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Li DS, Hua J, Luo SH, Liu YC, Chen YG, Ling Y, Guo K, Liu Y, Li SH. An extremely promiscuous terpenoid synthase from the Lamiaceae plant Colquhounia coccinea var. mollis catalyzes the formation of sester-/di-/sesqui-/mono-terpenoids. PLANT COMMUNICATIONS 2021; 2:100233. [PMID: 34746763 PMCID: PMC8554039 DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2021.100233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Terpenoids are the largest class of natural products with complex structures and extensive bioactivities; their scaffolds are generated by diverse terpenoid synthases (TPSs) from a limited number of isoprenoid diphosphate precursors. Promiscuous TPSs play important roles in the evolution of terpenoid chemodiversity, but they remain largely unappreciated. Here, an extremely promiscuous terpenoid synthase (CcTPS1) of the TPS-b subfamily was cloned and functionally characterized from a leaf-specific transcriptome of the Lamiaceae plant Colquhounia coccinea var. mollis. CcTPS1 is the first sester-/di-/sesqui-/mono-TPS identified from the plant kingdom, accepting C25/C20/C15/C10 diphosphate substrates to generate a panel of sester-/di-/sesqui-/mono-terpenoids. Engineered Escherichia coli expressing CcTPS1 produced three previously unreported terpenoids (two sesterterpenoids and a diterpenoid) with rare cyclohexane-containing skeletons, along with four sesquiterpenoids and one monoterpenoid. Their structures were elucidated by extensive nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Nicotiana benthamiana transiently expressing CcTPS1 also produced the diterpenoid and sesquiterpenoids, demonstrating the enzyme's promiscuity in planta. Its highly leaf-specific expression pattern combined with detectable terpenoid products in leaves of C. coccinea var. mollis and N. benthamiana expressing CcTPS1 suggested that CcTPS1 was mainly responsible for diterpenoid and sesquiterpenoid biosynthesis in plants. CcTPS1 expression and the terpenoid products could be induced by methyl jasmonate, suggesting their possible role in plant-environment interaction. CcTPS1 was localized to the cytosol and may differ from mono-TPSs in subcellular compartmentalization and substrate tolerance. These findings will greatly aid our understanding of plant TPS evolution and terpenoid chemodiversity; they also highlight the enormous potential of transcriptome mining and heterologous expression for the exploration of unique enzymes and natural products hidden in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- De-Sen Li
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
| | - Juan Hua
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
- College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shengyang 110866, P. R. China
| | - Shi-Hong Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
- College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shengyang 110866, P. R. China
| | - Yan-Chun Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
| | - Yue-Gui Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
| | - Yi Ling
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
| | - Kai Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources and Innovative Institute of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, P. R. China
| | - Yan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources and Innovative Institute of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, P. R. China
| | - Sheng-Hong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources and Innovative Institute of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, P. R. China
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152
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Liao J, Xie L, Shi H, Cui S, Lan F, Luo Z, Ma X. Development of an efficient transient expression system for Siraitia grosvenorii fruit and functional characterization of two NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductases. PHYTOCHEMISTRY 2021; 189:112824. [PMID: 34102591 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2021.112824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Siraitia grosvenorii (Luo hanguo or monk fruit) is a valuable medicinal herb for which the market demand has increased dramatically worldwide. As promising natural sweeteners, mogrosides have received much attention from researchers because of their extremely high sweetness and lack of calories. Nevertheless, owing to the absence of genetic transformation methods, the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of mogroside biosynthesis have not yet been fully elucidated. Therefore, an effective method for gene function analysis needs to be developed for S. grosvenorii fruit. As a powerful approach, transient expression has become a versatile method to elucidate the biological functions of genes and proteins in various plant species. In this study, PBI121 with a β-glucuronidase (GUS) marker and tobacco rattle virus (TRV) were used as vectors for overexpression and silencing, respectively, of the SgCPR1 and SgCPR2 genes in S. grosvenorii fruit. The effectiveness of transient expression was validated by GUS staining in S. grosvenorii fruit, and the expression levels of SgCPR1 and SgCPR2 increased significantly after infiltration for 36 h. In addition, TRV-induced gene silencing suppressed the expression of SgCPR1 and SgCPR2 in S. grosvenorii fruit. More importantly, the production of the major secondary metabolites mogrol, mogroside IIE (MIIE) and mogroside III (MIII) was activated by the overexpression of SgCPR1 and SgCPR2 in S. grosvenorii fruit, with levels 1-2 times those in the control group. Moreover, the accumulation of mogrol, MIIE and MIII was decreased in the SgCPR1 and SgCPR2 gene silencing assays. Therefore, this transient expression approach was available for S. grosvenorii fruit, providing insight into the expression of the SgCPR1 and SgCPR2 genes involved in the mogroside biosynthesis pathway. Our study also suggests that this method has potential applications in the exploration of the molecular mechanisms, biochemical hypotheses and functional characteristics of S. grosvenorii genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Liao
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Lei Xie
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Hongwu Shi
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Shengrong Cui
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Fusheng Lan
- Guilin GFS Monk Fruit Corp, Guilin, 541006, China
| | - Zuliang Luo
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, China.
| | - Xiaojun Ma
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100193, China.
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153
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Lyczakowski JJ, Yu L, Terrett OM, Fleischmann C, Temple H, Thorlby G, Sorieul M, Dupree P. Two conifer GUX clades are responsible for distinct glucuronic acid patterns on xylan. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 231:1720-1733. [PMID: 34086997 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Wood of coniferous trees (softwood), is a globally significant carbon sink and an important source of biomass. Despite that, little is known about the genetic basis of softwood cell wall biosynthesis. Branching of xylan, one of the main hemicelluloses in softwood secondary cell walls, with glucuronic acid (GlcA) is critical for biomass recalcitrance. Here, we investigate the decoration patterns of xylan by conifer GlucUronic acid substitution of Xylan (GUX) enzymes. Through molecular phylogenetics we identify two distinct conifer GUX clades. Using transcriptional profiling we show that the genes are preferentially expressed in secondary cell wall forming tissues. With in vitro and in planta assays we demonstrate that conifer GUX enzymes from both clades are active glucuronyltransferases. Conifer GUX enzymes from each clade have different specific activities. While members of clade one add evenly spaced GlcA branches, the members of clade two are also capable of glucuronidating two consecutive xyloses. Importantly, these types of xylan patterning are present in softwood. As xylan patterning might modulate xylan-cellulose and xylan-lignin interactions, our results further the understanding of softwood cell wall biosynthesis and provide breeding or genetic engineering targets that can be used to modify softwood properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan J Lyczakowski
- Department of Plant Biotechnology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, Krakow, 30-387, Poland
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QW, UK
| | - Li Yu
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QW, UK
| | - Oliver M Terrett
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QW, UK
| | | | - Henry Temple
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QW, UK
| | | | | | - Paul Dupree
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QW, UK
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154
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Khlystov NA, Yoshikuni Y, Deutsch S, Sattely ES. A plant host, Nicotiana benthamiana, enables the production and study of fungal lignin-degrading enzymes. Commun Biol 2021; 4:1027. [PMID: 34471192 PMCID: PMC8410833 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02464-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Lignin has significant potential as an abundant and renewable source for commodity chemicals yet remains vastly underutilized. Efforts towards engineering a biochemical route to the valorization of lignin are currently limited by the lack of a suitable heterologous host for the production of lignin-degrading enzymes. Here, we show that expression of fungal genes in Nicotiana benthamiana enables production of members from seven major classes of enzymes associated with lignin degradation (23 of 35 tested) in soluble form for direct use in lignin activity assays. We combinatorially characterized a subset of these enzymes in the context of model lignin dimer oxidation, revealing that fine-tuned coupling of peroxide-generators to peroxidases results in more extensive C-C bond cleavage compared to direct addition of peroxide. Comparison of peroxidase isoform activity revealed that the extent of C-C bond cleavage depends on peroxidase identity, suggesting that peroxidases are individually specialized in the context of lignin oxidation. We anticipate the use of N. benthamiana as a platform to rapidly produce a diverse array of fungal lignin-degrading enzymes will facilitate a better understanding of their concerted role in nature and unlock their potential for lignin valorization, including within the plant host itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikita A Khlystov
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Yasuo Yoshikuni
- U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Samuel Deutsch
- U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Elizabeth S Sattely
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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155
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Manzoor MM, Goyal P, Pandotra P, Dar MS, Dar MJ, Misra P, Gupta AP, Vishwakarma RA, Ahuja A, Dhar MK, Gupta S. Transcriptome-wide identification of squalene epoxidase genes from Glycyrrhiza glabra L.: expression analysis and heterologous expression of GgSQE1 suggest important role in terpenoid biosynthesis. PROTOPLASMA 2021; 258:991-1007. [PMID: 33629144 PMCID: PMC7904238 DOI: 10.1007/s00709-021-01616-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Squalene epoxidase (SQE) is a crucial regulatory enzyme for the biosynthesis of several important classes of compounds including sterols and triterpenoids. The present paper identified and characterised five SQE genes (GgSQE1 to GgSQE5) from Glycyrrhiza glabra through transcriptome data mining and homology-based cloning, for the first time. The phylogenetic analysis implied their functional divergence. The ORF corresponding to one of the five SQEs, namely, GgSQE1, was cloned and studied for its function in a heterologous system, following transient and stable expressions. The transient expression followed by GgSQE1 encoding protein purification suggested approximately 58.0-kDa protein following the predicted molecular mass of the deduced protein. The gene expression profiling based on qRT-PCR indicated its highest expression (6.4-folds) in the 10-month-old roots. Furthermore, ABA (12.4-folds) and GA3 (2.47) treatments upregulated the expression of GgSQE1 in the shoots after 10 and 12 hours, respectively, which was also reflected in glycyrrhizin accumulation. The inductive effects of ABA and GA3 over GgSQE1 expression were also confirmed through functional analysis of GgSQE1 promoters using GUS fusion construct. Stable constitutive expression of GgSQE1 in Nicotiana tabacum modulated the sterol contents. The study could pave the way for understanding the metabolic flux regulation concerning biosynthesis of related sterols and triterpenoids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malik Muzafar Manzoor
- Plant Biotechnology Division, CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, India
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Canal Road, Jammu, ,180001, India
| | - Pooja Goyal
- Plant Biotechnology Division, CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, India
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Canal Road, Jammu, ,180001, India
| | - Pankaj Pandotra
- Plant Biotechnology Division, CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, India
- Sher-e-Kashmir University, Jammu, India
| | - Mohd Saleem Dar
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Canal Road, Jammu, ,180001, India
- Cancer Pharmacology Division, CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, India
- Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Mohd Jamal Dar
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Canal Road, Jammu, ,180001, India
- Cancer Pharmacology Division, CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
| | - Prashant Misra
- Plant Biotechnology Division, CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, India.
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Canal Road, Jammu, ,180001, India.
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India.
| | - Ajai P Gupta
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Canal Road, Jammu, ,180001, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
- Quality Control and Quality Assurance Division, CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, India
| | - Ram A Vishwakarma
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Canal Road, Jammu, ,180001, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
| | - Ashok Ahuja
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Canal Road, Jammu, ,180001, India
| | - Manoj K Dhar
- Genome Research Laboratory, School of Biotechnology, University of Jammu, Jammu, India
- Jammu University, Jammu, India
| | - Suphla Gupta
- Plant Biotechnology Division, CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, India.
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Canal Road, Jammu, ,180001, India.
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India.
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156
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Zhang Y, Wu Z, Feng M, Chen J, Qin M, Wang W, Bao Y, Xu Q, Ye Y, Ma C, Jiang CZ, Gan SS, Zhou H, Cai Y, Hong B, Gao J, Ma N. The circadian-controlled PIF8-BBX28 module regulates petal senescence in rose flowers by governing mitochondrial ROS homeostasis at night. THE PLANT CELL 2021; 33:2716-2735. [PMID: 34043798 PMCID: PMC8408477 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koab152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are unstable reactive molecules that are toxic to cells. Regulation of ROS homeostasis is crucial to protect cells from dysfunction, senescence, and death. In plant leaves, ROS are mainly generated from chloroplasts and are tightly temporally restricted by the circadian clock. However, little is known about how ROS homeostasis is regulated in nonphotosynthetic organs, such as petals. Here, we showed that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels exhibit typical circadian rhythmicity in rose (Rosa hybrida) petals, consistent with the measured respiratory rate. RNA-seq and functional screening identified a B-box gene, RhBBX28, whose expression was associated with H2O2 rhythms. Silencing RhBBX28 accelerated flower senescence and promoted H2O2 accumulation at night in petals, while overexpression of RhBBX28 had the opposite effects. RhBBX28 influenced the expression of various genes related to respiratory metabolism, including the TCA cycle and glycolysis, and directly repressed the expression of SUCCINATE DEHYDROGENASE 1, which plays a central role in mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) homeostasis. We also found that PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR8 (RhPIF8) could activate RhBBX28 expression to control H2O2 levels in petals and thus flower senescence. Our results indicate that the circadian-controlled RhPIF8-RhBBX28 module is a critical player that controls flower senescence by governing mtROS homeostasis in rose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Zhang
- Department of Ornamental Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Development and Quality Control of Ornamental Crops, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Zhicheng Wu
- Department of Ornamental Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Development and Quality Control of Ornamental Crops, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Ming Feng
- Department of Ornamental Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Development and Quality Control of Ornamental Crops, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Jiwei Chen
- Department of Ornamental Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Development and Quality Control of Ornamental Crops, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Meizhu Qin
- Department of Ornamental Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Development and Quality Control of Ornamental Crops, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Wenran Wang
- Department of Ornamental Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Development and Quality Control of Ornamental Crops, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Ying Bao
- Faculty of Life Science, Tangshan Normal University, Tangshan, 063000, Hebei, China
| | - Qian Xu
- Department of Ornamental Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Development and Quality Control of Ornamental Crops, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Ying Ye
- Department of Ornamental Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Development and Quality Control of Ornamental Crops, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Chao Ma
- Department of Ornamental Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Development and Quality Control of Ornamental Crops, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Cai-Zhong Jiang
- United States Department of Agriculture, Crop Pathology and Genetic Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Su-Sheng Gan
- Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Hougao Zhou
- College of Agriculture and Biology, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, 510225, China
| | - Youming Cai
- Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, 201403, China
| | - Bo Hong
- Department of Ornamental Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Development and Quality Control of Ornamental Crops, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Junping Gao
- Department of Ornamental Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Development and Quality Control of Ornamental Crops, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Nan Ma
- Department of Ornamental Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Development and Quality Control of Ornamental Crops, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
- Author for correspondence:
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157
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Mamedov T, Yuksel D, Ilgın M, Gurbuzaslan I, Gulec B, Yetiskin H, Uygut MA, Islam Pavel ST, Ozdarendeli A, Mammadova G, Say D, Hasanova G. Plant-Produced Glycosylated and In Vivo Deglycosylated Receptor Binding Domain Proteins of SARS-CoV-2 Induce Potent Neutralizing Responses in Mice. Viruses 2021; 13:1595. [PMID: 34452461 PMCID: PMC8402646 DOI: 10.3390/v13081595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 08/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has rapidly spread to more than 222 countries and has put global public health at high risk. The world urgently needs cost-effective and safe SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, antiviral, and therapeutic drugs to control it. In this study, we engineered the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein and produced it in the plant Nicotiana benthamiana in a glycosylated and deglycosylated form. Expression levels of both glycosylated (gRBD) and deglycosylated (dRBD) RBD were greater than 45 mg/kg fresh weight. The purification yields were 22 mg of pure protein/kg of plant biomass for gRBD and 20 mg for dRBD, which would be sufficient for commercialization of these vaccine candidates. The purified plant-produced RBD protein was recognized by an S protein-specific monoclonal antibody, demonstrating specific reactivity of the antibody to the plant-produced RBD proteins. The SARS-CoV-2 RBD showed specific binding to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the SARS-CoV-2 receptor. In mice, the plant-produced RBD antigens elicited high titers of antibodies with a potent virus-neutralizing activity. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating that mice immunized with plant-produced deglycosylated RBD form elicited high titer of RBD-specific antibodies with potent neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thus, obtained data support that plant-produced glycosylated and in vivo deglycosylated RBD antigens, developed in this study, are promising vaccine candidates for the prevention of COVID-19.
