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Gamma-tubulin is essential for microtubule organization and development in Arabidopsis.

The process of microtubule nucleation in plant cells is still a major question in plant cell biology. gamma-Tubulin is known as one of the key molecular players for microtubule nucleation in animal and fungal cells. Here, we provide genetic evidence that in Arabidopsis thaliana, gamma-tubulin is required for the formation of spindle, phragmoplast, and cortical microtubule arrays. We used a reverse genetics approach to investigate the role of the two Arabidopsis gamma-tubulin genes in plant development and in the formation of microtubule arrays. Isolation of mutants in each gene and analysis of two combinations of gamma-tubulin double mutants showed that the two genes have redundant functions. The first combination is lethal at the gametophytic stage. Disruption of both gamma-tubulin genes causes aberrant spindle and phragmoplast structures and alters nuclear division in gametophytes. The second combination of gamma-tubulin alleles affects late seedling development, ultimately leading to lethality 3 weeks after germination. This partially viable mutant combination enabled us to follow dynamically the effects of gamma-tubulin depletion on microtubule arrays in dividing cells using a green fluorescent protein marker. These results establish the central role of gamma-tubulin in the formation and organization of microtubule arrays in Arabidopsis.

Arabidopsis↗

Synthetic transcripts of double-stranded Birnavirus genome are infectious.

We have developed a system for generation of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), a segmented double-stranded RNA virus of the Birnaviridae family, with the use of synthetic transcripts derived from cloned cDNA. Independent full-length cDNA clones were constructed that contained the entire coding and noncoding regions of RNA segments A and B of two distinguishable IBDV strains of serotype I. Segment A encodes all of the structural (VP2, VP4, and VP3) and nonstructural (VP5) proteins, whereas segment B encodes the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (VP1). Synthetic RNAs of both segments were produced by in vitro transcription of linearized plasmids with T7 RNA polymerase. Transfection of Vero cells with combined plus-sense transcripts of both segments generated infectious virus as early as 36 hr after transfection. The infectivity and specificity of the recovered chimeric virus was ascertained by the appearance of cytopathic effect in chicken embryo cells, by immunofluorescence staining of infected Vero cells with rabbit anti-IBDV serum, and by nucleotide sequence analysis of the recovered virus, respectively. In addition, transfectant viruses containing genetically tagged sequences in either segment A or segment B of IBDV were generated to confirm the feasibility of this system. The development of a reverse genetics system for double-stranded RNA viruses will greatly facilitate studies of the regulation of viral gene expression, pathogenesis, and design of a new generation of live vaccines.

Animals↗

Molecular genetics using T-DNA in rice.

Now that sequencing of the rice genome is nearly completed, functional analysis of its large number of genes is the next challenge. Because rice is easy to transform, T-DNA has been used successfully to generate insertional mutant lines. Collectively, several laboratories throughout the world have established at least 200,000 T-DNA insertional lines. Some of those carry the GUS or GFP reporters for either gene or enhancer traps. Others are activation tagging lines for gain-of-function mutagenesis when T-DNA is inserted in the intergenic region. A forward genetic approach showed limited success because of somaclonal variations induced during tissue culture. To utilize these resources more efficiently, tagged lines have been produced for reverse genetics approaches. DNA pools of the T-DNA-tagged lines have been prepared for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening of insertional mutants in a given gene. Appropriate T-DNA insertion sites are determined by sequencing the region flanking the T-DNA. This information is then used to make databases that are shared with the scientific community. International efforts on seed amplification and maintenance are needed to exploit these valuable materials efficiently.

DNA, Bacterial↗

DNA linkage studies of degenerative retinal diseases.

DNA linkage studies of human genetic diseases have led to rapid characterization of a number of otherwise intractable disease loci. Detection of a linked DNA marker, the first step in "reverse genetics", has permitted cloning of the genes for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, retinoblastoma and chronic granulomatosis disease, among others. Thus, the case for applying these techniques to retinitis pigmentosa and related diseases, and the urgency in capitalizing on molecular developments, is justified and compelling. The first major success regarding RP was in demonstrating linkage of the DNA marker DXS7 (L1.28) to XRP. For autosomal forms of the disease, conventional linkage studies have provided tentative evidence for linkage of ADRP to the Rh blood group on chromosome lp and for linkage of Usher's syndrome to Gc and 4q. These provisional assignments are, at least, an important starting point for DNA analysis. The Support Program for DNA Linkage Studies of Degenerative Retinal Diseases was established to provide access for the scientific community to appropriate families, using the resources of the Human Genetic Mutant Cell Repository to prepare, store and distribute lymphoblast lines. To date, two extensive, well-characterized families are included in the program: the autosomal dominant RP family UCLA-RP01, and the Usher's syndrome families LSU-US01. It is highly likely that rapid progress will be made in mapping and characterizing the inherited retinal dystrophies. We believe the support program will facilitate this progress.

