Isolation of the drought up-regulated gene in Alternanthera philoxeroides by differential display technique

Under drought stress, adventitious roots of Alternanthera philoxeroides seedlings will grow long thick fleshy roots, which are assumed to improve performance of the plant by more efficient reservation and absorption of water from deep soil layers. In this study, the differential display technique was used to clone morphogenesis-related genes from A. philoxeroides roots treated with drought, which would help to improve crop plants＇ drought-tolerance by transgenic method; by 15 pairs of primer combinations, twenty putative drought up-regulated gene segments induced by drought were obtained; and one of them was confirmed by reverse northern blot, and subsequently cloned and sequenced. A homologous analysis revealed that it might be a new sequence. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that the gene was up-regulated by drought and salt stress.

Isolation, Cloning, and Identification of Expressed Sequence Tags from the Backfat Tissue in Duroc and Tongcheng Pigs by mRNA Differential Display

mRNA differential display technique was performed to discuss the differential expression of genes in fat tissue between introduced European and Chinese indigenous pigs. Four anchor primers in combination with five arbitrary primers （20 sets in total） were used and nearly 300 bands were observed in polyacrylamide gel, among which 29 differential display bands were obtained. Twelve of 29 cDNA fragments were identified using reverse Northern dot blot, and subsequently cloned and sequenced. Eight of 12 cDNAs had no matches in GenBank and were submitted to GenBank, and the other 4 showed similarity to identified genes from GenBank. Three among 8 novel ESTs were selected to be further identified by semiquantitative RT-PCR. In our experiment, silver staining DDRT-PCR and DIG primer DNA labeling reverse Northern dot blot were used to avoid radioactive pollution. The result showed that the expressions of 5 among 8 novel ESTs were stronger in the backfat of Tongcheng pigs and the others were weaker than that in Duroc pigs. These novel ESTs were prepared for selecting genes related to adipose cells.

Primarily screening and analyzing ESTs differentially expressed in rats' primary liver cancer

Objective： To screen and analyze key express sequence tags （ESTs） which were differentially displayed in every period of SD rats＇ primary hepatic carcinoma and reveal the molecular mechanism of carcinogenesis. Methods： Using diethylnitrosamine （DENA） as a cancerigenic agent, animal models with different phases of primary hepatic cancer were constructed in SD rats. Rats were respectively sacrificed at d 14, d 28, d 56, d 77, d 105 and d 112 after the rats received DENA by gavage, then the livers were harvested. One part of the livers was classified according to their pathological changes, while the other was reserved for molecular mechanism studies on hepatocarcinogenesis. The differentially expressed genes were isolated from both normal and morbid tissues by mRNA differential display technique （DDRT-PCR）. After the fragments were sequenced, bioinformatics were .used to analyze the results. Results： Twelve differentially expressed cDNA fragments were obtained. Nine fragments had the homology with known cDNA clones, especially EST-7 was similar to BN/SsNHsdMCW mitochondrion gene and the identity was 100% which suggested EST-7 may be the part of BN/SsNHsdMCW mitochondrion gene. In contrast, other three fragments （EST-1, EST-3 and EST-5） had extremely low identity to any genes registered in GENBANK databases. Conclusions： BN/SsNHsdMCW mitochondrion gene was expressed in different periods of hepatocarcinogenesis. Moreover, EST-I, EST-3 and EST-5 were suggested to contribute to the development of rat hepatocarcinogenesis, and thus may be candidates of new targets of oncogenes or cancer suppressor genes.

Differential Gene and Protein Expression in Soybean at Early Stages of Incompatible Interaction with Phytophthora sojae

Soybean root and stem rot caused by Phytophthora sojae is a destructive disease worldwide. Using genetic resistance is an important and major component in the integrated pest management of this disease. To understand molecular mechanisms of root and stem rot resistance in soybeans, the gene and protein expression in hypocotyls and stems of variety Suinong 10 carrying resistance genes Rps1a and Rps2 was investigated by using mRNA differential display reverse transcription PCR and two-dimensional electrophoresis at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 h after inoculation with P. sojae race 1. The results of the comparison of gene and protein expression showed that at least eight differential fragments at the transcriptional level were related to metabolic pathway, phytoalexin, and signal transduction in defense responses. Sequence analyses indicated that these fragments represented cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase gene, ATP b gene coding ATP synthase b subunit and ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme gene which upregulated at 0.5 h post inoculation, blue copper protein gene and UDP-N-acetyl-a-D-galactosamine gene which upregulated at 2 h post inoculation, TGA-type basic leucine zipper protein TGA1.1 gene, cyclophilin gene, and 14-3-3 protein gene which upregulated at 4 h post inoculation. Three resistance-related proteins, a-subunit and b-subunit of ATP synthase, and cytochrome P450-like protein, were upregulated at 2 h post inoculation. The results suggested that resistance-related multiple proteins and genes were expressed in the recognition between soybean and P. sojae during zoospore germination, penetration and mycelium growth of P. sojae in soybean.

Novel flutamide regulated genes in the rat veritral prostate： differential modulation of their expression by castration and flutamide treatments

Aim： To identify flutamide regulated genes in the rat ventral prostate. Methods： Total RNA from ventral prostates of control and flutamide treated rats were isolated. Differentially expressed transcripts were identified using differential display reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The effect of castration on the expression of flutamideregulated transcripts was studied. Results： We have identified β2-microglobulin, cytoplasmic FMR1 interacting protein 2 and pumilio 1 as flutamide induced and spermine binding protein and ribophorin Ⅱ as flutamide repressed targets in the rat ventral prostate. Although flutamide treatment caused an induction of pumilio 1 rnRNA, castration had no effect. Conclusion： Castration and flutamide treatments exert differential effects on gene expression. Flutamide might also have direct AR independent effects, which might have implications in the emergence of androgen independent prostate cancer and the failure of flutamide therapy.

ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF cDNA FRAGMENTS AND FULL-LENGTH cDNA DIFFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED IN HUMAN GLIOBLASTOMA CELL LINE BT-325 VERSUS ALL-TRANS RETINOIC ACID INDUCTION

Objective.To investigate the differentiation process of the human glioblastoma cells. Methods.Differential display reverse transcribed-PCR(DDRT-PCR) was used to isolate the genes differentially expressed in control and all-trans retinoic acid treated human glioblastoma cell line BT-325.Routine method of cDNA library screening was performed to clone full-length cDNA. Results.Thirty-six RT-PCR reactions were performed and 64 differentially expressed fragments were recovered,amplified and cloned.Of them,46 ESTs were sequenced and delivered into the GenBank.The homology comparison using BLAST algorithm revealed that 22ESTs are highly homologous with the known genes and many of them play important roles in the cell differentiation progress.A dot-blot hybridization was conducted to certify the differentiation expression.The result showed that 27 EST clones are expressed at different level in control and all-trans retinoic acid treated BT-325 cells.A full-length cDNA was cloned using the EST-HGBB098. Conclusion.DDRT-PCR was a simple and effective method to serially analyze the differentially expressed genes.

Stem cell properties and neural differentiation of sheep amniotic epithelial cells

This study was designed to verify the stem cell properties of sheep amniotic epithelial cells and their capacity for neural differentiation. Immunofluorescence microscopy and reverse transcription-PCR revealed that the sheep amniotic epithelial cells were positive for the embryonic stem cell marker proteins SSEA-1, SSEA-3, SSEA-4, TRA-1-60 and TRA-1-81, and the totipotency-associated genes Oct-4, Sox-2 and Rex-1, but negative for Nanog. Amniotic epithelial cells expressed β-Ⅲ-tubulin, glial fibrillary acidic protein, nestin and microtubule-associated protein-2 at 28 days after induction with serum-free neurobasal-A medium containing B-27. Thus, sheep amniotic epithelial cells could differentiate into neurons expressing β-Ⅲ-tubulin and microtubule-associated protein-2, and glial-like cells expressing glial fibrillary acidic protein, under specific conditions.

Identification and Characterization of Genes Responsible for Drought Tolerance in Rice Mediated by Pseudomonas fluorescens

Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses which adversely affect crop plants limiting growth and yield potential.Structural and functional characterization of drought stress-induced genes has contributed to a better understanding of how plants respond and adapt to the drought stress.In the present study,differential display technique was employed to study the gene expression of rice plants at the reproductive stage that were subjected to drought stress by withholding water,Pseudomonas fluorescens strain(Pf1) treated plants subjected for drought stress by withholding water and control(well-watered).Differentially expressed c DNAs of six genes(COX1,PKDP,b ZIP1,AP2-EREBP,Hsp20 and COC1) were identified,cloned and sequenced.Real-time q PCR analysis showed that all the six genes were upregulated in drought-stressed plants treated with Pf1.This revealed that the remarkable influence of Pf1 colonization leads to drought tolerance at the reproductive stage.These results showed that high levels of gene expression in plants lacking adequate water can be remarkably influenced by Pf1 colonization,which might be a key element for induced systemic tolerance by microbes.

Effect of Epinephrine on the Settlement and Metamorphosis of Manila Clam Larvae

Chemical inducement and DDRT-PCR （differential display reverse transcription PCR） are adopted to investigate the effect of epinephrine （EPI） on the settlement and metamorphosis of Manila clam larvae. Chemical inducement shows that EPI has an effect to some extent on the metamorphosis of Manila clam larvae at all concentrations and in all treatments designed. The most significant result of inducement is obtained at the concentration of 10^-6 tool L^-1 and for 4 h. DDRT-PCR using six primer pairs shows that the gene expression pattern is quite different between EPI treatment and the control. Three hundred and forty-three amplification bands are obtained in total, among which, 67 （19.53%） are differentially appeared. Therefore, EPI has an effect on the gene expression of the eye spot larval Manila clam. It can be hypothesized that EPI is a settlement and metamorphosis inducer for Manila clam. EPI may lead to larvae settlement and metamorphosis by binding to the receptors on the membrane and then changing the gene expression of larvae cells.

Molecular cloning and identification of naturally occurring human antisense angiopoietin-1: Gna-1

One novel cDNA fragment was obtained from vascular endothelial cells by differential display reverse transcription PCR technique. By using this fragment as probe, we screened the human artery cDNA library and obtained one cDNA clone which is 2198 bp in length. After sequencing and homology researching, we found that the clone contained a region of 851 bp in length complementary to that of human angiopoietin-1 cDNA, encoding the partial fibrinogen-like domain and 3′ non-translational region. It was inferred that this clone was a naturally occurring antisense RNA of human angiopoietin-1, designated as Gna-1. Gna-1 does not encode protein. The tran-scription of Gna-1 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and ECV304 cells was confirmed by RT-PCR method. Gna-1 may be involved in regulating the function of angiopoietin-1, and play a significant role in angiogenesis.

Isolation of genes related to blood glucose-control in rat skeletal muscle

Obejctive To isolate genes related to blood glucose control using Sprague Dawley (SD) rat skeletal muscle Methods Differential gene expression between glucose stimulated and non glucose stimulated SD rat skeletal muscle was obtained by the differential display (DD) method, Slot blotting hybridization and Northern blot hybridization Results Several new genes that are differentially expressed in glucose stimulated and non glucose stimulated SD rat skeletal muscle were isolated 74 were verified by slot analysis from 181 gene tags isolated Of them, 33 were cloned and sequenced, and homologous analysis and application for GenBank Access Number were carried out 21 expressed sequence tag (EST) representing novel genes was confirmed by Northern blot analysis A total of 9 novel genes showed significant differential expression patterns Conclusions Using improvements and modifications of the differential display technique, a labor and cost saving route was used to identify new genes related to blood glucose control We investigated differentially expressed genes at the whole body level instead of the culture cell level, to ensure experimental results closer to the normal physiological state This technique may be valid in wide spread application to other related research