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MESH Headings
- Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/metabolism
- Animals
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/immunology
- Antibodies, Neutralizing/blood
- Antibodies, Neutralizing/immunology
- Antibodies, Viral/blood
- Antibodies, Viral/immunology
- Chlorocebus aethiops
- Glycosylation
- Male
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- Neutralization Tests
- Plants, Genetically Modified
- Protein Binding
- Protein Domains
- Protein Engineering
- Protein Stability
- Receptors, Coronavirus/metabolism
- Recombinant Proteins/chemistry
- Recombinant Proteins/metabolism
- SARS-CoV-2/immunology
- Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/chemistry
- Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/genetics
- Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/immunology
- Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/metabolism
- Nicotiana/genetics
- Nicotiana/metabolism
- Vero Cells
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Affiliation(s)
- Tarlan Mamedov
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, Turkey; (D.Y.); (M.I.); (I.G.); (B.G.); (G.M.); (D.S.); (G.H.)
| | - Damla Yuksel
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, Turkey; (D.Y.); (M.I.); (I.G.); (B.G.); (G.M.); (D.S.); (G.H.)
| | - Merve Ilgın
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, Turkey; (D.Y.); (M.I.); (I.G.); (B.G.); (G.M.); (D.S.); (G.H.)
| | - Irem Gurbuzaslan
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, Turkey; (D.Y.); (M.I.); (I.G.); (B.G.); (G.M.); (D.S.); (G.H.)
| | - Burcu Gulec
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, Turkey; (D.Y.); (M.I.); (I.G.); (B.G.); (G.M.); (D.S.); (G.H.)
| | - Hazel Yetiskin
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, 38280 Kayseri, Turkey; (H.Y.); (M.A.U.); (S.T.I.P.); (A.O.)
- Vaccine Research, Development and Application Center, Erciyes University, 38280 Kayseri, Turkey
| | - Muhammet Ali Uygut
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, 38280 Kayseri, Turkey; (H.Y.); (M.A.U.); (S.T.I.P.); (A.O.)
| | - Shaikh Terkis Islam Pavel
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, 38280 Kayseri, Turkey; (H.Y.); (M.A.U.); (S.T.I.P.); (A.O.)
- Vaccine Research, Development and Application Center, Erciyes University, 38280 Kayseri, Turkey
| | - Aykut Ozdarendeli
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, 38280 Kayseri, Turkey; (H.Y.); (M.A.U.); (S.T.I.P.); (A.O.)
- Vaccine Research, Development and Application Center, Erciyes University, 38280 Kayseri, Turkey
| | - Gulshan Mammadova
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, Turkey; (D.Y.); (M.I.); (I.G.); (B.G.); (G.M.); (D.S.); (G.H.)
| | - Deniz Say
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, Turkey; (D.Y.); (M.I.); (I.G.); (B.G.); (G.M.); (D.S.); (G.H.)
| | - Gulnara Hasanova
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, Turkey; (D.Y.); (M.I.); (I.G.); (B.G.); (G.M.); (D.S.); (G.H.)
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158
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Forestier EC, Czechowski T, Cording AC, Gilday AD, King AJ, Brown GD, Graham IA. Developing a Nicotiana benthamiana transgenic platform for high-value diterpene production and candidate gene evaluation. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2021; 19:1614-1623. [PMID: 33657678 PMCID: PMC8384591 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 01/24/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
To engineer Nicotiana benthamiana to produce novel diterpenoids, we first aimed to increase production of the diterpenoid precursor geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP) by up-regulation of key genes of the non-mevalonate (MEP) pathway sourced from Arabidopsis thaliana. We used transient expression to evaluate combinations of the eight MEP pathway genes plus GGPP synthase and a Jatropha curcas casbene synthase (JcCAS) to identify an optimal combination for production of casbene from GGPP. AtDXS and AtHDR together with AtGGPPS and JcCAS gave a 410% increase in casbene production compared to transient expression of JcCAS alone. This combination was cloned into a single construct using the MoClo toolkit, and stably integrated into the N. benthamiana genome. We also created multigene constructs for stable transformation of two J. curcas cytochrome P450 genes, JcCYP726A20 and JcCYP71D495 that produce the more complex diterpenoid jolkinol C from casbene when expressed transiently with JcCAS in N. benthamiana. Stable transformation of JcCYP726A20, JcCYP71D495 and JcCAS did not produce any detectable jolkinol C until these genes were co-transformed with the optimal set of precursor-pathway genes. One such stable homozygous line was used to evaluate by transient expression the involvement of an 'alkenal reductase'-like family of four genes in the further conversion of jolkinol C, leading to the demonstration that one of these performs reduction of the 12,13-double bond in jolkinol C. This work highlights the need to optimize precursor supply for production of complex diterpenoids in stable transformants and the value of such lines for novel gene discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edith C.F. Forestier
- Centre for Novel Agricultural ProductsDepartment of BiologyUniversity of YorkHeslingtonYorkUK
| | - Tomasz Czechowski
- Centre for Novel Agricultural ProductsDepartment of BiologyUniversity of YorkHeslingtonYorkUK
| | - Amy C. Cording
- Centre for Novel Agricultural ProductsDepartment of BiologyUniversity of YorkHeslingtonYorkUK
| | - Alison D. Gilday
- Centre for Novel Agricultural ProductsDepartment of BiologyUniversity of YorkHeslingtonYorkUK
| | - Andrew J. King
- Centre for Novel Agricultural ProductsDepartment of BiologyUniversity of YorkHeslingtonYorkUK
| | | | - Ian A. Graham
- Centre for Novel Agricultural ProductsDepartment of BiologyUniversity of YorkHeslingtonYorkUK
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159
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Chen J, Inoue Y, Kumakura N, Mise K, Shirasu K, Takano Y. Comparative transient expression analyses on two conserved effectors of Colletotrichum orbiculare reveal their distinct cell death-inducing activities between Nicotiana benthamiana and melon. MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 2021; 22:1006-1013. [PMID: 34132478 PMCID: PMC8295514 DOI: 10.1111/mpp.13078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 12/27/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Colletotrichum orbiculare infects cucurbits, such as cucumber and melon (Cucumis melo), as well as the model Solanaceae plant Nicotiana benthamiana, by secreting an arsenal of effectors that suppress the immunity of these distinct plants. Two conserved effectors of C. orbiculare, called NLP1 and NIS1, induce cell death responses in N. benthamiana, but it is unclear whether they exhibit the same activity in Cucurbitaceae plants. In this study, we established a new Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression system to investigate the cell death-inducing activity of NLP1 and NIS1 in melon. NLP1 strongly induced cell death in melon but, in contrast to the effects seen in N. benthamiana, mutations either in the heptapeptide motif or in the putative glycosylinositol phosphorylceramide-binding site did not cancel its cell death-inducing activity in melon. Furthermore, NLP1 lacking the signal peptide caused cell death in melon but not in N. benthamiana. Study of the transient expression of NIS1 also revealed that, unlike in N. benthamiana, NIS1 did not induce cell death in melon. In contrast, NIS1 suppressed flg22-induced reactive oxygen species generation in melon, as seen in N. benthamiana. These findings indicate distinct cell death-inducing activities of NLP1 and NIS1 in these two plant species that C. orbiculare infects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinlian Chen
- Graduate School of AgricultureKyoto UniversityKyotoJapan
| | - Yoshihiro Inoue
- Graduate School of AgricultureKyoto UniversityKyotoJapan
- Present address:
The Sainsbury LaboratoryNorwich Research Park, NorwichUK
| | | | - Kazuyuki Mise
- Graduate School of AgricultureKyoto UniversityKyotoJapan
| | - Ken Shirasu
- RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource ScienceYokohamaJapan
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160
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Seeing the Forest through the (Phylogenetic) Trees: Functional Characterisation of Grapevine Terpene Synthase ( VviTPS) Paralogues and Orthologues. PLANTS 2021; 10:plants10081520. [PMID: 34451565 PMCID: PMC8401418 DOI: 10.3390/plants10081520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Gene families involved in specialised metabolism play a key role in a myriad of ecophysiological and biochemical functions. The Vitis vinifera sesquiterpene synthases represent the largest subfamily of grapevine terpene synthase (VviTPS) genes and are important volatile metabolites for wine flavour and aroma, as well as ecophysiological interactions. The functional characterisation of VviTPS genes is complicated by a reliance on a single reference genome that greatly underrepresents this large gene family, exacerbated by extensive duplications and paralogy. The recent release of multiple phased diploid grapevine genomes, as well as extensive whole-genome resequencing efforts, provide a wealth of new sequence information that can be utilised to overcome the limitations of the reference genome. A large cluster of sesquiterpene synthases, localised to chromosome 18, was explored by means of comparative sequence analyses using the publicly available grapevine reference genome, three PacBio phased diploid genomes and whole-genome resequencing data from multiple genotypes. Two genes, VviTPS04 and -10, were identified as putative paralogues and/or allelic variants. Subsequent gene isolation from multiple grapevine genotypes and characterisation by means of a heterologous in planta expression and volatile analysis resulted in the identification of genotype-specific structural variations and polymorphisms that impact the gene function. These results present novel insight into how grapevine domestication likely shaped the VviTPS landscape to result in genotype-specific functions.
