Detection of brassinosteroids in pollen of Lolium perenne L. by immunocytochemistry

Bioactive brassinosteroids have been localized in developing and mature pollen of anhydrously fixed rye-grass (Lolium perenne) by immunocytochemistry using polyclonal antibodies to castasterone generated in rabbits. Tricellular pollen fixed by freeze-substitution was also labelled in the starch granules. Study of the developmental sequence of the pollen through the microsporocyte, microspore, bicellular and tricellular stages showed that the brassinosteroids were increasingly sequestered in starch granules as the amyloplasts matured, supporting the view that these are storage organelles for these potent plant growth promoters. In bicellular pollen, heavy labelling was seen in the zone within 0.5 μm of the starch granule, where stromal tissue remains. Thus, the stroma may be the site of synthesis of these compounds. During aqueous fixation, the brassinosteroids leached from the starch granules of tricellular pollen, indicating that they would be quickly available after imbibition to influence the physiology of germinating pollen. The results from high-performance liquid chromatography of dansylaminophenylboronates from partially purified extracts of freshly dehisced tricellular pollen of rye-grass showed 25-methylcastasterone may be a minor component, together with two unknown peaks. No specific binding of brassinolide to any soluble proteins extracted from tricellular rye-grass pollen was observed using the antibodies in gel electrophoresis or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

OsLIC1基因参与水稻株型调控的功能研究

CCCH型锌指蛋白是进化上比较保守的一类锌指蛋白家族，其典型的氨基酸的基序为C-X7-8-C-X5-C-X3-H，其中X为任意氨基酸，这类锌指基序一般以重复的双拷贝形式存在。本论文克隆并鉴定了一个全新的、只含有一个CCCH型锌指基序的基因，利用反义RNA策略研究该基因功能，结果发现该基因的反义转基因植株表现出叶夹角增大的表型，因此我们将该基因命名为OsLIC1（Oryza sativa Lamina Increased Leaf Angle Control 1）。生物信息学分析发现该基因定位于水稻6号染色体近端粒的一端，位于BAC克隆AP004324中。OsLIC1与通常的CCCH型锌指蛋白含有多个重复的CCCH锌指基序不同，它只含有一个CCCH型锌指基序。除了CCCH锌指结构域以外，该蛋白在靠近C-端的位置还有一段丝氨酸（Ser）富集的区域，在此区域之前，还有一个在真核生物中相对保守的，以EELR为核心基序的结构域。采用基因枪将含OsLIC1-GFP融合构建的瞬时表达载体轰击入洋葱内表皮细胞，激光共聚焦显微镜观察发现OsLIC1-GFP可以定位到细胞核中。利用酵母转录激活系统发现以EELR为核心基序的结构域具有转录激活的功能。体外核酸结合活性分析显示OsLIC1蛋白可以结合双链DNA，这些结果证明OsLIC1是一个转录因子，这也是在植物中首次发现CCCH型锌指蛋白可以作为转录因子的方式调节基因的表达。 用玉米泛素启动子（Maize Ubiquitin promoter）驱动OsLIC1基因的反义表达载体转化水稻，获得的内源OsLIC1基因表达量下降的转基因植株表现出三个明显的表型：转基因植株的叶夹角增大;转基因的株高低于对照以及转基因植株的穗粒数减少。扫描电镜观察发现转基因植株叶夹角增大是由于近轴面细胞排列发生了改变以及维管束发育受阻引起的。转基因植株的Southern Blot和RT-PCR分析，结合Western Blot分析证明了转基因植株的表型与转基因事件之间的直接联系，并证明了转基因植株中内源OsLIC1在蛋白水平的确受到了抑制。采用RT-PCR技术、Promoter：：GUS和RNA in situ杂交三种方法相结合研究OsLIC1基因的表达模式，结果表明OsLIC1基因主要在叶颈、节以及分蘖原基中表达，这与转基因植株的表型相吻合，进一步证明了转基因植株的表型与基因功能之间的关系。Affymetrix 水稻全基因组芯片分析结果显示许多受油菜素内酯诱导表达的基因在转基因植株的叶颈材料中表达量上调，RT-PCR进一步验证了这一结果。由于在转基因植株中出现的叶夹角增大的表型和水稻油菜素内酯的作用相似，而基因芯片的结果又从分子水平提供了证据和线索。进一步采用RT-PCR和Promoter：：GUS相结合的方法研究OsLIC1基因对油菜素内酯的响应，结果发现OsLIC1基因可以被油菜素内酯诱导表达。而且，OsLIC1基因的反义转基因植株与野生型相比，表现出对油菜素内酯信号更敏感的响应。根据以上结果，推测OsLIC1可能是水稻油菜素内酯信号转导途径的负调控因子。水稻油菜素内酯合成和信号转导的突变体d2-1和d61-1具有直立的叶片的特征。用反义OsLIC1转基因植株以及野生型水稻与d2-1和d61-1突变体分别进行遗传杂交，结果发现在反义OsLIC1转基因植株与d2-1和d61-1突变体的杂交F1代中，都表现出叶夹角增大的表型。但是，在F2代中，在d2-1和d61-1纯合背景下，分别表现出叶夹角增大和叶片直立的表型，说明OsLIC1上位于d2-1，而d61-1则上位于OsLIC1。这一结果进一步证明了OsLIC1是通过参与水稻油菜素内酯信号调节而发挥对水稻叶夹角的调控作用。

