转座子介导的多角体基因表达及提高病毒粒子的感染效率

现行的杆状病毒表达外源基因的方法是将外源基因取代病毒中的多角体基因,因而得到的重组杆状病毒感染活体时不能经口感染,只能进行针刺注射,效率低且易引起活体感染其他疾病。将家蚕核型多角体病毒(Bombyx mor inucleopolyhedrovirus,BmNPV)中的多角体基因(polyhedrin,poly)及其启动子片段克隆到转座子载体pigA3GFP中,将其与辅助质粒pHA3PIG利用脂质体介导法导入家蚕细胞中,经过多次筛选获得稳定的转基因家蚕细胞。之后先将BmPAK6(含LacZ)及BmGFP(含GFP)重组病毒分别感染转基因细胞,再将得到的重组病毒经口感染5龄家蚕幼虫。结果显示,重组杆状病毒可以经口感染家蚕幼虫。这些研究表明来自于转基因家蚕细胞的poly基因表达产物可以提高重组杆状病毒经口感染家蚕率,为解决杆状病毒表达系统中重组病毒不能经口感染家蚕幼虫的问题提供新思路。     

Construction of the Bac-to-Bac System of Bombyx mori Nucleopolyhedroviru

To construct the Bac-to-Bac expression system of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus(BmNPV),a transfer vector was constructed which contained an Escherichia coli(E.coli)mini-F replicon and a lacZ:attTN7:lacZ cassette within the upstream and downstream regions of the BmNPV polyhedrin gene.B.mori larvae were cotransfected with wild-type BmNPV genomic DNA and the transfer vector through subcutaneous injection to generate recombinant viruses by homologous recombination in vivo.The genomic DNA of budded viruses extracted from the hemolymph of the transfected larvae was used to transform E.coli DH10B.Recombinant bacmids were screened by kanamycin resistance,PCR and restriction enzyme(REN)digestion.One of the bacmid colonies,BmBacJS13,which had similar REN profiles to that of wild-type BmNPV,was selected for further research.To investigate the infectivity of BmBacJS13,the polyhedrin gene was introduced into the bacmid and the resultant recombinant(BmBacJS13-ph)was transfected to BmN cells.The budded viruses were collected from the supernatant of the transfected cells and used for infecting BmN cells.Growth curve analysis indicated that BmBacJS13-ph had a similar growth curve to that of wild-type BmNPV.Bio-assays indicated that BmBacJS13-ph was also infectious to B.mori larvae.     

Construction of the Bac-to-Bac System of Bombyx mori Nucleopolyhedroviru

To construct the Bac-to-Bac expression system of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV), a transfer vector was constructed which contained an Escherichia coli (E. coli) mini-F replicon and a lacZ: attTN7: lacZ cassette within the upstream and downstream regions of the BmNPV polyhedrin gene. B. mori larvae were cotransfected with wild-type BmNPV genomic DNA and the transfer vector through subcutaneous injection to generate recombinant viruses by homologous recombination in vivo. The genomic DNA of budded viruses extracted from the hemolymph of the transfected larvae was used to transform E. coli DH10B. Recombinant bacmids were screened by kanamycin resistance, PCR and restriction enzyme (REN) digestion. One of the bacmid colonies, BmBacJS13, which had similar REN profiles to that of wild-type BmNPV, was selected for further research. To investigate the infectivity of BmBacJS13, the polyhedrin gene was introduced into the bacmid and the resultant recombinant (BmBacJS13-ph) was transfected to BmN cells. The budded viruses were collected from the supernatant of the transfected cells and used for infecting BmN cells. Growth curve analysis indicated that BmBacJS13-ph had a similar growth curve to that of wild-type BmNPV. Bio-assays indicated that BmBacJS13-ph was also infectious to B. mori larvae.     

