褪黑素合成酶基因转化烟草及转化植株抗氧化系统变化

Genetic transformation of Nicotiana tabacum L. by Agrobacterium tumefaciens carrying genes in the melatonin biosynthesis pathway and the enhancement of antioxidative capability in transgenic plants

摘要:

通过根癌农杆菌(含植物表达载体YXu55)介导的转化技术, 将褪黑素生物合成酶-芳烷基胺N-乙酰转移酶(Arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase, AANAT)与羟基吲哚O-甲基转移酶(Hydroxyindole O-methyltransferase, HIOMT)基因导入到烟草(秦烟95)中。对所获得的庆大霉素抗性烟草株系进行Southern blotting和RT-PCR分子生物学检测, 结果表明, AANAT-HIOMT基因已成功地整合到烟草基因组中, 并且可以在mRNA水平上进行转录。用反相高效液相色谱法(RP-HPLC)测定转化株系的褪黑素含量表明, 转AANAT-HIOMT基因烟草株系的褪黑素含量均明显高于pZP122(不含AANAT和HIOMT基因的空白质粒)转基因株系和未转基因的对照植株, 证明AANAT-HIOMT基因在转基因植株中的表达增强了褪黑素的合成能力。对不同株系抗氧化系统的部分指标进行了测定, 并与其亲本对照植株比较, 发现AANAT-HIOMT基因在转基因植物中的表达引起超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性增加, 谷胱甘肽(GSH)浓度以及总抗氧化能力升高, 且没有引起膜脂质过氧化物丙二醛(MDA)的变化, 说明转基因烟草抗氧化潜能得到提高。

Abstract:

Arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) and Hydroxyindole O-methyltransferase(HIOMT) are the key regulation enzymes in the melatonin biosynthesis pathway in mammals. The AANAT and HIOMT genes were constructed into a binary plant expression vector YXu55. Using leaf strips as the recipiences, we efficiently transformed tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) variety qinyan 95 by the Agrobacterium mediated method. After gradient selection with gentamycin, a number of transgenic plants were regenerated. Southern blot and RT-PCR analyses showed that the AANAT-HIOMT genes were integrated into the genome of the transgenic plants and the target genes could express at the level of RNA transcription. By RP-HPLC, we measured the melatonin contents in transgenic plants. The results showed that the melatonin level in YXu55 (containing the gentamycin-resistance gene, the AANAT gene and HIOMT gene) transgenic plants were much higher than those in pZP122 (control containing only the gentamycin-resistance gene) transgenic plants and nontransgenic plants. The content of melatonin in pZP122 transgenic plants was nearly the same as that in nontransgenic plants. Physiological determination of antioxidative characteristics demonstrated that 1) the capacity of total antioxidation, 2) the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) and 3) the content of glutathione (GSH) were increased in YXu55 transgenic plants containing the AANAT-HIOMT genes as compared to the control plants (pZP122 or nontransgenic plants). At the same time, malonaldehyde (MDA) content did not appear remarkably difference between transgenic plants and nontransgenic plants. The above mentioned facts indicate enhancement of melatonin levels in YXu55 transgenic plants might help to reduce damage by oxidative stress.