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161
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Jiang J, Kuo YW, Salem N, Erickson A, Falk BW. Carrot mottle virus ORF4 movement protein targets plasmodesmata by interacting with the host cell SUMOylation system. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 231:382-398. [PMID: 33774829 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Plant virus movement proteins (MPs) facilitate virus spread in their plant hosts, and some of them are known to target plasmodesmata (PD). However, how the MPs target PD is still largely unknown. Carrot mottle virus (CMoV) encodes the ORF3 and ORF4 proteins, which are involved in CMoV movement. In this study, we used CMoV as a model to study the PD targeting of a plant virus MP. We showed that the CMoV ORF4 protein, but not the ORF3 protein, modified PD and led to the virus movement. We found that the CMoV ORF4 protein interacts with the host cell small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) 1, 2 and the SUMO-conjugating enzyme SCE1, resulting in the ORF4 protein SUMOylation. Downregulation of mRNAs for NbSCE1 and NbSUMO impaired CMoV infection. The SUMO-interacting motifs (SIMs) LVIVF, VIWV, and a lysine residue at position 78 (K78) are required for the ORF4 protein SUMOylation. The mutation of these motifs prevented the protein to efficiently target PD, and further slowed or completely abolished CMoV systemic movement. Finally, we found that some of these motifs are highly conserved among umbraviruses. Our data suggest that the CMoV ORF4 protein targets PD by interacting with the host cell SUMOylation system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Jiang
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Yen-Wen Kuo
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Nidà Salem
- Department of Plant Protection, School of Agriculture, The University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan
| | - Anna Erickson
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Bryce W Falk
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
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162
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Machado Wood AK, Panwar V, Grimwade-Mann M, Ashfield T, Hammond-Kosack KE, Kanyuka K. The vesicular trafficking system component MIN7 is required for minimizing Fusarium graminearum infection. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2021; 72:5010-5023. [PMID: 33877328 PMCID: PMC8364293 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Plants have developed intricate defense mechanisms, referred to as innate immunity, to defend themselves against a wide range of pathogens. Plants often respond rapidly to pathogen attack by the synthesis and delivery to the primary infection sites of various antimicrobial compounds, proteins, and small RNA in membrane vesicles. Much of the evidence regarding the importance of vesicular trafficking in plant-pathogen interactions comes from studies involving model plants whereas this process is relatively understudied in crop plants. Here we assessed whether the vesicular trafficking system components previously implicated in immunity in Arabidopsis play a role in the interaction with Fusarium graminearum, a fungal pathogen well-known for its ability to cause Fusarium head blight disease in wheat. Among the analysed vesicular trafficking mutants, two independent T-DNA insertion mutants in the AtMin7 gene displayed a markedly enhanced susceptibility to F. graminearum. Earlier studies identified this gene, encoding an ARF-GEF protein, as a target for the HopM1 effector of the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, which destabilizes MIN7 leading to its degradation and weakening host defenses. To test whether this key vesicular trafficking component may also contribute to defense in crop plants, we identified the candidate TaMin7 genes in wheat and knocked-down their expression through virus-induced gene silencing. Wheat plants in which TaMin7 genes were silenced displayed significantly more Fusarium head blight disease. This suggests that disruption of MIN7 function in both model and crop plants compromises the trafficking of innate immunity signals or products resulting in hypersusceptibility to various pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana K Machado Wood
- Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Vinay Panwar
- Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Mike Grimwade-Mann
- Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Tom Ashfield
- Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK
- Crop Health and Protection (CHAP), Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK
| | | | - Kostya Kanyuka
- Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK
- Correspondence:
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163
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Shin YJ, König-Beihammer J, Vavra U, Schwestka J, Kienzl NF, Klausberger M, Laurent E, Grünwald-Gruber C, Vierlinger K, Hofner M, Margolin E, Weinhäusel A, Stöger E, Mach L, Strasser R. N-Glycosylation of the SARS-CoV-2 Receptor Binding Domain Is Important for Functional Expression in Plants. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:689104. [PMID: 34211491 PMCID: PMC8239413 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.689104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Nicotiana benthamiana is used worldwide as production host for recombinant proteins. Many recombinant proteins such as monoclonal antibodies, growth factors or viral antigens require posttranslational modifications like glycosylation for their function. Here, we transiently expressed different variants of the glycosylated receptor binding domain (RBD) from the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in N. benthamiana. We characterized the impact of variations in RBD-length and posttranslational modifications on protein expression, yield and functionality. We found that a truncated RBD variant (RBD-215) consisting of amino acids Arg319-Leu533 can be efficiently expressed as a secreted soluble protein. Purified RBD-215 was mainly present as a monomer and showed binding to the conformation-dependent antibody CR3022, the cellular receptor angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and to antibodies present in convalescent sera. Expression of RBD-215 in glycoengineered ΔXT/FT plants resulted in the generation of complex N-glycans on both N-glycosylation sites. While site-directed mutagenesis showed that the N-glycans are important for proper RBD folding, differences in N-glycan processing had no effect on protein expression and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun-Ji Shin
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Julia König-Beihammer
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ulrike Vavra
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jennifer Schwestka
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Nikolaus F. Kienzl
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Miriam Klausberger
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Elisabeth Laurent
- Department of Biotechnology, Core Facility Biomolecular and Cellular Analysis, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Clemens Grünwald-Gruber
- Department of Chemistry, Core Facility Mass Spectrometry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Klemens Vierlinger
- Competence Unit Molecular Diagnostics, Center for Health and Bioresources, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Vienna, Austria
| | - Manuela Hofner
- Competence Unit Molecular Diagnostics, Center for Health and Bioresources, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Vienna, Austria
| | - Emmanuel Margolin
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Andreas Weinhäusel
- Competence Unit Molecular Diagnostics, Center for Health and Bioresources, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Vienna, Austria
| | - Eva Stöger
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lukas Mach
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Richard Strasser
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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164
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Ding Y, Northen TR, Khalil A, Huffaker A, Schmelz EA. Getting back to the grass roots: harnessing specialized metabolites for improved crop stress resilience. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2021; 70:174-186. [PMID: 34129999 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2021.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Roots remain an understudied site of complex and important biological interactions mediating plant productivity. In grain and bioenergy crops, grass root specialized metabolites (GRSM) are central to key interactions, yet our basic knowledge of the chemical language remains fragmentary. Continued improvements in plant genome assembly and metabolomics are enabling large-scale advances in the discovery of specialized metabolic pathways as a means of regulating root-biotic interactions. Metabolomics, transcript coexpression analyses, forward genetic studies, gene synthesis and heterologous expression assays drive efficient pathway discoveries. Functional genetic variants identified through genome wide analyses, targeted CRISPR/Cas9 approaches, and both native and non-native overexpression studies critically inform novel strategies for bioengineering metabolic pathways to improve plant traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yezhang Ding
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Trent R Northen
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608, USA
| | - Ahmed Khalil
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Alisa Huffaker
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Eric A Schmelz
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
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165
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Jiu S, Guan L, Leng X, Zhang K, Haider MS, Yu X, Zhu X, Zheng T, Ge M, Wang C, Jia H, Shangguan L, Zhang C, Tang X, Abdullah M, Javed HU, Han J, Dong Z, Fang J. The role of VvMYBA2r and VvMYBA2w alleles of the MYBA2 locus in the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis for molecular breeding of grape (Vitis spp.) skin coloration. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2021; 19:1216-1239. [PMID: 33440072 PMCID: PMC8196647 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2019] [Revised: 08/05/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
In grape, MYBA1 and MYBA2 at the colour locus are the major genetic determinants of grape skin colour, and the mutation of two functional genes (VvMYBA1 and VvMYBA2) from these loci leads to white skin colour. This study aimed to elucidate the regulation of grape berry coloration by isolating and characterizing VvMYBA2w and VvMYBA2r alleles. The overexpression of VvMYBA2r up-regulated the expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes and resulted in higher anthocyanin accumulation in transgenic tobacco than wild-type (WT) plants, especially in flowers. However, the ectopic expression of VvMYBA2w inactivated the expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes and could not cause obvious phenotypic modulation in transgenic tobacco. Unlike in VvMYBA2r, CA dinucleotide deletion shortened the C-terminal transactivation region and disrupted the transcriptional activation activity of VvMYBA2w. The results indicated that VvMYBA2r positively regulated anthocyanin biosynthesis by forming the VvMYBA2r-VvMYCA1-VvWDR1 complex, and VvWDR1 enhanced anthocyanin accumulation by interacting with the VvMYBA2r-VvMYCA1 complex; however, R44 L substitution abolished the interaction of VvMYBA2w with VvMYCA1. Meanwhile, both R44 L substitution and CA dinucleotide deletion seriously affected the efficacy of VvMYBA2w to regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis, and the two non-synonymous mutations were additive in their effects. Investigation of the colour density and MYB haplotypes of 213 grape germplasms revealed that dark-skinned varieties tended to contain HapC-N and HapE2, whereas red-skinned varieties contained high frequencies of HapB and HapC-Rs. Regarding ploidy, the higher the number of functional alleles present in a variety, the darker was the skin colour. In summary, this study provides insight into the roles of VvMYBA2r and VvMYBA2w alleles and lays the foundation for the molecular breeding of grape varieties with different skin colour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Songtao Jiu
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Fruit developmentCollege of HorticultureNanjing Agricultural UniversityNanjingJiangsu ProvinceChina
- Department of Plant ScienceSchool of Agriculture and BiologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Le Guan
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Fruit developmentCollege of HorticultureNanjing Agricultural UniversityNanjingJiangsu ProvinceChina
| | - Xiangpeng Leng
- College of HorticultureQingdao Agricultural UniversityQingdaoShandong ProvinceChina
| | - Kekun Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Fruit developmentCollege of HorticultureNanjing Agricultural UniversityNanjingJiangsu ProvinceChina
| | - Muhammad Salman Haider
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Fruit developmentCollege of HorticultureNanjing Agricultural UniversityNanjingJiangsu ProvinceChina
| | - Xiang Yu
- School of MedicineShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Xudong Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Fruit developmentCollege of HorticultureNanjing Agricultural UniversityNanjingJiangsu ProvinceChina
| | - Ting Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Fruit developmentCollege of HorticultureNanjing Agricultural UniversityNanjingJiangsu ProvinceChina
| | - Mengqing Ge
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Fruit developmentCollege of HorticultureNanjing Agricultural UniversityNanjingJiangsu ProvinceChina
| | - Chen Wang
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Fruit developmentCollege of HorticultureNanjing Agricultural UniversityNanjingJiangsu ProvinceChina
| | - Haifeng Jia
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Fruit developmentCollege of HorticultureNanjing Agricultural UniversityNanjingJiangsu ProvinceChina
| | - Lingfei Shangguan
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Fruit developmentCollege of HorticultureNanjing Agricultural UniversityNanjingJiangsu ProvinceChina
| | - Caixi Zhang
- Department of Plant ScienceSchool of Agriculture and BiologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Xiaoping Tang
- Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences Pomology InstituteTaiguShanxi ProvinceChina
| | - Muhammad Abdullah
- Department of Plant ScienceSchool of Agriculture and BiologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Hafiz Umer Javed
- Department of Plant ScienceSchool of Agriculture and BiologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Jian Han
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Fruit developmentCollege of HorticultureNanjing Agricultural UniversityNanjingJiangsu ProvinceChina
| | - Zhigang Dong
- Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences Pomology InstituteTaiguShanxi ProvinceChina
| | - Jinggui Fang
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Fruit developmentCollege of HorticultureNanjing Agricultural UniversityNanjingJiangsu ProvinceChina
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166
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Ambrós S, Gómez-Muñoz N, Giménez-Santamarina S, Sánchez-Vicente J, Navarro-López J, Martínez F, Daròs JA, Rodrigo G. Molecular signatures of silencing suppression degeneracy from a complex RNA virus. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009166. [PMID: 34181647 PMCID: PMC8270454 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
As genomic architectures become more complex, they begin to accumulate degenerate and redundant elements. However, analyses of the molecular mechanisms underlying these genetic architecture features remain scarce, especially in compact but sufficiently complex genomes. In the present study, we followed a proteomic approach together with a computational network analysis to reveal molecular signatures of protein function degeneracy from a plant virus (as virus-host protein-protein interactions). We employed affinity purification coupled to mass spectrometry to detect several host factors interacting with two proteins of Citrus tristeza virus (p20 and p25) that are known to function as RNA silencing suppressors, using an experimental system of transient expression in a model plant. The study was expanded by considering two different isolates of the virus, and some key interactions were confirmed by bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays. We found that p20 and p25 target a common set of plant proteins including chloroplastic proteins and translation factors. Moreover, we noted that even specific targets of each viral protein overlap in function. Notably, we identified argonaute proteins (key players in RNA silencing) as reliable targets of p20. Furthermore, we found that these viral proteins preferentially do not target hubs in the host protein interactome, but elements that can transfer information by bridging different parts of the interactome. Overall, our results demonstrate that two distinct proteins encoded in the same viral genome that overlap in function also overlap in their interactions with the cell proteome, thereby highlighting an overlooked connection from a degenerate viral system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Ambrós
- Centro de Protección Vegetal y Biotecnología, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), Moncada, Spain
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), CSIC–Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain
- Instituto de Biología Integrativa de Sistemas (I2SysBio), CSIC–Universitat de València, Paterna, Spain
| | - Neus Gómez-Muñoz
- Centro de Protección Vegetal y Biotecnología, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), Moncada, Spain
| | - Silvia Giménez-Santamarina
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), CSIC–Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain
| | - Javier Sánchez-Vicente
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), CSIC–Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain
| | - Josep Navarro-López
- Centro de Protección Vegetal y Biotecnología, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), Moncada, Spain
| | - Fernando Martínez
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), CSIC–Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain
| | - José-Antonio Daròs
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), CSIC–Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain
| | - Guillermo Rodrigo
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), CSIC–Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain
- Instituto de Biología Integrativa de Sistemas (I2SysBio), CSIC–Universitat de València, Paterna, Spain
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167
