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Biomedical subjects

L Willmitzer

Publications and source records attributed to L Willmitzer.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Differential expression of genes in potato tubers after wounding.

Tubers of a common tetraploid species of Solanum tuberosum (Granola) were mechanically wounded by slicing. After 18 hr only small differences were detectable in the pattern of the steady-state protein extracted from wounded versus unwounded tubers. In contrast the protein pattern obtained by in vitro translation of mRNA isolated from wounded and unwounded tubers differed significantly. A cDNA library was established and screened for wound-induced cDNA clones by differential hybridization. Two clones, wun-1 and wun-2, were found that corresponded to genes that were highly expressed in wounded potato tubers but were not expressed in unwounded tubers. The expression of the gene corresponding to wun-1 is detectable 30 min after wounding; the expression of the gene corresponding to wun-2 is detectable 4 hr after wounding. The expression of both genes (hereafter referred to as wun-1 and wun-2) remains constant for up to 24 hr after wounding. Interestingly the RNA corresponding to patatin, a major storage protein of potato tubers, behaves in the opposite way; it decreases dramatically in tubers within 30 min after wounding. The low level of patatin mRNA observed in unwounded roots and stems also disappears after wounding. Run-off transcription experiments, performed with isolated nuclei, indicate that the activation of the wound-induced genes as well as the inhibition of the patatin gene are controlled at the transcriptional level.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1987

Improved method for the isolation of RNA from plant tissues.

A fast and efficient method for the isolation of RNA from plant tissues is described. Tuber tissue is homogenized in a guanidine hydrochloride-containing buffer followed by direct extraction with phenol/chloroform. The RNA is precipitated from the aqueous phase, washed with 3 M sodium acetate and 70% ethanol, and finally dissolved in water. The yield of RNA is up to 500 micrograms/g of tissue and several tests indicate intact and nondegraded RNA. This method can be adapted to a small-scale version by the use of 1.5-ml tubes, allowing rapid isolation of RNA from a larger number of samples. Finally, this method is of particular use for isolating RNA from tissues with a high polysaccharide and nuclease content such as wounded potato tubers.

Chloroform↗
PubMed1987

Organ-specific and dosage-dependent expression of a leaf/stem specific gene from potato after tagging and transfer into potato and tobacco plants.

ST-LS1, a single copy gene from potato displaying a leaf/stem specific gene expression, was tagged by an exon modification and introduced into both potato and tobacco cells using Agrobacterium vectors. After regeneration of whole plants, the expression of the tagged gene was analyzed with respect to its organ specificity and compared to the expression of the corresponding resident gene. The expression of the transferred gene in transgenic plants closely followed the expression of the resident gene. No marked influence of the plant species serving as host was observed. The level of expression of the introduced gene varied by a factor of at least 100 in independent transformants when normalized to the expression of the resident gene. Southern analysis performed on the transformed plants indicated a correlation between copy number of the introduced gene and its expression level. The activity of the tagged gene as well as of the resident gene was significantly inhibited by treatment of the transgenic plants with the herbicide norfluorazon, indicating that this gene activity is dependent on the presence of functional chloroplasts in the leaves.

DNA, Recombinant↗
PubMed1987

Expression of a tuber-specific storage protein in transgenic tobacco plants: demonstration of an esterase activity.

A chimaeric gene composed of the 5' upstream region of STLS1, a leaf/stem specifically expressed gene from Solanum tuberosum, and the RNA-coding as well as the 3' downstream region of patatin, the major storage protein of potato tubers, has been transferred into tobacco plants using the Agrobacterium system. The introduction of this gene led to a leaf/stem specific expression of a 42-kd large protein which immunocrossreacts with patatin antiserum. Only low amounts of immunoreacting protein of smaller size could be detected in transgenic tobacco leaves indicating that the patatin protein is fairly stable in this heterologous environment. The size of the protein as well as the size of the RNA detected in transgenic tobacco leaves using a patatin-specific probe indicates that the patatin RNA was accurately processed in both leaf and stem tissue of tobacco. The expression of the patatin gene led to the appearance of a new esterase activity in the transformed tobacco which co-migrated with a protein immunoreacting with patatin antiserum. These data therefore demonstrate that patatin in addition to serving as a storage protein displays an enzymatic activity.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1987

Wound expression of a potato proteinase inhibitor II gene in transgenic tobacco plants.

A potato proteinase inhibitor II gene was transferred into tobacco plants using Agrobacterium/Ti-plasmid-mediated gene transfer techniques. Whereas no or little expression of the proteinase inhibitor II gene could be detected in non-wounded leaves, high levels of proteinase inhibitor II mRNA were detected in leaves of several transgenic tobacco plants after mechanical wounding as well as after treatment of detached leaves with oligosaccharides. Wounding of a leaf also led to a systemic induction in non-wounded leaves as well as non-wounded stem, and roots. RNA-protection experiments showed that the transcription of the proteinase inhibitor gene in transgenic tobacco plants was initiated at the same nucleotide as that of the original gene. These observations demonstrate that although no proteinase inhibitor II homologous gene can be detected in tobacco, this plant nevertheless has the capacity to regulate the expression of the potato gene in the same complex manner as in the case of potato.