OsBZR1和14-3-3蛋白在水稻BR信号转导中的功能研究

油菜甾醇类物质（Brassinosteroids, BRs）是植物生长发育必需的一类植物激素。在拟南芥中，BR可直接结合在位于细胞膜表面的受体激酶BRI1去激活BR的信号转导从而调节细胞核内的基因表达来调控植物的生长发育。为更好的了解水稻中BR信号的转导机理，我们利用反向遗传学研究了OsBZR1的功能并鉴定了一些与OsBZR1有相互作用的蛋白。利用RNAi干涉降低植物体内OsBZR1的表达可导致植株矮小，叶片直立，BR敏感性降低并改变一些BR响应基因的表达水平。此外我们利用酵母双杂交发现14-3-3蛋白可与OsBZR1发生相互作用，而去除推定的14-3-3结合位点的OsBZR1则不能与14-3-3蛋白在酵母和植物体内发生相互作用。去除14-3-3结合位点的OsBZR1转入拟南芥bri1-5突变体中可部分恢复bri1-5的表型而转野生的OsBZR1则对bri1-5的表型没有明显的影响。同时我们发现去除OsBZR1的14-3-3结合位点可影响OsBZR1在细胞内的分布，能增加OsBZR1在细胞核内的分布，这表明14-3-3蛋白至少可通过降低OsBZR1核内的分布来抑制OsBZR1的功能。这些结果有力的证明了OsBZR1和14-3-3蛋白在水稻BR信号转导中的重要功能。

油菜素内酯信号转导相关基因的克隆、鉴定和功能分析

油菜素甾醇类(Brassinosteroids，BRs)是一类新的植物内源激素，在植物整个生长发育周期中发挥着很重要的作用。拟南芥中BR信号转导途径基本清晰，从膜受体BRI1到细胞质中的负调控因子BIN2，再到核内的转录因子BZR1和BES1。但是从BR信号感知到细胞质内的传递，再到细胞核内的调控特异基因的表达都还有很多问题有待于进一步的探索。 本研究运用激活标签pDSK15-11对大约5000株拟南芥bzr1-1D进行了转化, 得到抗性植株约50000株，构建了一个拟南芥激活标签突变体库，从中筛选到和BR相关的突变体七个，并对其中的B26和B16突变体进行了详细的分析。此外还筛选到若干个和BR没有关系的突变体，并对其中的一个表皮毛缺陷的突变体B11进行了分析。 B26是一株恢复了bzr1-1D茎叶处打弯表型的突变体，并且具有矮化、叶色深绿、晚花等特点。B26部分抑制了bzr1-1D对BR合成抑制剂BRZ的不敏感性，但仍然对BR超敏感。BR上调的基因SAUR-AC1在bzr1-1D中表达上升，而在B26突变体中SAUR-AC1的表达量比bzr1-1D中有所下降。B26突变体显示的表型是依赖于bzr1-1D突变的。我们通过T-DNA侧翼序列，RT-PCR，以及重现实验证实造成突变表型的基因，并命名为BZS1。BZS1编码一个B类锌指蛋白，在植物发育的各个时期各个器官中都有表达。亚细胞定位分析显示BZS1定位于细胞质和细胞核中，以上这些结果说明BZS1可能在BR信号途径中是位于BZR1的下游，作为一个负的调节因子调控下游BR反应基因的表达。 B16是从突变体库中筛选得到的一个叶柄明显增长，营养生长期延长，开花晚，结实率比较低的突变体。T-DNA侧翼序列和基因表达分析显示B16突变体中T-DNA插入点附近的一个基因表达量升高，这一基因被命名为BZE1。BZE1编码一个含有bHLH结构域的蛋白。BZE1 RNAi转基因植株的叶柄比对照明显变短，说明BZE1调控叶柄的伸长。在B16突变体中，CPD和DWF4的表达较bzr1-1D中增强了，而SAUR-AC1的表达减弱了，这一结果说明BZE1过表达减弱了BZR1对CPD的反馈抑制。Pro35S:BZE1 /bzr1-1D转基因植株对BRZ的敏感度与bzr1-1D相似。BR不调节BZE1的转录水平，却可以促进BZE1蛋白在核内积累。这些结果都说明BR处理不改变BZE1的转录水平，只是通过促进BZE1在核内的积累增加，从而参与调控下游基因的表达，如CPD。随着这些突变体研究的进一步深入，将有助于我们更好的理解BR信号转导途径。 B11是一个叶片（包括莲座叶和茎生叶）和茎表皮毛缺失，但根毛发育正常的突变体，T-DNA侧翼序列和基因表达分析显示B11突变体表型是由于ETL1的过量表达造成的。ETL1可能是一个表皮毛特异表达的基因，对根毛的发育影响不大。功能缺失突变体etl1-1和野生型拟南芥具有相似的表皮毛数量和分布，根毛的数量和分布也没有明显的变化，这就说明ETL1可能与其他同源基因功能冗余。ETL1在gl1中表达量增加，由此推测ETL1在表皮毛的发育中可能起负调控的作用。