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Zhao Y, Xie J, Wang S, Xu W, Chen S, Song X, Lu M, El-Kassaby YA, Zhang D. Synonymous mutation in Growth Regulating Factor 15 of miR396a target sites enhances photosynthetic efficiency and heat tolerance in poplar. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2021; 72:4502-4519. [PMID: 34865000 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Heat stress damages plant tissues and induces multiple adaptive responses. Complex and spatiotemporally specific interactions among transcription factors (TFs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and their targets play crucial roles in regulating stress responses. To explore these interactions and to identify regulatory networks in perennial woody plants subjected to heat stress, we integrated time-course RNA-seq, small RNA-seq, degradome sequencing, weighted gene correlation network analysis, and multi-gene association approaches in poplar. Results from Populus trichocarpa enabled us to construct a three-layer, highly interwoven regulatory network involving 15 TFs, 45 miRNAs, and 77 photosynthetic genes. Candidate gene association studies in a population of P. tomentosa identified 114 significant associations and 696 epistatic SNP–SNP pairs that were linked to 29 photosynthetic and growth traits (P<0.0001, q<0.05). We also identified miR396a and its target, Growth-Regulating Factor 15 (GRF15) as an important regulatory module in the heat-stress response. Transgenic plants of hybrid poplar (P. alba × P. glandulosa) overexpressing a GRF15 mRNA lacking the miR396a target sites exhibited enhanced heat tolerance and photosynthetic efficiency compared to wild-type plants. Together, our observations demonstrate that GRF15 plays a crucial role in responding to heat stress, and they highlight the power of this new, multifaceted approach for identifying regulatory nodes in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiyang Zhao
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Tree Breeding by Molecular Design, Beijing Forestry University, No. 35, Qinghua East Road, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
- National Engineering Laboratory for Tree Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants, Ministry of Education, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Jianbo Xie
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Tree Breeding by Molecular Design, Beijing Forestry University, No. 35, Qinghua East Road, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
- National Engineering Laboratory for Tree Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants, Ministry of Education, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Sha Wang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Tree Breeding by Molecular Design, Beijing Forestry University, No. 35, Qinghua East Road, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
- National Engineering Laboratory for Tree Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants, Ministry of Education, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Weijie Xu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Tree Breeding by Molecular Design, Beijing Forestry University, No. 35, Qinghua East Road, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
- National Engineering Laboratory for Tree Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants, Ministry of Education, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Sisi Chen
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Tree Breeding by Molecular Design, Beijing Forestry University, No. 35, Qinghua East Road, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
- National Engineering Laboratory for Tree Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants, Ministry of Education, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Xueqin Song
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
| | - Mengzhu Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
- Zhejiang Agriculture & Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, China
| | - Yousry A El-Kassaby
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, Forest Sciences Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Deqiang Zhang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Tree Breeding by Molecular Design, Beijing Forestry University, No. 35, Qinghua East Road, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
- National Engineering Laboratory for Tree Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants, Ministry of Education, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
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168
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Wang W, Li T, Chen Q, Deng B, Deng L, Zeng K. Transcription Factor CsWRKY65 Participates in the Establishment of Disease Resistance of Citrus Fruits to Penicillium digitatum. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2021; 69:5671-5682. [PMID: 33988021 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.1c01411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Penicillium digitatum is the primary pathogen that causes serious yield losses worldwide. In our previous study, CsWRKY transcription factors (TFs) and some genes associated with immunity were identified in citrus fruits after P. digitatum infection, but little information is available in the literature on the mechanisms of TFs in citrus disease resistance. In this study, the possible mechanisms of CsWRKY65 participating in the establishment of disease resistance were investigated. Results show that CsWRKY65 was a transcriptional activator in the nucleus. The dual-luciferase transient assays and electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that CsWRKY65 bound with CsRbohB, CsRbohD, CsCDPK33, and CsPR10 promoters to activate gene transcription. Besides, the transient overexpression of CsWRKY65 induced reactive oxygen species accumulation and increased PR gene expression in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. The transient overexpression of CsWRKY65 in the citrus peel enhanced the disease resistance against P. digitatum. In conclusion, CsWRKY65 is likely to be involved in regulating the disease resistance to P. digitatum of citrus fruits by directly activating the expressions of CsRbohB, CsRbohD, CsCDPK33, and CsPR10. This study provides new information for the mechanism of citrus WRKY TFs participating in the establishment of disease resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjun Wang
- College of Food Science, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, P. R. China
| | - Ting Li
- College of Food Science, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, P. R. China
| | - Qi Chen
- College of Food Science, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, P. R. China
| | - Bing Deng
- College of Food Science, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, P. R. China
| | - Lili Deng
- College of Food Science, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, P. R. China
- Research Center of Food Storage & Logistics, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Plant Hormones and Development Regulation of Chongqing, Chongqing 401331, P. R. China
| | - Kaifang Zeng
- College of Food Science, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, P. R. China
- Research Center of Food Storage & Logistics, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, P. R. China
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169
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Abstract
Specialized (secondary) metabolites have been largely considered bioactive “end” products synthesized from primary metabolites. We report biochemical evidence of a retrograde flow of sulfur atoms from specialized metabolites (glucosinolates) to primary metabolites (cysteine) in Arabidopsis thaliana. The reaction begins with glucosinolate breakdown by specific beta-glucosidases, which facilitates sulfur deficiency tolerance, demonstrating a physiological advantage of utilizing specialized metabolites as nutrient reservoirs. Our findings address the breadth of turnover systems in nature and enhance our understanding of how plants coordinate primary and specialized metabolism under different environmental conditions. Specialized (secondary) metabolic pathways in plants have long been considered one-way routes of leading primary metabolite precursors to bioactive end products. Conversely, endogenous degradation of such “end” products in plant tissues has been observed following environmental stimuli, including nutrition stress. Therefore, it is of general interest whether specialized metabolites can be reintegrated into primary metabolism to recover the invested resources, especially in the case of nitrogen- or sulfur-rich compounds. Here, we demonstrate that endogenous glucosinolates (GLs), a class of sulfur-rich plant metabolites, are exploited as a sulfur source by the reallocation of sulfur atoms to primary metabolites such as cysteine in Arabidopsis thaliana. Tracer experiments using 34S- or deuterium-labeled GLs depicted the catabolic processing of GL breakdown products in which sulfur is mobilized from the thioglucoside group in GL molecules, potentially accompanied by the release of the sulfate group. Moreover, we reveal that beta-glucosidases BGLU28 and BGLU30 are the major myrosinases that initiate sulfur reallocation by hydrolyzing particular GL species, conferring sulfur deficiency tolerance in A. thaliana, especially during early development. The results delineate the physiological function of GL as a sulfur reservoir, in addition to their well-known functions as defense chemicals. Overall, our findings demonstrate the bidirectional interaction between primary and specialized metabolism, which enhances our understanding of the underlying metabolic mechanisms via which plants adapt to their environments.
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170
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Castells-Graells R, Ribeiro JRS, Domitrovic T, Hesketh EL, Scarff CA, Johnson JE, Ranson NA, Lawson DM, Lomonossoff GP. Plant-expressed virus-like particles reveal the intricate maturation process of a eukaryotic virus. Commun Biol 2021; 4:619. [PMID: 34031522 PMCID: PMC8144610 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02134-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Many virus capsids undergo exquisitely choreographed maturation processes in their host cells to produce infectious virions, and these remain poorly understood. As a tool for studying virus maturation, we transiently expressed the capsid protein of the insect virus Nudaurelia capensis omega virus (NωV) in Nicotiana benthamiana and were able to purify both immature procapsids and mature capsids from infiltrated leaves by varying the expression time. Cryo-EM analysis of the plant-produced procapsids and mature capsids to 6.6 Å and 2.7 Å resolution, respectively, reveals that in addition to large scale rigid body motions, internal regions of the subunits are extensively remodelled during maturation, creating the active site required for autocatalytic cleavage and infectivity. The mature particles are biologically active in terms of their ability to lyse membranes and have a structure that is essentially identical to authentic virus. The ability to faithfully recapitulate and visualize a complex maturation process in plants, including the autocatalytic cleavage of the capsid protein, has revealed a ~30 Å translation-rotation of the subunits during maturation as well as conformational rearrangements in the N and C-terminal helical regions of each subunit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Castells-Graells
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Colney, UK
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jonas R S Ribeiro
- Virology Department, Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Goes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Tatiana Domitrovic
- Virology Department, Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Goes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Emma L Hesketh
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Charlotte A Scarff
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - John E Johnson
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Neil A Ranson
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - David M Lawson
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Colney, UK
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171
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Thuenemann EC, Byrne MJ, Peyret H, Saunders K, Castells-Graells R, Ferriol I, Santoni M, Steele JFC, Ranson NA, Avesani L, Lopez-Moya JJ, Lomonossoff GP. A Replicating Viral Vector Greatly Enhances Accumulation of Helical Virus-Like Particles in Plants. Viruses 2021; 13:885. [PMID: 34064959 PMCID: PMC8150850 DOI: 10.3390/v13050885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The production of plant helical virus-like particles (VLPs) via plant-based expression has been problematic with previous studies suggesting that an RNA scaffold may be necessary for their efficient production. To examine this, we compared the accumulation of VLPs from two potexviruses, papaya mosaic virus and alternanthera mosaic virus (AltMV), when the coat proteins were expressed from a replicating potato virus X- based vector (pEff) and a non-replicating vector (pEAQ-HT). Significantly greater quantities of VLPs could be purified when pEff was used. The pEff system was also very efficient at producing VLPs of helical viruses from different virus families. Examination of the RNA content of AltMV and tobacco mosaic virus VLPs produced from pEff revealed the presence of vector-derived RNA sequences, suggesting that the replicating RNA acts as a scaffold for VLP assembly. Cryo-EM analysis of the AltMV VLPs showed they had a structure very similar to that of authentic potexvirus particles. Thus, we conclude that vectors generating replicating forms of RNA, such as pEff, are very efficient for producing helical VLPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva C. Thuenemann
- John Innes Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; (H.P.); (K.S.); (R.C.-G.); (J.F.C.S.)
| | - Matthew J. Byrne
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK; (M.J.B.); (N.A.R.)
| | - Hadrien Peyret
- John Innes Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; (H.P.); (K.S.); (R.C.-G.); (J.F.C.S.)
| | - Keith Saunders
- John Innes Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; (H.P.); (K.S.); (R.C.-G.); (J.F.C.S.)
| | - Roger Castells-Graells
- John Innes Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; (H.P.); (K.S.); (R.C.-G.); (J.F.C.S.)
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Inmaculada Ferriol
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG, CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB), 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain; (I.F.); (J.J.L.-M.)
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mattia Santoni
- Diamante srl. Strada Le Grazie, 15, 37134 Verona, Italy;
| | - John F. C. Steele
- John Innes Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; (H.P.); (K.S.); (R.C.-G.); (J.F.C.S.)
- Piramal Healthcare UK Ltd., Piramal Pharma Solutions, Earls Road, Grangemouth, Stirlingshire FK3 8XG, UK
| | - Neil A. Ranson
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK; (M.J.B.); (N.A.R.)
| | - Linda Avesani
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie, 15, 37134 Verona, Italy;
| | - Juan Jose Lopez-Moya
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG, CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB), 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain; (I.F.); (J.J.L.-M.)
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - George P. Lomonossoff
- John Innes Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; (H.P.); (K.S.); (R.C.-G.); (J.F.C.S.)
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172
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Li Y, Leveau A, Zhao Q, Feng Q, Lu H, Miao J, Xue Z, Martin AC, Wegel E, Wang J, Orme A, Rey MD, Karafiátová M, Vrána J, Steuernagel B, Joynson R, Owen C, Reed J, Louveau T, Stephenson MJ, Zhang L, Huang X, Huang T, Fan D, Zhou C, Tian Q, Li W, Lu Y, Chen J, Zhao Y, Lu Y, Zhu C, Liu Z, Polturak G, Casson R, Hill L, Moore G, Melton R, Hall N, Wulff BBH, Doležel J, Langdon T, Han B, Osbourn A. Subtelomeric assembly of a multi-gene pathway for antimicrobial defense compounds in cereals. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2563. [PMID: 33963185 PMCID: PMC8105312 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22920-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Non-random gene organization in eukaryotes plays a significant role in genome evolution. Here, we investigate the origin of a biosynthetic gene cluster for production of defence compounds in oat-the avenacin cluster. We elucidate the structure and organisation of this 12-gene cluster, characterise the last two missing pathway steps, and reconstitute the entire pathway in tobacco by transient expression. We show that the cluster has formed de novo since the divergence of oats in a subtelomeric region of the genome that lacks homology with other grasses, and that gene order is approximately colinear with the biosynthetic pathway. We speculate that the positioning of the late pathway genes furthest away from the telomere may mitigate against a 'self-poisoning' scenario in which toxic intermediates accumulate as a result of telomeric gene deletions. Our investigations reveal a striking example of adaptive evolution underpinned by remarkable genome plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Li
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | | | - Qiang Zhao
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Qi Feng
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Hengyun Lu
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Jiashun Miao
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Zheyong Xue
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | | | - Eva Wegel
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | - Jing Wang
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | | | | | - Miroslava Karafiátová
- Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Vrána
- Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | | | - Ryan Joynson
- Earlham Institute, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | | | - James Reed
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | | | | | - Lei Zhang
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Xuehui Huang
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Tao Huang
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Danling Fan
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Congcong Zhou
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Qilin Tian
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Wenjun Li
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Yiqi Lu
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Jiaying Chen
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Yan Zhao
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Ying Lu
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Chuanrang Zhu
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - Zhenhua Liu
- Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Guy Polturak
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | | | - Lionel Hill
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | - Graham Moore
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | - Rachel Melton
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | - Neil Hall
- Earlham Institute, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | | | - Jaroslav Doležel
- Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Tim Langdon
- Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3EE, UK
| | - Bin Han
- National Centre for Gene Research, CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), Centre of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China.
| | - Anne Osbourn
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK.
