Enemies atpeace:Recentprogressin Agrobacterium-mediated cereal transformation

Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated plant transformation is a versatile tool for plant genetic engineering following its discovery nearly half a century ago.Numerous modifications were made in its application to increase efficiency,especially in the recalcitrant major cereals plants.Recent breakthroughs in transformation efficiency continue its role as a mainstream technique in CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing and gene stacking.These modifications led to higher transformation frequency and lower but more stable transgene copies with the capability to revolutionize modern agriculture.In this review,we provide a brief overview of the history of Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation and focus on the most recent progress to improve the system in both the Agrobacterium and the host recipient.A promising future for transformation in biotechnology and agriculture is predicted.

Mutation in the Agrobacterium his I gene enhances transient expression in pepper

Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation is widely used in plant genetic engineering.However,its efficiency is limited by plant immunity against Agrobacterium.Chili pepper(Capsicum annuum L.)is an important vegetable that is recalcitrant to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation.In this work,Agrobacterium was found to induce a strong immune response in pepper,which might be the reason for T-DNA being difficult to express in pepper.An Agrobacterium mutant screen was conducted and a point mutation in the hisI gene was identified due to a weak immune response and enhanced transient expression mediated by this Agrobacterium mutant in pepper leaves.Further genetic analysis revealed that histidine biosynthesis deficiency caused by mutations in many genes of this pathway led to reduced pepper cell death,presumably due to reduced bacterial growth.However,mutation analysis of threonine and tryptophan biosynthesis genes showed that the biosynthesis of different amino acids may play different roles in Agrobacterium growth and stimulating the pepper immune response.The possible application of Agrobacterium amino acid biosynthesis mutations in plant biology was discussed.

Fast,simple,efficient Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation system to non-heading Chinese cabbage with transgenic roots

Non-heading Chinese cabbage, a variety of Brassica campestris, is an important vegetable crop in the Yangtze River Basin of China. However,the immaturity of its stable transformation system and its low transformation efficiency limit gene function research on non-heading Chinese cabbage. Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated(ARM) transgenic technology is a rapid and effective transformation method that has not yet been established for non-heading Chinese cabbage plants. Here, we optimized conventional ARM approaches(one-step and two-step transformation methods) suitable for living non-heading Chinese cabbage plants in nonsterile environments. Transgenic roots in composite non-heading Chinese cabbage plants were identified using phenotypic detection, fluorescence observation, and PCR analysis. The transformation efficiency of a two-step method on four five-day-old non-heading Chinese cabbage seedlings(Suzhouqing, Huangmeigui, Wuyueman, and Sijiu Caixin) was 43.33%-51.09%, whereas using the stout hypocotyl resulted in a transformation efficiency of 54.88% for the 30-day-old Sijiu Caixin.The one-step method outperformed the two-step method;the transformation efficiency of different varieties was above 60%, and both methods can be used to obtain transgenic roots for functional studies within one month. Finally, optimized ARM transformation methods can easily,quickly, and effectively produce composite non-heading Chinese cabbage plants with transgenic roots, providing a reliable foundation for gene function research and non-heading Chinese cabbage genetic improvement breeding.

异养硝化好氧反硝化菌株Agrobacterium tumefaciens LAD9羟胺氧化酶的分离纯化

羟氨氧化酶(Hydroxylamine oxidase,HAO)的作用方式直接决定了异养硝化好氧反硝化细菌的代谢途径,分离得到纯度较高的HAO也就成为研究这类细菌脱氮机制的重要环节。以异养硝化好氧反硝化细菌Agrobacterium tumefaciens LAD9为代表,建立了该菌株HAO的分离纯化方法:首先采用渗透压休克法提取细胞周质液,然后采用DEAE Sepharose CL-6B离子交换层析和Sephacryl S-100凝胶过滤层析对细胞周质液进行分离纯化。结果表明,经过离子交换层析可得到分子量分别为55.3、35.7和19.2kD的杂蛋白,进一步经过凝胶过滤层析即可得到电泳纯的HAO,纯化倍数为5.79,产率为39.71%。对其酶学性质的初步研究表明,该菌株HAO的分子量为18.8 kD,能够将羟胺氧化为亚硝酸盐氮,且Fe2+的加入可显著增强其酶活。

