1
|
Xu M, Zhao X, Fang J, Yang Q, Li P, Yan J. An Effective Somatic-Cell Regeneration and Genetic Transformation Method Mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens for Portulaca oleracea L. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:2390. [PMID: 39273876 PMCID: PMC11396874 DOI: 10.3390/plants13172390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2024] [Revised: 08/14/2024] [Accepted: 08/16/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024]
Abstract
Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) is highly valued for its nutritional, medicinal, and ecological significance. Genetic transformation in plants provides a powerful tool for gene manipulation, allowing for the investigation of important phenotypes and agronomic traits at the genetic level. To develop an effective genetic transformation method for purslane, various organ tissues were used as explants for callus induction and shoot regeneration. Leaf tissue exhibited the highest dedifferentiation and regeneration ability, making it the optimal explant for tissue culture. By culturing on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with varying concentrations of 6-benzyleaminopurine (6-BA) and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), somatic cells from leaf explants could be developed into calli, shoots, and roots. The shoot induction results of 27 different purslane accessions elucidated the impact of genotype on somatic-cell regeneration capacity and further confirmed the effectiveness of the culture medium in promoting shoot regeneration. On this basis, a total of 17 transgenic plants were obtained utilizing the genetic transformation method mediated by Agrobacterium. The assessment of GUS staining, hygromycin selection, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the transgenic plants as well as their progeny lines indicated that the method established could effectively introduce foreign DNA into the purslane nucleus genome, and that integration was found to be stably inherited by offspring plants. Overall, the present study demonstrates the feasibility and reliability of the Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation method for introducing and integrating foreign DNA into the purslane genome, paving the way for further research and applications in purslane genetic modification.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mengyun Xu
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment in the Tropics, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Xinyu Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment in the Tropics, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Jiahui Fang
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment in the Tropics, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Qinwen Yang
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment in the Tropics, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Ping Li
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment in the Tropics, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Jian Yan
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment in the Tropics, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Vollen K, Zhao C, Alonso JM, Stepanova AN. Sourcing DNA parts for synthetic biology applications in plants. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2024; 87:103140. [PMID: 38723389 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2024.103140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024]
Abstract
Transgenic approaches are now standard in plant biology research aiming to characterize gene function or improve crops. Recent advances in DNA synthesis and assembly make constructing transgenes a routine task. What remains nontrivial is the selection of the DNA parts and optimization of the transgene design. Early career researchers and seasoned molecular biologists alike often face difficult decisions on what promoter or terminator to use, what tag to include, and where to place it. This review aims to inform about the current approaches being employed to identify and characterize DNA parts with the desired functionalities and give general advice on basic construct design. Furthermore, we hope to share the excitement about new experimental and computational tools being developed in this field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katie Vollen
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Chengsong Zhao
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Jose M Alonso
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Anna N Stepanova
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhang K, Wang X, Chen X, Zhang R, Guo J, Wang Q, Li D, Shao L, Shi X, Han J, Liu Z, Xia Y, Zhang J. Establishment of a Homologous Silencing System with Intact-Plant Infiltration and Minimized Operation for Studying Gene Function in Herbaceous Peonies. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:4412. [PMID: 38673996 PMCID: PMC11050706 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25084412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Gene function verification is a crucial step in studying the molecular mechanisms regulating various plant life activities. However, a stable and efficient homologous genetic transgenic system for herbaceous peonies has not been established. In this study, using virus-induced gene silencing technology (VIGS), a highly efficient homologous transient verification system with distinctive advantages was proposed, which not only achieves true "intact-plant" infiltration but also minimizes the operation. One-year-old roots of the representative species, Paeonia lactiflora Pall., were used as the materials; prechilling (4 °C) treatment for 3-5 weeks was applied as a critical precondition for P. lactiflora to acquire a certain chilling accumulation. A dormancy-related gene named HOMEOBOX PROTEIN 31 (PlHB31), believed to negatively regulate bud endodormancy release (BER), was chosen as the target gene in this study. GFP fluorescence was detected in directly infiltrated and newly developed roots and buds; the transgenic plantlets exhibited remarkably earlier budbreak, and PlHB31 was significantly downregulated in silenced plantlets. This study established a homologous transient silencing system featuring intact-plant infiltration and minimized manipulation for gene function research, and also offers technical support and serves as a theoretical basis for gene function discovery in numerous other geophytes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kaijing Zhang
- Genomics and Genetic Engineering Laboratory of Ornamental Plants, Department of Horticulture, Institute of Landscape Architecture, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (K.Z.); (X.W.); (X.C.); (R.Z.); (J.G.); (Q.W.); (D.L.); (L.S.); (J.H.); (Y.X.)
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Genomics and Genetic Engineering Laboratory of Ornamental Plants, Department of Horticulture, Institute of Landscape Architecture, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (K.Z.); (X.W.); (X.C.); (R.Z.); (J.G.); (Q.W.); (D.L.); (L.S.); (J.H.); (Y.X.)
| | - Xiaoxuan Chen
- Genomics and Genetic Engineering Laboratory of Ornamental Plants, Department of Horticulture, Institute of Landscape Architecture, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (K.Z.); (X.W.); (X.C.); (R.Z.); (J.G.); (Q.W.); (D.L.); (L.S.); (J.H.); (Y.X.)
| | - Runlong Zhang
- Genomics and Genetic Engineering Laboratory of Ornamental Plants, Department of Horticulture, Institute of Landscape Architecture, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (K.Z.); (X.W.); (X.C.); (R.Z.); (J.G.); (Q.W.); (D.L.); (L.S.); (J.H.); (Y.X.)
| | - Junhong Guo
- Genomics and Genetic Engineering Laboratory of Ornamental Plants, Department of Horticulture, Institute of Landscape Architecture, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (K.Z.); (X.W.); (X.C.); (R.Z.); (J.G.); (Q.W.); (D.L.); (L.S.); (J.H.); (Y.X.)
| | - Qiyao Wang
- Genomics and Genetic Engineering Laboratory of Ornamental Plants, Department of Horticulture, Institute of Landscape Architecture, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (K.Z.); (X.W.); (X.C.); (R.Z.); (J.G.); (Q.W.); (D.L.); (L.S.); (J.H.); (Y.X.)
| | - Danqing Li
- Genomics and Genetic Engineering Laboratory of Ornamental Plants, Department of Horticulture, Institute of Landscape Architecture, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (K.Z.); (X.W.); (X.C.); (R.Z.); (J.G.); (Q.W.); (D.L.); (L.S.); (J.H.); (Y.X.)
| | - Lingmei Shao
- Genomics and Genetic Engineering Laboratory of Ornamental Plants, Department of Horticulture, Institute of Landscape Architecture, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (K.Z.); (X.W.); (X.C.); (R.Z.); (J.G.); (Q.W.); (D.L.); (L.S.); (J.H.); (Y.X.)
| | - Xiaohua Shi
- Zhejiang Institute of Landscape Plants and Flowers, Hangzhou 311251, China;
| | - Jingtong Han
- Genomics and Genetic Engineering Laboratory of Ornamental Plants, Department of Horticulture, Institute of Landscape Architecture, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (K.Z.); (X.W.); (X.C.); (R.Z.); (J.G.); (Q.W.); (D.L.); (L.S.); (J.H.); (Y.X.)
| | - Zhiyang Liu
- Harbin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150029, China;
| | - Yiping Xia
- Genomics and Genetic Engineering Laboratory of Ornamental Plants, Department of Horticulture, Institute of Landscape Architecture, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (K.Z.); (X.W.); (X.C.); (R.Z.); (J.G.); (Q.W.); (D.L.); (L.S.); (J.H.); (Y.X.)
| | - Jiaping Zhang
- Genomics and Genetic Engineering Laboratory of Ornamental Plants, Department of Horticulture, Institute of Landscape Architecture, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (K.Z.); (X.W.); (X.C.); (R.Z.); (J.G.); (Q.W.); (D.L.); (L.S.); (J.H.); (Y.X.)
