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Romano LE, Aronne G. The World Smallest Plants ( Wolffia Sp.) as Potential Species for Bioregenerative Life Support Systems in Space. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 10:1896. [PMID: 34579428 PMCID: PMC8470744 DOI: 10.3390/plants10091896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Revised: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
To colonise other planets, self-sufficiency of space missions is mandatory. To date, the most promising technology to support long-duration missions is the bioregenerative life support system (BLSS), in which plants as autotrophs play a crucial role in recycling wastes and producing food and oxygen. We reviewed the scientific literature on duckweed (Lemnaceae) and reported available information on plant biological traits, nutritional features, biomass production, and space applications, especially of the genus Wolffia. Results confirmed that the smallest existing higher plants are the best candidate for space BLSS. We discussed needs for further research before criticalities to be addressed to finalise the adoption of Wolffia species for space missions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leone Ermes Romano
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy;
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Yang GL, Feng D, Liu YT, Lv SM, Zheng MM, Tan AJ. Research Progress of a Potential Bioreactor: Duckweed. Biomolecules 2021; 11:biom11010093. [PMID: 33450858 PMCID: PMC7828363 DOI: 10.3390/biom11010093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2020] [Revised: 01/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Recently, plant bioreactors have flourished into an exciting area of synthetic biology because of their product safety, inexpensive production cost, and easy scale-up. Duckweed is the smallest and fastest-growing aquatic plant, and has advantages including simple processing and the ability to grow high biomass in smaller areas. Therefore, duckweed could be used as a new potential bioreactor for biological products such as vaccines, antibodies, pharmaceutical proteins, and industrial enzymes. Duckweed has made a breakthrough in biosynthesis as a chassis plant and is being utilized for the production of plenty of biological products or bio-derivatives with multiple uses and high values. This review summarizes the latest progress on genetic background, genetic transformation system, and bioreactor development of duckweed, and provides insights for further exploration and application of duckweed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gui-Li Yang
- College of Life Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China; (G.-L.Y.); (D.F.); (Y.-T.L.); (M.-M.Z.)
- Key Laboratory of Conservation and Germplasm Innovation of Mountain Plant Resources, Ministry of Education, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Dan Feng
- College of Life Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China; (G.-L.Y.); (D.F.); (Y.-T.L.); (M.-M.Z.)
- Key Laboratory of Conservation and Germplasm Innovation of Mountain Plant Resources, Ministry of Education, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Yu-Ting Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China; (G.-L.Y.); (D.F.); (Y.-T.L.); (M.-M.Z.)
- Key Laboratory of Conservation and Germplasm Innovation of Mountain Plant Resources, Ministry of Education, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Shi-Ming Lv
- College of Animal Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China;
| | - Meng-Meng Zheng
- College of Life Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China; (G.-L.Y.); (D.F.); (Y.-T.L.); (M.-M.Z.)
- Key Laboratory of Conservation and Germplasm Innovation of Mountain Plant Resources, Ministry of Education, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Ai-Juan Tan
- College of Life Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China; (G.-L.Y.); (D.F.); (Y.-T.L.); (M.-M.Z.)
