Homologous recombination between plasmid DNA molecules in maize protoplasts

Genome editing for crop improvement: Challenges and opportunities

Genome or gene editing includes several new techniques to help scientists precisely modify genome sequences. The techniques also enables us to alter the regulation of gene expression patterns in a pre-determined region and facilitates novel insights into the functional genomics of an organism. Emergence of genome editing has brought considerable excitement especially among agricultural scientists because of its simplicity, precision and power as it offers new opportunities to develop improved crop varieties with clear-cut addition of valuable traits or removal of undesirable traits. Research is underway to improve crop varieties with higher yields, strengthen stress tolerance, disease and pest resistance, decrease input costs, and increase nutritional value. Genome editing encompasses a wide variety of tools using either a site-specific recombinase (SSR) or a site-specific nuclease (SSN) system. Both systems require recognition of a known sequence. The SSN system generates single or double strand DNA breaks and activates endogenous DNA repair pathways. SSR technology, such as Cre/loxP and Flp/FRT mediated systems, are able to knockdown or knock-in genes in the genome of eukaryotes, depending on the orientation of the specific sites (loxP, FLP, etc.) flanking the target site. There are 4 main classes of SSN developed to cleave genomic sequences, mega-nucleases (homing endonuclease), zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcriptional activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and the CRISPR/Cas nuclease system (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat/CRISPR-associated protein). The recombinase mediated genome engineering depends on recombinase (sub-) family and target-site and induces high frequencies of homologous recombination. Improving crops with gene editing provides a range of options: by altering only a few nucleotides from billions found in the genomes of living cells, altering the full allele or by inserting a new gene in a targeted region of the genome. Due to its precision, gene editing is more precise than either conventional crop breeding methods or standard genetic engineering methods. Thus this technology is a very powerful tool that can be used toward securing the world's food supply. In addition to improving the nutritional value of crops, it is the most effective way to produce crops that can resist pests and thrive in tough climates. There are 3 types of modifications produced by genome editing; Type I includes altering a few nucleotides, Type II involves replacing an allele with a pre-existing one and Type III allows for the insertion of new gene(s) in predetermined regions in the genome. Because most genome-editing techniques can leave behind traces of DNA alterations evident in a small number of nucleotides, crops created through gene editing could avoid the stringent regulation procedures commonly associated with GM crop development. For this reason many scientists believe plants improved with the more precise gene editing techniques will be more acceptable to the public than transgenic plants. With genome editing comes the promise of new crops being developed more rapidly with a very low risk of off-target effects. It can be performed in any laboratory with any crop, even those that have complex genomes and are not easily bred using conventional methods.

Precision genome engineering and agriculture: opportunities and regulatory challenges

Plant agriculture is poised at a technological inflection point. Recent advances in genome engineering make it possible to precisely alter DNA sequences in living cells, providing unprecedented control over a plant's genetic material. Potential future crops derived through genome engineering include those that better withstand pests, that have enhanced nutritional value, and that are able to grow on marginal lands. In many instances, crops with such traits will be created by altering only a few nucleotides among the billions that comprise plant genomes. As such, and with the appropriate regulatory structures in place, crops created through genome engineering might prove to be more acceptable to the public than plants that carry foreign DNA in their genomes. Public perception and the performance of the engineered crop varieties will determine the extent to which this powerful technology contributes towards securing the world's food supply.

Reporter gene-based recombination lines for studies of genome stability

Homologous recombination is a double-strand break repair mechanism operating in somatic cells and involved in meiotic crossovers in plants. It is responsible for the maintenance of genome stability and thus plays a crucial role in adaptation to stress. Recombination between homologous loci is believed to be regulated in part by epigenetic machinery such as methylation. Therefore, the recombination frequency at a specific locus can reflect the chromatin status.Several reporter gene-based recombination constructs have been developed to study HR frequencies in plants. Among them, the luciferase and beta-glucuronidase-based recombination reporter systems are the most widely used. Here, we explain how reporter gene recombination assays operate and in which applications they are used. We also present a conceptually new system for analysis of sequence-specific recombination frequency. These assays can be effectively used for analysis of locus-specific endogenous and stress-induced recombination frequencies.

