金黄色葡萄球菌OatA基因敲除菌株及其回补菌株的构建

目的:构建金黄色葡萄球菌(金葡菌)Oat A基因敲除菌株及其回补菌株。方法:以p BT2为载体,构建金葡菌Oat A基因敲除质粒p BT2-△Oat A,经金葡菌RN4220修饰后电转入金葡菌USA300,利用p BT2载体对温度敏感的特点,在42℃多次传代,筛选出金葡菌Oat A基因敲除菌株。以p LI50为载体,构建p LI50-Oat A全基因回补质粒,电转入金葡菌RN4220,再次抽提后电转入敲除菌株△Oat A,获得基因回补菌株p Oat A。结果:成功构建基因敲除质粒p BT2-△Oat A,经RN4220修饰电转入USA300,经PCR及测序鉴定,获得了金葡菌Oat A敲除菌株△Oat A。经PCR及酶切鉴定,确认p LI50-Oat A回补质粒构建成功,通过金葡菌RN4220修饰后电转入敲除菌株△Oat A,获得基因敲除回补菌株p Oat A。结论:成功构建金黄色葡萄球菌Oat A基因敲除菌株及其回补菌株,为进一步研究金葡菌Oat A的功能及其作用机制奠定基础。     

卡介苗阿拉伯糖苷转移酶embC基因敲除株的构建和初步鉴定

目的采用基因敲除技术构建了卡介苗embC基因缺失株。方法从卡介苗基因组中扩增出embC基因,定向插入自杀质粒p2NIL中,切除embC基因中约1000bp片段使其失活,再定向插入标记片段,筛选鉴定阳性克隆,电穿孔转入卡介苗,筛选重组菌株。结果PCR和酶切鉴定证明构建成功用于基因打靶的置换型自杀质粒,并筛选成功获得重组卡介苗。结论获得了卡介苗embC基因敲除株,为进一步研究对卡介苗免疫活性的影响奠定了基础。     

谷氨酸棒状杆菌CRISPR-Cpf1和Cre/loxP基因敲除技术的比较

【背景】谷氨酸棒状杆菌的基因敲除系统较为匮乏且效率不高,难以对其进行代谢工程改造,不利于高性能工业菌株的构建及规模生产。【目的】分别采用CRISPR-Cpf1和Cre/loxP基因敲除系统对谷氨酸棒状杆菌ATCC13032(CorynebacteriumglutamicumATCC13032)基因组上的argR和argF基因进行敲除,比较两种敲除方法的优缺点,为合理选择敲除系统提供依据。【方法】特异性重组的Cre/loxP敲除系统是首先利用同源重组将基因组上的靶基因替换为两端带有重组位点loxP的kanR片段,然后由重组酶Cre识别loxP位点并发生重组反应,从而去除替换到基因组上的kanR片段,进一步利用质粒的温敏特性将其消除,从而实现靶基因的敲除。CRISPR-Cpf1敲除系统是利用Cpf1对pre-crRNA进行加工,形成的成熟crRNA引导Cpf1识别和结合到靶DNA的特定序列上并切割双链DNA分子,通过同源重组作用去除靶基因,基于质粒自身的温敏特性将其消除,从而完成基因敲除的整个过程。【结果】Cre/lox P系统可在8N+2 d内完成N轮迭代基因敲除,而CRISPR-Cpf1系统可在5N+2d内完成N轮迭代基因无痕敲除,理论上还可以一次对多个靶位点进行编辑,效率更高,但存在同源重组效率较低、假阳性率高等缺点。【结论】与Cre/loxP系统相比,CRISPR-Cpf1辅助的同源重组基因敲除方法可省时、省力地实现基因的无痕敲除,理论上还可实现多个基因的同时敲除、总体效率更高,然而编辑效率还有提高的空间。     

副溶血性弧菌基因敲除方法的建立及应用

目的摸索出一套副溶血性弧菌基因敲除的可靠方案,副溶血性弧菌致病相关基因的敲除对深入研究其致病机制有重要意义。方法通过融合PCR技术将目的基因上下游同源臂融合并克隆到自杀载体pDS132上,将重组质粒转化大肠杆菌S17λpir中,再接合转移到副溶血性弧菌菌株内,经pDS132质粒上sacB基因的反向筛选得到突变株。结果成功构建了副溶血性弧菌RIMD2210633菌株ΔopaR,ΔtoxR和ΔaphA三个基因突变株。结论通过自杀载体同源重组成功获得精确敲除的无痕突变株更有利于基因功能的研究,使后续副溶血性弧菌突变株与野生株的对比研究成为可能。     

