated from many species other than pitaya, its role in the drought stress response has not yet been fully elucidated. In the present study, we isolated a 1485 bp cDNA fragment of HpPEAMT from pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus). Phylogenetic analysis showed that, during its evolution, HpPEAMT has shown a high degree of amino acid sequence similarity with the orthologous genes in Chenopodiaceae species. To further investigate the function of HpPEAMT, we generated transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing HpPEAMT, and the transgenic plants accumulated significantly more glycine betaine (GB) than did the wild type (WT). Drought tolerance trials indicated that, compared with those of the wild-type (WT) plants, the roots of the transgenic plants showed higher drought tolerance ability and exhibited improved drought tolerance. Further analysis revealed that overexpression of HpPEAM in Nicotiana tabacum resulted in upregulation of transcript levels of GB biosynthesis-related genes (NiBADH, NiCMO and NiSDC) in the leaves. Furthermore, compared with the wild-type plants, the transgenic tobacco plants displayed a significantly lower malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation and higher activities of the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) antioxidant enzymes under drought stress. Taken together, our results suggested that HpPEAMT enhanced the drought tolerance of transgenic tobacco.


Author(s):  
Helena Brentani ◽  
Eduardo Y Nakano ◽  
Camila B Martins ◽  
Rafael Izbicki ◽  
Carlos Alberto Pereira

Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) is an important genetic property that populations should have whenever they are not observing adverse situations as complete lack of panmixia, excess of mutations, excess of selection pressure, etc. HWE for decades has been evaluated; both frequentist and Bayesian methods are in use today. While historically the HWE formula was developed to examine the transmission of alleles in a population from one generation to the next, use of HWE concepts has expanded in human diseases studies to detect genotyping error and disease susceptibility (association); Ryckman and Williams (2008). Most analyses focus on trying to answer the question of whether a population is in HWE. They do not try to quantify how far from the equilibrium the population is. In this paper, we propose the use of a simple disequilibrium coefficient to a locus with two alleles. Based on the posterior density of this disequilibrium coefficient, we show how one can conduct a Bayesian analysis to verify how far from HWE a population is. There are other coefficients introduced in the literature and the advantage of the one introduced in this paper is the fact that, just like the standard correlation coefficients, its range is bounded and it is symmetric around zero (equilibrium) when comparing the positive and the negative values. To test the hypothesis of equilibrium, we use a simple Bayesian significance test, the Full Bayesian Significance Test (FBST); see Pereira, Stern and Wechsler (2008) for a complete review. The disequilibrium coefficient proposed provides an easy and efficient way to make the analyses, especially if one uses Bayesian statistics. A routine in R programs (R Development Core Team, 2009) that implements the calculations is provided for the readers.


2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad S. Hoque ◽  
Josette Masle ◽  
Michael K. Udvardi ◽  
Peter R. Ryan ◽  
Narayana M. Upadhyaya

A transgenic approach was undertaken to investigate the role of a rice ammonium transporter (OsAMT1-1) in ammonium uptake and consequent ammonium assimilation under different nitrogen regimes. Transgenic lines overexpressing OsAMT1-1 were produced by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of two rice cultivars, Taipei 309 and Jarrah, with an OsAMT1-1 cDNA gene construct driven by the maize ubiquitin promoter. Transcript levels of OsAMT1-1 in both Taipei 309 and Jarrah transgenic lines correlated positively with transgene copy number. Shoot and root biomass of some transgenic lines decreased during seedling and early vegetative stage compared to the wild type, especially when grown under high (2 mm) ammonium nutrition. Transgenic plants, particularly those of cv. Jarrah recovered in the mid-vegetative stage under high ammonium nutrition. Roots of the transgenic plants showed increased ammonium uptake and ammonium content. We conclude that the decreased biomass of the transgenic lines at early stages of growth might be caused by the accumulation of ammonium in the roots owing to the inability of ammonium assimilation to match the greater ammonium uptake.


2006 ◽  
Vol 282 (7) ◽  
pp. 4613-4625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Fritz ◽  
Heiko Lokstein ◽  
Dieter Hackenberg ◽  
Ruth Welti ◽  
Mary Roth ◽  
...  

Plastidial glycolipids contain diacylglycerol (DAG) moieties, which are either synthesized in the plastids (prokaryotic lipids) or originate in the extraplastidial compartment (eukaryotic lipids) necessitating their transfer into plastids. In contrast, the only phospholipid in plastids, phosphatidylglycerol (PG), contains exclusively prokaryotic DAG backbones. PG contributes in several ways to the functions of chloroplasts, but it is not known to what extent its prokaryotic nature is required to fulfill these tasks. As a first step toward answering this question, we produced transgenic tobacco plants that contain eukaryotic PG in thylakoids. This was achieved by targeting a bacterial DAG kinase into chloroplasts in which the heterologous enzyme was also incorporated into the envelope fraction. From lipid analysis we conclude that the DAG kinase phosphorylated eukaryotic DAG forming phosphatidic acid, which was converted into PG. This resulted in PG with 2–3 times more eukaryotic than prokaryotic DAG backbones. In the newly formed PG the unique Δ3-trans-double bond, normally confined to 3-trans-hexadecenoic acid, was also found in sn-2-bound cis-unsaturated C18 fatty acids. In addition, a lipidomics technique allowed the characterization of phosphatidic acid, which is assumed to be derived from eukaryotic DAG precursors in the chloroplasts of the transgenic plants. The differences in lipid composition had only minor effects on measured functions of the photosynthetic apparatus, whereas the most obvious phenotype was a significant reduction in growth.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (18) ◽  
pp. 4478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benqi Wang ◽  
Jie Liu ◽  
Lei Chu ◽  
Xue Jing ◽  
Huadong Wang ◽  
...  

The development of floral organs plays a vital role in plant reproduction. In our research, the APETALA3 (AP3) promoter-transgenic lines showed abnormal developmental phenotypes in stamens and petals. The aim of this study is to understand the molecular mechanisms of the morphological defects in transgenic plants. By performing transgenic analysis, it was found that the AP3-promoted genes and the vector had no relation to the morphological defects. Then, we performed the expression analysis of the class A, B, and C genes. A dramatic reduction of transcript levels of class B genes (AP3 and PISTILLATA) was observed. Additionally, we also analyzed the methylation of the promoters of class B genes and found that the promoter of AP3 was hypermethylated. Furthermore, combining mutations in rdr2-2, drm1/2, and nrpd1b-11 with the AP3-silencing lines rescued the abnormal development of stamens and petals. The expression of AP3 was reactivated and the methylation level of AP3 promoter was also reduced in RdDM-defective AP3-silencing lines. Our results showed that the RdDM pathway contributed to the transcriptional silencing in the transgenic AP3-silencing lines. Moreover, the results revealed that fact that the exogenous fragment of a promoter could trigger the methylation of homologous endogenous sequences, which may be ubiquitous in transgenic plants.


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