Construction of a BmNPV polyhedrin-plus Bac-to-Bac baculovirus expression system for application in silkworm, Bombyx mori

The baculovirus expression vector system is one of the most powerful and versatile eukaryotic expression systems available. However, as the recombinant baculovirus is usually generated by replacing the foreign gene into the polyhedrin locus, the resulting polyhedrin-negative virus is less infectious to the host larvae when administered via oral ingestion. This limits the large-scale production of the recombinant protein, as the host larvae can only be inoculated through dorsal injection, which is a laborious task. In this paper, we describe a new Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus polyhedrin-plus Bac-to-Bac baculovirus expression system for application in silkworm, B. mori. In this system, the foreign gene and the polyhedrin are co-expressed, and polyhedra are produced as in the wild-type virus, and thus the recombinant baculovirus can be used directly via oral infection. It effectively improves the efficiency of the baculovirus expression system and also widens the application of baculovirus in other fields, such as the development of new biological insecticides.     

Silkworm, Bombyx mori larvae expressed the spider silk protein through a novel Bac-to-Bac/BmNPV baculovirus

Abstract:  The silkworm has become an ideal multicellular eukaryotic model system for basic research. The major advantages of expressing foreign genes in silkworm larvae are the low cost of feeding, the extremely high levels of expression achievable compared with expression in cell lines and increased safety because the baculovirus is noninfectious to vertebrates. In this study, we used a recently developed Bombyx mori Nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) bacmid to express the spider flagelliform silk gene in silkworm larvae. The recombinant bacmid baculoviruses (rBacmid/BmNPV/Flag) were introduced into the first-day larvae of the fifth instar by subcutaneous injection. The worms presented symptoms typical of NPV infection from 72 h after injection compared with control. The haemolymph was collected from the infected larvae 120 h post-infection and the recombinant 6× His-tagged Flag protein was purified by the Ni-NTA spin kit under denaturing conditions with 8  m urea. A 37.0-kDa protein was visualized both in rBacmid/BmNPV/Flag-infected haemolymph and eluting fraction. The results showed that the Bac-to-Bac/BmNPV baculovirus expression system is an efficient tool to express the target gene in silkworm larvae, which takes only 7–10 days for generating recombinant baculovirus, compared with the traditional homologous recombination method, which needs at least 40 days for multiple rounds of purification and amplification of viruses.     

Production of recombinant Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus in silkworm by intrahaemocoelic injection with invasive diaminopimelate auxotrophic Escherichia coli containing BmNPV-Bacmid

The present study elaborates a cost-effective and transfectant-free method for generating recombinant Bombyx mori (silkworm) nucleopolyhedrovirus in silkworm larvae and pupae by injecting invasive Escherichia coli carrying BmBacmid [BmNPV (B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus)-Bacmid] into larval haemocoel. Up to 109 PFU (plaque-forming units)/ml of infective recombinant baculovirus was generated in the silkworm by intrahaemocoelic injection with 106 DAP (diaminopimelic acid) auxotrophic and BmBacmid containing E. coli cells expressing both invasin and listeriolysin. Thus 1?ml of overnight culture of E. coli is sufficient to inject more than 2000 larvae, while DAP costing up to $1 is enough to inject about 4000 larvae. Recombinant proteins can be controlled to be expressed mainly in pupae by adjusting the injection dose, too. In this new method, many original manipulations have been eliminated, including BmBacmid preparation and the subsequent complex transfection procedures. Hence it is a time- and cost-saving means for large-scale injection of B. mori for recombinant baculovirus production in comparison with the traditional transfection methods, which may play an important role in the industrial development of the BmNPV-silkworm bioreactor.     

