Efficient expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) mediated by a chimeric promoter in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

To improve the expression efficiency of exogenous genes in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a high efficient expression vector was constructed. Green fluorescent protein （GFP） was expressed in C. reinhardtii under the control of promoters： RBCS2 and HSP70A-RBCS2. Efficiency of transformation and expression were compared between two transgenic algae： RBCS2 mediated strain Tran-Ⅰ and HSP70A-RBCS2 mediated strain Tran-Ⅱ. Results show that HSP70A-RBCS2 could improve greatly the transformation efficiency by approximately eightfold of RBCS2, and the expression efficiency of GFP in Tran-Ⅱ was at least double of that in Tran-Ⅰ. In addition, a threefold increase of GFP in Tran-Ⅱ was induced by heat shock at 40℃. All of the results demonstrated that HSP70A-RBCS2 was more efficient than RBCS2 in expressing exogenous gene in C. reinhardtii.

Cloning, expression, purification, and characterization of LC-1 ScFv with GFP tag

Total RNA was isolated from the hybridoma cell line （LC- 1 ）, which secretes anti-lung adenocarcinoma monoclonal antibody, and was transferred into cDNA. Based on the FRl （framework region l） and FR4 conserved regions of LC-1 gene, the variable regions of heavy chain （Vh） and light chain （Vl） were amplified, and the Vh and modified Vl were connected to single chain Fv （ScFv） by SOE-PCR （splice overlap extension PCR）. The modified ScFv was fused with green fluorescent protein （GFP） and introduced into E. coli JM109. The fusion protein induced by lPTG （Isopropylthiogalactoside） was about 57000 on a 10% SDS-PAGE gel （10% Sds Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis）, and primarily manifested as inclusion bodies. The renatured protein purified by Ni-NTA Superflow resins showed ability to bind to antigen on SPC-A-l lung adenocarcinoma. In addition, the induced host cells fluoresced bright green under 395 nm wavelength, which indicated that the expected protein with dual activity was expressed in the prokaryotic system. The ScFv with GFP tag used in this research can be applied as a new reagent to detect immunological dye, and provide a feasible way to detect adenocarcinoma in a clinical setting.

Survival of the biocontrol agents Brevibacillus brevis ZJY-1 and Bacillus subtilis ZJY-116 on the spikes of barley in the field

Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Fusarium graminearum is a devastating disease that results in extensive yield losses to wheat and barley. A green fluorescent protein (GFP) expressing plasmid pRP22-GFP was constructed for monitoring the colonization of two biocontrol agents, Brevibacillus brevis ZJY-1 and Bacillus subtilis ZJY-116, on the spikes of barley and their effect on suppression of FHB. Survival and colonization of the Brevibacillus brevis ZJY-1 and Bacillus subtilis ZJY-116 strains on spikes of barley were observed by tracking the bacterial transformants with GFP expression. Our field study revealed that plasmid pRP22-GFP was stably maintained in the bacterial strains without selective pressure. The retrieved GFP-tagged strains showed that the bacterial population fluctuation accorded with that of the rain events. Furthermore, both biocontrol strains gave significant protection against FHB on spikes of barley in fields. The greater suppression of barley FHB disease was resulted from the treat-ment of barley spikes with biocontrol agents before inoculation with F. graminearum.

Microbubble-enhanced ultrasound exposure improves gene transfer in vascular endothelial cells

AIM： To explore the effects of ultrasound exposure combined with microbubble contrast agent （SonoVue） on the permeability of the cellular membrane and on the expression of plasrnid DNA encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein （pEGFP） transfer into human umbilical vein endothelial cells （HUVECs）. METHODS： HUVECs with fluorescein isothiocyanatedextran （FD500） and HUVECs with pEGFP were exposed to continuous wave （1.9 MHz, 80.0 mW/cm^2） for 5 min, with or without a SonoVue. The percentage of FD500 taken by the HUVECs and the transient expression rate of pEGFP in the HUVECs were examined by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytornetry, respectively. RESULTS： The percentage of FDS00-positive HUVECs in the group of ultrasound exposure combined with SonoVue was significantly higher than that of the group of ultrasound exposure alone （24.0%± 5.5% vs 66.6% ± 4.1%, P 〈 0.001）. Compared with the group of ultrasound exposure alone, the transfection expression rate of pEGFP in HUVECs was markedly increased with the addition of SonoVue （16.1% ± 1.9% vs 1.5% ± 0.2%, P 〈 0.001）. No statistical significant difference was observed in the HUVECs survival rates between the ultrasound group with and without the addition of SonoVue （94.1% ± 2.3% vs 91.1% ± 4.1% ）. CONCLUSION： The cell membrane permeability of HUVECs and the transfection efficiency of pEGFP into HUVECs exposed to ultrasound are significantly increased after addition of an ultrasound contrast agent without obvious damage to the survival of HUVECs. This non- invasive gene transfer method may be a useful tool for clinical gene therapy of hepatic tumors.