一株放射性土壤杆菌(Agrobacterium cradiabacter)产胞外多糖性质的鉴定及其发酵工艺条件初探

通过对本实验室筛选得到的一株放射性土壤杆菌LQC-99产生的胞外多糖性质的鉴定,得出该菌株产生的胞外多糖为可得然胶。经过摇瓶发酵实验,初步确定其最佳发酵培养基配方及最适摇瓶发酵条件。摇瓶实验确定的最佳培养基组成为(g/L):蔗糖50.0,(NH_4)_2HPO_4 2.0,KH_2PO_4 2.0,MgSO_4·7H_2O 1.0,CaCO_3 2.0,玉米浆2.5(v/v)。最佳发酵条件为:初始pH 7.0,装液量为80ml/500ml摇瓶.摇床转速为180 rpm,温度为30℃。在此条件下,发酵产胶量可达32g/L。16L自动机械搅拌罐放大试验结果表明,初糖投量为50g/L,在发酵过程中不改变操作参数的情况下,当转速为350 rpm,通气量1:1(v/v)时,经90～96h发酵,可得然胶产量可达35g/L,转化率达到70%;将蔗糖投料量提高至60g/L,(NH_4)_2HPO_4则相应提高至2.4g/L时,胶产量可达到40g/L,转化率仍旧高达66.7%;进一步提高投糖量则可得然胶产量几乎不变,残糖升高,延长发酵时间无明显作用。

石油生物催化脱硫菌Agrobacterium tumefaciens UP3的分离筛选

从胜利油田被原油污染的土壤中筛选到一株能有效降解模型化合物二苯并噻吩 (DBT)的菌株。根据常规的形态分析、生理生化性状及 16SrDNA序列分析 ,将其鉴定为根癌土壤杆菌 (AgrobacteriumtumefaciensUP3)。该菌不能以十二烷、十六烷、液体石蜡和萘作为唯一碳源和能源生长 ,具有工业应用的潜力。对该菌株DBT降解能力的初步研究表明 ,5 4h内可将 5 0 0mg L的DBT降解至 15 0mg L。对降解产物的分析表明 ,根癌土壤杆菌降解DBT的途径与Kodama路线及 4_S路线不同。

Improvement of Plant Regeneration from Immature Embryos of Wheat Infected by Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Wheat, one of the most important food crops, has been extensively studied with respects to plant regeneration and transformation employing the immature embryos as recipient tissues. However, the transformed tissues often become severely necrotic after co-cultivation with Agrobacterium, which is one of the major obstacles in gene delivery. In this study, wheat varieties CB037, Kenong 199, Xinchun 9, Lunxuan 987, and Shi 4185 showed desirable culture potential or high infection ability in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Similarly, optimal regeneration conditions were determined by testing their ability to inhibit the cell necrosis and cell death phenotype. Two auxins of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid （2,4-D） and 3,6-dichloro-o-anisic acid （dicamba） were evaluated for highly significant effect on both callus and plantlet production, although they were genotype-dependent in wheat. Substitution of 2,4-D by dicamba enhanced the growth and regeneration ability of callus from the immature embryos of most genotypes tested. The callus growth state couldn’t be modified by adding antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, cysteine, and silver nitrate or organic additives such as thiamine HCl and asparagine to the media. On the contrary, the best tissue statement and plant regeneration was achieved by employing the media containing the simplest MS （Murashige and Skoog） components and dicamba without organic components and vitamins. Thereby, our results are thought to inhibit wheat cell necrosis effectively and suggested to be used for more wheat genotypes.

Meropenem as an Alternative Antibiotic Agent for Suppression of Agrobacterium in Genetic Transformation of Orchid

A case of Meropenem as a novel antibacterial agent to suppress and eliminate Agrobacterium tumefaciens in the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of orchid protocorm-like bodies （PLBs） has been reported in this article. The in vitro activities of meropenem and four comparator antibacterial agents against three Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains, LBA4404, EHA101, and GV3101, were assessed. In addition, the effect of meropenem on the growth of Dendrobium phalaenopsis PLBs was determined. Compared with other commonly used antibiotics （including ampicillin, carbenicillin, cefotaxime, and cefoperazone）, meropenem showed the highest activity in suppressing all tested A. tumefaciens strains （minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] 〈 0.5 mg L^-1, which is equal to minimum bactericidal concentration [MBC]）. Meropenem, at all tested concentrations, except for 10 mg L^-1 concentration, had little negative effect on the growth of orchid tissues. The A. tumefaciens strain EHA101 in genetic transformation with vector plG121Hm in infected PLBs of the orchid was visually undetectable after a two-month subculture in 1/2 MS medium with 50 mg L^-1 meropenem and 25 mg L^-1 hygromacin. The expression and incorporation of the transgenes were confirmed by GUS histochemical assay and PCR analysis. Meropenem may be an alternative antibiotic for the effective suppression of A. tumefaciens in genetic transformation.

