Production of small starch granules by expression of a tandem-repeat of a family 20 starch-binding domain (SBD3-SBD5) in an amylose-free potato genetic background

Starch granule size: Does it matter?

Nature has developed starch granules varying in size from less than 1 μm to more than 100 μm. The granule size is an important factor affecting the functional properties and the applicability of starch for food and non-food applications. Within the same botanical species, the range of starch granule size can be up to sevenfold. This review critically evaluated the biological and environmental factors affecting the size of starch granules, the methods for the separation of starch granules and the measurement of size distribution. Further, the structure at different length scales and properties of starch-based on the granule size is elucidated by specifying the typical applications of granules with varying sizes. An amylopectin cluster model showing the arrangement of amylopectin from inside toward the granule surface is proposed with the hypothesis that the steric hindrance for the growth of lamellar structure may limit the size of starch granules.

Expression of starch-binding factor CBM20 in barley plastids controls the number of starch granules and the level of CO2 fixation

The biosynthesis of starch granules in plant plastids is coordinated by the orchestrated action of transferases, hydrolases, and dikinases. These enzymes either contain starch-binding domain(s) themselves, or are dependent on direct interactions with co-factors containing starch-binding domains. As a means to competitively interfere with existing starch-protein interactions, we expressed the protein module Carbohydrate-Binding Motif 20 (CBM20), which has a very high affinity for starch, ectopically in barley plastids. This interference resulted in an increase in the number of starch granules in chloroplasts and in formation of compound starch granules in grain amyloplasts, which is unusual for barley. More importantly, we observed a photosystem-independent inhibition of CO2 fixation, with a subsequent reduced growth rate and lower accumulation of carbohydrates with effects throughout the metabolome, including lower accumulation of transient leaf starch. Our results demonstrate the importance of endogenous starch-protein interactions for controlling starch granule morphology and number, and plant growth, as substantiated by a metabolic link between starch-protein interactions and control of CO2 fixation in chloroplasts.

New Recombinant Antimicrobial Peptides Confer Resistance to Fungal Pathogens in Tobacco Plants

Antimicrobial peptides have been long known to confer resistance to plant pathogens. In this study, new recombinant peptides constructed from a dermaseptin B1 (DrsB1) peptide fused to a chitin-binding domain (CBD) from Avr4 protein, were used for Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of tobacco plants. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), semi-quantitative RT-PCR, and western blotting analysis demonstrated the incorporation and expression of transgenes in tobacco genome and transgenic plants, respectively. In vitro experiments with recombinant peptides extracted from transgenic plants demonstrated a significant (P<0.01) inhibitory effect on the growth and development of plant pathogens. The DrsB1-CBD recombinant peptide had the highest antifungal activity against fungal pathogens. The expression of the recombinant peptides greatly protected transgenic plants from Alternaria alternata, Alternaria solani, Fusarium oxysporum, and Fusarium solani fungi, in comparison to Pythium sp. and Pythium aphanidermatum. Expression of new recombinant peptides resulted in a delay in the colonization of fungi and appearance of fungal disease symptoms from 6 days to more than 7 weeks. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed that the structure of the fungal mycelia appeared segmented, cling together, and crushed following the antimicrobial activity of the recombinant peptides. Greenhouse bioassay analysis showed that transgenic plants were more resistant to Fusarium and Pythium infections as compared with the control plants. Due to the high antimicrobial activity of the recombinant peptides against plant pathogens and novelty of recombinant peptides, this report shows the feasibility of this approach to generate disease resistance transgenic plants.

Production of a Recombinant Dermaseptin Peptide in Nicotiana tabacum Hairy Roots with Enhanced Antimicrobial Activity

Expression of strong antimicrobial peptides in plants is of great interest to combat a wide range of plant pathogens. To bring the Dermaseptin B1 (DrsB1) peptide to the intimate contact of the plant pathogens cell wall surface, the DrsB1 encoding sequence was fused to the C-terminal part of the two copies of the chitin-binding domain (CBD) of the Avr4 effector protein and used for Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation. The expression of the recombinant protein in the tobacco hairy roots (HRs) was confirmed by molecular analysis. Antimicrobial activity analysis of the recombinant protein purified from the transgenic HRs showed that the (CBD)2-DrsB1 recombinant protein had a significant (p < 0.01) antimicrobial effect on the growth of different fungal and bacterial pathogens. The results of this study indicated that the recombinant protein had a higher antifungal activity against chitin-producing Alternaria alternata than Pythium spp. Scanning electron microscopy images demonstrated that the recombinant protein led to fungal hypha deformation, fragmentation, and agglutination of growing hypha, possibly by dissociating fungal cell wall components. In vitro evidences suggest that the expression of the (CBD)2-DrsB1 recombinant protein in plants by generating transgenic lines is a promising approach to produce disease-resistant plants, resistance to chitin-producing pathogenic fungi.

Analysis of Beijing Douzhir Microbiota by High-Throughput Sequencing and Isolation of Acidogenic, Starch-Flocculating Strains

Beijing Douzhir is a traditional Chinese fermented drink produced by the natural fermentation of mung beans as the raw material. Ma tofu is an edible by-product of Douzhir processing. Douzhir microbiota, particularly bacteria involved in the natural fermentation process, has not been clearly established, resulting in limited industrial Douzhir production. Here, three uncooked Douzhir samples (D group) and three uncooked Ma tofu samples (M group) (two replicates per sample) were collected from three manufacturers in different locations in Beijing. The composition and diversity of the bacterial communities in each sample were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing. In total, 637 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were revealed in the D group through database alignment, and 656 OTUs were found in the M group. The Chao, ACE, and Shannon indices were not significantly different in Douzhir samples from different manufacturers (p > 0.05). Representatives of six phyla were found in all 12 samples. Dominant bacteria were isolated and identified using mung bean juice as the growth medium. In both Douzhir and Ma tofu samples, dominant bacteria belonging to Firmicutes and Proteobacteria comprised > 94% of the total microbiota. The dominant bacteria included members of the Lactococcus, Acetobacter, Streptococcus, and Lactobacillus genera. Considering the dominant-microbiota information, we employed a plate-separation technique and isolated two strains of acid-producing bacteria from the Douzhir and Ma tofu samples with starch-flocculating activity: Acetobacter indonesiensis and Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis. Such strains can serve as a foundation for the standardized industrial production of Douzhir.

Expression of an engineered granule-bound Escherichia coli glycogen branching enzyme in potato results in severe morphological changes in starch granules

The Escherichia coli glycogen branching enzyme (GLGB) was fused to either the C- or N-terminus of a starch-binding domain (SBD) and expressed in two potato genetic backgrounds: the amylose-free mutant (amf) and an amylose-containing line (Kardal). Regardless of background or construct used, a large amount of GLGB/SBD fusion protein was accumulated inside the starch granules, however, without an increase in branching. The presence of GLGB/SBD fusion proteins resulted in altered morphology of the starch granules in both genetic backgrounds. In the amf genetic background, the starch granules showed both amalgamated granules and porous starch granules, whereas in Kardal background, the starch granules showed an irregular rough surface. The altered starch granules in both amf and Kardal backgrounds were visible from the initial stage of potato tuber development. High-throughput transcriptomic analysis showed that expression of GLGB/SBD fusion protein in potato tubers did not affect the expression level of most genes directly involved in the starch biosynthesis except for the up-regulation of a beta-amylase gene in Kardal background. The beta-amylase protein could be responsible for the degradation of the extra branches potentially introduced by GLGB.