Mechanistic Insights into the Photophysics of Ortho-hydroxyl GFP Core Chromophores

Herein we have employed the MS-CASPT2//CASSCF method to study the S1 excited-state intramolecular proton transfers （ESIPTs） of recently synthesized ortho-hydroxyl GFP core chromophores, i.e. OHIM, CHBDI, and MHBID, and their excited-state relaxation pathways. We have found that in OHIM and CHBDI, the ESIPT process is associated with small barriers of 3.4 and 4.2 kcal/mol; while, in MHBDI, it becomes essentially barrierless. Moreover, we have found two main S1 excited-state radiationless channels. In the first one, the enol S1 species decays to the So state via the enol S1/S0 conical intersection after overcoming considerable barriers of 7.0 and 7.7 kcal/mol in OHIM and CHBDI （however, in MHBDI, it is nearly barrierless）. In the second one, the keto S] species is first generated through the ESIPT event; then, it is de-excited into the So state in the vicinity of the keto S1/S0 conical intersection. These energetically allowed excited-state decay channels rationalize ex- perimentally observed ultralow fluorescence quantum yields. The insights gained from the present work may help to guide the design of new ortho-hydroxyl GFP core chromophores with improved fluorescence emission and brightness.

Persistence and Impact of a PGPR on Microbial Communities of Biosolids and Soil Amended with Them

Survival of the plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria （PGPR） strain Pseudomonasfluorescens 92 in two batches ofbiosolids and soil amended with them and functional and structural shifts occurring in the resident bacterial communities were assessed. Viability of the rifampicin resistant gfp-tagged P. fluorescens 92RTcgfp, inoculated in microcosms consisting of biosolids, soil amended with biosolids and soil, drastically decreased 3-7 days after inoculation in treatments containing biosolids and soil amended with them. The PGPR counts in biosolids were always lower than in soil throughout the experiment whereas, in soil amended with biosolids, were similar or higher depending on the batch of biosolid. Analysis of the community-level physiological profiling （CLPP） revealed a strong impact of the strain on the metabolic activities, as seen in a general uniformity of the inoculated microcosms profiles. According to single-strand conformation polymorphism （SSCP） analysis, the presence of the PGPR had no effect on the resident soil and biosolid eubacterial population, whereas it induced a transient shift in the composition of the resident pseudomonads. In conclusion, biosolids themselves are not suitable as inoculum vehicle for the PGPR nevertheless, their combined incorporation into soil increases the inoculum survival and buffers the competition effects with the resident communities.

Production of transgenic calves by somatic cell nuclear transfer

Bovine fetal oviduct epithelial cells were transfected with constructed double marker selective vector(pCE-EGFP-IRES-Neo-dNdB) containing the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and neomycin-resistant(Neo^r) genes by electroporation, and a transgenic cell line was obtained. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) was cartied out using the transgenic cells as nuclei donor. A total of 424 SCNT embryos were reconstructed and 208 (49.1%) of them developed to blastocyst stage. 17 blastocysts on D 7 after reconstruction were transferred to 17 surrogate calves,and 5 (29.4%) recipients were found to be pregnant. Three of them maintained to term and delivered three cloned calves.PCR and Southern blot analysis confirmed the integration of transgene in all of the three cloned calves. In addition, expression of EGFP was detected in biopsy isolated from the transgenic cloned calves and fibroblasts derived from the biopsy. Our results suggest that transgenic calves could be efficiently produced by SCNT using transgenic cells as nuclei donor. Furthermore, all cloned animals could be ensured to be transgenic by efficiently pre-screening transgenic cells and SCNT embryos using the constructed double marker selective vector.

Labeling of human insulin-like growth factor-I eukaryotic expression vector with green fluorescent protein

Objective: To label human insulin-like growth factor-I （hIGF-I） eukaryotic expression vector with green fluorescent protein （GFP） for the repair of articular cartilage defects. Methods: GFP cDNA was inserted into pcDNA3.1-hIGF-1 to construct the co-expression vector with two multiple cloning sites mammalian expression vector under two cytomegalovirus promoters/enhancers respectively. Recombinant pcGI was transfected into NIH 3T3 cells with the help of lipofectamine. Results: Enzyme digestion and agarose gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that pcGI vector contained correct GFP and hIGF-I cDNA. Expression of （hIGF-1） and GFP was confirmed in transfected NIH 3T3 cells by immunocytochemical analysis and fluorescence microscopy. Conclusions: hIGF-I eukaryotic expression vector has been successfully labeled with GFP.