Targeted insertion of large DNA sequences by homology-directed repair or non-homologous end joining in engineered tobacco BY-2 cells using designed zinc finger nucleases.

Targeted integration of recombinant DNA fragments into plant genomes by DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair mechanisms has become a powerful tool for precision engineering of crops. However, many targeting platforms require the screening of many transgenic events to identify a low number of targeted events among many more random insertion events. We developed an engineered transgene integration platform (ETIP) that uses incomplete marker genes at the insertion site to enable rapid phenotypic screening and recovery of targeted events upon functional reconstitution of the marker genes.

Zinc finger nuclease-mediated targeting of multiple transgenes to an endogenous soybean genomic locus via non-homologous end joining.

Emerging genome editing technologies hold great promise for the improvement of agricultural crops. Several related genome editing methods currently in development utilize engineered, sequence-specific endonucleases to generate DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) at user-specified genomic loci. These DSBs subsequently result in small insertions/deletions (indels), base substitutions or incorporation of exogenous donor sequences at the target site, depending on the application.

Expression characterization of the herbicide tolerance gene Aryloxyalkanoate Dioxygenase (aad-1) controlled by seven combinations of regulatory elements.

Background: Availability of well characterized maize regulatory elements for gene expression in a variety of tissues and developmental stages provides effective alternatives for single and multigene transgenic concepts. We studied the expression of the herbicide tolerance gene aryloxyalkanoate dioxygenase (aad-1) driven by seven different regulatory element construct designs including the ubiquitin promoters of maize and rice, the actin promoters of melon and rice, three different versions of the Sugarcane Bacilliform Badnavirus promoters in association with other regulatory elements of gene expression.

Results: Gene expression of aad-1 was characterized at the transcript and protein levels in a collection of maize tissues and developmental stages.

Identification and use of the sugarcane bacilliform virus enhancer in transgenic maize.

Background: Transcriptional enhancers are able to increase transcription from heterologous promoters when placed upstream, downstream and in either orientation, relative to the promoter. Transcriptional enhancers have been used to enhance expression of specific promoters in transgenic plants and in activation tagging studies to help elucidate gene function.

Results: A transcriptional enhancer from the Sugarcane Bacilliform Virus - Ireng Maleng isolate (SCBV-IM) that can cause increased transcription when integrated into the the genome near maize genes has been identified.

Improved sensitivity of DNA microarrays using photonic crystal enhanced fluorescence.

DNA microarrays are used to profile changes in gene expression between samples in a high-throughput manner, but measurements of genes with low expression levels can be problematic with standard microarray substrates. In this work, we expand the detection capabilities of a standard microarray experiment using a photonic crystal (PC) surface that enhances fluorescence observed from microarray spots. This PC is inexpensively and uniformly fabricated using a nanoreplica molding technique, with very little variation in its optical properties within- and between-devices.

Flux of transcript patterns during soybean seed development.

Background: To understand gene expression networks leading to functional properties of the soybean seed, we have undertaken a detailed examination of soybean seed development during the stages of major accumulation of oils, proteins, and starches, as well as the desiccating and mature stages, using microarrays consisting of up to 27,000 soybean cDNAs. A subset of these genes on a highly-repetitive 70-mer oligonucleotide microarray was also used to support the results.

Results: It was discovered that genes related to cell growth and maintenance processes, as well as energy processes like photosynthesis, decreased in expression levels as the cotyledons approached the mature, dry stage.

Microarray analysis of iron deficiency chlorosis in near-isogenic soybean lines.

Background: Iron is one of fourteen mineral elements required for proper plant growth and development of soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.).

Specific elements of the glyoxylate pathway play a significant role in the functional transition of the soybean cotyledon during seedling development.

Background: The soybean (Glycine max) cotyledon is a specialized tissue whose main function is to serve as a nutrient reserve that supplies the needs of the young plant throughout seedling development. During this process the cotyledons experience a functional transition to a mainly photosynthetic tissue. To identify at the genetic level the specific active elements that participate in the natural transition of the cotyledon from storage to photosynthetic activity, we studied the transcript abundance profile at different time points using a new soybean oligonucleotide chip containing 19,200 probes (70-mer long).

Recovering from iron deficiency chlorosis in near-isogenic soybeans: a microarray study.

Iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) in soybeans has proven to be a perennial problem in the calcareous soils of the U.S. upper Midwest.

Transcriptome changes in the phenylpropanoid pathway of Glycine max in response to Pseudomonas syringae infection.

Background: Reports of plant molecular responses to pathogenic infections have pinpointed increases in activity of several genes of the phenylpropanoid pathway leading to the synthesis of lignin and flavonoids. The majority of those findings were derived from single gene studies and more recently from several global gene expression analyses. We undertook a global transcriptional analysis focused on the response of genes of the multiple branches of the phenylpropanoid pathway to infection by the Pseudomonas syringae pv.

Expression profiling soybean response to Pseudomonas syringae reveals new defense-related genes and rapid HR-specific downregulation of photosynthesis.

Transcript profiling during susceptible (S) and hypersensitive response-associated resistance (R) interactions was determined in soybean (Glycine max). Pseudomonas syringae pv. glycinea carrying or lacking the avirulence gene avrB, was infiltrated into cultivar Williams 82.

Microarrays for global expression constructed with a low redundancy set of 27,500 sequenced cDNAs representing an array of developmental stages and physiological conditions of the soybean plant.

Background: Microarrays are an important tool with which to examine coordinated gene expression. Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most economically valuable crop species in the world food supply. In order to accelerate both gene discovery as well as hypothesis-driven research in soybean, global expression resources needed to be developed.

Nuclear genes that encode mitochondrial proteins for DNA and RNA metabolism are clustered in the Arabidopsis genome.

The plant mitochondrial genome is complex in structure, owing to a high degree of recombination activity that subdivides the genome and increases genetic variation. The replication activity of various portions of the mitochondrial genome appears to be nonuniform, providing the plant with an ability to modulate its mitochondrial genotype during development. These and other interesting features of the plant mitochondrial genome suggest that adaptive changes have occurred in DNA maintenance and transmission that will provide insight into unique aspects of plant mitochondrial biology and mitochondrial-chloroplast coevolution.