- Key Laboratory of Conservation and Germplasm Innovation of Mountain Plant Resources, Ministry of Education, Guiyang 550025, China
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-1376-513-6919
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Heenatigala PPM, Sun Z, Yang J, Zhao X, Hou H. Expression of LamB Vaccine Antigen in Wolffia globosa (Duck Weed) Against Fish Vibriosis. Front Immunol 2020; 11:1857. [PMID: 32973766 PMCID: PMC7468452 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Vibriosis is a commonly found bacterial disease identified among fish and shellfish cultured in saline waters. A multitude of Vibrio species have been identified as the causative agents. LamB, a member of outer membrane protein (OMPs) family of these bacteria is conserved among all Vibrio species and has been identified as an efficient vaccine candidate against vibriosis. Rootless duckweed (Wolffia) is a tiny, edible aquatic plant possessing characteristics suitable for the utilization as a bioreactor. Thus, we attempted to express a protective edible vaccine antigen against fish vibriosis in nuclear-transformed Wolffia. We amplified LamB gene from virulent Vibrio alginolyticus and it was modified to maximize the protein expression level and translocate the protein to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in plants. It was cloned into binary vector pMYC under the control of CaMV 35S promoter and introduced into Wolffia globosa by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Integration and expression of the LamB gene was confirmed by genomic PCR and RT-PCR. Western blot analysis revealed accumulation of the LamB protein in 8 transgenic lines. The cross-protective property of transgenic Wolffia was evaluated by orally vaccinating zebrafish through feeding fresh transgenic Wolffia and subsequently challenging with virulent V. alginolyticus. High relative percent survival (RPS) of the vaccinated fish (63.3%) confirmed that fish immunized with transgenic Wolffia were well-protected from Vibrio infection. These findings suggest that Wolffia expressed LamB could serve as an edible plant-based candidate vaccine model for fish vibriosis and feasibility of utilizing Wolffia as bioreactor to produce edible vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- P P M Heenatigala
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.,Inland Aquatic Resources and Aquaculture Division (IARAD), National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), Colombo, Sri Lanka
| | - Zuoliang Sun
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Jingjing Yang
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Xuyao Zhao
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Hongwei Hou
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
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Heenatigala PPM, Yang J, Bishopp A, Sun Z, Li G, Kumar S, Hu S, Wu Z, Lin W, Yao L, Duan P, Hou H. Development of Efficient Protocols for Stable and Transient Gene Transformation for Wolffia Globosa Using Agrobacterium. Front Chem 2018; 6:227. [PMID: 29977889 PMCID: PMC6022245 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2018.00227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Members of the Wolffia genus are fascinating plants for many biologists as they are the smallest flowering plants on Earth and exhibit a reduced body plan that is of great interest to developmental biologists. There has also been recent interest in the use of these species for bioenergy or biorefining. Molecular and developmental studies have been limited in Wolffia species due to the high genome complexity and uncertainties regarding the stable genetic transformation. In this manuscript we present new protocols for both stable and transient genetic transformation for Wolffia globosa using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. For the transient transformation, we used Wolffia fronds whereas we used clusters for the stable transformation. As proof of concept we transformed two synthetic promoter constructs driving expression of the GUS marker gene, that have previously been used to monitor auxin and cytokinin output in a variety of species. Using these approaches we obtained a Transformation Efficiency (TE) of 0.14% for the stable transformation and 21.8% for the transient transformation. The efficiency of these two methods of transformation are sufficient to allow future studies to investigate gene function. This is the first report for successful stable transformation of W. globosa.
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Affiliation(s)
- P P M Heenatigala
- The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.,Inland Aquatic Resources and Aquaculture Division, National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency, Colombo, Sri Lanka
| | - Jingjing Yang
- The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Anthony Bishopp
- Centre for Plant Integrative Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Zuoliang Sun
- The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Gaojie Li
- The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Sunjeet Kumar
- The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Shiqi Hu
- The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhigang Wu
- The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Wei Lin
- The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Lunguang Yao
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Water Security for Water Source Region of Mid-Line of South-to-North Diversion Project, College of Agricultural Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, China
| | - Pengfei Duan
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Water Security for Water Source Region of Mid-Line of South-to-North Diversion Project, College of Agricultural Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, China
| | - Hongwei Hou
- The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
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Rechmann H, Friedrich A, Forouzan D, Barth S, Schnabl H, Biselli M, Boehm R. Characterization of photosynthetically active duckweed (Wolffia australiana) in vitro culture by Respiration Activity Monitoring System (RAMOS). Biotechnol Lett 2007; 29:971-7. [PMID: 17450327 DOI: 10.1007/s10529-007-9330-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2007] [Accepted: 01/25/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The feasibility of oxygen transfer rate (OTR) measurement to non-destructively monitor plant propagation and vitality of photosynthetically active plant in vitro culture of duckweed (Wolffia australiana, Lemnaceae) was tested using Respiration Activity Monitoring System (RAMOS). As a result, OTR proofed to be a sensitive indicator for plant vitality. The culture characterization under day/night light conditions, however, revealed a complex interaction between oxygen production and consumption, rendering OTR measurement an unsuitable tool to track plant propagation. However, RAMOS was found to be a useful tool in preliminary studies for process development of photosynthetically active plant in vitro cultures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrik Rechmann
- Division Juelich, Universtity of Applied Science Aachen, Ginsterweg 1, Juelich, Germany
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