Development of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Regeneration System and Agrobacterium-Mediated Genetic Transformation

The regeneration ability of four alfalfa （Medicago sativa L.） cultivars, Xinjiang Daye, Longdong, Gannong 1 and Gannong 3, was studied, and the effects of various cultivars, explant sources and medium recipes on regeneration were compared. The better callus forming frequency obtained from hypocotyls of Xinjiang Daye is 88.5% and regeneration frequency is 9.8% in our initial experiments. To further optimize regeneration system for genetic transformation, we therefore changed concentrations of plant growth regulators and supplemented with glutamine into callus-induction and shoot-regeneration media. Callus forming frequency and shoot differentiation frequency were increased to 100%. The time taken to generate transgenic plants （16 weeks） was shorter than that for previouse procedure （25 weeks） and regeneration frequency was promoted to 15.1%. The results show that addition of glutamine is particularly important for shortening period of regeneration and promoting regeneration frequency. For study of genetic transformation of alfalfa, Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of Xinjiang Daye was developed based on this optimized regeneration system. The plant expression vector carrying two glutamine synthetases （GS 1 and GS2） and △1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase （P5CS） gene was used for alfalfa in vitro transformation. Six transgenic alfalfa plantlets with resistance to PPT were obtained. The introduction of foreign genes into plants was assessed in the transformants by PCR analysis and Southern hybridizations.

Factors Affecting Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation Efficiency in Rice

Several important factors affecting the efficiency of Agrobacterium-mediated rice transformation were studied with several predominant commercial indica and japonica rice cultivars. As far as indica rice callus was concerned, CC medium was the best and the quality of callus was improved with the addition of 1.0 to 2.0 mg/L ABA. It decreased the percentage of browning calli and improved the callus growing state by addition of a certain amount of sorbitol to the subculture medium. NB medium was the best for callus initiation of japonica rice, but the improvement in the quality of callus of japonica subspecies was not obvious by adding ABA. During the period of subculture, to a certain degree, increasing the sucrose concentration could improve the proportion of hygromycin resistant calli. Furthermore, the transformation efficiency would be higher by applying selection pressure in the selection stage, removing selection pressure during the plantlet differentiation period and applying selection pressure again during seedling hardening period. Besides, suitable combination of plant hormones was beneficial for callus differentiation. An efficient /Agrobacterium-mediated rice transformation system had been established for several rice cultivars and a lot of transgenic rice plants had been obtained.

石油生物脱硫菌Agrobacterium tumefaciens UP-3

对能降解二苯并噻吩(DBT)的根癌土壤杆菌AgrobacteriumtumefaciensUP3菌株进行了固定化研究,以聚乙烯醇(PVA)和海藻酸钠(SA)混合物为包埋法固定化载体,固定化最佳操作条件为4℃交联,PVA和SA混合物总浓度7%,两者最佳浓度比为6,细胞浓度为0.05g/mL。当DBT加入量为2.7mmol/L时,UP-3的静息细胞最高脱硫率为13%,而固定化细胞的脱硫效率超过了60%;固定化细胞的最佳使用条件为降解5d,温度28℃～32℃。

Soybean hairy roots produced in vitro by Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation

Soybean is one of the world's most important oil and protein crops. Efficient transformation is a key factor for the improvement of soybean by genetic modification. We describe an optimized protocol for the Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation of soybean and the induction of hairy root development in vitro. Cotyledons with 0.5-cm hypocotyls were cut from 5-day-old seedlings and used as explants. After infection and co-cultivation,hairy roots were produced in induction culture medium after 10–12 days. Using this method, 90%–99% of the infected explants of five different cultivars produced hairy roots within one month. Observations using reporter constructs showed that 30%–60% of the hairy roots induced were transformed. Based on high transformation efficiency and short transformation period, this method represents an efficient and rapid platform for study of soybean gene function.

Optimization of Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Immature Embryo Transformation System and Transformation of Glyphosate-Resistant Gene 2mG2-EPSPS in Maize(Zea mays L.)