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Park SY, Qiu J, Wei S, Peterson FC, Beltrán J, Medina-Cucurella AV, Vaidya AS, Xing Z, Volkman BF, Nusinow DA, Whitehead TA, Wheeldon I, Cutler SR. An orthogonalized PYR1-based CID module with reprogrammable ligand-binding specificity. Nat Chem Biol 2024; 20:103-110. [PMID: 37872402 PMCID: PMC10746540 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-023-01447-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Plants sense abscisic acid (ABA) using chemical-induced dimerization (CID) modules, including the receptor PYR1 and HAB1, a phosphatase inhibited by ligand-activated PYR1. This system is unique because of the relative ease with which ligand recognition can be reprogrammed. To expand the PYR1 system, we designed an orthogonal '*' module, which harbors a dimer interface salt bridge; X-ray crystallographic, biochemical and in vivo analyses confirm its orthogonality. We used this module to create PYR1*MANDI/HAB1* and PYR1*AZIN/HAB1*, which possess nanomolar sensitivities to their activating ligands mandipropamid and azinphos-ethyl. Experiments in Arabidopsis thaliana and Saccharomyces cerevisiae demonstrate the sensitive detection of banned organophosphate contaminants using living biosensors and the construction of multi-input/output genetic circuits. Our new modules enable ligand-programmable multi-channel CID systems for plant and eukaryotic synthetic biology that can empower new plant-based and microbe-based sensing modalities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sang-Youl Park
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
- Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Jingde Qiu
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
- Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Shuang Wei
- Department of Biochemistry, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Francis C Peterson
- Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Jesús Beltrán
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
- Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | | | - Aditya S Vaidya
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
- Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Zenan Xing
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
- Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Brian F Volkman
- Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | | | - Timothy A Whitehead
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Ian Wheeldon
- Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
- Center for Industrial Biotechnology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
| | - Sean R Cutler
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
- Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Chen C, Chen J, Wu G, Li L, Hu Z, Li X. A Blue Light-Responsive Strong Synthetic Promoter Based on Rational Design in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:14596. [PMID: 37834043 PMCID: PMC10572394 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241914596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (C. reinhardtii) is a single-cell green alga that can be easily genetically manipulated. With its favorable characteristics of rapid growth, low cost, non-toxicity, and the ability for post-translational protein modification, C. reinhardtii has emerged as an attractive option for the biosynthesis of various valuable products. To enhance the expression level of exogenous genes and overcome the silencing of foreign genes by C. reinhardtii, synthetic promoters such as the chimeric promoter AR have been constructed and evaluated. In this study, a synthetic promoter GA was constructed by hybridizing core fragments from the natural promoters of the acyl carrier protein gene (ACP2) and the glutamate dehydrogenase gene (GDH2). The GA promoter exhibited a significant increase (7 times) in expressing GUS, over the AR promoter as positive control. The GA promoter also displayed a strong responsiveness to blue light (BL), where the GUS expression was doubled compared to the white light (WL) condition. The ability of the GA promoter was further tested in the expression of another exogenous cadA gene, responsible for catalyzing the decarboxylation of lysine to produce cadaverine. The cadaverine yield driven by the GA promoter was increased by 1-2 times under WL and 2-3 times under BL as compared to the AR promoter. This study obtained, for the first time, a blue light-responsive GDH2 minimal fragment in C. reinhardtii, which delivered a doubling effect under BL when used alone or in hybrid. Together with the strong GA synthetic promoter, this study offered useful tools of synthetic biology to the algal biotechnology field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Zhangli Hu
- Guangdong Technology Research Center for Marine Algal Bioengineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Plant Epigenetics, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Marine Algal Biotechnology, Longhua Innovation Institute for Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Xiaozheng Li
- Guangdong Technology Research Center for Marine Algal Bioengineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Plant Epigenetics, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Marine Algal Biotechnology, Longhua Innovation Institute for Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Sinha D, Maurya AK, Abdi G, Majeed M, Agarwal R, Mukherjee R, Ganguly S, Aziz R, Bhatia M, Majgaonkar A, Seal S, Das M, Banerjee S, Chowdhury S, Adeyemi SB, Chen JT. Integrated Genomic Selection for Accelerating Breeding Programs of Climate-Smart Cereals. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:1484. [PMID: 37510388 PMCID: PMC10380062 DOI: 10.3390/genes14071484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Rapidly rising population and climate changes are two critical issues that require immediate action to achieve sustainable development goals. The rising population is posing increased demand for food, thereby pushing for an acceleration in agricultural production. Furthermore, increased anthropogenic activities have resulted in environmental pollution such as water pollution and soil degradation as well as alterations in the composition and concentration of environmental gases. These changes are affecting not only biodiversity loss but also affecting the physio-biochemical processes of crop plants, resulting in a stress-induced decline in crop yield. To overcome such problems and ensure the supply of food material, consistent efforts are being made to develop strategies and techniques to increase crop yield and to enhance tolerance toward climate-induced stress. Plant breeding evolved after domestication and initially remained dependent on phenotype-based selection for crop improvement. But it has grown through cytological and biochemical methods, and the newer contemporary methods are based on DNA-marker-based strategies that help in the selection of agronomically useful traits. These are now supported by high-end molecular biology tools like PCR, high-throughput genotyping and phenotyping, data from crop morpho-physiology, statistical tools, bioinformatics, and machine learning. After establishing its worth in animal breeding, genomic selection (GS), an improved variant of marker-assisted selection (MAS), has made its way into crop-breeding programs as a powerful selection tool. To develop novel breeding programs as well as innovative marker-based models for genetic evaluation, GS makes use of molecular genetic markers. GS can amend complex traits like yield as well as shorten the breeding period, making it advantageous over pedigree breeding and marker-assisted selection (MAS). It reduces the time and resources that are required for plant breeding while allowing for an increased genetic gain of complex attributes. It has been taken to new heights by integrating innovative and advanced technologies such as speed breeding, machine learning, and environmental/weather data to further harness the GS potential, an approach known as integrated genomic selection (IGS). This review highlights the IGS strategies, procedures, integrated approaches, and associated emerging issues, with a special emphasis on cereal crops. In this domain, efforts have been taken to highlight the potential of this cutting-edge innovation to develop climate-smart crops that can endure abiotic stresses with the motive of keeping production and quality at par with the global food demand.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dwaipayan Sinha
- Department of Botany, Government General Degree College, Mohanpur 721436, India
| | - Arun Kumar Maurya
- Department of Botany, Multanimal Modi College, Modinagar, Ghaziabad 201204, India
| | - Gholamreza Abdi
- Department of Biotechnology, Persian Gulf Research Institute, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr 75169, Iran
| | - Muhammad Majeed
- Department of Botany, University of Gujrat, Punjab 50700, Pakistan
| | - Rachna Agarwal
- Applied Genomics Section, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085, India
| | - Rashmi Mukherjee
- Research Center for Natural and Applied Sciences, Department of Botany (UG & PG), Raja Narendralal Khan Women's College, Gope Palace, Midnapur 721102, India
| | - Sharmistha Ganguly
- Department of Dravyaguna, Institute of Post Graduate Ayurvedic Education and Research, Kolkata 700009, India
| | - Robina Aziz
- Department of Botany, Government, College Women University, Sialkot 51310, Pakistan
| | - Manika Bhatia
- TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi 110070, India
| | - Aqsa Majgaonkar
- Department of Botany, St. Xavier's College (Autonomous), Mumbai 400001, India
| | - Sanchita Seal
- Department of Botany, Polba Mahavidyalaya, Polba 712148, India
| | - Moumita Das
- V. Sivaram Research Foundation, Bangalore 560040, India
| | - Swastika Banerjee
- Department of Botany, Kairali College of +3 Science, Champua, Keonjhar 758041, India
| | - Shahana Chowdhury
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, German University Bangladesh, TNT Road, Telipara, Chandona Chowrasta, Gazipur 1702, Bangladesh
| | - Sherif Babatunde Adeyemi
- Ethnobotany/Phytomedicine Laboratory, Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin P.M.B 1515, Nigeria
| | - Jen-Tsung Chen
- Department of Life Sciences, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Milito A, Aschern M, McQuillan JL, Yang JS. Challenges and advances towards the rational design of microalgal synthetic promoters in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2023; 74:3833-3850. [PMID: 37025006 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erad100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Microalgae hold enormous potential to provide a safe and sustainable source of high-value compounds, acting as carbon-fixing biofactories that could help to mitigate rapidly progressing climate change. Bioengineering microalgal strains will be key to optimizing and modifying their metabolic outputs, and to render them competitive with established industrial biotechnology hosts, such as bacteria or yeast. To achieve this, precise and tuneable control over transgene expression will be essential, which would require the development and rational design of synthetic promoters as a key strategy. Among green microalgae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii represents the reference species for bioengineering and synthetic biology; however, the repertoire of functional synthetic promoters for this species, and for microalgae generally, is limited in comparison to other commercial chassis, emphasizing the need to expand the current microalgal gene expression toolbox. Here, we discuss state-of-the-art promoter analyses, and highlight areas of research required to advance synthetic promoter development in C. reinhardtii. In particular, we exemplify high-throughput studies performed in other model systems that could be applicable to microalgae, and propose novel approaches to interrogating algal promoters. We lastly outline the major limitations hindering microalgal promoter development, while providing novel suggestions and perspectives for how to overcome them.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alfonsina Milito
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG), CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Moritz Aschern
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG), CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Josie L McQuillan
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK
| | - Jae-Seong Yang
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG), CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Stockdale JN, Millwood RJ. Transgene Bioconfinement: Don't Flow There. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:1099. [PMID: 36903958 PMCID: PMC10005267 DOI: 10.3390/plants12051099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The adoption of genetically engineered (GE) crops has led to economic and environmental benefits. However, there are regulatory and environmental concerns regarding the potential movement of transgenes beyond cultivation. These concerns are greater for GE crops with high outcrossing frequencies to sexually compatible wild relatives and those grown in their native region. Newer GE crops may also confer traits that enhance fitness, and introgression of these traits could negatively impact natural populations. Transgene flow could be lessened or prevented altogether through the addition of a bioconfinement system during transgenic plant production. Several bioconfinement approaches have been designed and tested and a few show promise for transgene flow prevention. However, no system has been widely adopted despite nearly three decades of GE crop cultivation. Nonetheless, it may be necessary to implement a bioconfinement system in new GE crops or in those where the potential of transgene flow is high. Here, we survey such systems that focus on male and seed sterility, transgene excision, delayed flowering, as well as the potential of CRISPR/Cas9 to reduce or eliminate transgene flow. We discuss system utility and efficacy, as well as necessary features for commercial adoption.
Collapse
|
9
|
Kumar K, Shinde A, Aeron V, Verma A, Arif NS. Genetic engineering of plants for phytoremediation: advances and challenges. JOURNAL OF PLANT BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY 2023; 32:12-30. [PMID: 0 DOI: 10.1007/s13562-022-00776-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
|
10
|
Heterologous mogrosides biosynthesis in cucumber and tomato by genetic manipulation. Commun Biol 2023; 6:191. [PMID: 36805532 PMCID: PMC9938114 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04553-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Mogrosides are widely used as high-value natural zero-calorie sweeteners that exhibit an array of biological activities and allow for vegetable flavour breeding by modern molecular biotechnology. In this study, we developed an In-fusion based gene stacking strategy for transgene stacking and a multi-gene vector harbouring 6 mogrosides biosynthesis genes and transformed it into Cucumis sativus and Lycopersicon esculentum. Here we show that transgenic cucumber can produce mogroside V and siamenoside I at 587 ng/g FW and 113 ng/g FW, respectively, and cultivated transgenic tomato with mogroside III. This study provides a strategy for vegetable flavour improvement, paving the way for heterologous biosynthesis of mogrosides.