Blotting, Southern↗
PubMed1987

Analysis of cis-active sequences involved in the leaf-specific expression of a potato gene in transgenic plants.

ST-LS1 is a light-inducible, single-copy gene from potato that is expressed only in photosynthetic tissues. Various sequences derived from the 5'-upstream region of this gene were fused to the coding region of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene and to the gene 7 termination region of the transfer DNA (T-DNA) from the Agrobacterium Ti plasmid pTiACH5 and transferred to tobacco using Ti-plasmid vectors. After regeneration of whole plants, tissues were assayed for the expression of the CAT gene. Sequences derived from the 5'-upstream region of the ST-LS1 gene comprising positions -334 to +11 were sufficient to confer a leaf/stem-specific as well as a light-inducible expression of the CAT gene. Destruction of chloroplasts by treatment with the herbicide norfluorazon and subsequent exposure to light drastically reduced the expression of the CAT gene indicating that this upstream sequence most likely interacts with a chloroplast-dependent signal. When sequences from position -98 to position +675 were fused to a truncated inactive fragment of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter in a head-to-head manner, the corresponding chimeric genes were again expressed in photosynthetic tissues only, indicating that these sequences have enhancer-like properties.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1986

Primary structure of a proteinase inhibitor II gene from potato (Solanum tuberosum).

The isolation and characterization of a genomic clone encoding proteinase inhibitor II of potato (Solanum tuberosum) is described. The structure of this gene was determined by sequencing a genomic fragment of about 2 kb containing the entire RNA coding as well as about 900 nucleotides of the 5'-upstream and 250 nucleotides of the 3'-downstream region. The transcription start site was determined by RNase protection experiments. The comparison of the genomic sequence with cDNA sequences reveals the presence of one intron with a length of 117 nucleotides. The genomic clone contains an open reading frame of 462 nucleotides allowing for a protein of 154 amino acids. The proteinase inhibitor II gene displays typical features of eucaryotic genes. The sequence TATAAA is found 26 nucleotides upstream of the transcription initiation site and the sequence CAAAT at position--103. In the 3'-region the sequence AATAA is found 33 nucleotides in front of the poly-A addition site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1983

Size, location and polarity of T-DNA-encoded transcripts in nopaline crown gall tumors; common transcripts in octopine and nopaline tumors.

Up to thirteen T-DNA-encoded, polyadenylated transcripts of different relative abundance were detected by Northern blot hybridization in the tobacco nopaline BT37 crown gall teratoma tissue. Their sizes range from 900 to 2,700 bases. The polarity of eight of the thirteen transcripts was assigned by hybridization of labeled RNA to single-stranded DNA fragments of the T-region obtained by cloning in an M13 vector. Both strands of the T-DNA are transcribed. Our data indicate that most, if not all, transcripts are generated via independent promoter and poly(A)-addition sites on the T-DNA. Comparison of T-DNA-encoded transcripts present in crown gall tumors showing teratoma-like growth (BT37) with those from an unorganized tumor line (W38C58) reveals that this difference in phenotype is accompanied by a difference in the expression of the T-DNA. T-DNA sequences common to both octopine and nopaline tumors encode at least five, and probably six, cross-hybridizing transcripts of the same size, location, polarity and function. These transcripts are involved in the process of plant tumor formation and maintenance.

Arginine↗
PubMed1982

The TL-DNA in octopine crown-gall tumours codes for seven well-defined polyadenylated transcripts.

Seven polyadenylated transcripts of significantly different relative abundance were detected in octopine crown-gall tissue after gel electrophoretic separation and subsequent transfer to diazobenzyloxymethyl paper. The transcripts range from 670 to 2700 bases long. The different transcripts were located using 19 different fragments of the TL-region as probes. By hybridizing labelled RNA to separated complementary strands of the T-DNA, and parallel determination of the chemical polarity of the strands, the 5' - 3' orientations of six of the seven transcripts was identified. Both strands of the T-DNA code RNA. Hybridization of octopine TL-DNA against poly A RNA's present in two nopaline tumour-lines C58-S1 and BT37, and vice versa, reveals a minimum of two and possibly four transcripts common to both octopine and nopaline tumours. These transcripts originate from corresponding parts of the conserved region of the T-DNA and are of similar size.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1982

Genetic Identification of functions of TL-DNA transcripts in octopine crown galls.