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173
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Klausberger M, Duerkop M, Haslacher H, Wozniak-Knopp G, Cserjan-Puschmann M, Perkmann T, Lingg N, Aguilar PP, Laurent E, De Vos J, Hofner M, Holzer B, Stadler M, Manhart G, Vierlinger K, Egger M, Milchram L, Gludovacz E, Marx N, Köppl C, Tauer C, Beck J, Maresch D, Grünwald-Gruber C, Strobl F, Satzer P, Stadlmayr G, Vavra U, Huber J, Wahrmann M, Eskandary F, Breyer MK, Sieghart D, Quehenberger P, Leitner G, Strassl R, Egger AE, Irsara C, Griesmacher A, Hoermann G, Weiss G, Bellmann-Weiler R, Loeffler-Ragg J, Borth N, Strasser R, Jungbauer A, Hahn R, Mairhofer J, Hartmann B, Binder NB, Striedner G, Mach L, Weinhäusel A, Dieplinger B, Grebien F, Gerner W, Binder CJ, Grabherr R. A comprehensive antigen production and characterisation study for easy-to-implement, specific and quantitative SARS-CoV-2 serotests. EBioMedicine 2021; 67:103348. [PMID: 33906067 PMCID: PMC8099623 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 03/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antibody tests are essential tools to investigate humoral immunity following SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination. While first-generation antibody tests have primarily provided qualitative results, accurate seroprevalence studies and tracking of antibody levels over time require highly specific, sensitive and quantitative test setups. METHODS We have developed two quantitative, easy-to-implement SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests, based on the spike receptor binding domain and the nucleocapsid protein. Comprehensive evaluation of antigens from several biotechnological platforms enabled the identification of superior antigen designs for reliable serodiagnostic. Cut-off modelling based on unprecedented large and heterogeneous multicentric validation cohorts allowed us to define optimal thresholds for the tests' broad applications in different aspects of clinical use, such as seroprevalence studies and convalescent plasma donor qualification. FINDINGS Both developed serotests individually performed similarly-well as fully-automated CE-marked test systems. Our described sensitivity-improved orthogonal test approach assures highest specificity (99.8%); thereby enabling robust serodiagnosis in low-prevalence settings with simple test formats. The inclusion of a calibrator permits accurate quantitative monitoring of antibody concentrations in samples collected at different time points during the acute and convalescent phase of COVID-19 and disclosed antibody level thresholds that correlate well with robust neutralization of authentic SARS-CoV-2 virus. INTERPRETATION We demonstrate that antigen source and purity strongly impact serotest performance. Comprehensive biotechnology-assisted selection of antigens and in-depth characterisation of the assays allowed us to overcome limitations of simple ELISA-based antibody test formats based on chromometric reporters, to yield comparable assay performance as fully-automated platforms. FUNDING WWTF, Project No. COV20-016; BOKU, LBI/LBG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Klausberger
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Mark Duerkop
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria; Novasign GmbH Vienna, Austria
| | - Helmuth Haslacher
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Gordana Wozniak-Knopp
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria; CD Laboratory for innovative Immunotherapeutics, Vienna, Austria
| | - Monika Cserjan-Puschmann
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria; ACIB-Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria
| | - Thomas Perkmann
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Nico Lingg
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria; ACIB-Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria
| | - Patricia Pereira Aguilar
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria; ACIB-Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria
| | - Elisabeth Laurent
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria; BOKU Core Facility Biomolecular & Cellular Analysis, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU),Vienna, Austria
| | - Jelle De Vos
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria; Department of Chemical Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Manuela Hofner
- Competence Unit Molecular Diagnostics, Center for Health and Bioresources, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Vienna, Austria
| | - Barbara Holzer
- Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), Department for Animal Health, Moedling, Austria
| | - Maria Stadler
- Institute of Immunology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Gabriele Manhart
- Institute for Medical Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Klemens Vierlinger
- Competence Unit Molecular Diagnostics, Center for Health and Bioresources, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Vienna, Austria
| | - Margot Egger
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Konventhospital Barmherzige Brueder Linz and Ordensklinikum Linz Barmherzige Schwestern, Linz, Austria
| | - Lisa Milchram
- Competence Unit Molecular Diagnostics, Center for Health and Bioresources, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Vienna, Austria
| | - Elisabeth Gludovacz
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Nicolas Marx
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Christoph Köppl
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria; ACIB-Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria
| | - Christopher Tauer
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Jürgen Beck
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniel Maresch
- BOKU Core Facility Mass Spectrometry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
| | - Clemens Grünwald-Gruber
- BOKU Core Facility Mass Spectrometry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria; Department of Chemistry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Peter Satzer
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria; ACIB-Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria
| | - Gerhard Stadlmayr
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria; CD Laboratory for innovative Immunotherapeutics, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ulrike Vavra
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Austria
| | - Jasmin Huber
- Competence Unit Molecular Diagnostics, Center for Health and Bioresources, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Vienna, Austria
| | - Markus Wahrmann
- Department of Medicine III, Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Farsad Eskandary
- Department of Medicine III, Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Marie-Kathrin Breyer
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Lung Health, Otto Wagner Hospital, Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniela Sieghart
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Peter Quehenberger
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Gerda Leitner
- Department of Blood Group Serology and Transfusion Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Robert Strassl
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Alexander E Egger
- Central Institute for Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnosis, Innsbruck University Hospital, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Christian Irsara
- Central Institute for Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnosis, Innsbruck University Hospital, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Andrea Griesmacher
- Central Institute for Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnosis, Innsbruck University Hospital, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Gregor Hoermann
- Central Institute for Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnosis, Innsbruck University Hospital, Innsbruck, Austria; MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory, Munich, Germany
| | - Günter Weiss
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Rosa Bellmann-Weiler
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Judith Loeffler-Ragg
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Nicole Borth
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Richard Strasser
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Austria
| | - Alois Jungbauer
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria; ACIB-Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria
| | - Rainer Hahn
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria; ACIB-Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria
| | | | - Boris Hartmann
- Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), Department for Animal Health, Moedling, Austria
| | - Nikolaus B Binder
- Technoclone Herstellung von Diagnostika und Arzneimitteln GmbH, Vienna, Austria
| | - Gerald Striedner
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria; Novasign GmbH Vienna, Austria; ACIB-Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Graz, Austria; enGenes Biotech GmbH, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lukas Mach
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Austria
| | - Andreas Weinhäusel
- Competence Unit Molecular Diagnostics, Center for Health and Bioresources, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Vienna, Austria
| | - Benjamin Dieplinger
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Konventhospital Barmherzige Brueder Linz and Ordensklinikum Linz Barmherzige Schwestern, Linz, Austria
| | - Florian Grebien
- Institute for Medical Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Wilhelm Gerner
- Institute of Immunology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria; Christian Doppler Laboratory for an Optimized Prediction of Vaccination Success in Pigs, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria; Present address: The Pirbright Institute, Pirbright, United Kingdom
| | - Christoph J Binder
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Reingard Grabherr
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria.
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174
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Debler JW, Henares BM, Lee RC. Agroinfiltration for transient gene expression and characterisation of fungal pathogen effectors in cool-season grain legume hosts. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2021; 40:805-818. [PMID: 33811500 PMCID: PMC8058004 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-021-02671-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 01/30/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
KEY MESSAGE Modified pEAQ-HT-DEST1 vectors were used for agroinfiltration in legumes. We demonstrate protein expression and export in pea, lentil, and faba bean; however, the method for chickpea was not successful. Agroinfiltration is a valuable research method for investigating virulence and avirulence effector proteins from pathogens and pests, where heterologous effector proteins are transiently expressed in plant leaves and hypersensitive necrosis responses and other effector functions can be assessed. Nicotiana benthamiana is widely used for agroinfiltration and the characterisation of broad-spectrum effectors. The method has also been used in other plant species including field pea, but not yet developed for chickpea, lentil, or faba bean. Here, we have modified the pEAQ-HT-DEST1 vector for expression of 6 × histidine-tagged green-fluorescent protein (GFP) and the known necrosis-inducing broad-spectrum effector necrosis and ethylene-inducing peptide (Nep1)-like protein (NLP). Modified pEAQ-based vectors were adapted to encode signal peptide sequences for apoplast targeting of expressed proteins. We used confocal microscopy to assess the level of GFP expression in agroinfiltrated leaves. While at 3 days after infiltration in N. benthamiana, GFP was expressed at a relatively high level, expression in field pea and faba bean at the same time point was relatively low. In lentil, an expression level of GFP similar to field pea and faba bean at 3 days was only observed after 5 days. Chickpea leaf cells were transformed at low frequency and agroinfiltration was concluded to not be successful for chickpea. We concluded that the pEAQ vector is suitable for testing host-specific effectors in field pea, lentil, and faba bean, but low transformation efficiency limits the utility of the method for chickpea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes W Debler
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, 1 Kent St, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia
| | - Bernadette M Henares
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, 1 Kent St, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia
| | - Robert C Lee
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, 1 Kent St, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia.
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175
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Chin-Fatt A, Saberianfar R, Menassa R. A Rationally Designed Bovine IgA Fc Scaffold Enhances in planta Accumulation of a V HH-Fc Fusion Without Compromising Binding to Enterohemorrhagic E. coli. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:651262. [PMID: 33936135 PMCID: PMC8079772 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.651262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
We previously isolated a single domain antibody (VHH) that binds Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) with the end-goal being the enteromucosal passive immunization of cattle herds. To improve the yield of a chimeric fusion of the VHH with an IgA Fc, we employed two rational design strategies, supercharging and introducing de novo disulfide bonds, on the bovine IgA Fc component of the chimera. After mutagenizing the Fc, we screened for accumulation levels after transient transformation in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. We identified and characterized five supercharging and one disulfide mutant, termed '(5 + 1)Fc', that improve accumulation in comparison to the native Fc. Combining all these mutations is associated with a 32-fold increase of accumulation for the Fc alone, from 23.9 mg/kg fresh weight (FW) to 599.5 mg/kg FW, as well as a twenty-fold increase when fused to a VHH that binds EHEC, from 12.5 mg/kg FW tissue to 236.2 mg/kg FW. Co-expression of native or mutated VHH-Fc with bovine joining chain (JC) and bovine secretory component (SC) followed by co-immunoprecipitation suggests that the stabilizing mutations do not interfere with the capacity of VHH-Fc to assemble with JC and FC into a secretory IgA. Both the native and the mutated VHH-Fc similarly neutralized the ability of four of the seven most prevalent EHEC strains (O157:H7, O26:H11, O111:Hnm, O145:Hnm, O45:H2, O121:H19 and O103:H2), to adhere to HEp-2 cells as visualized by immunofluorescence microscopy and quantified by fluorometry. These results collectively suggest that supercharging and disulfide bond tethering on a Fc chain can effectively improve accumulation of a VHH-Fc fusion without impacting VHH functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Chin-Fatt
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London Research and Development Centre, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Reza Saberianfar
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London Research and Development Centre, London, ON, Canada
| | - Rima Menassa
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London Research and Development Centre, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
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176
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Kim K, Kang YJ, Park SR, Kim DS, Lee SW, Ko K, Ponndorf D, Ko K. Effect of leaf position and days post-infiltration on transient expression of colorectal cancer vaccine candidate proteins GA733-Fc and GA733-FcK in Nicotiana benthamiana plant. PeerJ 2021; 9:e10851. [PMID: 33868796 PMCID: PMC8035899 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunization with thetumor-associated antigen GA733 glycoprotein, which is highly expressed in colorectal cancer, is considered to be a promising strategy for cancer prevention and treatment. We cloned a fusion gene of GA733 and immunoglobulin Fc fragment (GA733-Fc), and that of GA733-Fc and an endoplasmic reticulum retention motif (GA733-FcK) into the Cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV)-based transient plant expression vector, pEAQ-HT. Agrobacterium tumefaciens (LBA4404) transformed with the vectors pEAQ-HT-GA733-Fc and pEAQ-HT-GA733-FcK was infiltrated into the leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana plants. To optimize harvesting of leaf to express therapeutic glycoproteins both spatially and temporally, protein expression levels at various leaf positions (top, middle, and base) and days post-infiltration (dpi) were investigated. The GA733-Fc and GA733-FcK genes were detected in leaves at 1–10 dpi using PCR. As assessed by western blot, GA733-Fc and GA733-FcK were expressed at the highest levels in the top leaf position at 5 dpi, and GA733-FcK was expressed more than GA733-Fc. The proteins were successfully purified from infiltrated N. benthamiana leaves using protein A affinity chromatography. ELISA verified that an anti-GA733 antibody recognized both purified proteins. Thus, a functional GA733-Fc colorectal cancer vaccine protein can be transiently expressed using a CPMV virus-based vector, with an optimized expression time and leaf position post-infiltration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kibum Kim
- Department of Medicine, Therapeutic Protein Engineering Lab, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Yang Joo Kang
- Department of Medicine, Therapeutic Protein Engineering Lab, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Se Ra Park
- Department of Medicine, Therapeutic Protein Engineering Lab, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Do-Sun Kim
- Vegetable Research Division, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration, Wanju-gun, South Korea
| | - Seung-Won Lee
- Department of Medicine, Therapeutic Protein Engineering Lab, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Kinarm Ko
- Department of Stem Cell Biology, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Daniel Ponndorf
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Colney, Norwich, UK
| | - Kisung Ko
- Department of Medicine, Therapeutic Protein Engineering Lab, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea
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177
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Zhou F, Last RL, Pichersky E. Degradation of salicylic acid to catechol in Solanaceae by SA 1-hydroxylase. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 185:876-891. [PMID: 33793924 PMCID: PMC8133591 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiaa096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
The hormone salicylic acid (SA) plays crucial roles in plant defense, stress responses, and in the regulation of plant growth and development. Whereas the biosynthetic pathways and biological functions of SA have been extensively studied, SA catabolism is less well understood. In this study, we report the identification and functional characterization of an FAD/NADH-dependent SA 1-hydroxylase from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum; SlSA1H), which catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of SA to catechol. Transcript levels of SlSA1H were highest in stems and its expression was correlated with the formation of the methylated catechol derivatives guaiacol and veratrole. Consistent with a role in SA catabolism, SlSA1H RNAi plants accumulated lower amounts of guaiacol and failed to produce any veratrole. Two O-methyltransferases involved in the conversion of catechol to guaiacol and guaiacol to veratrole were also functionally characterized. Subcellular localization analyses revealed the cytosolic localization of this degradation pathway. Phylogenetic analysis and functional characterization of SA1H homologs from other species indicated that this type of FAD/NADH-dependent SA 1-hydroxylases evolved recently within the Solanaceae family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Zhou
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Robert L Last
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA
| | - Eran Pichersky
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Author for correspondence:
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178
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Ponndorf D, Meshcheriakova Y, Thuenemann EC, Dobon Alonso A, Overman R, Holton N, Dowall S, Kennedy E, Stocks M, Lomonossoff GP, Peyret H. Plant-made dengue virus-like particles produced by co-expression of structural and non-structural proteins induce a humoral immune response in mice. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2021; 19:745-756. [PMID: 33099859 PMCID: PMC8051607 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Dengue virus (DENV) is an emerging threat causing an estimated 390 million infections per year. Dengvaxia, the only licensed vaccine, may not be adequately safe in young and seronegative patients; hence, development of a safer, more effective vaccine is of great public health interest. Virus-like particles (VLPs) are a safe and very efficient vaccine strategy, and DENV VLPs have been produced in various expression systems. Here, we describe the production of DENV VLPs in Nicotiana benthamiana using transient expression. The co-expression of DENV structural proteins (SP) and a truncated version of the non-structural proteins (NSPs), lacking NS5 that contains the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, led to the assembly of DENV VLPs in plants. These VLPs were comparable in appearance and size to VLPs produced in mammalian cells. Contrary to data from other expression systems, expression of the protein complex prM-E was not successful, and strategies used in other expression systems to improve the VLP yield did not result in increased yields in plants but, rather, increased purification difficulties. Immunogenicity assays in BALB/c mice revealed that plant-made DENV1-SP + NSP VLPs led to a higher antibody response in mice compared with DENV-E domain III displayed inside bluetongue virus core-like particles and a DENV-E domain III subunit. These results are consistent with the idea that VLPs could be the optimal approach to creating candidate vaccines against enveloped viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Ponndorf
- Department of Biological ChemistryJohn Innes CentreNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
| | - Yulia Meshcheriakova
- Department of Biological ChemistryJohn Innes CentreNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
| | - Eva C. Thuenemann
- Department of Biological ChemistryJohn Innes CentreNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
| | | | - Ross Overman
- Leaf Expression SystemsNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
| | | | | | | | - Martin Stocks
- Plant Bioscience LimitedNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
| | | | - Hadrien Peyret
- Department of Biological ChemistryJohn Innes CentreNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
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179
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Wu B, Chen Z, Xu X, Chen R, Wang S, Xu H, Lin F. Harnessing a Transient Gene Expression System in Nicotiana benthamiana to Explore Plant Agrochemical Transporters. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 10:plants10030524. [PMID: 33799776 PMCID: PMC7998108 DOI: 10.3390/plants10030524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Functional characterization of plant agrichemical transporters provided an opportunity to discover molecules that have a high mobility in plants and have the potential to increase the amount of pesticides reaching damage sites. Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression in tobacco is simple and fast, and its protein expression efficiency is high; this system is generally used to mediate heterologous gene expression. In this article, transient expression of tobacco nicotine uptake permease (NtNUP1) and rice polyamine uptake transporter 1 (OsPUT1) in Nicotiana benthamiana was performed to investigate whether this system is useful as a platform for studying the interactions between plant transporters and pesticides. The results showed that NtNUP1 increases nicotine uptake in N. benthamiana foliar discs and protoplasts, indicating that this transient gene expression system is feasible for studying gene function. Moreover, yeast expression of OsPUT1 apparently increases methomyl uptake. Overall, this method of constructing a transient gene expression system is useful for improving the efficiency of analyzing the functions of plant heterologous transporter-encoding genes and revealed that this system can be further used to study the functions of transporters and pesticides, especially their interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingqi Wu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources/Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; (B.W.); (Z.C.); (X.X.); (R.C.); (S.W.)
| | - Zhiting Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources/Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; (B.W.); (Z.C.); (X.X.); (R.C.); (S.W.)