Targeted mutagenesis in the progeny of maize transgenic plants

We have demonstrated that targeted mutagenesis can be accomplished in maize plants by excision, activation, and subsequent elimination of an endonuclease in the progeny of genetic crosses. The yeast FLP/FRT site-specific recombination system was used to excise and transiently activate the previously integrated yeast I-SceI homing endonuclease in maize zygotes and/or developing embryos. An artificial I-SceI recognition sequence integrated into genomic DNA was analyzed for mutations to indicate the I-SceI endonuclease activity. Targeted mutagenesis of the I-SceI site occurred in about 1% of analyzed F1 plants. Short deletions centered on the I-SceI-produced double-strand break were the predominant genetic lesions observed in the F1 plants. The I-SceI expression cassette was not detected in the mutant F1 plants and their progeny. However, the original mutations were faithfully transmitted to the next generation indicating that the mutations occurred early during the F1 plant development. The procedure offers simultaneous production of double-strand breaks and delivery of DNA template combined with a large number of progeny plants for future gene targeting experiments.

Meiotic recombination between paralogous RBCSB genes on sister chromatids of Arabidopsis thaliana

Paralogous genes organized as a gene cluster can rapidly evolve by recombination between misaligned paralogs during meiosis, leading to duplications, deletions, and novel chimeric genes. To model unequal recombination within a specific gene cluster, we utilized a synthetic RBCSB gene cluster to isolate recombinant chimeric genes resulting from meiotic recombination between paralogous genes on sister chromatids. Several F1 populations hemizygous for the synthRBCSB1 gene cluster gave rise to Luc+ F2 plants at frequencies ranging from 1 to 3 x 10(-6). A nonuniform distribution of recombination resolution sites resulted in the biased formation of recombinant RBCS3B/1B::LUC genes with nonchimeric exons. The positioning of approximately half of the mapped resolution sites was effectively modeled by the fractional length of identical DNA sequences. In contrast, the other mapped resolution sites fit an alternative model in which recombination resolution was stimulated by an abrupt transition from a region of relatively high sequence similarity to a region of low sequence similarity. Thus, unequal recombination between paralogous RBCSB genes on sister chromatids created an allelic series of novel chimeric genes that effectively resulted in the diversification rather than the homogenization of the synthRBCSB1 gene cluster.

Meiotic Recombination Between Paralogous RBCSB Genes on Sister Chromatids of Arabidopsis thaliana

Paralogous genes organized as a gene cluster can rapidly evolve by recombination between misaligned paralogs during meiosis, leading to duplications, deletions, and novel chimeric genes. To model unequal recombination within a specific gene cluster, we utilized a synthetic RBCSB gene cluster to isolate recombinant chimeric genes resulting from meiotic recombination between paralogous genes on sister chromatids. Several F1 populations hemizygous for the synthRBCSB1 gene cluster gave rise to Luc+ F2 plants at frequencies ranging from 1 to 3 × 10-6. A nonuniform distribution of recombination resolution sites resulted in the biased formation of recombinant RBCS3B/1B::LUC genes with nonchimeric exons. The positioning of approximately half of the mapped resolution sites was effectively modeled by the fractional length of identical DNA sequences. In contrast, the other mapped resolution sites fit an alternative model in which recombination resolution was stimulated by an abrupt transition from a region of relatively high sequence similarity to a region of low sequence similarity. Thus, unequal recombination between paralogous RBCSB genes on sister chromatids created an allelic series of novel chimeric genes that effectively resulted in the diversification rather than the homogenization of the synthRBCSB1 gene cluster.