Collapse
|
11
|
Yasmeen E, Wang J, Riaz M, Zhang L, Zuo K. Designing artificial synthetic promoters for accurate, smart, and versatile gene expression in plants. PLANT COMMUNICATIONS 2023:100558. [PMID: 36760129 PMCID: PMC10363483 DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2023.100558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
With the development of high-throughput biology techniques and artificial intelligence, it has become increasingly feasible to design and construct artificial biological parts, modules, circuits, and even whole systems. To overcome the limitations of native promoters in controlling gene expression, artificial promoter design aims to synthesize short, inducible, and conditionally controlled promoters to coordinate the expression of multiple genes in diverse plant metabolic and signaling pathways. Synthetic promoters are versatile and can drive gene expression accurately with smart responses; they show potential for enhancing desirable traits in crops, thereby improving crop yield, nutritional quality, and food security. This review first illustrates the importance of synthetic promoters, then introduces promoter architecture and thoroughly summarizes advances in synthetic promoter construction. Restrictions to the development of synthetic promoters and future applications of such promoters in synthetic plant biology and crop improvement are also discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erum Yasmeen
- Single Cell Research Center, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Jin Wang
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Muhammad Riaz
- Single Cell Research Center, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Lida Zhang
- Single Cell Research Center, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Kaijing Zuo
- Single Cell Research Center, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Ali A, Altaf MT, Nadeem MA, Karaköy T, Shah AN, Azeem H, Baloch FS, Baran N, Hussain T, Duangpan S, Aasim M, Boo KH, Abdelsalam NR, Hasan ME, Chung YS. Recent advancement in OMICS approaches to enhance abiotic stress tolerance in legumes. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:952759. [PMID: 36247536 PMCID: PMC9554552 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.952759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The world is facing rapid climate change and a fast-growing global population. It is believed that the world population will be 9.7 billion in 2050. However, recent agriculture production is not enough to feed the current population of 7.9 billion people, which is causing a huge hunger problem. Therefore, feeding the 9.7 billion population in 2050 will be a huge target. Climate change is becoming a huge threat to global agricultural production, and it is expected to become the worst threat to it in the upcoming years. Keeping this in view, it is very important to breed climate-resilient plants. Legumes are considered an important pillar of the agriculture production system and a great source of high-quality protein, minerals, and vitamins. During the last two decades, advancements in OMICs technology revolutionized plant breeding and emerged as a crop-saving tool in wake of the climate change. Various OMICs approaches like Next-Generation sequencing (NGS), Transcriptomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics have been used in legumes under abiotic stresses. The scientific community successfully utilized these platforms and investigated the Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL), linked markers through genome-wide association studies, and developed KASP markers that can be helpful for the marker-assisted breeding of legumes. Gene-editing techniques have been successfully proven for soybean, cowpea, chickpea, and model legumes such as Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus. A number of efforts have been made to perform gene editing in legumes. Moreover, the scientific community did a great job of identifying various genes involved in the metabolic pathways and utilizing the resulted information in the development of climate-resilient legume cultivars at a rapid pace. Keeping in view, this review highlights the contribution of OMICs approaches to abiotic stresses in legumes. We envisage that the presented information will be helpful for the scientific community to develop climate-resilient legume cultivars.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amjad Ali
- Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Sivas University of Science and Technology, Sivas, Turkey
| | - Muhammad Tanveer Altaf
- Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Sivas University of Science and Technology, Sivas, Turkey
| | - Muhammad Azhar Nadeem
- Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Sivas University of Science and Technology, Sivas, Turkey
| | - Tolga Karaköy
- Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Sivas University of Science and Technology, Sivas, Turkey
| | - Adnan Noor Shah
- Department of Agricultural Engineering, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan
| | - Hajra Azeem
- Department of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan
| | - Faheem Shehzad Baloch
- Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Sivas University of Science and Technology, Sivas, Turkey
| | - Nurettin Baran
- Bitkisel Uretim ve Teknolojileri Bolumu, Uygulamali Bilimler Faku Itesi, Mus Alparslan Universitesi, Mus, Turkey
| | - Tajamul Hussain
- Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Climate Resilient Agriculture, Agricultural Innovation and Management Division, Faculty of Natural Resources, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand
| | - Saowapa Duangpan
- Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Climate Resilient Agriculture, Agricultural Innovation and Management Division, Faculty of Natural Resources, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand
| | - Muhammad Aasim
- Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Sivas University of Science and Technology, Sivas, Turkey
| | - Kyung-Hwan Boo
- Subtropical/Tropical Organism Gene Bank, Department of Biotechnology, College of Applied Life Science, Jeju National University, Jeju, South Korea
| | - Nader R. Abdelsalam
- Agricultural Botany Department, Faculty of Agriculture (Saba Basha), Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
| | - Mohamed E. Hasan
- Bioinformatics Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, University of Sadat City, Sadat City, Egypt
| | - Yong Suk Chung
- Department of Plant Resources and Environment, Jeju National University, Jeju, South Korea
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Rylott EL, Bruce NC. Plants to mine metals and remediate land. Science 2022; 377:1380-1381. [PMID: 36137036 DOI: 10.1126/science.abn6337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Engineered plants can clean up pollution and recover technology-critical metals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth L Rylott
- Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Neil C Bruce
- Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Sultana MS, Mazarei M, Millwood RJ, Liu W, Hewezi T, Stewart CN. Functional analysis of soybean cyst nematode-inducible synthetic promoters and their regulation by biotic and abiotic stimuli in transgenic soybean ( Glycine max). FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:988048. [PMID: 36160998 PMCID: PMC9501883 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.988048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
We previously identified cis-regulatory motifs in the soybean (Glycine max) genome during interaction between soybean and soybean cyst nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines. The regulatory motifs were used to develop synthetic promoters, and their inducibility in response to SCN infection was shown in transgenic soybean hairy roots. Here, we studied the functionality of two SCN-inducible synthetic promoters; 4 × M1.1 (TAAAATAAAGTTCTTTAATT) and 4 × M2.3 (ATATAATTAAGT) each fused to the -46 CaMV35S core sequence in transgenic soybean. Histochemical GUS analyses of transgenic soybean plants containing the individual synthetic promoter::GUS construct revealed that under unstressed condition, no GUS activity is present in leaves and roots. While upon nematode infection, the synthetic promoters direct GUS expression to roots predominantly in the nematode feeding structures induced by the SCN and by the root-knot nematode (RKN), Meloidogyne incognita. There were no differences in GUS activity in leaves between nematode-infected and non-infected plants. Furthermore, we examined the specificity of the synthetic promoters in response to various biotic (insect: fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda; and bacteria: Pseudomonas syringe pv. glycinea, P. syringe pv. tomato, and P. marginalis) stresses. Additionally, we examined the specificity to various abiotic (dehydration, salt, cold, wounding) as well as to the signal molecules salicylic acid (SA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and abscisic acid (ABA) in the transgenic plants. Our wide-range analyses provide insights into the potential applications of synthetic promoter engineering for conditional expression of transgenes leading to transgenic crop development for resistance improvement in plant.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mst Shamira Sultana
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Mitra Mazarei
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Reginald J. Millwood
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Wusheng Liu
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Tarek Hewezi
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - C. Neal Stewart
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Pfotenhauer AC, Occhialini A, Nguyen MA, Scott H, Dice LT, Harbison SA, Li L, Reuter DN, Schimel TM, Stewart CN, Beal J, Lenaghan SC. Building the Plant SynBio Toolbox through Combinatorial Analysis of DNA Regulatory Elements. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:2741-2755. [PMID: 35901078 PMCID: PMC9396662 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
![]()
While the installation of complex genetic circuits in
microorganisms
is relatively routine, the synthetic biology toolbox is severely limited
in plants. Of particular concern is the absence of combinatorial analysis
of regulatory elements, the long design-build-test cycles associated
with transgenic plant analysis, and a lack of naming standardization
for cloning parts. Here, we use previously described plant regulatory
elements to design, build, and test 91 transgene cassettes for relative
expression strength. Constructs were transiently transfected into Nicotiana benthamiana leaves and expression of a
fluorescent reporter was measured from plant canopies, leaves, and
protoplasts isolated from transfected plants. As anticipated, a dynamic
level of expression was achieved from the library, ranging from near
undetectable for the weakest cassette to a ∼200-fold increase
for the strongest. Analysis of expression levels in plant canopies,
individual leaves, and protoplasts were correlated, indicating that
any of the methods could be used to evaluate regulatory elements in
plants. Through this effort, a well-curated 37-member part library
of plant regulatory elements was characterized, providing the necessary
data to standardize construct design for precision metabolic engineering
in plants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander C Pfotenhauer
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Alessandro Occhialini
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Mary-Anne Nguyen
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Helen Scott
- Intelligent Software and Systems, Raytheon BBN Technologies, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
| | - Lezlee T Dice
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Stacee A Harbison
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Li Li
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - D Nikki Reuter
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Tayler M Schimel
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - C Neal Stewart
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 2431 Joe Johnson Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Jacob Beal
- Intelligent Software and Systems, Raytheon BBN Technologies, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
| | - Scott C Lenaghan
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Mahto RK, Ambika, Singh C, Chandana BS, Singh RK, Verma S, Gahlaut V, Manohar M, Yadav N, Kumar R. Chickpea Biofortification for Cytokinin Dehydrogenase via Genome Editing to Enhance Abiotic-Biotic Stress Tolerance and Food Security. Front Genet 2022; 13:900324. [PMID: 35669196 PMCID: PMC9164125 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.900324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Globally more than two billion people suffer from micronutrient malnutrition (also known as "hidden hunger"). Further, the pregnant women and children in developing nations are mainly affected by micronutrient deficiencies. One of the most important factors is food insecurity which can be mitigated by improving the nutritional values through biofortification using selective breeding and genetic enhancement techniques. Chickpea is the second most important legume with numerous economic and nutraceutical properties. Therefore, chickpea production needs to be increased from the current level. However, various kind of biotic and abiotic stresses hamper global chickpea production. The emerging popular targets for biofortification in agronomic crops include targeting cytokinin dehydrogenase (CKX). The CKXs play essential roles in both physiological and developmental processes and directly impact several agronomic parameters i.e., growth, development, and yield. Manipulation of CKX genes using genome editing tools in several crop plants reveal that CKXs are involved in regulation yield, shoot and root growth, and minerals nutrition. Therefore, CKXs have become popular targets for yield improvement, their overexpression and mutants can be directly correlated with the increased yield and tolerance to various stresses. Here, we provide detailed information on the different roles of CKX genes in chickpea. In the end, we discuss the utilization of genome editing tool clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) to engineer CKX genes that can facilitate trait improvement. Overall, recent advancements in CKX and their role in plant growth, stresses and nutrient accumulation are highlighted, which could be used for chickpea improvement.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Ambika
- Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, UAS, Bangalore, India
| | - Charul Singh
- University School of Biotechnology, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi, India
| | - B S. Chandana
- Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, India
| | | | - Shruti Verma
- NCoE-SAM, Department of Pediatrics, KSCH, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, India
| | - Vijay Gahlaut
- Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR), Palampur, India
| | - Murli Manohar
- Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Neelam Yadav
- Centre of Food Technology, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj, India
| | - Rajendra Kumar
- Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, India