油菜素内酯对脯氨酸积累的影响

环境胁迫诱导的脯氨酸积累是植物一种非常显著的代谢适应机制。和其他胁迫应答反应一样，脯氨酸积累也受到各种植物激素和信号分子的调控，如脱落酸、钙离子等。本论文的研究目的在于了解植物激素油菜素内酯（BR）在拟南芥脯氨酸积累中的作用。 首先，我们发现拟南芥经不同浓度的24-表油菜素内酯（EBL）预处理后，200mM NaCl诱导的脯氨酸积累受到不同程度的抑制。同时脯氨酸合成途径的关键基因P5CS1以及OAT的诱导表达减弱，降解途径的关键酶基因PDH1的转录水平有所上调，说明脯氨酸积累程度的降低是相关基因表达的调控的结果。BR缺陷型突变体det2-1和不敏感突变体bin2-1在盐胁迫下的脯氨酸积累均高于野生型，而且det2-1的P5CS1受到的诱导增加，PDH1的表达有所下调。说明BR在脯氨酸积累中起负调控的作用。 经不同浓度的24-EBL处理后，50µM ABA诱导的脯氨酸积累受到明显抑制。det2-1和bin2-1在ABA处理下脯氨酸积累均高于野生型，但是ABA不敏感突变体abi1-1在盐胁迫下的脯氨酸积累并没有受到BR的抑制。说明BR可以特异地抑制由ABA介导的脯氨酸积累，而对不依赖ABA途径介导的脯氨酸积累没有明显影响。但是，BR处理后并没有改变ABA诱导的P5CS1的转录水平。 上述BR对脯氨酸的抑制作用是在短日照（8小时光照）条件下得到的，而在长日照（16小时光照）条件下生长和处理材料时，24-EBL对盐胁迫或ABA诱导的脯氨酸积累都略有促进作用。det2-1和bin2-1中的脯氨酸积累仍比野生型高。由以上的结果推测光照增加可以抑制BR对脯氨酸积累的抑制作用。 我们还对det2-1和bin2-1在生长发育各个时期的盐敏感性进行了初步鉴定。det2-1在种子萌发阶段对盐胁迫和ABA超敏感；在幼苗生长阶段det2-1和bin2-1在长势、存活率、根长以及鲜重方面对盐胁迫都比野生型更敏感，外加24-EBL可以部分恢复det2-1的盐敏感性；成株阶段bin2-1则表现出比野生型明显的抗盐性。这些结果表明BR可能对拟南芥盐响应有重要调节作用。