Homologous recombination and gene targeting in plant cells

Gene targeting has become an indispensable tool for functional genomics in yeast and mouse; however, this tool is still missing in plants. This review discusses the gene targeting problem in plants in the context of general knowledge on recombination and gene targeting. An overview on the history of gene targeting is followed by a general introduction to genetic recombination of bacteria, yeast, and vertebrates. This abridged discussion serves as a guide to the following sections, which cover plant-specific aspects of recombination assay systems, the mechanism of recombination, plant recombination genes, the relationship of recombination to the environment, approaches to stimulate homologous recombination and gene targeting, and a description of two plant systems, the moss Physcomitrella patens and the chloroplast, that naturally have high efficiencies of gene targeting. The review concludes with a discussion of alternatives to gene targeting.

Rare germinal unequal crossing-over leading to recombinant gene formation and gene duplication in Arabidopsis thaliana

Small, multigene families organized in a tandem array can facilitate the rapid evolution of the gene cluster by a process of meiotic unequal crossing-over. To study this process in a multicellular organism, we created a synthetic RBCSB gene cluster in Arabidopsis thaliana and used this to measure directly the frequency of meiotic, intergenic unequal crossing-over between sister chromatids. The synthetic RBCSB gene cluster was composed of a silent DeltaRBCS1B::LUC chimeric gene fusion, lacking all 5' transcription and translation signals, followed by RBCS2B and RBC3B genomic DNA. Expression of luciferase activity (luc(+)) required a homologous recombination event between the DeltaRBCS1B::LUC and the RBCS3B genes, yielding a novel recombinant RBCS3B/ 1B::LUC chimeric gene whose expression was driven by RBCS3B 5' transcription and translation signals. Using sensitive, single-photon-imaging equipment, three luc(+) seedlings were identified in more than 1 million F2 seedlings derived from self-fertilized F1 plants hemizygous for the synthetic RBCSB gene cluster. The F2 luc(+) seedlings were isolated, and molecular and genetic analysis indicated that the luc(+) trait was caused by the formation of a recombinant chimeric RBCS3B/1B::LUC gene. A predicted duplication of the RBCS2B gene also was present. The recombination resolution break points mapped adjacent to a region of intron I at which a disjunction in sequence similarity between RBCS1B and RBCS3B occurs; this provided evidence supporting models of gene cluster evolution by exon-shuffling processes. In contrast to most measures of meiotic unequal crossing-over that require the deletion of a gene in a gene cluster, these results directly measured the frequency of meiotic unequal crossing-over (approximately 3 x 10(-6)), leading to the expansion of the gene cluster and the formation of a novel recombinant gene.

Ectopic mitotic recombination in Drosophila probed with bacterial beta-galactosidase gene-based reporter transgenes

Plasmids were constructed to investigate homologous mitotic recombination in Drosophila cells. Heteroalleles containing truncated but overlapping segments of the bacterial beta-galactosidase gene (lacZ) were positioned either on separate plasmids or as direct repeats on the same chromosome. Recombination reconstituted a functional lacZgene leading to expression of LacZ+activity detectable by histochemical staining. High extrachromosomal recombination (ECR) frequencies between unlinked heteroalleles were observed upon transient co-transfection into Drosophila melanogaster Schneider line 2 (S2) cells. Stably transfected cells containing the lacZ heteroalleles linked on a chromosome exhibited intrachromosomal recombination (ICR) frequencies two orders of magnitude lower than ECR frequencies. Recombination was inducible by exposing the cells to ethyl methanesulphonate or mitomycin C. Recombination products were characterized by multiplex PCR analysis and unequal sister chromatid recombination was found as the predominant mechanism reconstituting the lacZ gene. To investigate recombination in vivo imaginal disc cells from transgenic larvae carrying the reporter gene on the X chromosome were isolated and stained for LacZ+ activity. The presence of a few LacZ+ clones indicated that mitotic recombination events occurred at frequencies two orders of magnitude lower than the corresponding event in cultured cells and late during larval development.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens transfers single-stranded transferred DNA (T-DNA) into the plant cell nucleus