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Persad-Russell R, Mazarei M, Schimel TM, Howe L, Schmid MJ, Kakeshpour T, Barnes CN, Brabazon H, Seaberry EM, Reuter DN, Lenaghan SC, Stewart CN. Specific Bacterial Pathogen Phytosensing Is Enabled by a Synthetic Promoter-Transcription Factor System in Potato. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:873480. [PMID: 35548302 PMCID: PMC9083229 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.873480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Phytosensors are genetically engineered plant-based sensors that feature synthetic promoters fused to reporter genes to sense and report the presence of specific biotic and abiotic stressors on plants. However, when induced reporter gene output is below detectable limits, owing to relatively weak promoters, the phytosensor may not function as intended. Here, we show modifications to the system to amplify reporter gene signal by using a synthetic transcription factor gene driven by a plant pathogen-inducible synthetic promoter. The output signal was unambiguous green fluorescence when plants were infected by pathogenic bacteria. We produced and characterized a phytosensor with improved sensing to specific bacterial pathogens with targeted detection using spectral wavelengths specific to a fluorescence reporter at 3 m standoff detection. Previous attempts to create phytosensors revealed limitations in using innate plant promoters with low-inducible activity since they are not sufficient to produce a strong detectable fluorescence signal for standoff detection. To address this, we designed a pathogen-specific phytosensor using a synthetic promoter-transcription factor system: the S-Box cis-regulatory element which has low-inducible activity as a synthetic 4xS-Box promoter, and the Q-system transcription factor as an amplifier of reporter gene expression. This promoter-transcription factor system resulted in 6-fold amplification of the fluorescence after infection with a potato pathogen, which was detectable as early as 24 h post-bacterial infection. This novel bacterial pathogen-specific phytosensor potato plant demonstrates that the Q-system may be leveraged as a powerful orthogonal tool to amplify a relatively weak synthetic inducible promoter, enabling standoff detection of a previously undetectable fluorescence signal. Pathogen-specific phytosensors would be an important asset for real-time early detection of plant pathogens prior to the display of disease symptoms on crop plants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ramona Persad-Russell
- Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Mitra Mazarei
- Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Tayler Marie Schimel
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Department of Food Science, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Lana Howe
- Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Manuel J. Schmid
- Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Tayebeh Kakeshpour
- Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Caitlin N. Barnes
- Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Holly Brabazon
- Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Erin M. Seaberry
- Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - D. Nikki Reuter
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Department of Food Science, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Scott C. Lenaghan
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Department of Food Science, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - C. Neal Stewart
- Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Ahmad M, Waraich EA, Skalicky M, Hussain S, Zulfiqar U, Anjum MZ, Habib ur Rahman M, Brestic M, Ratnasekera D, Lamilla-Tamayo L, Al-Ashkar I, EL Sabagh A. Adaptation Strategies to Improve the Resistance of Oilseed Crops to Heat Stress Under a Changing Climate: An Overview. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:767150. [PMID: 34975951 PMCID: PMC8714756 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.767150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Temperature is one of the decisive environmental factors that is projected to increase by 1. 5°C over the next two decades due to climate change that may affect various agronomic characteristics, such as biomass production, phenology and physiology, and yield-contributing traits in oilseed crops. Oilseed crops such as soybean, sunflower, canola, peanut, cottonseed, coconut, palm oil, sesame, safflower, olive etc., are widely grown. Specific importance is the vulnerability of oil synthesis in these crops against the rise in climatic temperature, threatening the stability of yield and quality. The natural defense system in these crops cannot withstand the harmful impacts of heat stress, thus causing a considerable loss in seed and oil yield. Therefore, a proper understanding of underlying mechanisms of genotype-environment interactions that could affect oil synthesis pathways is a prime requirement in developing stable cultivars. Heat stress tolerance is a complex quantitative trait controlled by many genes and is challenging to study and characterize. However, heat tolerance studies to date have pointed to several sophisticated mechanisms to deal with the stress of high temperatures, including hormonal signaling pathways for sensing heat stimuli and acquiring tolerance to heat stress, maintaining membrane integrity, production of heat shock proteins (HSPs), removal of reactive oxygen species (ROS), assembly of antioxidants, accumulation of compatible solutes, modified gene expression to enable changes, intelligent agricultural technologies, and several other agronomic techniques for thriving and surviving. Manipulation of multiple genes responsible for thermo-tolerance and exploring their high expressions greatly impacts their potential application using CRISPR/Cas genome editing and OMICS technology. This review highlights the latest outcomes on the response and tolerance to heat stress at the cellular, organelle, and whole plant levels describing numerous approaches applied to enhance thermos-tolerance in oilseed crops. We are attempting to critically analyze the scattered existing approaches to temperature tolerance used in oilseeds as a whole, work toward extending studies into the field, and provide researchers and related parties with useful information to streamline their breeding programs so that they can seek new avenues and develop guidelines that will greatly enhance ongoing efforts to establish heat stress tolerance in oilseeds.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Ahmad
- Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Horticultural Sciences Department, Tropical Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Homestead, FL, United States
| | | | - Milan Skalicky
- Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czechia
| | - Saddam Hussain
- Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Usman Zulfiqar
- Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Zohaib Anjum
- Department of Forestry and Range Management, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Habib ur Rahman
- Department of Agronomy, Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan
- Crop Science Group, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), University Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Marian Brestic
- Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czechia
- Department of Plant Physiology, Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra, Slovakia
| | - Disna Ratnasekera
- Department of Agricultural Biology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Kamburupitiya, Sri Lanka
| | - Laura Lamilla-Tamayo
- Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czechia
| | - Ibrahim Al-Ashkar
- Department of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ayman EL Sabagh
- Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Siirt University, Siirt, Turkey
- Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Shaikh, Egypt
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Dhatterwal P, Mehrotra S, Miller AJ, Mehrotra R. Promoter profiling of Arabidopsis amino acid transporters: clues for improving crops. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 107:451-475. [PMID: 34674117 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-021-01193-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The review describes the importance of amino acid transporters in plant growth, development, stress tolerance, and productivity. The promoter analysis provides valuable insights into their functionality leading to agricultural benefits. Arabidopsis thaliana genome is speculated to possess more than 100 amino acid transporter genes. This large number suggests the functional significance of amino acid transporters in plant growth and development. The current article summarizes the substrate specificity, cellular localization, tissue-specific expression, and expression of the amino acid transporter genes in response to environmental cues. However, till date functionality of a majority of amino acid transporter genes in plant development and stress tolerance is unexplored. Considering, that gene expression is mainly regulated by the regulatory motifs localized in their promoter regions at the transcriptional levels. The promoter regions ( ~ 1-kbp) of these amino acid transporter genes were analysed for the presence of cis-regulatory motifs responsive to developmental and external cues. This analysis can help predict the functionality of known and unexplored amino acid transporters in different tissues, organs, and various growth and development stages and responses to external stimuli. Furthermore, based on the promoter analysis and utilizing the microarray expression data we have attempted to identify plausible candidates (listed below) that might be targeted for agricultural benefits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pinky Dhatterwal
- Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology & Science Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus, Goa, India
| | - Sandhya Mehrotra
- Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology & Science Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus, Goa, India
| | - Anthony J Miller
- Department of Metabolic Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | - Rajesh Mehrotra
- Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology & Science Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus, Goa, India.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Abstract
Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) are short peptides that are able to translocate themselves and their cargo into cells. The progressive and continuous application of CPPs in various fields of basic and applied research shows that they are efficient delivery vectors for an assortment of biomolecules, including nucleic acids and proteins. This feature makes CPPs an excellent tool for modification of plant genomes through transgenesis and genome editing. In this review, we present the progress during the last three decades in application of CPPs for delivery of DNA, RNA, and proteins into plant cells and tissues. Moreover, we highlight the exploiting of CPPs as advantageous and beneficial tool for plant genome editing via delivery of nuclease proteins, and provide a practical example of genome alternation through CPP-delivered nucleases. Finally, the current exploitation of peptides in organelle-specific DNA delivery and modification of organellar genomes is discussed.
Collapse
|
21
|
Li S, Zhang C, Li J, Yan L, Wang N, Xia L. Present and future prospects for wheat improvement through genome editing and advanced technologies. PLANT COMMUNICATIONS 2021; 2:100211. [PMID: 34327324 PMCID: PMC8299080 DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2021.100211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 05/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Wheat (Triticum aestivum, 2n = 6x = 42, AABBDD) is one of the most important staple food crops in the world. Despite the fact that wheat production has significantly increased over the past decades, future wheat production will face unprecedented challenges from global climate change, increasing world population, and water shortages in arid and semi-arid lands. Furthermore, excessive applications of diverse fertilizers and pesticides are exacerbating environmental pollution and ecological deterioration. To ensure global food and ecosystem security, it is essential to enhance the resilience of wheat production while minimizing environmental pollution through the use of cutting-edge technologies. However, the hexaploid genome and gene redundancy complicate advances in genetic research and precision gene modifications for wheat improvement, thus impeding the breeding of elite wheat cultivars. In this review, we first introduce state-of-the-art genome-editing technologies in crop plants, especially wheat, for both functional genomics and genetic improvement. We then outline applications of other technologies, such as GWAS, high-throughput genotyping and phenotyping, speed breeding, and synthetic biology, in wheat. Finally, we discuss existing challenges in wheat genome editing and future prospects for precision gene modifications using advanced genome-editing technologies. We conclude that the combination of genome editing and other molecular breeding strategies will greatly facilitate genetic improvement of wheat for sustainable global production.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shaoya Li
- Institute of Crop Sciences (ICS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Chen Zhang
- Institute of Crop Sciences (ICS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Jingying Li
- Institute of Crop Sciences (ICS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Lei Yan
- Institute of Crop Sciences (ICS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Ning Wang
- Institute of Crop Sciences (ICS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| | - Lanqin Xia
- Institute of Crop Sciences (ICS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Yang Y, Lee JH, Poindexter MR, Shao Y, Liu W, Lenaghan SC, Ahkami AH, Blumwald E, Stewart CN. Rational design and testing of abiotic stress-inducible synthetic promoters from poplar cis-regulatory elements. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2021; 19:1354-1369. [PMID: 33471413 PMCID: PMC8313130 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Revised: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Abiotic stress resistance traits may be especially crucial for sustainable production of bioenergy tree crops. Here, we show the performance of a set of rationally designed osmotic-related and salt stress-inducible synthetic promoters for use in hybrid poplar. De novo motif-detecting algorithms yielded 30 water-deficit (SD) and 34 salt stress (SS) candidate DNA motifs from relevant poplar transcriptomes. We selected three conserved water-deficit stress motifs (SD18, SD13 and SD9) found in 16 co-expressed gene promoters, and we discovered a well-conserved motif for salt response (SS16). We characterized several native poplar stress-inducible promoters to enable comparisons with our synthetic promoters. Fifteen synthetic promoters were designed using various SD and SS subdomains, in which heptameric repeats of five-to-eight subdomain bases were fused to a common core promoter downstream, which, in turn, drove a green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene for reporter assays. These 15 synthetic promoters were screened by transient expression assays in poplar leaf mesophyll protoplasts and agroinfiltrated Nicotiana benthamiana leaves under osmotic stress conditions. Twelve synthetic promoters were induced in transient expression assays with a GFP readout. Of these, five promoters (SD18-1, SD9-2, SS16-1, SS16-2 and SS16-3) endowed higher inducibility under osmotic stress conditions than native promoters. These five synthetic promoters were stably transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana to study inducibility in whole plants. Herein, SD18-1 and SD9-2 were induced by water-deficit stress, whereas SS16-1, SS16-2 and SS16-3 were induced by salt stress. The synthetic biology design pipeline resulted in five synthetic promoters that outperformed endogenous promoters in transgenic plants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yongil Yang
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic BiologyUniversity of Tennessee Institute of AgricultureKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
| | - Jun Hyung Lee