Since maize is one of the most important cereal crops in the world,establishment of an efficient genetic transformation system is critical for its improvement.In the current study,several elite corn lines were tested for suitability of Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation by using immature embryos as explants.Infection ability and efficiency of transformation of A.tumefaciens sp.strains EHA105 and LBA4404,different heat treatment times of immature embryos before infection,influence of L-cysteine addition in co-cultivation medium after transformation,and how different ways of selection and cultivation influence the efficiency of transformation were compared.Glyphosate-resistant gene 2mG2-EPSPS was transformed into several typical maize genotypes including 78599,Zong 31 and BA,under the optimum conditions.Results showed that the hypervirulent Agrobacterium tumefaciens sp.strain EHA105 was more infectious than LBA4404.Inclusion of L-cysteine（100 mg L-1） in co-cultivation medium,and heating of the immature embryos for 3 min prior to infection led to a significant increase in the transformation efficiency.Growth in resting medium for 4-10 d and delaying selection was beneficial to the survival of resistant calli.During induction of germination,adding a high concentration of 6-BA（5 mg L-1） and a low concentration of 2,4-D（0.2 mg L-1） to regeneration medium significantly enhanced germination percentage.Using the optimized transformation procedure,more than 800 transgenic plants were obtained from 78599,Zong 31 and BA.By spraying herbicide glyphosate on leaves of transgenic lines,we identified 66 primary glyphosate-resistant plants.The transformation efficiency was 8.2%.PCR and Southern-blot analyses confirmed the integration of the transgenes in the maize genome.

一株脱有机硫菌Agrobacterium tumefaciens W3的分离鉴定及特性的研究

从杭州炼油厂的土壤中筛选到的能降解二苯并噻吩（Dibenzothiophene,DBT）的菌株,并进行了显微形态、生理生化分析和16S rDNA序列分析,将其鉴定为Agrobacteriumtume faciens W3;对该菌株的降解产物分析表明,其降解DBT的终产物为2-羟基联苯（2-hydroxybiphenyl,2-HBP）,符合4-S脱硫途径;对该菌株的部分脱硫特性进行分析表明,5 g/L葡萄糖,3 g/L NH4Cl,0.15 mmol/L DBT,初始pH 6.9-7.5为其适宜的培养条件,培养时间72-96 h可达到最大生长,脱硫效果可达83%.

The Establishment of an Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation Platform for the Non-Embryogenic Calli of Vitis vinifera L.

Non-embryogenic calli （NEC） was inevitably and heavily produced when grape embryogenic calli （EC） was induced from explants or during the subculture of EC.A stable and highly efficient NEC transformation platform is required to further sort out and verify key genes which determine/switch the identity of NEC and EC.In this research,a vector pA5 containing a chitinase signal sequence fused to gfp （green fluorescent protein） and an HDEL motive was used to target and immobilize into Agrobacterium strain EHA105 to establish a transformation platform for Vitis vinifera L.cv.Chardonnay NEC.It was determined that NEC 10 d after subculture was the best target tissue;30 min for inoculation followed by 3 d co-cultivation with the addition of 200 μmol L-1 acetosyringone （AS） was optimized as protocol.The use of bacterial densities as 1.0 at OD600 did not result in serious tissue hypersensitive reaction and it had higher efficiency.Kanamycin at 200 mg L-1 was picked for positive expression selection.The stable transformation of NEC was proved by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction techniques （RT-PCR） and fluorescent microscopy after three sub-cultures of the selected cell line.Highly efficient genetic transformation protocol of grape NEC was achieved and some of the optimized parameters were different from that reported for EC.This transformation platform could facilitate the verification of candidate somatic embryogenesis （SE） decisive genes,and the successfully transformed NEC with certain genes can also be used as bioreactors for the production of functional products,as NEC not only proliferates fast,but also keeps in a rather stable condition.

Agrobacterium-Mediated Transfer of Arabidopsis ICE1 Gene into Lemon (Citrus Limon (L.) Burm. F. cv. Eureka)

The Arabidopsis ICEI （inducer of CBF expression 1） gene was cloned through RT-PCR of Arabidopsis cDNAs and introduced into the lemon （Citrus Limon （L.） Burm. F. cv. Eureka） genome using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method. Epicotyl segments from in vitro grown lemon seedlings were co-cultivated with A. tumefaciens strain EHA 105 carrying the binary plasmid pMVICE1, whose T-DNA region contain ICEI gene driven by 35S CaMV promoter. Among 320 epicotyl segments inoculated, 71 explants responded and regenerated 51 elongated shoots. These shoots were subjected to an extra month of kanamycin exposure. In this way, the number of escapes reduced. Thirteen of 31 survived shoots formed roots and 7 were tested positive using PCR technique. Southern blot analyses confirmed PCR results and demonstrated that more than two copies of the ICE1 gene were integrated into the lemon genome.

Transformation of Chinese Cabbage(Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis)by Agrobacterium Micro-Injection into Flower Bud

We obtained two lines of Chinese head cabbage(Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis)selfed progenies containing both an anti-sense gene of BcpLH and a gene for resistance to kanamycin by micro-injecting buds of their primary transformants(T0)with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404. 31 positive plants resistant to kanamycien were recovered. Southern blot analysis confirmed the presence of T-DNA in two transgenic plants. One(DHZ-13-1)exhibits the characteristics of out-toward rosette and cauline leaves, and nested flower model in which secondary complete flower developed from the base of the primary ovary and the third flower from the ovary in the secondary flower, and so on, while another(DHZ-6-1)has no phenotype change. ABA and IAA affected the root growth of progeny of DHZ-13-1, but 6-BA was insensitive to hypocotyl growth during its seedling development.

