Expression and characterization of a codon-optimized butyrylcholinesterase for analysis of organophosphate insecticide residues

Organophosphate insecticide residues on vegetable, fruit, tea and even grains are primary cause of food poisoning. Organophosphate compounds can cause irreversible inhibition of the activity of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase（BChE, EC 3.1.1.8）, which are both candidates for rapid detection of organophosphate pesticides. To develop an easy-tohandle method for detecting organophosphate pesticides using BChE, BChE from human was optimized according to the codon usage bias of Pichia pastoris and successfully expressed in P. pastoris GS115. The codon-optimized cDNA shared 37.3% of the codon identity with the native one. However, the amino acid sequence was identical to that of the native human butyrylcholinesterase gene（h BCh E） as published. The ratio of guanine and cytosine in four kinds of bases（（G＋C） ratio） was simultaneously increased from 40 to 47%. The recombinant hBChE expression reached a total protein concentration of 292 mg m L^–1 with an activity of 14.7 U m L^–1, which was purified 3.2×10^3-fold via nickel affinity chromatography with a yield of 68% and a specific activity of 8.1 U mg^–1. Recombinant hBChE was optimally active at pH 7.4 and 50°C and exhibited high activity at a wide pH range（〉60% activity at pH 4.0 to 8.0）. Moreover, it had a good adaptability to high temperature（〉60% activity at both 50 and 60°C up to 60 min） and good stability at 70°C. The enzyme can be activated by Li^＋, Co^＋, Zn^2＋ and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid（EDTA）, but inhibited by Mg^2＋, Mn^2＋, Fe^2＋, Ag^＋ and Ca^2＋. Na^＋ had little effect on its activity. The values of h BChE of the Michaelis constant（Km） and maximum reaction velocity（Vm） were 89.4 mmol L^–1 and 1 721 mmol min^–1 mg^–1, respectively. The bim olecular rate constants（K_i） of the hBChE to four pesticides were similar with that of electric eel AChE（EeAChE） and higher than that of horse BChE（HoBChE）. All vlues of the half maximal inhibitory concentration of a substance（IC50） for hBChE were lower than those for HoBChE, but most IC50 for hBChE were lower than those for EeAChE except dichlorvos. The applicability of the hBChE was further verified by successful detection of organophosphate insecticide residues in six kinds of vegetable samples. Thus, hBChE heterologously over-expressed by P. pastoris would provide a sufficient material for development of a rapid detection method of organophosphate on spot and produce the organophosphate detection kit.

Heterologous expression of the ThIPK2 gene enhances drought resistance of common wheat

Th IPK2 is an inositol polyphosphate kinase gene cloned from Thellungiella halophila that participates in diverse cellular processes. Drought is a major limiting factor in wheat(Triticum aestivum L.) production. The present study investigated whether the application of the Th IPK2 gene could increase the drought resistance of transgenic wheat. The codon-optimized Th IPK2 gene was transferred into common wheat through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation driven by either a constitutive maize ubiquitin promoter or a stress-inducible rd29 A promoter from Arabidopsis. Molecular characterization confirmed the presence of the foreign gene in the transformed plants. The transgenic expression of Th IPK2 in wheat led to significantly improve drought tolerance compared to that observed in control plants. Compared to the wild type(WT) plants, the transgenic plants showed higher seed germination rates, better developed root systems, a higher relative water content(RWC) and total soluble sugar content, and less cell membrane damage under drought stress conditions. The expression profiles showed different expression patterns with the use of different promoters. The codon-optimized Th IPK2 gene is a candidate gene to enhance wheat drought stress tolerance by genetic engineering.