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic BiologyUniversity of Tennessee Institute of AgricultureKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Biosciences DivisionOak Ridge National LaboratoryOak RidgeTNUSA
| | - Magen R. Poindexter
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic BiologyUniversity of Tennessee Institute of AgricultureKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
| | - Yuanhua Shao
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic BiologyUniversity of Tennessee Institute of AgricultureKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
| | - Wusheng Liu
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Department of Horticultural ScienceNorth Carolina State UniversityRaleighNCUSA
| | - Scott C. Lenaghan
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic BiologyUniversity of Tennessee Institute of AgricultureKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Department of Food ScienceUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
| | - Amir H. Ahkami
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)RichlandWAUSA
| | | | - Charles Neal Stewart
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic BiologyUniversity of Tennessee Institute of AgricultureKnoxvilleTNUSA
- Department of Plant SciencesUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
David F, Davis AM, Gossing M, Hayes MA, Romero E, Scott LH, Wigglesworth MJ. A Perspective on Synthetic Biology in Drug Discovery and Development-Current Impact and Future Opportunities. SLAS DISCOVERY 2021; 26:581-603. [PMID: 33834873 DOI: 10.1177/24725552211000669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The global impact of synthetic biology has been accelerating, because of the plummeting cost of DNA synthesis, advances in genetic engineering, growing understanding of genome organization, and explosion in data science. However, much of the discipline's application in the pharmaceutical industry remains enigmatic. In this review, we highlight recent examples of the impact of synthetic biology on target validation, assay development, hit finding, lead optimization, and chemical synthesis, through to the development of cellular therapeutics. We also highlight the availability of tools and technologies driving the discipline. Synthetic biology is certainly impacting all stages of drug discovery and development, and the recognition of the discipline's contribution can further enhance the opportunities for the drug discovery and development value chain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Florian David
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Division of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Andrew M Davis
- Discovery Sciences, Biopharmaceutical R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Michael Gossing
- Discovery Sciences, Biopharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Martin A Hayes
- Discovery Sciences, Biopharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Elvira Romero
- Discovery Sciences, Biopharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Louis H Scott
- Discovery Sciences, Biopharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | | |
Collapse
|
24
|
Zhu T, Tang W, Chen D, Li J, Su J. Identification of a novel efficient transcriptional activation domain from Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata). J Genet Genomics 2021; 48:257-259. [PMID: 33722521 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2020.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tengfei Zhu
- College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Basic Forestry and Proteomics Research Center, College of Forestry, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Wenyu Tang
- College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Basic Forestry and Proteomics Research Center, College of Forestry, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Delan Chen
- Bureau of Forestry, Wuyishan, Fujian 354300, China
| | - Jian Li
- College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
| | - Jun Su
- Basic Forestry and Proteomics Research Center, College of Forestry, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Verbič A, Praznik A, Jerala R. A guide to the design of synthetic gene networks in mammalian cells. FEBS J 2020; 288:5265-5288. [PMID: 33289352 DOI: 10.1111/febs.15652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Synthetic biology aims to harness natural and synthetic biological parts and engineering them in new combinations and systems, producing novel therapies, diagnostics, bioproduction systems, and providing information on the mechanism of function of biological systems. Engineering cell function requires the rewiring or de novo construction of cell information processing networks. Using natural and synthetic signal processing elements, researchers have demonstrated a wide array of signal sensing, processing and propagation modules, using transcription, translation, or post-translational modification to program new function. The toolbox for synthetic network design is ever-advancing and has still ample room to grow. Here, we review the diversity of synthetic gene networks, types of building modules, techniques of regulation, and their applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anže Verbič
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Arne Praznik
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Roman Jerala
- Department of Synthetic Biology and Immunology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Ahmed RF, Irfan M, Shakir HA, Khan M, Chen L. Engineering drought tolerance in plants by modification of transcription and signalling factors. BIOTECHNOL BIOTEC EQ 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/13102818.2020.1805359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Rida Fatima Ahmed
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Irfan
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan
| | - Hafiz Abdullah Shakir
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of life Science, University of the Punjab New Campus, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Khan
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of life Science, University of the Punjab New Campus, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Lijing Chen
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning, PR China
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Dasgupta A, Chowdhury N, De RK. Metabolic pathway engineering: Perspectives and applications. COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE 2020; 192:105436. [PMID: 32199314 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2020.105436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2019] [Revised: 02/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Metabolic engineering aims at contriving microbes as biocatalysts for enhanced and cost-effective production of countless secondary metabolites. These secondary metabolites can be treated as the resources of industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals and fuels. Plants are also crucial targets for metabolic engineers to produce necessary secondary metabolites. Metabolic engineering of both microorganism and plants also contributes towards drug discovery. In order to implement advanced metabolic engineering techniques efficiently, metabolic engineers should have detailed knowledge about cell physiology and metabolism. Principle behind methodologies: Genome-scale mathematical models of integrated metabolic, signal transduction, gene regulatory and protein-protein interaction networks along with experimental validation can provide such knowledge in this context. Incorporation of omics data into these models is crucial in the case of drug discovery. Inverse metabolic engineering and metabolic control analysis (MCA) can help in developing such models. Artificial intelligence methodology can also be applied for efficient and accurate metabolic engineering. CONCLUSION In this review, we discuss, at the beginning, the perspectives of metabolic engineering and its application on microorganism and plant leading to drug discovery. At the end, we elaborate why inverse metabolic engineering and MCA are closely related to modern metabolic engineering. In addition, some crucial steps ensuring efficient and optimal metabolic engineering strategies have been discussed. Moreover, we explore the use of genomics data for the activation of silent metabolic clusters and how it can be integrated with metabolic engineering. Finally, we exhibit a few applications of artificial intelligence to metabolic engineering.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Abhijit Dasgupta
- Department of Data Science, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, Nadia 741235, West Bengal, India
| | - Nirmalya Chowdhury
- Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Rajat K De
- Machine Intelligence Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, 203 B.T. Road, Kolkata 700108, India.
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Li Q, Sapkota M, van der Knaap E. Perspectives of CRISPR/Cas-mediated cis-engineering in horticulture: unlocking the neglected potential for crop improvement. HORTICULTURE RESEARCH 2020; 7:36. [PMID: 32194972 PMCID: PMC7072075 DOI: 10.1038/s41438-020-0258-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2019] [Revised: 01/09/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Directed breeding of horticultural crops is essential for increasing yield, nutritional content, and consumer-valued characteristics such as shape and color of the produce. However, limited genetic diversity restricts the amount of crop improvement that can be achieved through conventional breeding approaches. Natural genetic changes in cis-regulatory regions of genes play important roles in shaping phenotypic diversity by altering their expression. Utilization of CRISPR/Cas editing in crop species can accelerate crop improvement through the introduction of genetic variation in a targeted manner. The advent of CRISPR/Cas-mediated cis-regulatory region engineering (cis-engineering) provides a more refined method for modulating gene expression and creating phenotypic diversity to benefit crop improvement. Here, we focus on the current applications of CRISPR/Cas-mediated cis-engineering in horticultural crops. We describe strategies and limitations for its use in crop improvement, including de novo cis-regulatory element (CRE) discovery, precise genome editing, and transgene-free genome editing. In addition, we discuss the challenges and prospects regarding current technologies and achievements. CRISPR/Cas-mediated cis-engineering is a critical tool for generating horticultural crops that are better able to adapt to climate change and providing food for an increasing world population.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Li
- College of Horticultural Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China
- Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA USA
| | - Manoj Sapkota
- Institute for Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA USA
| | - Esther van der Knaap
- Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA USA
- Institute for Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA USA
- Department of Horticulture, University of Georgia, Athens, GA USA
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Jameel A, Noman M, Liu W, Ahmad N, Wang F, Li X, Li H. Tinkering Cis Motifs Jigsaw Puzzle Led to Root-Specific Drought-Inducible Novel Synthetic Promoters. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E1357. [PMID: 32085397 PMCID: PMC7072871 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21041357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Following an in-depth transcriptomics-based approach, we first screened out and analyzed (in silico) cis motifs in a group of 63 drought-inducible genes (in soybean). Six novel synthetic promoters (SynP14-SynP19) were designed by concatenating 11 cis motifs, ABF, ABRE, ABRE-Like, CBF, E2F-VARIANT, G-box, GCC-Box, MYB1, MYB4, RAV1-A, and RAV1-B (in multiple copies and various combination) with a minimal 35s core promoter and a 222 bp synthetic intron sequence. In order to validate their drought-inducibility and root-specificity, the designed synthetic assemblies were transformed in soybean hairy roots to drive GUS gene using pCAMBIA3301. Through GUS histochemical assay (after a 72 h 6% PEG6000 treatment), we noticed higher glucuronidase activity in transgenic hairy roots harboring SynP15, SynP16, and SynP18. Further screening through GUS fluorometric assay flaunted SynP16 as the most appropriate combination of efficient drought-responsive cis motifs. Afterwards, we stably transformed SynP15, SynP16, and SynP18 in Arabidopsis and carried out GUS staining as well as fluorometric assays of the transgenic plants treated with simulated drought stress. Consistently, SynP16 retained higher transcriptional activity in Arabidopsis roots in response to drought. Thus the root-specific drought-inducible synthetic promoters designed using stimulus-specific cis motifs in a definite fashion could be exploited in developing drought tolerance in soybean and other crops as well. Moreover, the rationale of design extends our knowledge of trial-and-error based cis engineering to construct synthetic promoters for transcriptional upgradation against other stresses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Xiaowei Li
- College of Life Sciences, Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, China; (A.J.); (M.N.); (W.L.); (N.A.)
| | - Haiyan Li
- College of Life Sciences, Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, China; (A.J.); (M.N.); (W.L.); (N.A.)
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Liu W, Rudis MR, Cheplick MH, Millwood RJ, Yang JP, Ondzighi-Assoume CA, Montgomery GA, Burris KP, Mazarei M, Chesnut JD, Stewart CN. Lipofection-mediated genome editing using DNA-free delivery of the Cas9/gRNA ribonucleoprotein into plant cells. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2020; 39:245-257. [PMID: 31728703 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-019-02488-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
KEY MESSAGE A novel and robust lipofection-mediated transfection approach for the use of DNA-free Cas9/gRNA RNP for gene editing has demonstrated efficacy in plant cells. Precise genome editing has been revolutionized by CRISPR/Cas9 systems. DNA-based delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 is widely used in various plant species. However, protein-based delivery of the in vitro translated Cas9/guide RNA (gRNA) ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex into plant cells is still in its infancy even though protein delivery has several advantages. These advantages include DNA-free delivery, gene-edited host plants that are not transgenic, ease of use, low cost, relative ease to be adapted to high-throughput systems, and low off-target cleavage rates. Here, we show a novel lipofection-mediated transfection approach for protein delivery of the preassembled Cas9/gRNA RNP into plant cells for genome editing. Two lipofection reagents, Lipofectamine 3000 and RNAiMAX, were adapted for successful delivery into plant cells of Cas9/gRNA RNP. A green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter was fused in-frame with the C-terminus of the Cas9 protein and the fusion protein was successfully delivered into non-transgenic tobacco cv. 'Bright Yellow-2' (BY2) protoplasts. The optimal efficiencies for Lipofectamine 3000- and RNAiMAX-mediated protein delivery were 66% and 48%, respectively. Furthermore, we developed a biolistic method for protein delivery based on the known proteolistics technique. A transgenic tobacco BY2 line expressing an orange fluorescence protein reporter pporRFP was targeted for knockout. We found that the targeted mutagenesis frequency for our Lipofectamine 3000-mediated protein delivery was 6%. Our results showed that the newly developed lipofection-mediated transfection approach is robust for the use of the DNA-free Cas9/gRNA technology for genome editing in plant cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wusheng Liu
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA.