- Institute of Quality Standard and Monitoring Technology for Agro-Products of Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Xiaohui Xu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources/Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; (B.W.); (Z.C.); (X.X.); (R.C.); (S.W.)
| | - Ronghua Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources/Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; (B.W.); (Z.C.); (X.X.); (R.C.); (S.W.)
| | - Siwei Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources/Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; (B.W.); (Z.C.); (X.X.); (R.C.); (S.W.)
| | - Hanhong Xu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources/Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; (B.W.); (Z.C.); (X.X.); (R.C.); (S.W.)
- Correspondence: (H.X.); (F.L.); Tel.: +86-20-8528-5127 (H.X. & F.L.)
| | - Fei Lin
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources/Key Laboratory of Natural Pesticide and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; (B.W.); (Z.C.); (X.X.); (R.C.); (S.W.)
- Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
- Correspondence: (H.X.); (F.L.); Tel.: +86-20-8528-5127 (H.X. & F.L.)
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180
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Fu R, Zhang P, Jin G, Wang L, Qi S, Cao Y, Martin C, Zhang Y. Versatility in acyltransferase activity completes chicoric acid biosynthesis in purple coneflower. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1563. [PMID: 33692355 PMCID: PMC7946891 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21853-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench) is a popular native North American herbal plant. Its major bioactive compound, chicoric acid, is reported to have various potential physiological functions, but little is known about its biosynthesis. Here, taking an activity-guided approach, we identify two cytosolic BAHD acyltransferases that form two intermediates, caftaric acid and chlorogenic acid. Surprisingly, a unique serine carboxypeptidase-like acyltransferase uses chlorogenic acid as its acyl donor and caftaric acid as its acyl acceptor to produce chicoric acid in vacuoles, which has evolved its acyl donor specificity from the better-known 1-O-β-D-glucose esters typical for this specific type of acyltransferase to chlorogenic acid. This unusual pathway seems unique to Echinacea species suggesting convergent evolution of chicoric acid biosynthesis. Using these identified acyltransferases, we have reconstituted chicoric acid biosynthesis in tobacco. Our results emphasize the flexibility of acyltransferases and their roles in the evolution of specialized metabolism in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rao Fu
- Key Laboratory of Bio-resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, China
| | - Pingyu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Bio-resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, China
| | - Ge Jin
- Key Laboratory of Bio-resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, China
| | - Lianglei Wang
- Key Laboratory of Bio-resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, China
| | - Shiqian Qi
- Department of Urology, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Yang Cao
- Center of Growth, Metabolism and Aging, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, China
| | - Cathie Martin
- Department of Metabolic Biology and Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Yang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Bio-resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, China.
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181
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Xin A, Fei Y, Molnar A, Fry SC. Cutin:cutin-acid endo-transacylase (CCT), a cuticle-remodelling enzyme activity in the plant epidermis. Biochem J 2021; 478:777-798. [PMID: 33511979 PMCID: PMC7925011 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20200835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Revised: 01/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Cutin is a polyester matrix mainly composed of hydroxy-fatty acids that occurs in the cuticles of shoots and root-caps. The cuticle, of which cutin is a major component, protects the plant from biotic and abiotic stresses, and cutin has been postulated to constrain organ expansion. We propose that, to allow cutin restructuring, ester bonds in this net-like polymer can be transiently cleaved and then re-formed (transacylation). Here, using pea epicotyl epidermis as the main model, we first detected a cutin:cutin-fatty acid endo-transacylase (CCT) activity. In-situ assays used endogenous cutin as the donor substrate for endogenous enzymes; the exogenous acceptor substrate was a radiolabelled monomeric cutin-acid, 16-hydroxy-[3H]hexadecanoic acid (HHA). High-molecular-weight cutin became ester-bonded to intact [3H]HHA molecules, which thereby became unextractable except by ester-hydrolysing alkalis. In-situ CCT activity correlated with growth rate in Hylotelephium leaves and tomato fruits, suggesting a role in loosening the outer epidermal wall during organ growth. The only well-defined cutin transacylase in the apoplast, CUS1 (a tomato cutin synthase), when produced in transgenic tobacco, lacked CCT activity. This finding provides a reference for future CCT protein identification, which can adopt our sensitive enzyme assay to screen other CUS1-related enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anzhou Xin
- The Edinburgh Cell Wall Group, Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, U.K
| | - Yue Fei
- Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, U.K
| | - Attila Molnar
- Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, U.K
| | - Stephen C. Fry
- The Edinburgh Cell Wall Group, Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, U.K
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182
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Thuenemann EC, Le DHT, Lomonossoff GP, Steinmetz NF. Bluetongue Virus Particles as Nanoreactors for Enzyme Delivery and Cancer Therapy. Mol Pharm 2021; 18:1150-1156. [PMID: 33566625 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.0c01053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The side effects of chemotherapy can be reduced by targeting tumor cells with an enzyme (or the corresponding gene) that converts a nontoxic prodrug into a toxic drug inside the tumor cells, also killing the surrounding tumor cells via the bystander effect. Viruses are the most efficient gene delivery vehicles because they have evolved to transfer their own nucleic acids into cells, but their efficiency must be balanced against the risks of infection, the immunogenicity of nucleic acids, and the potential for genomic integration. We therefore tested the effectiveness of genome-free virus-like particles (VLPs) for the delivery of Herpes simplex virus 1 thymidine kinase (HSV1-TK), the most common enzyme used in prodrug conversion therapy. HSV1-TK is typically delivered as a gene, but in the context of VLPs, it must be delivered as a protein. We constructed VLPs and smaller core-like particles (CLPs) based on Bluetongue virus, with HSV1-TK fused to the inner capsid protein VP3. TK-CLPs and TK-VLPs could be produced in large quantities in plants. The TK-VLPs killed human glioblastoma cells efficiently in the presence of ganciclovir, with an IC50 value of 14.8 μM. Conversely, CLPs were ineffective because they remained trapped in the endosomal compartment, in common with many synthetic nanoparticles. VLPs are advantageous because they can escape from endosomes and therefore allow HSV1-TK to access the cytosolic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) required for the phosphorylation of ganciclovir. The VLP delivery strategy of TK protein therefore offers a promising new modality for the treatment of cancer with systemic prodrugs such as ganciclovir.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva C Thuenemann
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, NR4 7UH Colney, United Kingdom
| | - Duc H T Le
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513 (STO 3.25), 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.,Department of Biochemistry, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (RIMLS), Radboud University Medical Center, Geert Grooteplein 28, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - George P Lomonossoff
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, NR4 7UH Colney, United Kingdom
| | - Nicole F Steinmetz
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States
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183
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De La Peña R, Sattely ES. Rerouting plant terpene biosynthesis enables momilactone pathway elucidation. Nat Chem Biol 2021; 17:205-212. [PMID: 33106662 PMCID: PMC7990393 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-020-00669-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Momilactones from rice have allelopathic activity, the ability to inhibit growth of competing plants. Transferring momilactone production to other crops is a potential approach to combat weeds, yet a complete momilactone biosynthetic pathway remains elusive. Here, we address this challenge through rapid gene screening in Nicotiana benthamiana, a heterologous plant host. This required us to solve a central problem: diminishing intermediate and product yields remain a bottleneck for multistep diterpene pathways. We increased intermediate and product titers by rerouting diterpene biosynthesis from the chloroplast to the cytosolic, high-flux mevalonate pathway. This enabled the discovery and reconstitution of a complete route to momilactones (>10-fold yield improvement in production versus rice). Pure momilactone B isolated from N. benthamiana inhibited germination and root growth in Arabidopsis thaliana, validating allelopathic activity. We demonstrated the broad utility of this approach by applying it to forskolin, a Hedgehog inhibitor, and taxadiene, an intermediate in taxol biosynthesis (~10-fold improvement in production versus chloroplast expression).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo De La Peña
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Elizabeth S Sattely
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford, CA, USA.
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184
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Liu Y, Luo SH, Hua J, Li DS, Ling Y, Luo Q, Li SH. Characterization of defensive cadinenes and a novel sesquiterpene synthase responsible for their biosynthesis from the invasive Eupatorium adenophorum. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 229:1740-1754. [PMID: 32929734 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/29/2020] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Eupatorium adenophorum is a malignant invasive plant possessing extraordinary defense potency, but its chemical weaponry and formation mechanism have not yet been extensively investigated. We identified six cadinene sesquiterpenes, including two volatiles (amorpha-4,7(11)-diene and (-)-amorph-4-en-7-ol) and four nonvolatiles (9-oxo-10,11-dehydroageraphorone, muurol-4-en-3,8-dione, 9-oxo-ageraphorone and 9β-hydroxy-ageraphorone), as the major constitutive and inducible chemicals of E. adenophorum. All cadinenes showed potent antifeedant activity against a generalist insect Spodoptera exigua, indicating that they have significant defensive roles. We cloned and functionally characterized a sesquiterpene synthase from E. adenophorum (EaTPS1), catalyzing the conversion of farnesyl diphosphate to amorpha-4,7(11)-diene and (-)-amorph-4-en-7-ol, which were purified from engineered Escherichia coli and identified by extensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. EaTPS1 was highly expressed in the aboveground organs, which was congruent with the dominant distribution of cadinenes, suggesting that EaTPS1 is likely involved in cadinene biosynthesis. Mechanical wounding and methyl jasmonate negatively regulated EaTPS1 expression but caused the release of amorpha-4,7(11)-diene and (-)-amorph-4-en-7-ol. Nicotiana benthamiana transiently expressing EaTPS1 also produced amorpha-4,7(11)-diene and (-)-amorph-4-en-7-ol, and showed enhanced defense function. The findings presented here uncover the role and formation of the chemical defense mechanism of E. adenophorum - which probably contributes to the invasive success of this plant - and provide a tool for manipulating the biosynthesis of biologically active cadinene natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Shi-Hong Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
- College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110866, China
| | - Juan Hua
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
- College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110866, China
| | - De-Sen Li
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yi Ling
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Qian Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Sheng-Hong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
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185
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Zahmanova G, Mazalovska M, Takova K, Toneva V, Minkov I, Peyret H, Lomonossoff G. Efficient Production of Chimeric Hepatitis B Virus-Like Particles Bearing an Epitope of Hepatitis E Virus Capsid by Transient Expression in Nicotiana benthamiana. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11010064. [PMID: 33477348 PMCID: PMC7830250 DOI: 10.3390/life11010064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The core antigen of hepatitis B virus (HBcAg) is capable of self-assembly into virus-like particles (VLPs) when expressed in a number of heterologous systems. Such VLPs are potential carriers of foreign antigenic sequences for vaccine design. In this study, we evaluated the production of chimeric HBcAg VLPs presenting a foreign epitope on their surface, the 551–607 amino acids (aa) immunological epitope of the ORF2 capsid protein of hepatitis E virus. A chimeric construct was made by the insertion of 56 aa into the immunodominant loop of the HBcAg. The sequences encoding the chimera were inserted into the pEAQ-HT vector and infiltrated into Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. The plant-expressed chimeric HBcHEV ORF2 551–607 protein was recognized by an anti-HBcAg mAb and anti-HEV IgG positive swine serum. Electron microscopy showed that plant-produced chimeric protein spontaneously assembled into “knobbly” ~34 nm diameter VLPs. This study shows that HBcAg is a promising carrier platform for the neutralizing epitopes of hepatitis E virus (HEV) and the chimeric HBcAg/HEV VLPs could be a candidate for a bivalent vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gergana Zahmanova
- Department of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology, University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria; (M.M.); (K.T.); (V.T.)
- Center of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria;
- Correspondence: (G.Z.); (G.L.); Tel.: +359-32-261529 (G.Z.); +44-1603-450351 (G.L.)
| | - Milena Mazalovska
- Department of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology, University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria; (M.M.); (K.T.); (V.T.)
| | - Katerina Takova
- Department of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology, University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria; (M.M.); (K.T.); (V.T.)
| | - Valentina Toneva
- Department of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology, University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria; (M.M.); (K.T.); (V.T.)
