Bioinformatics analysis of safflower WD40 transcription factor family genes / 中国中药杂志

The WD40 transcription factor family is a gene superfamily widely found in eukaryotes, which is closely related to plant growth and development regulation. It has been reported that the WD40 transcription factor was involved in the synthesis of anthocyanins, which is one of the vital components of safflower flavonoid compounds. In this study, 40 CtWD40 members in the safflower genome were identified though bioinformatics tools and gene expression analysis methods. According to the WD40 protein sequence and phylogenetic characteristics of Arabidopsis and other plants, the safflower CtWD40 family was classified into 7 subfamilies. Conservative motif analysis was used to reveal the specific conserved motifs and gene structures of each subfamily member, and there exist a certain degree of similarities in the conserved motifs and gene structure between the closely related family members. Subsequently, the search for cis-acting elements of gene promoters found CtWD40-specific promoter elements, revealing the metabolic pathways which may involve. Next, enrichment of function analysis was employed to analyze the functional categories and cellular localization of the CtWD40 protein. Furthermore, the interactions between CtWD40 proteins predicted its potential regulatory function. Finally, 19 members of the safflower CtWD40 subfamily were analyzed by qRT-PCR, the result showed the expression patterns of these members were different in diverse tissue and flowering period. This study provides a basis for the functional and expression research of the CtWD40 genes.

Cloning and expression analysis of CtbHLH transcription factor gene from Carthamus tinctorius and construction of plant expression vector / 中国中药杂志

To clone bHLH( basic helix-loop-helix) gene from Carthamus tinctorius,analyze the expression level in different plant tissues and construct the plant expression vector. The bHLH1 gene was cloned by RT-PCR techniques,and the protein characteristics were analyzed by bioinformatics,and phylogenetic tree was constructed. The expression of bHLH1 gene in different tissues and the roots after inoculated by Fusarium oxysporum were analyzed using real time-PCR,and the plant expression vector p BASTA-bHLH1 was constructed. The obtained ORF sequence of bHLH1 gene was 897 bp,encoded a protein of 298 amino acids. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree analyses showed that C. tinctorius bHLH1 had a certain homology with other species of amino acids,and was the most similar to the amino acid sequence of tobacco. Real-time PCR results showed significant differences,CtbHLH1 gene in red flower petals in different tissues and different flowering period had remarkable difference in expression level,its high amount expressed in petals,flowers third day after blossom expressed the highest quantity,at the end of the flowering the expression quantity is low. In addition,it is expressed in the root,and the expression in the stem and leaves is extremely low. The bHLH1 gene of C. tinctorius is successfully cloned,and the expression is analyzed. The plant expression vector p BASTA-bHLH is constructed.

Cloning of ERF1 transcription factor from Carthamus tinctorius and construction of plant expression vector / 中草药

Objective: To clone a coding region sequence of AP2/ERF transcription factor family from Carthamus tinctorius, and construct a plant expression vector. Methods: A gene (CtERF1) of AP2/ERF family transcription factor was cloned by RT-PCR based on the sequence of C. tinctorius transcription sequencing, the phylogenetic tree was constructed by ClustalW 1.83 software, Spe I and Xba I restriction sites were introduced to construct over-expression vector pBASTA-CtERF1 containing 35S promoter. Results: CtERF1 gene had a functional domain of a typical AP2/ERF gene encoding 297 amino acids, and contained an AP2 region speculated to be located in cytoplasm and nucleus, which was ERF subprotein. Systematic evolution analysis showed that CtERF1 gene had some homology with other plant species, among which the relationship with Populus deltoides and Panax japonicus were the closest. The pBASTA-CtERF1 plant expression vector was constructed successfully by molecular biology. Conclusion: A CtERF1 gene of C. tinctorius AP2/ERF transcription factor family was cloned and the plant expression vector pBASTA-CtERF1 was constructed successfully.

Construction of CHI gene expression vector of safflower and its transformation in Arabidopsis thaliana / 中草药

Objective: Plant expression vector of chalcone isomerase in safflower was built and its function was verified by over- expression of CHI in Arabidopsis thaliana. Methods: CHI isolated from safflower in our previous study was introduced by BamH I and EcoR I restriction sites and constructed into the over-expression vector pBASTA-CHI containing 35S promoter, transformed into A. thaliana by Flora-dip method. T2 plants of transgenic A. thaliana were detected by PCR and content of total flavones. Results: Plant expression vector containing the safflower CHI gene was built and over expressed in A. thaliana successfully. T2 plants of transgenic A. thaliana were obtained. Conclusion: PCR of transgenic T2 in A. thaliana is detected that CHI gene of safflower has been integrated into the A. thaliana genome, flavone content is determined in leaves, and the results show that the flavone in transgenetic A. thaliana is higher than that in wild type, the highest strain increases by nearly 2.3 times.

Full-length cDNA cloning of flavonol synthase genes of Carthamus tinctorius and construction plant expression vector / 中国中药杂志

Flavonol synthase (FLS) is one of the key enzymes in flavonoids metabolic pathways. In this study, middle sequence was obtained from Carthamus tinctorius transcriptome sequencing results. Full-length cDNAs of FLS was cloned from petals of C. tinctorius to FLS by using RT-PCR and RACE technology. Its full-length cDNA was 1,201 bp, with an open reading frame of 1,101 bp and 336 encoded amino acids. The phylogenetic analysis showed that, FLS gene encoded amino acids in C. tinctorius were highly homologous with amino acids in congeneric Compositae species, especially Rudbeckia laciniata. The pBASTA-FLS plant expression vector was successfully built by the molecular biology method, which lays a foundation for further studying biology functions of the gene and biosynthesis mechanism of flavonoids.