水稻OsGSR1调控赤霉素和油菜素内酯信号互作的分子机理研究

赤霉素（gibberellins，GAs）和油菜甾醇（brassinosteroids，BRs）在细胞伸长和植株形态建成等方面发挥重要的生理作用，但它们在分子水平上的相互作用仍然未知。在本实验室前期的芯片工作中筛选到受GA诱导表达的GAST家族基因OsGSR1(GA-stimulated gene in rice) (GenBank AY604180)。该基因全长cDNA为588 bp，编码110个氨基酸，OsGSR1具有GAST家族成员的共同特点。OsGSR1基因的表达受GA3诱导，同时受PAC抑制。基因表达模式分析表明OsGSR1在水稻的根、茎、幼穗和小花等多种组织和器官中表达。前期工作已获得转基因水稻。 本论文研究表明，OsGSR1 RNAi转基因水稻表现为初生根缩短、叶片直立、节间缩短和结实率降低等与GA和BR相关的表型。OsGSR1 RNAi转基因水稻对外源GA3敏感性降低，Real-time PCR分析表明在OsGSR1 RNAi转基因水稻中OsGA20ox2和SLR1的转录水平增高，GC-MS分析显示内源GA4含量增高，这些结果说明转基因材料中GA信号削弱。因此，OsGSR1是GA信号途径的正调控因子。另一方面，实验证据表明，外源BL处理可以抑制OsGSR1基因的表达，OsGSR1 RNAi转基因水稻不但可以响应外源BL处理，并且在叶夹角实验中显现出对外源BL更加敏感的特性。在OsGSR1 RNAi转基因水稻中，BR受体基因OsBRI1与合成基因OsDWARF表达量上调。外源添加BL可以恢复OsGSR1 RNAi转基因水稻矮化表型，上述结果说明OsGSR1可能作用于BR生物合成途径。酵母双杂交筛选、体外Pull-down结果和体内BiFC实验都证实OsGSR1可以与DIM/DWF1互作。在BR生物合成途径中，DIM/DWF1催化从24-亚甲基固醇（24-methylenecholesterol）到油菜甾醇（campesterol）的转化。GC-MS测定内源BRs含量结果进一步证实，转基因水稻中DIM/DWF1催化反应产物积累量减少，说明该反应受到明显抑制。所以，OsGSR1是通过直接作用于BR合成酶来调控BR生物合成。 综上所述，OsGSR1是GA信号途径的正调控因子，并且OsGSR1通过调节SLR1的表达参与到GA信号转导途径。OsGSR1和DIM/DWF1的互作说明OsGSR1直接参与了BR的生物合成过程。因此，我们的实验证明OsGSR1介导了GA和BR这两条激素信号转导途径的相互作用，从而调节了水稻植株的生长发育。

Leaf senescence in tomato mutants as affected by irradiance and phytohormones

We explored the interaction between radiation of different wavelength and jasmonic acid (JA) or brassinosteroids (BR) on leaf senescence-induced oxidative stress. Three approaches were used: 1) jasmonic acid insensitive1-1 (jai1-1) and brassinosteroid-deficient [dumpy (dpy)] mutants were treated with red (R) or far-red (FR) radiation; 2) phytochromedeficient aurea (au) and high pigment-1 (hp-1) (radiation exaggerated response) mutants were treated with methyl jasmonate (MeJA) or epibrassinolide (epiBL); and 3) double mutants au jai1-1 and au dpy were produced. Leaf chlorophyll content, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant enzyme activities were determined. After senescence induction in detached leaves, we verified that the patterns of chlorophyll degradation of hormonal and photomorphogenic mutants were not significantly different in comparison with original cv. Micro-Tom (MT). Moreover, there was no significant change in lipid peroxidation measured as malondialdehyde (MDA) production, as well as catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutathione reductase (GR) activities in the hormonal mutants. Exogenous BR increased CAT and APX activities in MT, au, and hp-1. As concerns the double mutants, severe reduction in H2O2 production which was not accompanied by changes in MDA content, and CAT and APX activities was observed during senescence in au dpy. The results suggest that JA and BR do not participate in light signaling pathway during leaf senescence-induced oxidative stress. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Estudo da interação entre a via genética do microRNA156/squamosa promoter-binding protein-like e brassinosteróides durante o desenvolvimento de Arabidopsis thaliana

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Genética) - IBB

Role of phytohormones in insect-specific plant reactions

The capacity to perceive and respond is integral to biological immune systems, but to what extent can plants specifically recognize and respond to insects? Recent findings suggest that plants possess surveillance systems that are able to detect general patterns of cellular damage as well as highly specific herbivore-associated cues. The jasmonate (JA) pathway has emerged as the major signaling cassette that integrates information perceived at the plant–insect interface into broad-spectrum defense responses. Specificity can be achieved via JA-independent processes and spatio-temporal changes of JA-modulating hormones, including ethylene (ET), salicylic acid (SA), abscisic acid (ABA), auxin, cytokinins (CK), brassinosteroids (BR) and gibberellins (GB). The identification of receptors and ligands and an integrative view of hormone-mediated response systems are crucial to understand specificity in plant immunity to herbivores.