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies, 4108 Markovo, Bulgaria
| | - Ivan Minkov
- Center of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria;
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies, 4108 Markovo, Bulgaria
| | - Hadrien Peyret
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney NR4 7UH, UK;
| | - George Lomonossoff
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney NR4 7UH, UK;
- Correspondence: (G.Z.); (G.L.); Tel.: +359-32-261529 (G.Z.); +44-1603-450351 (G.L.)
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186
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Margolin E, Allen JD, Verbeek M, van Diepen M, Ximba P, Chapman R, Meyers A, Williamson AL, Crispin M, Rybicki E. Site-Specific Glycosylation of Recombinant Viral Glycoproteins Produced in Nicotiana benthamiana. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:709344. [PMID: 34367227 PMCID: PMC8341435 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.709344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
There is an urgent need to establish large scale biopharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in Africa where the infrastructure for biologics production is severely limited. Molecular farming, whereby pharmaceuticals are produced in plants, offers a cheaper alternative to mainstream expression platforms, and is amenable to rapid large-scale production. However, there are several differences along the plant protein secretory pathway compared to mammalian systems, which constrain the production of complex pharmaceuticals. Viral envelope glycoproteins are important targets for immunization, yet in some cases they accumulate poorly in plants and may not be properly processed. Whilst the co-expression of human chaperones and furin proteases has shown promise, it is presently unclear how plant-specific differences in glycosylation impact the production of these proteins. In many cases it may be necessary to reproduce features of their native glycosylation to produce immunologically relevant vaccines, given that glycosylation is central to the folding and immunogenicity of these antigens. Building on previous work, we transiently expressed model glycoproteins from HIV and Marburg virus in Nicotiana benthamiana and mammalian cells. The proteins were purified and their site-specific glycosylation was determined by mass-spectrometry. Both glycoproteins yielded increased amounts of protein aggregates when produced in plants compared to the equivalent mammalian cell-derived proteins. The glycosylation profiles of the plant-produced glycoproteins were distinct from the mammalian cell produced proteins: they displayed lower levels of glycan occupancy, reduced complex glycans and large amounts of paucimannosidic structures. The elucidation of the site-specific glycosylation of viral glycoproteins produced in N. benthamiana is an important step toward producing heterologous viral glycoproteins in plants with authentic human-like glycosylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Margolin
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- *Correspondence: Emmanuel Margolin,
| | - Joel D. Allen
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew Verbeek
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Michiel van Diepen
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Phindile Ximba
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Rosamund Chapman
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ann Meyers
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Anna-Lise Williamson
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Max Crispin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
- Max Crispin,
| | - Edward Rybicki
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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187
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Mamedov T, Gurbuzaslan I, Yuksel D, Ilgin M, Mammadova G, Ozkul A, Hasanova G. Soluble Human Angiotensin- Converting Enzyme 2 as a Potential Therapeutic Tool for COVID-19 is Produced at High Levels In Nicotiana benthamiana Plant With Potent Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Activity. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:742875. [PMID: 34938305 PMCID: PMC8685454 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.742875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly spread to more than 222 countries and has put global public health at high risk. The world urgently needs a safe, cost-effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine as well as therapeutic and antiviral drugs to combat COVID-19. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), as a key receptor for SARS-CoV-2 infections, has been proposed as a potential therapeutic tool in patients with COVID-19. In this study, we report a high-level production (about ∼0.75 g/kg leaf biomass) of human soluble (truncated) ACE2 in the Nicotiana benthamiana plant. After the Ni-NTA single-step, the purification yields of recombinant plant produced ACE2 protein in glycosylated and deglycosylated forms calculated as ∼0.4 and 0.5 g/kg leaf biomass, respectively. The plant produced recombinant human soluble ACE2s successfully bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Importantly, both deglycosylated and glycosylated forms of ACE2 are stable at increased temperatures for extended periods of time and demonstrated strong anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities in vitro. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of glycosylated ACE2 (gACE2) and deglycosylated ACE2 (dACE2) were ∼1.0 and 8.48 μg/ml, respectively, for the pre-entry infection, when incubated with 100TCID50 of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, plant produced soluble ACE2s are promising cost-effective and safe candidates as a potential therapeutic tool in the treatment of patients with COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tarlan Mamedov
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Baku, Azerbaijan
- *Correspondence: Tarlan Mamedov,
| | - Irem Gurbuzaslan
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
| | - Damla Yuksel
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
| | - Merve Ilgin
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
| | - Gunay Mammadova
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
| | - Aykut Ozkul
- Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
- Biotechnology Institute, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Gulnara Hasanova
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
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188
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Margolin E, Verbeek M, de Moor W, Chapman R, Meyers A, Schäfer G, Williamson AL, Rybicki E. Investigating Constraints Along the Plant Secretory Pathway to Improve Production of a SARS-CoV-2 Spike Vaccine Candidate. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:798822. [PMID: 35058959 PMCID: PMC8764404 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.798822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Given the complex maturation requirements of viral glycoproteins and the challenge they often pose for expression in plants, the identification of host constraints precluding their efficient production is a priority for the molecular farming of vaccines. Building on previous work to improve viral glycoprotein production in plants, we investigated the production of a soluble SARS-CoV-2 spike comprising the ectopic portion of the glycoprotein. This was successfully transiently expressed in N. benthamiana by co-expressing the human lectin-binding chaperone calreticulin, which substantially increased the accumulation of the glycoprotein. The spike was mostly unprocessed unless the protease furin was co-expressed which resulted in highly efficient processing of the glycoprotein. Co-expression of several broad-spectrum protease inhibitors did not improve accumulation of the protein any further. The protein was successfully purified by affinity chromatography and gel filtration, although the purified product was heterogenous and the yields were low. Immunogenicity of the antigen was tested in BALB/c mice, and cellular and antibody responses were elicited after low dose inoculation with the adjuvanted protein. This work constitutes an important proof-of-concept for host plant engineering in the context of rapid vaccine development for SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Margolin
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- *Correspondence: Emmanuel Margolin,
| | - Matthew Verbeek
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Warren de Moor
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ros Chapman
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ann Meyers
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Georgia Schäfer
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Anna-Lise Williamson
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Edward Rybicki
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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189
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Preiser AL, Banerjee A, Weise SE, Renna L, Brandizzi F, Sharkey TD. Phosphoglucoisomerase Is an Important Regulatory Enzyme in Partitioning Carbon out of the Calvin-Benson Cycle. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:580726. [PMID: 33362810 PMCID: PMC7758399 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.580726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Phosphoglucoisomerase (PGI) isomerizes fructose 6-phosphate (F6P) and glucose 6-phosphate (G6P) in starch and sucrose biosynthesis. Both plastidic and cytosolic isoforms are found in plant leaves. Using recombinant enzymes and isolated chloroplasts, we have characterized the plastidic and cytosolic isoforms of PGI. We have found that the Arabidopsis plastidic PGI K m for G6P is three-fold greater compared to that for F6P and that erythrose 4-phosphate is a key regulator of PGI activity. Additionally, the K m of spinach plastidic PGI can be dynamically regulated in the dark compared to the light and increases by 200% in the dark. We also found that targeting Arabidopsis cytosolic PGI into plastids of Nicotiana tabacum disrupts starch accumulation and degradation. Our results, in combination with the observation that plastidic PGI is not in equilibrium, indicates that PGI is an important regulatory enzyme that restricts flow and acts as a one-way valve preventing backflow of G6P into the Calvin-Benson cycle. We propose the PGI may be manipulated to improve flow of carbon to desired targets of biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa L. Preiser
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Aparajita Banerjee
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Sean E. Weise
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Luciana Renna
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Federica Brandizzi
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Thomas D. Sharkey
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
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190
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The Ubiquitin E3 Ligase MaLUL2 Is Involved in High Temperature-Induced Green Ripening in Banana Fruit. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21249386. [PMID: 33317166 PMCID: PMC7763436 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21249386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Harvested banana fruit ripened under warm temperatures above 24 °C remain green peel, leading to severe economic loss. E3 ubiquitin-ligases, as the major components in the ubiquitination pathway, have been implicated to play important roles in temperature-stress responses. However, the molecular mechanism underlying high temperature-triggered stay-green ripening bananas in association with E3 ubiquitin-ligases, remains largely unknown. In this study, a RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase termed MaLUL2, was isolated and characterized from banana fruit. The MaLUL2 gene contains 1095 nucleotides and encodes a protein with 365 amino acids. The MaLUL2 protein contains a domain associated with RING2 (DAR2) and a RING domain, which are the typical characteristics of RING-type E3 ligases. MaLUL2 expression was up-regulated during high temperature-induced green ripening. Subcellular localization showed that MaLUL2 localized in the nucleus, cytoplasm, and plasma membrane. MaLUL2 displayed E3 ubiquitin ligase activity in vitro. More importantly, transient overexpression of MaLUL2 in banana fruit peel increased the level of ubiquitination in vivo and led to a stay-green phenotype, accompanying with decreased expression of chlorophyll catabolic genes. Collectively, these findings suggest that MaLUL2 might act as a negative regulator of chlorophyll degradation and provide novel insights into the regulatory mechanism of high temperature-induced green ripening bananas.
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191
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De Saeger J, Park J, Chung HS, Hernalsteens JP, Van Lijsebettens M, Inzé D, Van Montagu M, Depuydt S. Agrobacterium strains and strain improvement: Present and outlook. Biotechnol Adv 2020; 53:107677. [PMID: 33290822 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2020.107677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2020] [Revised: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Almost 40 years ago the first transgenic plant was generated through Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation, which, until now, remains the method of choice for gene delivery into plants. Ever since, optimized Agrobacterium strains have been developed with additional (genetic) modifications that were mostly aimed at enhancing the transformation efficiency, although an optimized strain also exists that reduces unwanted plasmid recombination. As a result, a collection of very useful strains has been created to transform a wide variety of plant species, but has also led to a confusing Agrobacterium strain nomenclature. The latter is often misleading for choosing the best-suited strain for one's transformation purposes. To overcome this issue, we provide a complete overview of the strain classification. We also indicate different strain modifications and their purposes, as well as the obtained results with regard to the transformation process sensu largo. Furthermore, we propose additional improvements of the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation process and consider several worthwhile modifications, for instance, by circumventing a defense response in planta. In this regard, we will discuss pattern-triggered immunity, pathogen-associated molecular pattern detection, hormone homeostasis and signaling, and reactive oxygen species in relationship to Agrobacterium transformation. We will also explore alterations that increase agrobacterial transformation efficiency, reduce plasmid recombination, and improve biocontainment. Finally, we recommend the use of a modular system to best utilize the available knowledge for successful plant transformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas De Saeger
- Laboratory of Plant Growth Analysis, Ghent University Global Campus, Incheon 406-840, South Korea; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Jihae Park
- Laboratory of Plant Growth Analysis, Ghent University Global Campus, Incheon 406-840, South Korea; Department of Marine Sciences, Incheon National University, Incheon 406-840, South Korea
| | - Hoo Sun Chung
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | | | - Mieke Van Lijsebettens
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Dirk Inzé
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Marc Van Montagu
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Stephen Depuydt
- Laboratory of Plant Growth Analysis, Ghent University Global Campus, Incheon 406-840, South Korea; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, 9052 Ghent, Belgium.
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192
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Zhan C, Lei L, Liu Z, Zhou S, Yang C, Zhu X, Guo H, Zhang F, Peng M, Zhang M, Li Y, Yang Z, Sun Y, Shi Y, Li K, Liu L, Shen S, Wang X, Shao J, Jing X, Wang Z, Li Y, Czechowski T, Hasegawa M, Graham I, Tohge T, Qu L, Liu X, Fernie AR, Chen LL, Yuan M, Luo J. Selection of a subspecies-specific diterpene gene cluster implicated in rice disease resistance. NATURE PLANTS 2020; 6:1447-1454. [PMID: 33299150 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-020-00816-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Diterpenoids are the major group of antimicrobial phytoalexins in rice1,2. Here, we report the discovery of a rice diterpenoid gene cluster on chromosome 7 (DGC7) encoding the entire biosynthetic pathway to 5,10-diketo-casbene, a member of the monocyclic casbene-derived diterpenoids. We revealed that DGC7 is regulated directly by JMJ705 through methyl jasmonate-mediated epigenetic control3. Functional characterization of pathway genes revealed OsCYP71Z21 to encode a casbene C10 oxidase, sought after for the biosynthesis of an array of medicinally important diterpenoids. We further show that DGC7 arose relatively recently in the Oryza genus, and that it was partly formed in Oryza rufipogon and positively selected for in japonica during domestication. Casbene-synthesizing enzymes that are functionally equivalent to OsTPS28 are present in several species of Euphorbiaceae but gene tree analysis shows that these and other casbene-modifying enzymes have evolved independently. As such, combining casbene-modifying enzymes from these different families of plants may prove effective in producing a diverse array of bioactive diterpenoid natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuansong Zhan
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Long Lei
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Zixin Liu
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Shen Zhou
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Chenkun Yang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xitong Zhu
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Hao Guo
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Feng Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Meng Peng
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Meng Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yufei Li
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zixin Yang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yangyang Sun
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yuheng Shi
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Kang Li
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Ling Liu
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Shuangqian Shen
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xuyang Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jiawen Shao
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xinyu Jing
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zixuan Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yi Li
- Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Tomasz Czechowski
- Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | | | - Ian Graham
- Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Takayuki Tohge
- Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma, Japan
| | - Lianghuan Qu
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xianqing Liu
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Alisdair R Fernie
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Ling-Ling Chen
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Meng Yuan
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jie Luo
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China.