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Caroline State University, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA.
| | - Mary R Rudis
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Matthew H Cheplick
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Reginald J Millwood
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Jian-Ping Yang
- Synthetic Biology Research and Development, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Carlsbad, CA, 92008, USA
| | - Christine A Ondzighi-Assoume
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 37209, USA
| | - Garrett A Montgomery
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Kellie P Burris
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
- Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, North Caroline State University, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA
| | - Mitra Mazarei
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Jonathan D Chesnut
- Synthetic Biology Research and Development, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Carlsbad, CA, 92008, USA
| | - Charles Neal Stewart
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA.
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Zhu Q, Wang B, Tan J, Liu T, Li L, Liu YG. Plant Synthetic Metabolic Engineering for Enhancing Crop Nutritional Quality. PLANT COMMUNICATIONS 2020; 1:100017. [PMID: 33404538 PMCID: PMC7747972 DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2019.100017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2019] [Revised: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Nutrient deficiencies in crops are a serious threat to human health, especially for populations in poor areas. To overcome this problem, the development of crops with nutrient-enhanced traits is imperative. Biofortification of crops to improve nutritional quality helps combat nutrient deficiencies by increasing the levels of specific nutrient components. Compared with agronomic practices and conventional plant breeding, plant metabolic engineering and synthetic biology strategies are more effective and accurate in synthesizing specific micronutrients, phytonutrients, and/or bioactive components in crops. In this review, we discuss recent progress in the field of plant synthetic metabolic engineering, specifically in terms of research strategies of multigene stacking tools and engineering complex metabolic pathways, with a focus on improving traits related to micronutrients, phytonutrients, and bioactive components. Advances and innovations in plant synthetic metabolic engineering would facilitate the development of nutrient-enriched crops to meet the nutritional needs of humans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qinlong Zhu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources; College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Bin Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources; College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Jiantao Tan
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources; College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Taoli Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources; College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Li Li
- Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, USDA-ARS, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
- Plant Breeding and Genetics Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Yao-Guang Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources; College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou 510642, China
- Corresponding author
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Moisseyev G, Park K, Cui A, Freitas D, Rajagopal D, Konda AR, Martin-Olenski M, Mcham M, Liu K, Du Q, Schnable JC, Moriyama EN, Cahoon EB, Zhang C. RGPDB: database of root-associated genes and promoters in maize, soybean, and sorghum. DATABASE-THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL DATABASES AND CURATION 2020; 2020:5851117. [PMID: 32500918 PMCID: PMC7273057 DOI: 10.1093/database/baaa038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2019] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Root-associated genes play an important role in plants. Despite the fact that there have been studies on root biology, information on genes that are specifically expressed or upregulated in roots is poorly collected. There exist very few databases dedicated to genes and promoters associated with root biology, preventing effective root-related studies. Therefore, we analyzed multiple types of omics data to identify root-associated genes in maize, soybean, and sorghum and constructed a comprehensive online database of these genes and their promoter sequences. This database creates a pivotal platform capable of stimulating and facilitating further studies on manipulating root growth and development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gleb Moisseyev
- Young Nebraska Scientists Program, University of Nebraska (EPSCoR), Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Kiyoul Park
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588 USA.,Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Alix Cui
- Young Nebraska Scientists Program, University of Nebraska (EPSCoR), Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Daniel Freitas
- Young Nebraska Scientists Program, University of Nebraska (EPSCoR), Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Divith Rajagopal
- Young Nebraska Scientists Program, University of Nebraska (EPSCoR), Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Anji Reddy Konda
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588 USA.,Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | | | - Mackenzie Mcham
- Young Nebraska Scientists Program, University of Nebraska (EPSCoR), Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Kan Liu
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588 USA.,Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Qian Du
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588 USA.,Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - James C Schnable
- Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583 USA.,Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Etsuko N Moriyama
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588 USA.,Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Edgar B Cahoon
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588 USA.,Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Chi Zhang
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588 USA.,Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
|
34
|
Ondzighi-Assoume CA, Willis JD, Ouma WK, Allen SM, King Z, Parrott WA, Liu W, Burris JN, Lenaghan SC, Stewart CN. Embryogenic cell suspensions for high-capacity genetic transformation and regeneration of switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.). BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2019; 12:290. [PMID: 31890018 PMCID: PMC6913013 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-019-1632-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/07/2019] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), a North American prairie grassland species, is a potential lignocellulosic biofuel feedstock owing to its wide adaptability and biomass production. Production and genetic manipulation of switchgrass should be useful to improve its biomass composition and production for bioenergy applications. The goal of this project was to develop a high-throughput stable switchgrass transformation method using Agrobacterium tumefaciens with subsequent plant regeneration. RESULTS Regenerable embryogenic cell suspension cultures were established from friable type II callus-derived inflorescences using two genotypes selected from the synthetic switchgrass variety 'Performer' tissue culture lines 32 and 605. The cell suspension cultures were composed of a heterogeneous fine mixture culture of single cells and aggregates. Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain GV3101 was optimum to transfer into cells the pANIC-10A vector with a hygromycin-selectable marker gene and a pporRFP orange fluorescent protein marker gene at an 85% transformation efficiency. Liquid cultures gave rise to embryogenic callus and then shoots, of which up to 94% formed roots. The resulting transgenic plants were phenotypically indistinguishable from the non-transgenic parent lines. CONCLUSION The new cell suspension-based protocol enables high-throughput Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and regeneration of switchgrass in which plants are recovered within 6-7 months from culture establishment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christine A. Ondzighi-Assoume
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN 37209 USA
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
| | - Jonathan D. Willis
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
| | - Wilson K. Ouma
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN 37209 USA
| | - Sara M. Allen
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
| | - Zachary King
- Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics& Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7272 USA
| | - Wayne A. Parrott
- Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics& Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7272 USA
| | - Wusheng Liu
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607 USA
| | - Jason N. Burris
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
| | - Scott C. Lenaghan
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
| | - C. Neal Stewart
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Designing yeast as plant-like hyperaccumulators for heavy metals. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5080. [PMID: 31704944 PMCID: PMC6841955 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13093-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Hyperaccumulators typically refer to plants that absorb and tolerate elevated amounts of heavy metals. Due to their unique metal trafficking abilities, hyperaccumulators are promising candidates for bioremediation applications. However, compared to bacteria-based bioremediation systems, plant life cycle is long and growing conditions are difficult to maintain hindering their adoption. Herein, we combine the robust growth and engineerability of bacteria with the unique waste management mechanisms of plants by using a more tractable platform-the common baker’s yeast-to create plant-like hyperaccumulators. Through overexpression of metal transporters and engineering metal trafficking pathways, engineered yeast strains are able to sequester metals at concentrations 10–100 times more than established hyperaccumulator thresholds for chromium, arsenic, and cadmium. Strains are further engineered to be selective for either cadmium or strontium removal, specifically for radioactive Sr90. Overall, this work presents a systematic approach for transforming yeast into metal hyperaccumulators that are as effective as their plant counterparts. Existing heavy metal bioremediation systems are mainly based on plants, which require long growing time in specific conditions. Here, the authors mimic the characteristics of plant hyperaccumulators to engineer more tractable baker’s yeast and achieve 10–100-fold higher accumulation of chromium, arsenic, or cadmium.
Collapse
|
36
|
Kautsar SA, Suarez Duran HG, Blin K, Osbourn A, Medema MH. plantiSMASH: automated identification, annotation and expression analysis of plant biosynthetic gene clusters. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 45:W55-W63. [PMID: 28453650 PMCID: PMC5570173 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 170] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2017] [Accepted: 04/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Plant specialized metabolites are chemically highly diverse, play key roles in host-microbe interactions, have important nutritional value in crops and are frequently applied as medicines. It has recently become clear that plant biosynthetic pathway-encoding genes are sometimes densely clustered in specific genomic loci: biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). Here, we introduce plantiSMASH, a versatile online analysis platform that automates the identification of candidate plant BGCs. Moreover, it allows integration of transcriptomic data to prioritize candidate BGCs based on the coexpression patterns of predicted biosynthetic enzyme-coding genes, and facilitates comparative genomic analysis to study the evolutionary conservation of each cluster. Applied on 48 high-quality plant genomes, plantiSMASH identifies a rich diversity of candidate plant BGCs. These results will guide further experimental exploration of the nature and dynamics of gene clustering in plant metabolism. Moreover, spurred by the continuing decrease in costs of plant genome sequencing, they will allow genome mining technologies to be applied to plant natural product discovery. The plantiSMASH web server, precalculated results and source code are freely available from http://plantismash.secondarymetabolites.org.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Satria A Kautsar
- Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Teknik Informatika, Universitas Lampung, Jln. Sumantri Brojonegoro No. 01, Lampung 35141, Indonesia
| | | | - Kai Blin
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Anne Osbourn
- Department of Metabolic Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Marnix H Medema
- Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Pasin F, Menzel W, Daròs J. Harnessed viruses in the age of metagenomics and synthetic biology: an update on infectious clone assembly and biotechnologies of plant viruses. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2019; 17:1010-1026. [PMID: 30677208 PMCID: PMC6523588 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2018] [Revised: 12/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/15/2019] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Recent metagenomic studies have provided an unprecedented wealth of data, which are revolutionizing our understanding of virus diversity. A redrawn landscape highlights viruses as active players in the phytobiome, and surveys have uncovered their positive roles in environmental stress tolerance of plants. Viral infectious clones are key tools for functional characterization of known and newly identified viruses. Knowledge of viruses and their components has been instrumental for the development of modern plant molecular biology and biotechnology. In this review, we provide extensive guidelines built on current synthetic biology advances that streamline infectious clone assembly, thus lessening a major technical constraint of plant virology. The focus is on generation of infectious clones in binary T-DNA vectors, which are delivered efficiently to plants by Agrobacterium. We then summarize recent applications of plant viruses and explore emerging trends in microbiology, bacterial and human virology that, once translated to plant virology, could lead to the development of virus-based gene therapies for ad hoc engineering of plant traits. The systematic characterization of plant virus roles in the phytobiome and next-generation virus-based tools will be indispensable landmarks in the synthetic biology roadmap to better crops.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Pasin
- Agricultural Biotechnology Research CenterAcademia SinicaTaipeiTaiwan
| | - Wulf Menzel
- Leibniz Institute DSMZ‐German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell CulturesBraunschweigGermany
| | - José‐Antonio Daròs
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas‐Universitat Politècnica de València)ValenciaSpain
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Koramutla MK, Ram C, Bhatt D, Annamalai M, Bhattacharya R. Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of sucrose synthase genes in allotetraploid Brassica juncea. Gene 2019; 707:126-135. [PMID: 31026572 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2019.04.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2019] [Revised: 03/20/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Sucrose plays pivotal role in energy metabolism and regulating gene expression of several physiological processes in higher plants. Here, fourteen sucrose synthase (SUS) genes have been identified in the allotetraploid genome of Indian mustard, Brassica juncea. The identified SUS genes in B. juncea (BjSUS) were derived from the two-progenitor species, B. rapa and B. nigra. Intron-exon analysis indicated loss or gain of 1-3 introns in diversification of SUS gene family. Phylogenetic analysis revealed discrete evolutionary paths for the BjSUS genes, originating from three ancestor groups, SUS I, SUS II and SUS III. Gene expression study revealed significant variability in expression of the BjSUS paralogs across the different tissues. BjSUS genes showed transcriptional activation in response to defense hormones and a late response to wounding. Tissue and temporal specificity of expression revealed importance of specific SUS paralogs at different developmental stages and under different stress conditions. The study highlighted differential involvement of SUS paralogs in sucrose metabolism across the tissues and stress-responses, in a major oilseed crop B. juncea.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Murali Krishna Koramutla
- ICAR-National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute Campus, New Delhi 110012, India
| | - Chet Ram
- ICAR-National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute Campus, New Delhi 110012, India
| | - Deepa Bhatt
- ICAR-National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute Campus, New Delhi 110012, India
| | - Muthuganeshan Annamalai
- ICAR-National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute Campus, New Delhi 110012, India
| | - Ramcharan Bhattacharya
- ICAR-National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute Campus, New Delhi 110012, India.