Defence on demand: mechanisms behind optimal defence patterns

Background The optimal defence hypothesis (ODH) predicts that tissues that contribute most to a plant's fitness and have the highest probability of being attacked will be the parts best defended against biotic threats, including herbivores. In general, young sink tissues and reproductive structures show stronger induced defence responses after attack from pathogens and herbivores and contain higher basal levels of specialized defensive metabolites than other plant parts. However, the underlying physiological mechanisms responsible for these developmentally regulated defence patterns remain unknown. Scope This review summarizes current knowledge about optimal defence patterns in above- and below-ground plant tissues, including information on basal and induced defence metabolite accumulation, defensive structures and their regulation by jasmonic acid (JA). Physiological regulations underlying developmental differences of tissues with contrasting defence patterns are highlighted, with a special focus on the role of classical plant growth hormones, including auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins and brassinosteroids, and their interactions with the JA pathway. By synthesizing recent findings about the dual roles of these growth hormones in plant development and defence responses, this review aims to provide a framework for new discoveries on the molecular basis of patterns predicted by the ODH. Conclusions Almost four decades after its formulation, we are just beginning to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for the patterns of defence allocation predicted by the ODH. A requirement for future advances will be to understand how developmental and defence processes are integrated.

BAS1: A gene regulating brassinosteroid levels and light responsiveness in Arabidopsis

The Arabidopsis bas1-D mutation suppresses the long hypocotyl phenotype caused by mutations in the photoreceptor phytochrome B (phyB). The adult phenotype of bas1-D phyB-4 double mutants mimics that of brassinosteroid biosynthetic and response mutants. bas1-D phyB-4 has reduced levels of brassinosteroids and accumulates 26-hydroxybrassinolide in feeding experiments. The basis for the mutant phenotype is the enhanced expression of a cytochrome P450 (CYP72B1). bas1-D suppresses a phyB-null allele, but not a phyA-null mutation, and partially suppresses a cryptochrome-null mutation. Seedlings with reduced BAS1 expression are hyperresponsive to brassinosteroids in a light-dependent manner and display reduced sensitivity to light under a variety of conditions. Thus, BAS1 represents one of the control points between multiple photoreceptor systems and brassinosteroid signal transduction.

The Arabidopsis dwarf1 Mutant Is Defective in the Conversion of 24-Methylenecholesterol to Campesterol in Brassinosteroid Biosynthesis1

Since the isolation and characterization of dwarf1-1 (dwf1-1) from a T-DNA insertion mutant population, phenotypically similar mutants, including deetiolated2 (det2), constitutive photomorphogenesis and dwarfism (cpd), brassinosteroid insensitive1 (bri1), and dwf4, have been reported to be defective in either the biosynthesis or the perception of brassinosteroids. We present further characterization of dwf1-1 and additional dwf1 alleles. Feeding tests with brassinosteroid-biosynthetic intermediates revealed that dwf1 can be rescued by 22α-hydroxycampesterol and downstream intermediates in the brassinosteroid pathway. Analysis of the endogenous levels of brassinosteroid intermediates showed that 24-methylenecholesterol in dwf1 accumulates to 12 times the level of the wild type, whereas the level of campesterol is greatly diminished, indicating that the defective step is in C-24 reduction. Furthermore, the deduced amino acid sequence of DWF1 shows significant similarity to a flavin adenine dinucleotide-binding domain conserved in various oxidoreductases, suggesting an enzymatic role for DWF1. In support of this, 7 of 10 dwf1 mutations directly affected the flavin adenine dinucleotide-binding domain. Our molecular characterization of dwf1 alleles, together with our biochemical data, suggest that the biosynthetic defect in dwf1 results in reduced synthesis of bioactive brassinosteroids, causing dwarfism.

BRS1, a serine carboxypeptidase, regulates BRI1 signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana

Brassinosteroid-insensitive 1 (BRI1) of Arabidopsis thaliana encodes a cell surface receptor for brassinosteroids. Mutations in BRI1 severely affect plant growth and development. Activation tagging of a weak bri1 allele (bri1-5) resulted in the identification of a new locus, brs1-1D. BRS1 is predicted to encode a secreted carboxypeptidase. Whereas a brs1 loss-of-function allele has no obvious mutant phenotype, overexpression of BRS1 can suppress bri1 extracellular domain mutants. Genetic analyses showed that brassinosteroids and a functional BRI1 protein kinase domain are required for suppression. In addition, overexpressed BRS1 missense mutants, predicted to abolish BRS1 protease activity, failed to suppress bri1-5. Finally, the effects of BRS1 are selective: overexpression in either wild-type or two other receptor kinase mutants resulted in no phenotypic alterations. These results strongly suggest that BRS1 processes a protein involved in an early event in the BRI1 signaling.