The TL-DNA in octopine crown galls encodes seven transcripts most, if not all, expressed from individual promoters. Site-specific deletions and substitutions in the T-region of the octopine plasmid pTiB6S3 indicate some of the functions of the TL-DNA transcripts. Two of the seven genes are sufficient to allow tumorous growth. T-DNA transfer and oncogenicity are controlled by different and independently acting functions. None of the transcripts of TL-DNA appear to be essential for T-DNA transfer. Four, possibly five, of the TL-DNA transcripts act by suppressing organ development. Shoot and root formation are suppressed by the action of different transcripts.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1981

Transcription of T-DNA in octopine and nopaline crown gall tumours is inhibited by low concentrations of alpha-amanitin.

Highly purified and physiologically active nuclei were isolated from four different octopine and nopaline crown gall lines. These nuclei exhibited a high endogenous RNA synthesizing activity involving all three RNA-polymerases I, II and III. Isolated nuclei were shown by Southern blotting to synthesize T-DNA specific RNA. This synthesis was shown to be sensitive to actinomycin D and therefore to be DNA-dependent. The transcription of the T-DNA was also inhibited for more than 90% by low concentrations of alpha-amanitin (0.7 micrograms/ml) indicating that the T-DNA, although from bacterial origin, is transcribed by the host RNA polymerase II.

Amanitins↗
PubMed1981

Nuclear and polysomal transcripts of T-DNA in octopine crown gall suspension and callus cultures.

To establish a detailed map of the transcribed parts of the T-DNA in two octopine crown gall lines grown in suspension culture, T-DNA-derived steady-state nuclear and polysomal RNA as well as RNA synthesized in isolated nuclei purified from the crown gall tissues, was analyzed by southern blot hybridization to specific fragments of the T-region of the octopine plasmid pTi ACH5. In addition total RNA isolated from the same lines grown as callus tissue on solid agar, was analyzed for T-DNA specific transcripts. The results show that all of the T-DNA is transcribed although different segments are transcribed to significantly different extents. Roughly the same hybridization pattern was found for nuclear and polysomal poly-A+ and poly-A- RNA. The transcription pattern was found to be different for cells in the stationary phase of growth compared with actively growing cells.

Cell Line↗
PubMed1981

Further insight on the transferred-DNA of octopine crown gall.

Six octopine tumour lines incited by pTiB6S3, pTiAch5 and pTiA6 on tobacco, Arabidopsis and Petunia were studied by the Southern blotting hybridisation technique in order to define accurately the dimensions of the segments of plasmid origin transferred to the tumourous cell and their organisation in the plant genome. Emphasis has been put on the comparison between octopine and nopaline T-DNAs and on the lines presented here compared with those studied previously (Thomashow et al. 1980). The length of the transferred DNA segment does not depend on the plasmids used, nor on the host plants. The octopine T-DNA organisation in the cell nucleus is significantly different from that of nopaline T-DNAs: tandem arrangements of T-DNA segments could not be detected and the T-DNA itself is much shorter. The tumour lines described here can be compared to some extent with those studied by another group (Thomashow et al. 1980) by the same technique. However, some differences were observed. The transferred DNA was seen as a unique stretch of about 11 kb present only once per cell. No amplification of any part was noticed in any of these six lines. Examination of the restriction patterns presented by the boundary fragments of the T-DNA in these lines suggested that some of them were of common origin.

DNA Restriction Enzymes↗
PubMed1980

The interaction of Agrobacterium Ti-plasmid DNA and plant cells.

The tumour-inducing plasmids of Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Ti-plasmids) reveal several interesting properties. They are catabolic plasmids, which, instead of rendering Agrobacterium strains capable of catabolizing compounds found in Nature, force a plant to synthesize these catabolites (denoted 'opines'). This situation is obtained by insertion of a segment of the Ti-plasmid (the T-DNA) into the plant nucleus, where T-DNA genes become expressed and intervene in the biosynthesis of these opines. Cells containing the T-DNA behave as neoplasms (crown gall cells). Southern blotting shows that the insertion process responsible for T-DNA transfer probably recognizes special sequences on the T-DNA since the length of the T-DNA segment observed in different, independently isolated tumour lines was found to be similar. For the nopaline Ti-plasmids both left-hand and right-hand borders were found to be constant. For the octopine plasmid the left border was constant and at least two classes of right-hand borders were found. Upon redifferentiation of the transformed plant cells, the T-DNA was found to be conserved in all somatic cells examined. However, small deletions at the border fragments of the T-DNA have been observed. The exact arrangement and copy number of the T-DNA in a nucleus is still under study, but genomic cloning has already revealed that an interspersed tandem arrangement is dominant in nopaline tumours. Clones containing both the right border of one T-DNA and the left border of the neighbouring tandem T-DNA were isolated. In order to identify the different T-plasmid encoded functions an extensive use was made of transposon insertion mutagenesis. When an antibiotic resistance transposon was inserted into the non-essential regions of the T-DNA, a linked transfer to the plant DNA of the transposon together with the T-DNA was observed. This indicates that Ti-plasmids are possible vectors for genetic engineering in plants. A strategy is described for insertion of any cloned DNA segment into the T-DNA.

Amino Acids↗