Choroid↗

Heritable and inducible genetic interference by double-stranded RNA encoded by transgenes.

Double-stranded RNA interference (RNAi) is an effective method for disrupting expression of specific genes in Caenorhabditis elegans and other organisms. Applications of this reverse-genetics tool, however, are somewhat restricted in nematodes because introduced dsRNA is not stably inherited. Another difficulty is that RNAi disruption of late-acting genes has been generally less consistent than that of embryonically expressed genes, perhaps because the concentration of dsRNA becomes lower as cellular division proceeds or as developmental time advances. In particular, some neuronally expressed genes appear refractory to dsRNA-mediated interference. We sought to extend the applicability of RNAi by in vivo expression of heritable inverted-repeat (IR) genes. We assayed the efficacy of in vivo-driven RNAi in three situations for which heritable, inducible RNAi would be advantageous: (i) production of large numbers of animals deficient for gene activities required for viability or reproduction; (ii) generation of large populations of phenocopy mutants for biochemical analysis; and (iii) effective gene inactivation in the nervous system. We report that heritable IR genes confer potent and specific gene inactivation for each of these applications. We suggest that a similar strategy might be used to test for dsRNA interference effects in higher organisms in which it is feasible to construct transgenic animals, but impossible to directly or transiently introduce high concentrations of dsRNA.

Animals↗

Myotonic dystrophy: another case of too many repeats?

Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is an adult form of muscular dystrophy affecting about 1 in 8,000 individuals in most populations. Although common symptoms include progressive muscle weakness and stiffness, it is characterised by a heterogeneous clinical picture. Despite this variation in both the nature and severity of the symptoms seen in affected individuals, DM is genetically homogeneous, segregating as a single locus on the proximal long arm of human chromosome 19. As the biochemical abnormality underlying the disease was unknown, a reverse genetics (or positional cloning) strategy for identifying the gene responsible was adopted. The resulting collaborative effort culminated in the detection of the molecular mutation event and the gene within which it lies: the expansion of a trinucleotide repeat (CTG) at the 3' end of a gene encoding a member of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase family. This has diagnostic implications since an easy, reliable and predictive test can now be offered to individuals with a family history of DM. These findings are also a prerequisite for further studies concerning the biochemical and physiological aetiology of DM and possible therapeutic strategies. In addition, the striking similarity between findings at the DNA level in DM and those in fragile X syndrome and spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy suggests that the mechanism leading to the increase in copy number of trinucleotide repeats at particular loci may be responsible for a number of other genetic diseases.

Base Sequence↗

Genetic comparison of the rhabdoviruses from animals and plants.

There are more than 160 viral species in the Rhabdovidae family, most of which can be grouped into one of the six genera including Vesiculovirus, Lyssavirus, Ephemerovirus, Novirhabdovirus, Cytorhabdovirus, and Nucleorhabdovirus. These viruses are not only morphologically similar but also genetically related. Analysis of viral genes shows that rhabdoviruses are more closely related to each other than to viruses in other families. With the development of reverse genetics, the functions of many cis- and trans-elements important in the process of viral transcription and replication have been clearly defined such as the leader, trailer, and the intergenic sequences. Furthermore, it has been shown that there are two entry sites for the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase: 3' entry for leader synthesis and RNA replication, and direct entry at the N gene start sequence for transcription of the monocistronic mRNAs.

Animals↗

The effects of early and late androgen treatments on the behavior of Sarotherodon mossambicus (Pisces: Cichlidae).

Groups of Sarotherodon mossambicus were treated with androgen by immersion or oral treatment at various stages of development. Fish were allowed to mature and the effects of treatment on gonadal and behavioral differentiation were examined. The effects of treatment on gonadal differentiation were assessed by determining the sex ratio for each group. Three treatments resulted in sex ratios significantly different from the 1:1 sex ratio obtained in untreated fish. Behavioral differences were detected between groups of males in three measures of territorial defense and aggression, and differences were detected between groups of females in two measures of male-female courtship interaction. A second experiment determined that early-treated females were more sensitive to a second androgen treatment later in life than females not exposed to androgen during development. A number of sex-reversed genetic females functioning as males were detected in two treatment groups with predominantly male sex ratios. There were no differences in the behavior of sex-reversed and non-sex-reversed male fish from the same treatment group. This study establishes that hormone treatments administered during development influence behavioral differentiation in a teleost.

Age Factors↗

The mouse: genetics meets behaviour.

Genetic studies in the mouse are important in the elucidation of molecular pathways that underlie behaviour. The advantages of the mouse for behavioural studies include an extensive array of genetic technologies and an elaborate behavioural repertoire that can be used to create models of human disease. This review discusses the relative advantages of forward and reverse genetic approaches to studying the genetic basis of behaviour in the mouse, and the complexities that behavioural studies need to address, such as phenotypic variability, genetic background effects and pleiotropy.