Establishment of Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation System for Rice Sheath Blight Pathogen Rhizoctonia solani AG-1 IA

To construct the T-DNA insertional mutagenesis transformation system for rice sheath blight pathogen Rhizoctonia solani AG-1 IA,the virulent isolate GD118 of this pathogen was selected as an initial isolate for transformation.The conditions for transformation of isolate GD118 were optimized in five aspects,i.e.pre-induction time,co-culture time,acetosyringone(AS) concentration at the co-culture phase,co-culture temperature and pH value of induction solid medium(ISM) at the co-culture phase.Finally,a system of Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation(ATMT) for R.solani AG-1 IA was established successfully.The optimal conditions for this ATMT system were as follows:the concentration of hygromycin B at 30 μg/mL for transformant screening,8 h of pre-induction,20 h of co-culture,200 μmol/L of AS in ISM,co-culture at 25 ℃ and pH 5.6 to 5.8 of ISM at the co-culture phase.The transformants still displayed high resistance to hygromycin B after subculture for five generations.A total of 10 randomly selected transformants were used for PCR verification using the specific primers designed for the hph gene,and the results revealed that an expected band of 500 bp was amplified from all of the 10 transformants.Moreover,PCR amplification for these 10 transformants was carried out using specific primers designed for the Vir gene of A.tumefaciens,with four strains of A.tumefaciens as positive controls for eliminating the false-positive caused by the contamination of A.tumefaciens.An expected band of 730 bp was amplified from the four strains of A.tumefaciens,whereas no corresponding DNA band could be amplified from the 10 transformants.The results of the two PCR amplifications clearly showed that T-DNA was indeed inserted into the genome of target isolate GD118.

Regular Production of Transgenic Wheat Mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Wheat is the number one crop both in acreage and total yield in the world. Therefore, it is very important to improve wheat by gene engineering techniques even though it belongs to the plants insensitive to gene transformation, especially to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Wheat immature embryos of 1.0 - 1.5mm in size, C58cl of Agrobacterium strain harboring pPTN249, pPTN270, pPTN254, and pSIS-GFP respectively (all the vectors contain the aphA selectable gene driven by enhanced 35S promoter and a target gene controlled by ubi promoter or E35S promoter), AB medium for Agrobacterium activate culture, WCC medium for co-culture, were used in this study. The embryos with 4 days of pre-culture were transferred onto selection medium with 10mg/L geneticin, 50mg/L ticarcillin, 50mg/L vancomycin, and 50mg/L cefotaxine after 30 minutes of infection and 2 days of co-cultivation with Agrobacterium. Followed callus production, shoot regeneration on selection medium, 114 resistant plantlets were obtained from 10 transformation experiments of four genotypes. By nptll ELISA (nptII enzyme assay), PCR, Southern blot and leaf bleach, 29 positive plants were identified from two genotypes of Bobwhite and Yangmai 10, with an average transformation efficiency of 0.82%. The result tested by Southern blot also showed that the transgenic plants with single- copy integration of target gene took 65.52% among total positive plants. The ELISA value of transgenic plant was also related to the copies of alien DNA integrating into wheat chromosomes, the transgenic plants with single copy integration giving higher ELISA value than the ones with 2 or 3 copies integration.

Production of Transgenic Tall Fescue Plants with Enhanced Stress Tolerances by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation

In order to improve stress tolerances of turf-type tall fescue （Festuca arundinacea Schreb.）, Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105 carrying plasmid pCMD containing stress tolerance-related CBF1 gene from Arabidopsis thaliana was used to transform mature seeds-derived embryogenic calli of four cultivars. A total of 112 transgenic plants were regenerated from 32 independent lines and verified by histochemical detection of GUS activity, PCR assay and Southern hybridization analysis. The transformation frequency ranged from 0.92 to 2.87% with apparent differences among the cultivars. Stress tolerances of transgenic plants were enhanced, which was shown by the facts that transgenic plants had distinct growth superiority and significantly higher survival rate than non-transformed ones under high salinity and high osmosis stresses, and that relative electronic conductivity of in vitro leaves treated with low and high temoeratures, dehvdration and high salinity stresses was 25-30% lower in transgenic plants than in control plants.In addition,it was observed that growth of transgenic plants was inhibited due to constitutive overexpression of CBF1 gene under normal environmental conditions.