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Niazian M. Application of genetics and biotechnology for improving medicinal plants. PLANTA 2019; 249:953-973. [PMID: 30715560 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-019-03099-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Accepted: 01/25/2019] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Plant tissue culture has been used for conservation, micropropagation, and in planta overproduction of some pharma molecules of medicinal plants. New biotechnology-based breeding methods such as targeted genome editing methods are able to create custom-designed medicinal plants with different secondary metabolite profiles. For a long time, humans have used medicinal plants for therapeutic purposes and in food and other industries. Classical biotechnology techniques have been exploited in breeding medicinal plants. Now, it is time to apply faster biotechnology-based breeding methods (BBBMs) to these valuable plants. Assessment of the genetic diversity, conservation, proliferation, and overproduction are the main ways by which genetics and biotechnology can help to improve medicinal plants faster. Plant tissue culture (PTC) plays an important role as a platform to apply other BBBMs in medicinal plants. Agrobacterium-mediated gene transformation and artificial polyploidy induction are the main BBBMs that are directly dependent on PTC. Manageable regulation of endogens and/or transferred genes via engineered zinc-finger proteins or transcription activator-like effectors can help targeted manipulation of secondary metabolite pathways in medicinal plants. The next-generation sequencing techniques have great potential to study the genetic diversity of medicinal plants through restriction-site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) technique and also to identify the genes and enzymes that are involved in the biosynthetic pathway of secondary metabolites through precise transcriptome profiling (RNA-seq). The sequence-specific nucleases of transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), zinc-finger nucleases, and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-associated (Cas) are the genome editing methods that can produce user-designed medicinal plants. These current targeted genome editing methods are able to manage plant synthetic biology and open new gates to medicinal plants to be introduced into appropriate industries.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mohsen Niazian
- Department of Tissue and Cell Culture, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, 3135933151, Iran.
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Raza A, Razzaq A, Mehmood SS, Zou X, Zhang X, Lv Y, Xu J. Impact of Climate Change on Crops Adaptation and Strategies to Tackle Its Outcome: A Review. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2019; 8:E34. [PMID: 30704089 PMCID: PMC6409995 DOI: 10.3390/plants8020034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 391] [Impact Index Per Article: 78.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2018] [Revised: 01/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Agriculture and climate change are internally correlated with each other in various aspects, as climate change is the main cause of biotic and abiotic stresses, which have adverse effects on the agriculture of a region. The land and its agriculture are being affected by climate changes in different ways, e.g., variations in annual rainfall, average temperature, heat waves, modifications in weeds, pests or microbes, global change of atmospheric CO₂ or ozone level, and fluctuations in sea level. The threat of varying global climate has greatly driven the attention of scientists, as these variations are imparting negative impact on global crop production and compromising food security worldwide. According to some predicted reports, agriculture is considered the most endangered activity adversely affected by climate changes. To date, food security and ecosystem resilience are the most concerning subjects worldwide. Climate-smart agriculture is the only way to lower the negative impact of climate variations on crop adaptation, before it might affect global crop production drastically. In this review paper, we summarize the causes of climate change, stresses produced due to climate change, impacts on crops, modern breeding technologies, and biotechnological strategies to cope with climate change, in order to develop climate resilient crops. Revolutions in genetic engineering techniques can also aid in overcoming food security issues against extreme environmental conditions, by producing transgenic plants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ali Raza
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Wuhan 430062, China.
| | - Ali Razzaq
- Centre of Agricultural Biochemistry and Biotechnology (CABB), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan.
| | - Sundas Saher Mehmood
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Wuhan 430062, China.
| | - Xiling Zou
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Wuhan 430062, China.
| | - Xuekun Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Wuhan 430062, China.
| | - Yan Lv
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Wuhan 430062, China.
| | - Jinsong Xu
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Wuhan 430062, China.
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Ali S, Kim WC. A Fruitful Decade Using Synthetic Promoters in the Improvement of Transgenic Plants. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2019; 10:1433. [PMID: 31737027 PMCID: PMC6838210 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/16/2019] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Advances in plant biotechnology provide various means to improve crop productivity and greatly contributing to sustainable agriculture. A significant advance in plant biotechnology has been the availability of novel synthetic promoters for precise spatial and temporal control of transgene expression. In this article, we review the development of various synthetic promotors and the rise of their use over the last several decades for regulating the transcription of various transgenes. Similarly, we provided a brief description of the structure and scope of synthetic promoters and the engineering of their cis-regulatory elements for different targets. Moreover, the functional characteristics of different synthetic promoters, their modes of regulating the expression of candidate genes in response to different conditions, and the resulting plant trait improvements reported in the past decade are discussed.
Collapse
|
42
|
Abstract
Biolistic transformation of wheat is one of the most commonly used methods for gene function study and trait discovery. It has been widely adapted as a fundamental platform to generate wheat plants with new traits and has become a powerful tool for facilitating the crop improvement. In this chapter, we present a complete and straightforward protocol for wheat transformation via biolistic bombardment system. Although wheat is still one of the hardest plant species to transform, this protocol offers an optimized and efficient system to produce transgenic plants. To demonstrate the application of this protocol, in this chapter we describe an example of obtaining transgenic wheat by the co-bombardment of two plasmids, containing a green fluorescent protein gene and a glufosinate herbicide selection gene, respectively. In addition, procedures for the screening and testing of putative transgenic plants are described. This protocol has been successfully applied to generate stable transgenic bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) in both spring and winter varieties.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bin Tian
- Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA.