结核分枝杆菌EF4敲除菌株的构建

EF4是一个由 lepA 基因编码的与蛋白质翻译密切相关的延伸因子,在细菌中高度保守,但其确切功能和分子机制尚不清楚,在结核分枝杆菌中的功能至今未见报道。为探索EF4在结核分枝杆菌中的功能,需构建一株结核分枝杆菌 lepA 基因敲除株。本研究以结核分枝杆菌H37Ra全基因组DNA为模板,设计并通过聚合酶链反应(polymerase chain reaction,PCR)扩增 lepA 基因左、右臂,连接到p0004S质粒,构建同源重组质粒p0004S-Δ lepA 。然后,通过噬菌体体外包装,将p0004S-Δ lepA 质粒连接到phAE159质粒,构建phAE159-Δ lepA 噬菌体包装质粒。在耻垢分枝杆菌mc 2155中大量扩增噬菌体并受结核分枝杆菌侵染进行同源重组,筛选阳性克隆,从基因组和蛋白质表达水平检测该突变株中 lepA 基因及EF4蛋白表达。PCR结果显示,敲除株基因组中 lepA 基因已被潮霉素抗性基因成功替换,蛋白免疫印迹结果显示该敲除株中无EF4表达,表明其为成功构建的Ra Δ lepA 。生长曲线分析显示,正常培养条件下,结核分枝杆菌野生株与敲除株生长趋势一致。敲除株与野生株在菌落形态上有一定差异,相比于野生株,Ra Δ lepA 菌落颜色发黄,凸起偏厚,生长过程中生物膜皱褶较少。耐胁迫能力分析显示,与野生株相比,Ra Δ lepA 耐热、抗去垢剂、抗氧化能力无显著差异,但耐酸性环境能力明显增强。本研究利用噬菌体介导的重组法成功构建了结核分枝杆菌 lepA 基因敲除株,为后续研究结核分枝杆菌EF4的功能提供了重要基础。     

基因置换发展研究综述

基因置换,又称基因替代作用,它指的是遗传信息单向的从一个序列向其同源序列传递的过程。近年来,人们对遗传重组的发生机制、功能及影响有了新的认识,尤其是发现\"重组\"造成的基因置换远超过以前认识。与遗传重组不同,基因置换有可能改变等位基因频率,搅乱等位基因的组合,降低连锁不平衡的程度,影响核苷酸多样性的即时效应和长期的效应。这些发现有助于去理解基因置换的机制,去探索基因置换对物种进化及遗传多样性更深远的影响,如基因置换对染色体基因结构和功能有哪些影响及基因置换对更深层次的生物进化起什么样的作用等。本文对基因置换进行了综合论述,重点介绍了基因置换的当前发展趋势,并以基因四联子为模型,总结了基因置换事件的推断,并对基因置换的研究前景进行了讨论。     

植物基因打靶技术

基因打靶是反向遗传学的基础工具,它通过同源重组置换染色体内的基因用于复杂基因组的基因功能分析。但是,在植物中,外源DNA的插入主要是非序列依赖的非同源末端连接方式,基因打靶频率很低,只有10-5～10-4的水平。综述了近年来为了提高植物基因打靶频率,研究人员的工作和最新进展 。     

基因功能研究的加速器-高通量克隆表达系统

大规模基因测序已经完成了多个重要物种的基因组序列分析,功能基因组学研究的序幕已经拉开。大规模的体外克隆获得全长或部分的开放阅读框是蛋白质表达、干扰分析和定位分析、相互作用分析的必经环节,对使用简便、成本低廉、保真度高和易于在不同体系中穿梭的高通量克隆体系的了解、评价和使用已经成为基因组水平研究的重要问题。为此,对目前存在的多种高通量克隆体系进行了系统的介绍和比较。     

植物基因同源重组研究现状

同源重组是普遍存在的生物学现象,从噬菌体、细菌到相传真核生物均有存在。它对生物的遗传与变异具有重大影响,一直是生物学家研究的热点。本文从染色体外同源重组、染色体内同源重组以及基因打靶三个方面综述了同源重组在植物方面的研究现状。从分子水平上较详尽的介绍了同源重组发生的机制以及同源重组在生物领域的应用、前景展望及其存在的局限性。     

Mechanisms for recombination between stably integrated vector sequences in CHO cells

Possible mechanisms for homologous recombination in CHO cells have been investigated using a stably integrated vector, pIII-14gpt. The vector contains 2 inactive neo gene fragments in tandem arrangement. Functional neo gene activity can be restored by recombination between homologous regions in the 2 fragments. Cells in which this event has taken place become resistant to the antibiotic G418. Possible mechanisms for neo gene reactivation in this system are unequal exchange between chromatids, intra-chromatidal deletion and gene conversion.