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193
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Miller GP, Bhat WW, Lanier ER, Johnson SR, Mathieu DT, Hamberger B. The biosynthesis of the anti-microbial diterpenoid leubethanol in Leucophyllum frutescens proceeds via an all-cis prenyl intermediate. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2020; 104:693-705. [PMID: 32777127 PMCID: PMC7649979 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.14957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2020] [Revised: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/16/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Serrulatane diterpenoids are natural products found in plants from a subset of genera within the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). Many of these compounds have been characterized as having anti-microbial properties and share a common diterpene backbone. One example, leubethanol from Texas sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) has demonstrated activity against multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. Leubethanol is the only serrulatane diterpenoid identified from this genus; however, a range of such compounds have been found throughout the closely related Eremophila genus. Despite their potential therapeutic relevance, the biosynthesis of serrulatane diterpenoids has not been previously reported. Here we leverage the simple product profile and high accumulation of leubethanol in the roots of L. frutescens and compare tissue-specific transcriptomes with existing data from Eremophila serrulata to decipher the biosynthesis of leubethanol. A short-chain cis-prenyl transferase (LfCPT1) first produces the rare diterpene precursor nerylneryl diphosphate, which is cyclized by an unusual plastidial terpene synthase (LfTPS1) into the characteristic serrulatane diterpene backbone. Final conversion to leubethanol is catalyzed by a cytochrome P450 (CYP71D616) of the CYP71 clan. This pathway documents the presence of a short-chain cis-prenyl diphosphate synthase, previously only found in Solanaceae, which is likely involved in the biosynthesis of other known diterpene backbones in Eremophila. LfTPS1 represents neofunctionalization of a compartment-switching terpene synthase accepting a novel substrate in the plastid. Biosynthetic access to leubethanol will enable pathway discovery to more complex serrulatane diterpenoids which share this common starting structure and provide a platform for the production and diversification of this class of promising anti-microbial therapeutics in heterologous systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Garret P. Miller
- Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
| | - Wajid Waheed Bhat
- Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
| | - Emily R. Lanier
- Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
| | - Sean R. Johnson
- Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
| | - Davis T. Mathieu
- Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
| | - Björn Hamberger
- Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
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194
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Xia P, Hu W, Liang T, Yang D, Liang Z. An attempt to establish an Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression system in medicinal plants. PROTOPLASMA 2020; 257:1497-1505. [PMID: 32564134 DOI: 10.1007/s00709-020-01524-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Genetic transformation has always been an important method for studying medical plant secondary metabolic regulation, among which stable transformation has a good reproducibility. However, it was time-consuming to obtain a stable transformed hairy root or transgenic plants, which was difficult to satisfy the great demand of researches on medical plant secondary metabolism-related genes. Moreover, Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transient transformation has been extensively applied in studies of functional genes because of its simpleness, low cost, and short period. However, presently, researches on medical plant functional genes commonly used stable genetic transformation and some high-cost and high-difficulty transient transformation methods, such as gene gun and protoplast transformation. Thus, in this study, we selected the seedlings of Nicotiana benthamiana, Salvia miltiorrhiza, and Prunella vulgaris as the experimental material, with the methods of Agrobacterium tumefaciens injection, fast Agrobacterium-mediated seedling transformation (FAST), and FAST and mechanical damage. The results demonstrated that the injection transient transformation system of pCAMBIA1301 vector mediated by A. tumefaciens and the transient transformation of seedling system were not established in S. miltiorrhiza. In addition, the instantaneous transformation system of N. benthamiana and P. vulgaris seedlings was basically set up by FAST method. Besides, using the method of FAST and mechanical damage, the transient genetic transformation system of P. vulgaris seedlings was established for the first time. A. tumefaciens-mediated transient transformation of seedlings with pEAQ vectors provided an effective way and reference for the further study of functional genes of the medicinal plants N. benthamiana and P. vulgaris.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengguo Xia
- Laboratory of Plant Secondary Metabolism and Regulation of Zhejiang Province, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
| | - Wanying Hu
- Laboratory of Plant Secondary Metabolism and Regulation of Zhejiang Province, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, China
| | - Tongyao Liang
- Laboratory of Plant Secondary Metabolism and Regulation of Zhejiang Province, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, China
| | - Dongfeng Yang
- Laboratory of Plant Secondary Metabolism and Regulation of Zhejiang Province, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, China
| | - Zongsuo Liang
- Laboratory of Plant Secondary Metabolism and Regulation of Zhejiang Province, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, China.
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195
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Saunders K, Richardson J, Lawson DM, Lomonossoff GP. Requirements for the Packaging of Geminivirus Circular Single-Stranded DNA: Effect of DNA Length and Coat Protein Sequence. Viruses 2020; 12:E1235. [PMID: 33143128 PMCID: PMC7694086 DOI: 10.3390/v12111235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Geminivirus particles, consisting of a pair of twinned isometric structures, have one of the most distinctive capsids in the virological world. Until recently, there was little information as to how these structures are generated. To address this, we developed a system to produce capsid structures following the delivery of geminivirus coat protein and replicating circular single-stranded DNA (cssDNA) by the infiltration of gene constructs into plant leaves. The transencapsidation of cssDNA of the Begomovirus genus by coat protein of different geminivirus genera was shown to occur with full-length but not half-length molecules. Double capsid structures, distinct from geminate capsid structures, were also generated in this expression system. By increasing the length of the encapsidated cssDNA, triple geminate capsid structures, consisting of straight, bent and condensed forms were generated. The straight geminate triple structures generated were similar in morphology to those recorded for a potato-infecting virus from Peru. These finding demonstrate that the length of encapsidated DNA controls both the size and stability of geminivirus particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith Saunders
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; (D.M.L.); (G.P.L.)
| | - Jake Richardson
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK;
| | - David M. Lawson
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; (D.M.L.); (G.P.L.)
| | - George P. Lomonossoff
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; (D.M.L.); (G.P.L.)
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196
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Chen Q, Liu X, Hu Y, Wang Y, Sun B, Chen T, Luo Y, Zhang Y, Li M, Liu Z, Wang X, Tang H. Broaden the sugar donor selectivity of blackberry glycosyltransferase UGT78H2 through residual substitutions. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 166:277-287. [PMID: 33129904 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.10.184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Glycosylated secondary metabolites constitute a large proportion of nutrients or ingredients in consumed plants and related products. The glycosyl decoration largely depends on the activity of plant UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs). Mechanisms underlying the substrate selectivity and specificity of these reactions remain elusive. Here we report the cloning and functional characterization of a UGT, UGT78H2 in blackberry fruits. In vitro enzyme substrate specificity analysis and enzymatic kinetics evidenced that UGT78H2 glycosylate exclusively quercetin using uridine-5' diphosphate glucuronic acid (UDP-glucuronic acid) and uridine-5' diphosphate galactose (UDP-galactose). Site-directed mutagenesis was introduced into two residuals (N340P, K360N) previously unexplored. The mutation enhanced the protein catalyzing efficiency, especially toward UDP-galactose (23% higher), and expanded the sugar donor selectivity, which can use UDP-glucose as well. Molecular modeling and biochemical analysis results enable identification of the 23rd residue (360th in UGT78H2) of the PSPG (plant secondary product glycosyltransferase) motif as a key residue in defining this sugar selecting spectrum. Additionally, promoter of UGT78H2 was obtained. Transgenic analysis using the UGT78H2pro::GUS reporter system demonstrated that transcripts controlled by the promoter predominantly expressed in younger tissues. Subcellular localization study revealed that UGT78H2 was a soluble protein in the nucleus and cytoplasm. These results clarified the bio-function of UGT78H2 and provided a valid approach for substrate selectivity modification in horticultural plants, particularly for sugar donor selectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Chen
- College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, China.
| | - Xunju Liu
- College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, China.
| | - Yueyang Hu
- College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, China
| | - Yan Wang
- Institute of Pomology and Olericulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, China.
| | - Bo Sun
- College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, China.
| | - Tao Chen
- College of Life Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, China
| | - Ya Luo
- College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, China.
| | - Yong Zhang
- College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, China.
| | - Mengyao Li
- College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, China.
| | - Zejing Liu
- College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, China.
| | - Xiaorong Wang
- Institute of Pomology and Olericulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, China.
| | - Haoru Tang
- College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, China; Institute of Pomology and Olericulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, China.
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197
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Formation and diversification of a paradigm biosynthetic gene cluster in plants. Nat Commun 2020; 11:5354. [PMID: 33097700 PMCID: PMC7584637 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19153-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Numerous examples of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), including for compounds of agricultural and medicinal importance, have now been discovered in plant genomes. However, little is known about how these complex traits are assembled and diversified. Here, we examine a large number of variants within and between species for a paradigm BGC (the thalianol cluster), which has evolved recently in a common ancestor of the Arabidopsis genus. Comparisons at the species level reveal differences in BGC organization and involvement of auxiliary genes, resulting in production of species-specific triterpenes. Within species, the thalianol cluster is primarily fixed, showing a low frequency of deleterious haplotypes. We further identify chromosomal inversion as a molecular mechanism that may shuffle more distant genes into the cluster, so enabling cluster compaction. Antagonistic natural selection pressures are likely involved in shaping the occurrence and maintenance of this BGC. Our work sheds light on the birth, life and death of complex genetic and metabolic traits in plants.
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198
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Gülck T, Booth JK, Carvalho Â, Khakimov B, Crocoll C, Motawia MS, Møller BL, Bohlmann J, Gallage NJ. Synthetic Biology of Cannabinoids and Cannabinoid Glucosides in Nicotiana benthamiana and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS 2020; 83:2877-2893. [PMID: 33000946 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.0c00241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Phytocannabinoids are a group of plant-derived metabolites that display a wide range of psychoactive as well as health-promoting effects. The production of pharmaceutically relevant cannabinoids relies on extraction and purification from cannabis (Cannabis sativa) plants yielding the major constituents, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol. Heterologous biosynthesis of cannabinoids in Nicotiana benthamiana or Saccharomyces cerevisiae may provide cost-efficient and rapid future production platforms to acquire pure and high quantities of both the major and the rare cannabinoids as well as novel derivatives. Here, we used a meta-transcriptomic analysis of cannabis to identify genes for aromatic prenyltransferases of the UbiA superfamily and chalcone isomerase-like (CHIL) proteins. Among the aromatic prenyltransferases, CsaPT4 showed CBGAS activity in both N. benthamiana and S. cerevisiae. Coexpression of selected CsaPT pairs and of CHIL proteins encoding genes with CsaPT4 did not affect CBGAS catalytic efficiency. In a screen of different plant UDP-glycosyltransferases, Stevia rebaudiana SrUGT71E1 and Oryza sativa OsUGT5 were found to glucosylate olivetolic acid, cannabigerolic acid, and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid. Metabolic engineering of N. benthamiana for production of cannabinoids revealed intrinsic glucosylation of olivetolic acid and cannabigerolic acid. S. cerevisiae was engineered to produce olivetolic acid glucoside and cannabigerolic acid glucoside.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thies Gülck
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - J K Booth
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, 2185 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Â Carvalho
- River Stone Biotech ApS, Fruebjergvej 3, 2100 København Ø, Denmark
| | - B Khakimov
- Chemometrics & Analytical Technology, Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - C Crocoll
- Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - M S Motawia
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - B L Møller
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
- Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - J Bohlmann
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, 2185 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - N J Gallage
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
- Octarine Bio, Fruebjergvej 3, 2100 København Ø, Denmark
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199
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Dusek J, Plchova H, Cerovska N, Poborilova Z, Navratil O, Kratochvilova K, Gunter C, Jacobs R, Hitzeroth II, Rybicki EP, Moravec T. Extended Set of GoldenBraid Compatible Vectors for Fast Assembly of Multigenic Constructs and Their Use to Create Geminiviral Expression Vectors. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:522059. [PMID: 33193468 PMCID: PMC7641900 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.522059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Methods for simple and fast assembly of exchangeable standard DNA parts using Type II S restriction enzymes are becoming more and more popular in plant synthetic and molecular biology. These methods enable routine construction of large and complex multigene DNA structures. Two available frameworks emphasize either high cloning capacity (Modular Cloning, MoClo) or simplicity (GoldenBraid, GB). Here we present a set of novel α-level plasmids compatible with the GB convention that extend the ability of GB to rapidly assemble more complex genetic constructs, while maintaining compatibility with all existing GB parts as well as most MoClo parts and GB modules. With the use of our new plasmids, standard GB parts can be assembled into complex assemblies containing 1, 5, 10 and up to theoretically 50 units in each successive level of infinite loop assembly. Assembled DNA constructs can be also combined with conventional binary GB-assemblies (1, 2, 4, 8… units). We demonstrate the usefulness of our framework on single tube assembly of replicating plant expression constructs based on the geminivirus Bean yellow dwarf virus (BeYDV).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Dusek
- Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
- Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Helena Plchova
- Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Noemi Cerovska
- Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Zuzana Poborilova
- Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Oldrich Navratil
- Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Katerina Kratochvilova
- Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
- Department of Experimental Plant Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Cornelius Gunter
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Raygaana Jacobs
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Inga I. Hitzeroth
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Edward P. Rybicki
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Tomas Moravec
- Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
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Peyret H, Ponndorf D, Meshcheriakova Y, Richardson J, Lomonossoff GP. Covalent protein display on Hepatitis B core-like particles in plants through the in vivo use of the SpyTag/SpyCatcher system. Sci Rep 2020; 10:17095. [PMID: 33051543 PMCID: PMC7555512 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74105-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Virus-like particles (VLPs) can be used as nano-carriers and antigen-display systems in vaccine development and therapeutic applications. Conjugation of peptides or whole proteins to VLPs can be achieved using different methods such as the SpyTag/SpyCatcher system. Here we investigate the conjugation of tandem Hepatitis B core (tHBcAg) VLPs and the model antigen GFP in vivo in Nicotiana benthamiana. We show that tHBcAg VLPs could be successfully conjugated with GFP in the cytosol and ER without altering VLP formation or GFP fluorescence. Conjugation in the cytosol was more efficient when SpyCatcher was displayed on tHBcAg VLPs instead of being fused to GFP. This effect was even more obvious in the ER, showing that it is optimal to display SpyCatcher on the tHBcAg VLPs and SpyTag on the binding partner. To test transferability of the GFP results to other antigens, we successfully conjugated tHBcAg VLPs to the HIV capsid protein P24 in the cytosol. This work presents an efficient strategy which can lead to time and cost saving post-translational, covalent conjugation of recombinant proteins in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hadrien Peyret
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK.
| | - Daniel Ponndorf
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
| | | | - Jake Richardson
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
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