Effective ribozyme delivery in plant cells.
Hammerhead ribozyme sequences were incorporated into a tyrosine tRNA (tRNA(Tyr)) and compared with nonembedded molecules. To increase the levels of ribozyme and control antisense in vivo, sequences were expressed from an autonomously replicating vector derived from African cassava mosaic geminivirus. In vitro, the nonembedded ribozyme cleaved more target RNA, encoding chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT), than the tRNA(Tyr) ribozyme. In contrast, the tRNA(Tyr) ribozyme was considerably more effective in vivo than either the nonembedded ribozyme or antisense sequences, reducing CAT activity to < 20% of the control level. A target sequence (CM2), mutated to be noncleavable, showed no reduction in CAT activity in the presence of the tRNA(Tyr) ribozyme beyond that for the antisense construct. The reduction in full-length CAT mRNA and the presence of specific cleavage products demonstrated in vivo cleavage of the target mRNA by the tRNA(Tyr) ribozyme. The high titer of tRNA(Tyr) ribozyme was a result of transcription from the RNA polymerase III promoter and led to the high ribozyme/substrate ratio essential for ribozyme efficiency.
Perriman
R
R
Center for Engineering Plants Resistant Against Pathogens (CEPRAP), University of California, Davis 95616, USA.
Bruening
G
G
Dennis
E S
ES
Peacock
W J
WJ
D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D017791:Geminiviridae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D002365:Manihot / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011523:Protoplasts / Q000378:metabolism; D016372:RNA, Antisense / Q000378:metabolism; D016337:RNA, Catalytic / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D012365:RNA, Transfer, Tyr / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection; D014779:Virus Replication
D004279:DNA, Viral; D016372:RNA, Antisense; D016337:RNA, Catalytic; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012365:RNA, Transfer, Tyr; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase