Genetic Transformation of Watermelon with Pumpkin DNA by Low Energy Ion Beam-mediated Introduction

The No.601 watermelon (citrullus lanatus) seeds were treated with 25 keV N+ implantation at the dosage of 7.8 ×1016 ions/cm2. After treatment, watermelon seeds were incubated with 380μg/μl pumpkin (Cucubita, maxima Duch) DNA solution at 35 ℃ for 5 hours. By two-generations of selection and resistance screening at seedling stage, one transformed material was selected out, whose rind color is similar to that of the donor pumpkin and whose size of seeds is between that of the donor and the receptor. Using AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) technique, two polymorphic DNA fragments were amplified. This primarily testified that the donor DNA fragments/gene were introduced into the receptor cell and integrated into the genomic DNA of the receptor.

Bioeffects of Low Energy Ion Beam Implantation:DNA Damage,Mutation and Gene Transter

Low-energy ion beam implantation （10 - 200 keV） has been proved to have a wide range of biological effects and is broadly used in the breeding of crops and micro-organisms.To understand its mechanisms better and facilitate its applications, the developments in the bioeffects of low energy ion beam implantation in the past twenty years are summarized in this paper.

Preliminary Studies on Base Substitutions and Repair of DNA Mismatch Damage Stimulated by Low Energy N^+ Ion Beam Implantation in Escherichia coli

Ever since the low energy N+ ion beam has been accepted that the mutation effects of ionizing radiation are attributed mainly to direct or indirect damage to DNA. Evidences based on naked DNA irradiation in support of a mutation spectrum appears to be consistent, but direct proof of such results in vivo are limited. Using mutS, dam and/or dcm defective Eschericha coli imitator strains, an preliminary experimental system on induction of in vivo mutation spectra of low energy N+ ion beam has been established in this study. It was observed that the mutation rates of rifampicin resistance induced by N+ implantation were quite high, ranging from 9.2 x 10~8 to 4.9× 10~5 at the dosage of 5.2×1014 ions/cm2. Strains all had more than 90-fold higher mutation rate than its spontaneous mutation rate determined by this method. It reveals that base substitutions involve in induction of mutation of low energy nitrogen ion beam implantation. The mutation rates of mutator strains were nearly 500-fold (GM2929), 400-fold (GM5864) and 6-fold larger than that of AB1157. The GM2929 and GM5864 both lose the ability of repair DNA mismatch damage by virtue of both dam and dcm pathways defective (GM2929) or failing to assemble the repair complex (GM5864) respectively. It may explain the both strains had a similar higher mutation rate than GM124 did. It indicated that DNA cytosine methylase might play an important role in mismatch repair of DNA damage induced by N+ implantation. The further related research were also discussed.

Mutation Breeding of an Organic Phosphorus-Solubilizing Bacterium B3 by Low Energy Ion Beam Implantation

A preliminary study on the mutation breeding of an organic phosphorus-solubilizing bacterium B3 by low-energy N^＋ ion beam was conducted. Analysis of dosage vs. survival rate and mutation rate showed that the dosage of 3×10^15 ions/cm^2 was optimal for the mutation. Some parameters for determining the efficient phosphorus content were studied to simplify the protocols for screening. Ultimately one reliable mutant was screened out under plating and flask-culturing screening conditions. Importantly, a novel phosphorus-dissolving mechanism is reported for the first time in terms of bio-surfactant production, which indicates that bio-surfactant might play a vital role in phosphorus-dissolving for some phosphobacteria.

Evidence for Base Substitutions and Repair of DNA Mismatch Damage Induced by Low Energy N^+ Ion Beam Implantation in E. coli

Ever since the low energy N + ion beam has been accepted, the mutations of ionizing radiation are attributable mainly to avoidance of DNA damages repair. Evidences based on in vivo proof results are limited. Using the E.coli wild type and mutator strains, the mutant frequencies suggest that base substitutions in rpoB gene are induced by the N + implantation. A highly conserved region is selected to get the direct evidence for base substitutions by sequence of the high fidelity PCR amplification products in mutants. Most of the mutants (90.9%, 40/44) have at least one base substitution in the amplification region. The evidences for CG to TA (55%, 22/40), AT to GC (20%, 8/40) and TA to CG (5%, 2/40) transitions are identified. The transversions are AT to TA (15%, 6/40) and GC to CG (5%, 2/40). It is suggested that DNA cytosine methylase might play an important role in mismatch repair of DNA damage induced by N + implantation by analysis of the mutant frequencies of mutator strains.

A Mutant of Bacillus Subtilis with High-Producing Surfactin by Ion Beam Implantation

In order to generate a mutant of Bacillus subtilis with enhanced surface activity through low energy nitrogen ion beam implantation, the effects of energy and dose of ions implanted were studied. The morphological changes in the bacteria were observed by scanning electron microscope （SEM）. The optimum condition of ions implantation, 20 keV of energy and 2.6 × 10^15N^＋/cm^2 in dose, was determined. A mutant, B.s-E-8 was obtained, whose surface activity of 50-fold and 100-fold diluted cell-free Landy medium was as 5.6-fold and 17.4-fold as the wild strain. The microbial growth and biosurfactant production of both the mutant and the wild strain were compared. After purified by ultrafiltration and SOURCE 15PHE, the biosurfactant was determined to be a complex of surfactin family through analysis of electrospray ionization mass spectrum （ESI/MS） and there was an interesting finding that after the ion beam implantation the intensities of the components were different from the wild type strain.

A Mutant Strain of a Surfactant-Producing Bacterium with Increased Emulsification Activity

As reported in this paper, a strain of oil-degrading bacterium Sp - 5 - 3 was determined to belong to Enterobacteriaceae, which would be useful for microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The aim of our study was to generate a mutant using low energy N+ beam implantation. With 10 keV of energy and 5.2× 1014 N+/cm2 of dose - the optimum condition, a mutant, S-34, was obtained, which had nearly a 5-fold higher surface and a 13-fold higher of emulsifica-tion activity than the wild type. The surface activity was measured by two methods, namely, a surface tension measuring instrument and a recording of the repulsive circle of the oil film; the emulsification activity was scaled through measuring the separating time of the oil-fermentation mixture. The metabolic acid was determined as methane by means of gas chromatography.