DNA from a total of 74 G418-resistant cell clones have been isolated, and analyzed on Southern blots using neo-specific probes. Rearrangements of neo-specific restriction fragments were found to have occurred in all cell clones. In 50% of the revertants, these rearrangements can be explained by a deletion which brings the complementary regions in the 2 neo gene gragments together.

One single revertant (1.3%) shows a possible gene conversion event. The other isolated revertants (about 48%) contain more complex rearrangements. These results indicate that the predominating recombination mechanism for reactivation of the neo gene in this system is either a deletion within a chromatid or an unequal exchange between sister chromatids.     

一种用于提高基因打靶效率的双荧光筛选策略

同源重组介导的基因打靶技术因其准确性高、引入的突变可以预测,已经成为功能基因组研究的重要工具。但是在真核生物体内,天然同源重组的概率极低,对后续的筛选和鉴别造成很大困扰。因此,建立一个广谱性的高效筛选策略极为重要。研究基于\"双荧光\"的可视化筛选,通过提高筛选效率,从而建立了一种显著提高同源重组打靶效率的新策略。该策略以绿色荧光蛋白基因和新霉素基因为正筛选标记,以红色荧光蛋白基因为负筛选标记。经过G418筛选后,挑取仅表达绿色荧光蛋白的抗性克隆,用于跨界PCR检测。研究尝试运用上述新策略,借助CRISPR/Cas9技术,对猪肌抑素基因进行同源重组介导的基因打靶。在选取的T1和T2两个靶位点处,\"双荧光\"策略筛选的细胞阳性率分别达到80.5%和86.7%,筛选效率得到显著提高。研究建立的\"双荧光\"可视化筛选策略具有高效性和广谱性,在动物基因编辑领域具有广阔的应用前景。     

毕赤酵母基因编辑技术研究进展

巴斯德毕赤酵母是一种重要的蛋白表达系统,基因编辑技术作为代谢工程的基本工具,对于毕赤酵母的代谢改造十分重要。近十年基因编辑技术发展迅速,除传统的同源重组和Cre/loxP重组外,相继出现了许多新的基因编辑技术,例如ZFN、TALEN和CRISPR/Cas9等,这些技术的出现使基因编辑更加简便高效。本文对毕赤酵母中传统和新型基因编辑技术的原理应用和研究进展进行了简要综述,并结合相关领域的发展对毕赤酵母基因编辑技术的发展进行了展望。     

基因定点整合技术及其在苔藓研究中的进展

基因定点整合技术是20世纪80年代后兴起的一种分子生物学技术,在精细研究基因功能,消除转基因沉默,基因治疗等有重要意义。基因定点整合技术是功能基因组学研究的重要手段。目前关于基因定点整合技术在酵母和鼠胚胎干细胞中的应用已经很成熟,高等植物由于同源重组频率较低而限制了它的应用,但小立碗藓(Physcomitrella patens)基因同源重组频率较高,基因定点整合技术得到了成功应用,可望成为一种新的分子生物学的模式植物。本文针对基因定点整合的原理、技术路线及进展作一综述。     

A novel single step double positive double negative selection strategy for beta-globin gene replacement

beta-Thalassemias are a heterogeneous group of autosomal recessive disorders, characterized by reduced or absence of the beta-globin chain production by the affected alleles. Transplantation of genetically corrected autologous hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) is an attractive approach for treatment of these disorders. Gene targeting (homologous recombination) has many desirable features for gene therapy due to its ability to target the mutant genes and restore their normal expression. In the present study, a specific gene construct for beta-globin gene replacement was constructed consisting of: two homologous stems including, upstream and downstream regions of beta-globin gene, beta-globin gene lying between hygromycin and neomycin resistant genes as positive selection markers and thymidine kinase expression cassettes at both termini as negative selection marker. All segments were subcloned into pBGGT vector. The final plasmid was checked by sequencing and named as pFBGGT. Mammalian cell line COS-7 was transfected with linear plasmid by lipofection followed by positive and negative selection. DNA of the selected cells was analyzed by PCR and sequencing to confirm the occurrence of homologous recombination. In this novel strategy gene replacement was achieved in one step and by a single construct.     

Restoration of the wild-type locus in an RuBP carboxylase/oxygenase mutant of Synechocystis PCC 6803 via targeted gene recombination.