Animals↗

Information networks in the mammary gland.

Unique developmental features during puberty, pregnancy, lactation and post-lactation make the mammary gland a prime object to explore genetic circuits that control the specification, proliferation, differentiation, survival and death of cells. Steroids and simple peptide hormones initiate and carry out complex developmental programmes, and reverse genetics has been used to define the underlying mechanistic connections.

Animals↗

A GFP-based assay reveals a role for RHD3 in transport between the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus.

We describe the use of a secreted form of Aequoria victoria green fluorescent protein (secGFP) in a non-invasive live cell assay of membrane traffic in Arabidopsis thaliana. We show that in comparison to GFP-HDEL, which accumulates in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), secGFP generates a weak fluorescence signal when transported to the apoplast. The fluorescence of secGFP in the apoplast can be increased by growth of seedlings on culture medium buffered at pH 8.1, suggesting that apoplastic pH is responsible, at least in part, for the low fluorescence intensity of seedlings expressing secGFP. Inhibition of secGFP transport between the ER and plasma membrane (PM), either by Brefeldin A (BFA) treatment or by genetic intervention results in increased intracellular secGFP accumulation accompanied by an increase in the secGFP fluorescence intensity. secGFP thus provides a valuable tool for forward and reverse genetic analysis of membrane traffic and endomembrane organisation in Arabidopsis. Using this assay for quantitative sublethal perturbation of secGFP transport, we identify a role for root hair defective 3 (RHD3) in transport of secreted and Golgi markers between the ER and the Golgi apparatus.

Arabidopsis↗

Fine mapping of Dyscalc1, the major genetic determinant of dystrophic cardiac calcification in mice.

Calcification of severely dystrophic muscle is occasionally observed in targeted mouse models of muscular dystrophy and cardiomyopathy. Intracellular calcium deposition occurs in necrotic myocytes in the absence of plasma calcium and phosphate imbalances. In the heart, this recessive trait is referred to as dystrophic cardiac calcinosis (DCC). We identified previously Dyscalc1, a major genetic determinant of DCC, in a 15.2-Mbp region on proximal chromosome 7. We report now further steps toward the identification of the Dyscalc1 gene by reverse genetics. Transferring the Dyscalc1 locus from susceptible mouse strain C3H/He onto a resistant C57BL/6 strain background, we generated congenic inbred strains B6.C3-(D7Mit56-D7Mit230) and B6.C3-(D7Nds5-D7Mit230). Three days after myocardial freeze-thaw injury, both strains exhibited calcification of necrotic lesions, confirming the pathogenetic relevance of Dyscalc1. Analysis of two (129S1 x C57BL/6) x 129S1 backcrosses allowed mapping of Dyscalc1 more precisely to a region spanning 0.76 Mbp between genes Fgf21 (39.70 Mbp) and Myod1 (40.46 Mbp). This interval contains 31 known and putative genes in three large, ancestral haplotypes shared by susceptible strains C3H/He, 129S1, and DBA/2. Thus we were able to exclude previously proposed candidate genes Bax and Hrc. Instead, a potential candidate may be the gene encoding the ATP-binding cassette C6. Mutations in the orthologous human ABCC6 gene cause pseudoxanthoma elasticum, or Gronblad-Strandberg syndrome, an elastic tissue disorder with cardiovascular calcifications.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗

Integrative genetic element that reverses the usual target gene orientation.

A genetic element integrating site specifically into a prokaryotic gene usually carries a copy of the 3' portion of that gene that restores the active gene even as the original is disrupted. A cryptic element in Mesorhizobium loti instead carries a copy of the 5' end of the tRNA gene into which it integrated. This has implications for the evolution of new integrase-site combinations.

Base Sequence↗

Science review: key inflammatory and stress pathways in critical illness - the central role of the Toll-like receptors.

A pure reductionist approach can sometimes be used to solve an exceptionally complicated biologic problem, and sepsis is nothing if not complicated. A serious infection promptly leads to changes in many aspects of host physiology, including alterations in circulation, metabolism, renal, hepatic, and neuroendocrine function; all of these changes happen at once, and each influences one another. It is difficult to tease apart a problem of this sort, if only because the systems affected are so profoundly interactive. The key to understanding sepsis, insofar as we do understand it at present, was found in the use of genetic tools to study the very earliest events that take place at the interface of the pathogen and the host. The continued application of both forward and reverse genetic methods, in both mammals and insects, is steadily revealing the central biochemical events that occur during infection.

Animals↗

Separation of genetic functions controlling organ identity in flowers.