家蚕BmN细胞中8种启动子的活性比较及利用hr5-IE1启动子实现EGFP的稳定表达

为筛选出一个较强的启动子用于提高转座子piggyBac在家蚕Bombyx mori细胞中的转化效率,采用双荧光素酶报告基因检测（dual-luciferase reporter assay）技术比较了热激蛋白启动子（hsp70和hsp82）、家蚕肌动蛋白启动子（A3）、多聚泛素（polyubiquitin）启动子（PUB）、α微管蛋白启动子（α-tub）、丝素轻链启动子（Fib-L）、人工合成启动子3×P3及苜蓿丫纹夜蛾多角体病毒（AcNPV）增强子-启动子组合（hr5-IE1）8种启动子在家蚕细胞株BmN内的活性。结果显示hr5-IE1活性最强,A3次之,其余启动子活性均较弱。构建含有hr5-IE1启动子和piggyBac的转座酶编码区的质粒作为辅助质粒,与EGFP载体质粒一起转染家蚕细胞后,实现了EGFP基因整合到细胞基因组中。因此,今后可考虑将hr5-IE1用于家蚕细胞遗传转化的研究中,以提高细胞转化的效率。     

Comparative studies of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus chitinase and its host ortholog, BmChi-h

Baculovirus-encoded chitinases (V-CHIAs) were first proposed to be acquired from a bacterium via horizontal gene transfer. However, we have recently reported that lepidopteran hosts also encode v-chiA orthologs. Here we describe comparative studies of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) chitinase and its host ortholog, BmChi-h. We constructed recombinant BmNPVs in which native and modified forms of BmChi-h were driven under the polyhedrin promoter and the authentic v-chiA was deleted. Western blot analysis indicated that BmCHI-h was rapidly secreted from virus-infected BmN cells whereas BmNPV CHIA was localized within the virus-infected cells; probably because of the presence of a C-terminal endoplasmic reticulum retention motif on BmNPV CHIA. Enzymological studies showed that BmNPV CHIA was able to retain much higher chitinolytic activity under alkaline conditions. For B. mori larvae infected with v-chiA-deleted BmNPV, the terminal liquefaction of dead larvae and the activation of baculovirus-encoded cysteine protease were not observed, and the introduction of BmChi-h did not rescue these defects. Our findings show that BmNPV chiA possesses unique features that are not shared by host orthologs, which may reflect functional specialization of baculovirus chitinases.     

30K蛋白对家蚕细胞及幼虫存活的作用

利用杆状病毒表达系统在家蚕BombyxmoriL.细胞BmN中表达家蚕30K蛋白,以亲本病毒BmPAK6为对照,将重组病毒Bm/r-30K分别感染BmN细胞及家蚕幼虫,观察其感染后不同时间的凋亡及存活率。与对照相比,重组病毒感染后的BmN细胞的存活率明显高于对照组,并且感染的家蚕幼虫存活时间也较长,表明体内过量表达家蚕30K蛋白有助于延长其细胞及幼虫的存活。     

Functional analysis of four Gloverin-like genes in the silkworm, Bombyx mori

To identify genes involved in the innate immunity of the silkworm Bombyx mori, we constructed a cDNA library from the fat body of Escherichia coli-challenged B. mori larvae. Based on the expressed sequence tag (EST) data and whole genome shotgun sequence analysis, we found four Gloverin-like genes, BmGlov1-4, in the Bombyx genome. Northern blot and RT-PCR analysis showed that BmGlov1-4 were induced in the larval fat body after an immune challenge by the injection of E. coli; however, less induction was observed after the injection of a yeast Candida albicans. In silico sequence analysis revealed the presence of a motif homologous to NF-kappaB binding site in the upstream region of each BmGlov gene. Moreover, we expressed recombinant BmGlov1-4 proteins using the baculovirus expression system, and found that all the recombinant BmGlov1-4 significantly inhibited the growth of E. coli.     