Transferred DNA (T-DNA) is transferred as a single-stranded derivative from Agrobacterium to the plant cell nucleus. This conclusion is drawn from experiments exploiting the different properties of single- and double-stranded DNA to perform extrachromosomal homologous recombination in plant cells. After transfer from Agrobacterium to plant cells, T-DNA molecules recombined much more efficiently if the homologous sequences were of opposite polarity than if they were of the same polarity. This observation reflects the properties of single-stranded DNA; single-stranded DNA molecules of opposite polarity can anneal directly, whereas single-stranded DNA molecules of the same polarity first have to become double stranded to anneal. Judging from the relative amounts of single- to double-stranded T-DNA derivatives undergoing recombination, we infer that the T-DNA derivatives enter the plant nucleus in their single-stranded form.

High fidelity extrachromosomal recombination and gene targeting in plants

The precision of extrachromosomal homologous recombination and gene targeting in plant cells was investigated. Recombination was directed to introns of selectable marker genes where potential changes could persist without affecting the function and therefore the selectability of the genes. Approximately 9 kb of crossover regions was rescued and sequenced. Changes were detected at a frequency below one point mutation per 1000 bp, indicating that extrachromosomal recombination and gene targeting both appear to occur with high fidelity.

Molecular analysis of transgenic plants generated by microprojectile bombardment: effect of petunia transformation booster sequence

Supercoiled plasmid expression vectors containing the petunia transformation booster sequence (TBS) were introduced by microprojectile bombardment into dicotyledenous (tobacco) and monocotyledonous (maize) cells. TBS effected a 7.8- to 16-fold increase in transformation frequencies in tobacco, and a 1.7- to 2.4-fold increase in maize. Although TBS contains a well-defined transcription enhancer element, no increases in plasmid gene expression were observed. TBS did not alter integration patterns in transformants, and did not affect segregation of linkage in R1 progeny. Computer analyses of the TBS sequence revealed numerous modular elements previously shown to be associated with putative chromosomal replication origin regions in eukaryotes, including DNA unwinding elements, scaffold-associated regions and pyrimidine tracts.

Homologous recombination in plant cells is enhanced by in vivo induction of double strand breaks into DNA by a site-specific endonuclease

Induction of double strand breaks (DSBs) is coupled to meiotic and mitotic recombination in yeast. We show that also in a higher eukaryote induction of DSBs is directly correlated with a strong enhancement of recombination frequencies. We cotransfected Nicotiana plumbaginifolia protoplasts with a plasmid carrying a synthetic I-SceI gene, coding for a highly sequence specific endonuclease, together with recombination substrates carrying an I-SceI-site adjacent to their homologous sequences. We measured efficiencies of extrachromosomal recombination, using a well established transient beta-glucuronidase (GUS) assay. GUS enzyme activities were strongly increased when a plasmid carrying the I-SceI gene in sense but not in antisense orientation with respect to the promoter was included in the transfections. The in vivo induced DSBs were detected in the recombination substrates by Southern blotting, demonstrating that the yeast enzyme is functional in plant cells. At high ratios of transfected I-SceI-genes to I-SceI-sites the majority of the I-SceI-sites in the recombination substrates are cleaved, indicating that the induction of the DSBs is the rate limiting step in the described recombination reaction. These results imply that in vivo induction of transient breaks at specific sites in the plant genome could allow foreign DNA to be targeted to these sites via homologous recombination.

Activity of yeast FLP recombinase in maize and rice protoplasts

We have demonstrated that a yeast FLP/FRT site-specific recombination system functions in maize and rice protoplasts. FLP recombinase activity was monitored by reactivation of beta-glucuronidase (GUS) expression from vectors containing the gusA gene inactivated by insertion of two FRTs (FLP recombination targets) and a 1.31 kb DNA fragment. The stimulation of GUS activity in protoplasts cotransformed with vectors containing FRT inactivated gusA gene and a chimeric FLP gene depended on both the expression of the FLP recombinase and the presence and structure of the FRT sites. The FLP enzyme could mediate inter- and intramolecular recombination in plant protoplasts. These results provide evidence that a yeast recombination system can function efficiently in plant cells, and that its performance can be manipulated by structural modification of the FRT sites.