Comparative studies on the ABC model of floral development have revealed extensive conservation of B and C class genes, but have failed to identify similar conservation for A class genes. Using a reverse genetic approach, we show that the previous inability to obtain Antirrhinum mutants corresponding to the A class gene AP2 of Arabidopsis reflects greater genetic redundancy in Antirrhinum . Antirrhinum has two genes corresponding to AP2, termed LIP1 and LIP2, both of which need to be inactivated to give a mutant phenotype. Analysis of interactions between LIP and class B/C genes shows that unlike AP2 in Arabidopsis, LIP genes are not required for repression of C in outer whorls of the flower. However, like AP2, LIP genes play a role in sepal, petal and ovule development, although some of their detailed effects are different, reflecting the diverse morphologies of Antirrhinum and Arabidopsis flowers. The dual functions for which AP2 is required in Arabidopsis are therefore separate in Antirrhinum, showing that the genetic basis of some aspects of organ identity have undergone major evolutionary change.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The natural resistance-associated macrophage protein and susceptibility to intracellular pathogens.

Over 20 years ago it was recognised that murine susceptibility to several antigenically unrelated pathogens was influenced by a host genetic factor. Linkage studies suggested that Lsh, Ity, and Bcg, the leishmania-, salmonella-, and mycobacteria-susceptibility genes, may be one gene, located on mouse chromosome 1. A reverse genetics strategy identified a candidate gene, Nramp1, which was expressed only in reticuloendothelial cells. A single nonconservative amino acid substitution was found to correlate with the susceptibility genotype in 27 inbred mouse strains. The production of an Nramp1 gene-disrupted mouse and a transgenic mouse, which restored the resistance genotype, conclusively proved that Nramp1 is the Bcg/Lsh/Ity gene. The Nramp family includes genes expressed in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic species. These genes have provided clues to the possible function of Nramp1. The ubiquitously expressed gene Nramp2 is an Fe(2+) transporter and a mutation in this gene causes microcytic anaemia in mice and rats. The functions of Nramp1 and its human homologue, NRAMP1, remain unknown, though it is hypothesised that they may regulate the intraphagosomal concentration of Fe(2+) and/or other cations. The identification of polymorphisms in the human NRAMP1 gene has facilitated studies on the relevance of this gene to human mycobacterial susceptibility. NRAMP1 variant alleles are strongly associated with tuberculosis, indicating that this is an important mycobacterial-susceptibility gene in humans and confirming the usefulness of this mouse model in the study of human infectious disease susceptibility.

Animals↗

Full-length genome analysis of natural isolates of vesicular stomatitis virus (Indiana 1 serotype) from North, Central and South America.

Most studies on the molecular biology and functional analysis of vesicular stomatitis virus Indiana 1 serotype (VSV-IN1) are based on the only full-length genomic sequence currently deposited in GenBank. This sequence is a composite of several VSV-IN1 laboratory strains passaged extensively in tissue culture over the years and it is not certain that this sequence is representative of strains circulating in nature. We describe here the complete genomic sequence of three natural isolates, each representing a distinct genetic lineage and geographical origin: 98COE (North America), 94GUB (Central America) and 85CLB (South America). Genome structure and organization were conserved, with a 47 nucleotide 3' leader, five viral genes -- N, P, M, G and L -- and a 59 nucleotide 5' trailer. The most conserved gene was N, followed by M, L and G, with the most variable being P. Sequences containing the polyadenylation and transcription stop and start signals were completely conserved among all the viruses studied, but changes were found in the non-transcribed intergenic nucleotides, including the presence of a trinucleotide at the M-G junction of the South American lineage isolate. A 102-189 nucleotide insertion was present in the 5' non-coding region of the G gene only in the viruses within a genetic lineage from northern Central America. These full-length genomic sequences should be useful in designing diagnostic probes and in the interpretation of functional genomic analyses using reverse genetics.

Base Sequence↗

Multidrug resistance-like genes of Arabidopsis required for auxin transport and auxin-mediated development.

Arabidopsis possesses several genes related to the multidrug resistance (MDR) genes of animals, one of which, AtMDR1, was shown to be induced by the hormone auxin. Plants having mutations in AtMDR1 or its closest relative, AtPGP1, were isolated by a reverse genetic strategy. Auxin transport activity was greatly impaired in atmdr1 and atmdr1 atpgp1 double mutant plants. Epinastic cotyledons and reduced apical dominance were mutant phenotypes consistent with the disrupted basipetal flow of auxin. The auxin transport inhibitor 1-naphthylphthalamic acid was shown to bind tightly and specifically to AtMDR1 and AtPGP1 proteins. The results indicate that these two MDR-like genes of Arabidopsis encode 1-naphthylphthalamic acid binding proteins that are required for normal auxin distribution and auxin-mediated development.

Arabidopsis↗