| | | | - Yueying Chen
- Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| | - Jordan Brungardt
- Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| | - Harold N Trick
- Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Jiang P, Zhang K, Ding Z, He Q, Li W, Zhu S, Cheng W, Zhang K, Li K. Characterization of a strong and constitutive promoter from the Arabidopsis serine carboxypeptidase-like gene AtSCPL30 as a potential tool for crop transgenic breeding. BMC Biotechnol 2018; 18:59. [PMID: 30241468 PMCID: PMC6151023 DOI: 10.1186/s12896-018-0470-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 09/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Transgenic technology has become an important technique for crop genetic improvement. The application of well-characterized promoters is essential for developing a vector system for efficient genetic transformation. Therefore, isolation and functional validation of more alternative constitutive promoters to the CaMV35S promoter is highly desirable. RESULTS In this study, a 2093-bp sequence upstream of the translation initiation codon ATG of AtSCPL30 was isolated as the full-length promoter (PD1). To characterize the AtSCPL30 promoter (PD1) and eight 5' deleted fragments (PD2-PD9) of different lengths were fused with GUS to produce the promoter::GUS plasmids and were translocated into Nicotiana benthamiana. PD1-PD9 could confer strong and constitutive expression of transgenes in almost all tissues and development stages in Nicotiana benthamiana transgenic plants. Additionally, PD2-PD7 drove transgene expression consistently over twofold higher than the well-used CaMV35S promoter under normal and stress conditions. Among them, PD7 was only 456 bp in length, and its transcriptional activity was comparable to that of PD2-PD6. Moreover, GUS transient assay in the leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana revealed that the 162-bp (- 456~ - 295 bp) and 111-bp (- 294~ - 184 bp) fragments from the AtSCPL30 promoter could increase the transcriptional activity of mini35S up to 16- and 18-fold, respectively. CONCLUSIONS As a small constitutive strong promoter of plant origin, PD7 has the advantage of biosafety and reduces the probability of transgene silencing compared to the virus-derived CaMV35S promoter. PD7 would also be an alternative constitutive promoter to the CaMV35S promoter when multigene transformation was performed in the same vector, thereby avoiding the overuse of the CaMV35S promoter and allowing for the successful application of transgenic technology. And, the 162- and 111-bp fragments will also be very useful for synthetic promoter design based on their high enhancer activities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pingping Jiang
- The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong China
| | - Ke Zhang
- The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong China
| | - Zhaohua Ding
- Maize Institute of Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, Shandong China
| | - Qiuxia He
- Biology Institute of Shandong Academy of Sciences, Jinan, Shandong China
| | - Wendi Li
- The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong China
| | - Shuangfeng Zhu
- The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong China
| | - Wen Cheng
- Maize Institute of Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, Shandong China
| | - Kewei Zhang
- The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong China
| | - Kunpeng Li
- The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong China
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Chen YM, Dong YH, Liang ZB, Zhang LH, Deng YZ. Enhanced vascular activity of a new chimeric promoter containing the full CaMV 35S promoter and the plant XYLOGEN PROTEIN 1 promoter. 3 Biotech 2018; 8:380. [PMID: 30148030 DOI: 10.1007/s13205-018-1379-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2018] [Accepted: 07/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
To develop a new strategy that controls vascular pathogen infections in economic crops, we examined a possible enhancer of the vascular activity of XYLOGEN PROTEIN 1 promoter (Px). This protein is specifically expressed in the vascular tissues of Arabidopsis thaliana and plays an important role in xylem development. Although Px is predicted as vascular-specific, its activity is hard to detect and highly susceptible to plant and environmental conditions. The cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter (35S) is highly active in directing transgene expression. To test if 35S could enhance Px activity, while vascular specificity of the promoter is retained, we examined the expression of the uidA reporter gene, which encodes β-glucuronidase (GUS), under the control of a chimeric promoter (35S-Px) or Px by generating 35S-Px-GUS and Px-GUS constructs, which were transformed into tobacco seedlings. Both 35S-Px and Px regulated gene expression in vascular tissues. However, GUS expression driven by 35S-Px was not detected in 30- and 60-day-old plants. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that GUS gene expression regulated by 35S-Px was 6.2-14.9-fold higher in vascular tissues than in leaves. Histochemical GUS staining demonstrated that 35S-Px was strongly active in the xylem and phloem. Thus, fusion of 35S and Px might considerably enhance the strength of Px and increase its vascular specificity. In addition to confirming that 35S enhances the activity of a low-level tissue-specific promoter, these findings provide information for further improving the activity of such promoters, which might be useful for engineering new types of resistant genes against vascular infections.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Mei Chen
- 1State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- 2Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- 3Integrative Microbiology Research Center, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 China
| | - Yi-Hu Dong
- 4Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, 61 Biopolis Drive, Singapore City, 138673 Singapore
| | - Zhi-Bin Liang
- 1State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- 2Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- 3Integrative Microbiology Research Center, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 China
| | - Lian-Hui Zhang
- 2Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- 3Integrative Microbiology Research Center, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 China
| | - Yi-Zhen Deng
- 2Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- 3Integrative Microbiology Research Center, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 China
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Kassaw TK, Donayre-Torres AJ, Antunes MS, Morey KJ, Medford JI. Engineering synthetic regulatory circuits in plants. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2018; 273:13-22. [PMID: 29907304 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2018.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2018] [Revised: 04/05/2018] [Accepted: 04/07/2018] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Plant synthetic biology is a rapidly emerging field that aims to engineer genetic circuits to function in plants with the same reliability and precision as electronic circuits. These circuits can be used to program predictable plant behavior, producing novel traits to improve crop plant productivity, enable biosensors, and serve as platforms to synthesize chemicals and complex biomolecules. Herein we introduce the importance of developing orthogonal plant parts and the need for quantitative part characterization for mathematical modeling of complex circuits. In particular, transfer functions are important when designing electronic-like genetic controls such as toggle switches, positive/negative feedback loops, and Boolean logic gates. We then discuss potential constraints and challenges in synthetic regulatory circuit design and integration when using plants. Finally, we highlight current and potential plant synthetic regulatory circuit applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tessema K Kassaw
- Department of Biology, 1878 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1878, USA
| | - Alberto J Donayre-Torres
- Department of Biology, 1878 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1878, USA
| | - Mauricio S Antunes
- Department of Biology, 1878 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1878, USA
| | - Kevin J Morey
- Department of Biology, 1878 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1878, USA
| | - June I Medford
- Department of Biology, 1878 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1878, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Affiliation(s)
- C. Neal Stewart
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Rana K. Abudayyeh
- College of Architecture and Design, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Susan G. Stewart
- College of Architecture and Design, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Shrestha A, Khan A, Dey N. cis-trans Engineering: Advances and Perspectives on Customized Transcriptional Regulation in Plants. MOLECULAR PLANT 2018; 11:886-898. [PMID: 29859265 DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2018.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2018] [Revised: 05/23/2018] [Accepted: 05/23/2018] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Coordinated transcriptional control employing synthetic promoters and transcription factors (TFs) can be used to achieve customized regulation of gene expression in planta. Synthetic promoter technology has yielded a series of promoters with modified cis-regulatory elements that provide useful tools for efficient modulation of gene expression. In addition, the use of zinc fingers (ZFs), transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs), and catalytically inactive clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated protein 9 (dCas9) has made it feasible to engineer TFs that can produce targeted gene expression regulation; these approaches are particularly effective when artificial TFs are coupled with transcriptional activators or repressors. This review focuses on strategies used to engineer both promoters and TFs in the context of targeted transcriptional regulation. We also discuss the creation of synthetic inducible platforms, which can be used to impart stress tolerance to plants. We propose that combinatorial "cis-trans engineering" using a CRISPR-dCas9-based bipartite module could be used to regulate the expression of multiple target genes. This approach provides an attractive tool for introduction of specific qualitative traits into plants, thus enhancing their overall environmental adaptability.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ankita Shrestha
- Division of Microbial and Plant Biotechnology, Institute of Life Sciences, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Ahamed Khan
- Division of Microbial and Plant Biotechnology, Institute of Life Sciences, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Nrisingha Dey
- Division of Microbial and Plant Biotechnology, Institute of Life Sciences, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Gairola S, Al Shaer KI, Al Harthi EK, Mosa KA. Strengthening desert plant biotechnology research in the United Arab Emirates: a viewpoint. PHYSIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF PLANTS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FUNCTIONAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2018; 24:521-533. [PMID: 30042610 PMCID: PMC6041242 DOI: 10.1007/s12298-018-0551-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2017] [Revised: 02/19/2018] [Accepted: 05/08/2018] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
The biotechnology of desert plants is a vast subject. The main applications in this broad field of study comprises of plant tissue culture, genetic engineering, molecular markers and others. Biotechnology applications have the potential to address biodiversity conservation as well as agricultural, medicinal, and environmental issues. There is a need to increase our knowledge of the genetic diversity through the use of molecular genetics and biotechnological approaches in desert plants in the Arabian Gulf region including those in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This article provides a prospective research for the study of UAE desert plant diversity through DNA fingerprinting as well as understanding the mechanisms of both abiotic stress resistance (including salinity, drought and heat stresses) and biotic stress resistance (including disease and insect resistance). Special attention is given to the desert halophytes and their utilization to alleviate the salinity stress, which is one of the major challenges in agriculture. In addition, symbioses with microorganisms are thought to be hypothesized as important components of desert plant survival under stressful environmental conditions. Thus, factors shaping the diversity and functionality of plant microbiomes in desert ecosystems are also emphasized in this article. It is important to establish a critical mass for biotechnology research and applications while strengthening the channels for collaboration among research/academic institutions in the area of desert plant biotechnology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sanjay Gairola
- Sharjah Seed Bank and Herbarium, Sharjah Research Academy, University City, Sharjah, P. Box 60999, Sharjah, UAE
| | - Khawla I. Al Shaer
- Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Sharjah Research Academy, University City, Sharjah, P. Box 60999, Sharjah, UAE
| | - Eman K. Al Harthi
- Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Sharjah Research Academy, University City, Sharjah, P. Box 60999, Sharjah, UAE
| | - Kareem A. Mosa
- Department of Applied Biology, College of Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, UAE
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Sun T, Li S, Song X, Diao J, Chen L, Zhang W. Toolboxes for cyanobacteria: Recent advances and future direction. Biotechnol Adv 2018; 36:1293-1307. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2018.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2018] [Revised: 04/09/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
|
50
|
Liu W, Mazarei M, Ye R, Peng Y, Shao Y, Baxter HL, Sykes RW, Turner GB, Davis MF, Wang ZY, Dixon RA, Stewart CN. Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.) promoters for green tissue-specific expression of the MYB4 transcription factor for reduced-recalcitrance transgenic switchgrass. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2018; 11:122. [PMID: 29713381 PMCID: PMC5914048 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-018-1119-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2017] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genetic engineering of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) for reduced cell wall recalcitrance and improved biofuel production has been a long pursued goal. Up to now, constitutive promoters have been used to direct the expression of cell wall biosynthesis genes toward attaining that goal. While generally sufficient to gauge a transgene's effects in the heterologous host, constitutive overexpression often leads to undesirable plant phenotypic effects. Green tissue-specific promoters from switchgrass are potentially valuable to directly alter cell wall traits exclusively in harvestable aboveground biomass while not changing root phenotypes. RESULTS We identified and functionally characterized three switchgrass green tissue-specific promoters and assessed marker gene expression patterns and intensity in stably transformed rice (Oryza sativa L.), and then used them to direct the expression of the switchgrass MYB4 (PvMYB4) transcription factor gene in transgenic switchgrass to endow reduced recalcitrance in aboveground biomass. These promoters correspond to photosynthesis-related light-harvesting complex II chlorophyll-a/b binding gene (PvLhcb), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PvPEPC), and the photosystem II 10 kDa R subunit (PvPsbR). Real-time RT-PCR analysis detected their strong expression in the aboveground tissues including leaf blades, leaf sheaths, internodes, inflorescences, and nodes of switchgrass, which was tightly up-regulated by light. Stable transgenic rice expressing the GUS reporter under the control of each promoter (756-2005 bp in length) further confirmed their strong expression patterns in leaves and stems. With the exception of the serial promoter deletions of PvLhcb, all GUS marker patterns under the control of each 5'-end serial promoter deletion were not different from that conveyed by their respective promoters. All of the shortest promoter fragments (199-275 bp in length) conveyed strong green tissue-specific GUS expression in transgenic rice. PvMYB4 is a master repressor of lignin biosynthesis. The green tissue-specific expression of PvMYB4 via each promoter in transgenic switchgrass led to significant gains in saccharification efficiency, decreased lignin, and decreased S/G lignin ratios. In contrast to constitutive overexpression of PvMYB4, which negatively impacts switchgrass root growth, plant growth was not compromised in green tissue-expressed PvMYB4 switchgrass plants in the current study. CONCLUSIONS Each of the newly described green tissue-specific promoters from switchgrass has utility to change cell wall biosynthesis exclusively in aboveground harvestable biomass without altering root systems. The truncated green tissue promoters are very short and should be useful for targeted expression in a number of monocots to improve shoot traits while restricting gene expression from roots. Green tissue-specific expression of PvMYB4 is an effective strategy for improvement of transgenic feedstocks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wusheng Liu
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN USA
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC USA
| | - Mitra Mazarei
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN USA
| | - Rongjian Ye
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN USA
| | - Yanhui Peng
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN USA
| | - Yuanhua Shao
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN USA
| | - Holly L. Baxter
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN USA
| | - Robert W. Sykes
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN USA
| | - Geoffrey B. Turner
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN USA
| | - Mark F. Davis
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN USA
| | - Zeng-Yu Wang
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN USA
| | - Richard A. Dixon
- BioDiscovery Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, TX USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN USA
| | - C. Neal Stewart
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN USA
| |
Collapse
|