Summary The interaction between homologous DNA sequences, distant from each other in the chromosome, was examined in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803. Most of the rbcL gene encoding the large subunit of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) was duplicated in the genome by a targeted insertion of a 3-truncated gene copy into the psbA-I locus. Both rbcL genes, in the psbA-I region and at the rbc locus, were non-functional; The former due to the 3 truncation, and the latter due to a deletion in the 5-region (creating a 5 truncation) and a mutation associated with an insertion of the Rhodospirillum rubrum rbc gene, yielding a high-CO₂-requiring mutant (cyanorubrum). The 3 and the 5 truncated rbcL genes were linked to chloramphenicol and kanamycin resistance markers, respectively. Decreasing the kanamycin selective pressure concomitantly with exposure of the double resistance mutant to air, resulted in air-growing colonies. Analysis of their genomes, Rubisco proteins, and their ultrastructure revealed: 1) Reconstitution of a full-length cyanobacterial rbcL gene at the rbc locus; 2) simultaneous synthesis of the cyanobacterial (L₈S₈) and R. rubrum L₂) enzymes in meroploids containing both mutated and reconstituted rbcL genes; 3) reappearance of carboxysomes. Our results indicate extensive recombinatorial interactions between the homologous sequences at both loci leading to reconstitution of the cyanobacterial rbcL gene.     

Template-guided recombination for IES elimination and unscrambling of genes in stichotrichous ciliates

The micronuclear versions of genes in stichotrichous ciliates are interrupted by multiple, short, non-coding DNA segments called internal eliminated segments, or IESs. IESs divide a gene into macronuclear destined segments, or MDSs. In some micronuclear genes MDSs are in a scrambled disorder. During development of a micronucleus into a macronucleus after cell mating the IESs are excised from micronuclear genes and the MDSs are spliced in the sequentially correct order. Pairs of short repeat sequences in the ends of MDSs undergo homologous recombination to excise IESs and splice MDSs. However, the repeat sequences are too short to guide unambiguously their own alignment in preparation for recombination. Based on experiments by others on the distantly related ciliate, Paramecium, we propose a molecular model of template-guided recombination to explain the excision of the 100,000-150,000 IESs and splicing of MDSs, including unscrambling, in the genome of stichotrichous ciliates. The model solves the problem of correct pairing of pointers, precisely identifies MDS-IES junctions, and provides for irreversible recombination.     

Genetic analysis of the effects of re-transformation of transgenic lines of the mossPhyscomitrella patens

Genetic analysis of the progeny of crosses involving strains of the mossPhyscomitrella patens obtained by re-transforming a stable transgenic line, indicates that the plasmid used for re-transformation inserts at or near the chromosomal location of the related plasmid used to obtain the original transgenic line. The resulting structure may be subject to gene silencing.     

Breaking Caenorhabditis elegans the easy way using the Balch homogenizer: an old tool for a new application

The biochemical quantification of sterols in insects has been difficult because only small amounts of tissues can be obtained from insect bodies and because sterol metabolites are structurally related. We have developed a highly specific and sensitive quantitative method for determining of the concentrations of seven sterols—7-dehydrocholesterol, desmosterol, cholesterol, ergosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, and β-sitosterol—using a high performance liquid chromatography–atmospheric pressure chemical ionization–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/APCI-MS/MS). The sterols were extracted from silkworm larval tissues using the Bligh and Dyer method and were analyzed using HPLC/APCI-MS/MS with selected reaction monitoring, using cholesterol-3,4-¹³C₂ as an internal standard. The detection limits of the method were between 12.1 and 259 fmol. The major sterol in most silkworm larval tissues was cholesterol, whereas only small quantities of the dietary sterols were detected. Thus, a simple, sensitive, and specific method was successfully developed for the quantification of the sterol concentrations in each tissue of an individual silkworm larva. This method will be a useful tool for investigating to molecular basis of sterol physiology in insects, facilitating the quantification of femtomole quantities of sterols in biological samples.     

Single-stranded oligonucleotide-mediated gene repair in mammalian cells has a mechanism distinct from homologous recombination repair

Single-stranded DNA oligonucleotide (SSO)-mediated gene repair has great potentials for gene therapy and functional genomic studies. However, its underlying mechanism remains unclear. Previous studies from other groups have suggested that DNA damage response via the ATM/ATR pathway may be involved in this process. In this study, we measured the effect of two ATM/ATR inhibitors caffeine and pentoxifylline on the correction efficiency in SSO-mediated gene repair. We also checked their effect on double-stranded break (DSB)-induced homologous recombination repair (HRR) as a control, which is well known to be dependent on the ATM/ATR pathway. We found these inhibitors could completely inhibit DSB-induced HRR, but could only partially inhibit SSO-mediated process, indicating SSO-mediated gene repair is not dependent on the ATM/ATR pathway. Furthermore, we found that thymidine treatment promotes SSO-mediated gene repair, but inhibits DSB-induced HRR. Collectively, our results demonstrate that SSO-mediated and DSB-induced gene repairs have distinct mechanisms.