Extrachromosomal homologous DNA recombination in plant cells is fast and is not affected by CpG methylation

Using a sensitive transient assay, we investigated extrachromosomal homologous DNA recombination (ECR) in plant cells. As the plant genome is highly C methylated, we addressed the question of whether CpG methylation has an influence on DNA recombination efficiencies. Whereas the expression level of the fully CpG-methylated DNA molecules was reduced drastically, we found no significant changes in ECR efficiencies between two partly CpG-methylated plasmids or between one fully CpG-methylated and one nonmethylated plasmid. Using a modified polymerase chain reaction analysis, we were able to detect recombination between two fully CpG-methylated plasmids. Furthermore, we characterized the kinetics of the ECR reaction. Cotransfection of plasmids carrying truncated copies of the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene resulted in enzyme activity with a delay of only half an hour compared with that of the plasmid carrying the functional marker gene. This indicates that the ECR reaction itself requires no more than 30 min. By polymerase chain reaction, we were able to detect the recombined GUS gene as early as 2 h after transfection. This result and the time course of the transient GUS activity indicate that ECR occurs mainly early after transfection. The biological significance of this finding is discussed, and properties of ECR and intrachromosomal recombination are compared.

Extrachromosomal homologous DNA recombination in plant cells is fast and is not affected by CpG methylation

Using a sensitive transient assay, we investigated extrachromosomal homologous DNA recombination (ECR) in plant cells. As the plant genome is highly C methylated, we addressed the question of whether CpG methylation has an influence on DNA recombination efficiencies. Whereas the expression level of the fully CpG-methylated DNA molecules was reduced drastically, we found no significant changes in ECR efficiencies between two partly CpG-methylated plasmids or between one fully CpG-methylated and one nonmethylated plasmid. Using a modified polymerase chain reaction analysis, we were able to detect recombination between two fully CpG-methylated plasmids. Furthermore, we characterized the kinetics of the ECR reaction. Cotransfection of plasmids carrying truncated copies of the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene resulted in enzyme activity with a delay of only half an hour compared with that of the plasmid carrying the functional marker gene. This indicates that the ECR reaction itself requires no more than 30 min. By polymerase chain reaction, we were able to detect the recombined GUS gene as early as 2 h after transfection. This result and the time course of the transient GUS activity indicate that ECR occurs mainly early after transfection. The biological significance of this finding is discussed, and properties of ECR and intrachromosomal recombination are compared.

Mechanisms of intermolecular homologous recombination in plants as studied with single- and double-stranded DNA molecules

To elucidate the mechanism for intermolecular homologous recombination in plants we cotransformed Nicotiana tabacum cv Petit Havana SR1 protoplasts with constructs carrying different defective derivatives of the NPTII gene. The resulting kanamycin resistant clones were screened for possible recombination products by PCR, which proved to be a valuable technique for this analysis. Our results show that the double-stranded circular DNA molecules used in this study recombine predominantly via a pathway consistent with the single-strand annealing (SSA) model as proposed for extrachromosomal recombination in mammalian cells. In the remaining cases recombination occurred via a single reciprocal recombination, gene conversion and possibly double reciprocal recombination. Since single-stranded DNA is considered to be an important intermediate in homologous recombination we also established the recombination ability of single-stranded DNA in intermolecular recombination. We found that single-stranded DNA enters in recombination processes more efficiently than the corresponding double-stranded DNA. This was also reflected in the recombination mechanisms that generated the functional NPTII gene. Recombination between a single-stranded DNA and the complementing DNA duplex occurred at similar rates via a single reciprocal recombination and the SSA pathway.