Spread of recombinant Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus in various tissues of silkworm Bombyx mori determined by real-time PCR

A cassette harboring luciferase reporter driven by Bombyx mori A3 promoter was transferred to the bacmid AcDeltaEGT to generate the recombinant virus AcNPVA3Luc (where Ac represents Autographa californica, NPV represents nucleopolyhedrovirus, and A3Luc represents the firefly luciferase reporter cassette driven by the A3 promoter). Recombinant baculovirus was injected into the hemocoele of newly ecdysed fifth instar larvae of the silkworm. The infection of virus in various silkworm tissues was determined by real-time PCR. The profile of viral infection showed that the copy number of recombinant AcNPV (rAcNPV) increased the fastest in the hemocyte, followed by the fat body, Malpighian tubule, middle gut, and silk gland. Detecting in nonpermissive strain silkworm showed that there was no significant difference in the entry of rAcNPV into all tested tissues. The difference in viral infection reflected mainly the big difference in replication of rAcNPV in various tissues of silkworm larvae. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR showed that it was due to the different expression of genes involved in viral DNA replication.     

Molecular Dissection of Bombyx mori Nucleopolyhedrovirus orf8 Gene

Viruses including baculoviruses are obligatory parasites, as their genomes do not encode all the proteins required for replication. Therefore, viruses have evolved to exploit the behavior and the physiology of their hosts and often eoevolved with their hosts over millions of years. Recent comparative analyses of complete genome sequences of baculoviruses revealed the patterns of gene acquisitions and losses that have occurred during baculovirus evolution. In addition, knowledge of virus genes has also provided understanding of the mechanism of baculovirus infection including replication, species-specific virulence and host range. The Bm8 gene of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) and its homologues are found only in group I NPV genomes. The Autographa californica NPV Acl6 gene is a homologue of Bm8 and, encodes a viral structural protein. It has been shown that Bm8/Ac 16 interacts with baculoviral and cellular proteins. Bm8/Ac 16 interacts with baculoviral IE1 that is facilitated by coiled coil domains, and the interaction with IE1 is important for Bin8 function. Ac16 also forms a complex with viral FP25 and cellular actin and associates with membranes via palmitoylation. These data suggested that this gene family encodes a multifunctional protein that accomplishes specific needs of group INPVs.     

Cloning and expression of a cellulase gene in the silkworm, Bombyx mori by improved Bac-to-Bac/BmNPV baculovirus expression system

Cellulases catalyze the hydrolysis of cellulose which are mainly three types: endoglucanases, cellobiohydrolases and β-glucosidases. It can be used in converting cellulosic biomass to glucose that can be used in different applications such as production of fuel ethanol, animal feed, waste water treatment and in brewing industry. In this paper, we cloned a 1380-bp endoglucanase I (EG I) gene from mycelium of filamentous fungus Trichoderma viride strain AS 3.3711 using PCR-based exon splicing methods, and expressed the recombinant EG I mature peptide protein in both silkworm BmN cell line and silkworm larvae with a newly established Bac-to-Bac/BmNPV mutant baculovirus expression system, which lacks the virus-encoded chitinase (chiA) and cathepsin (v-cath) genes of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV). An around 49-kDa protein was visualized after mBacmid/BmNPV/EG I infection, and the maximum expression in silkworm larvae was at 84 h post-infection. The ANOVA showed that the enzymes from recombinant baculoviruses infected silkworms exhibited significant maximum enzyme activity at the environmental condition of pH 7.0 and temperature 50°C. It was stable at pH range from 5.0 to 10.0 and at temperature range from 50 to 60°C, and increased 24.71 and 22.84% compared with that from wild baculoviruses infected silkworms and normal silkworms, respectively. The availability of large quantities of EG I that the silkworm provides maybe greatly facilitate the future research and the potential application in industries.     

电穿孔法可用于家蚕基因功能分析(英文)

【目的】明确基于电穿孔的基因功能分析方法在家蚕Bombyx mori活体内的应用实效。【方法】针对调控家蚕幼虫体表斑纹黑色素合成的靶基因Wnt1 (Wingless),人工合成特异性siRNA,向4龄第3天家蚕幼虫注射Wnt1 siRNA并进行电穿孔作为处理组(ERFA-RNAi),以注射Wnt1 siRNA但未进行电穿孔的幼虫作为阴性对照组(negative control, NC),解剖5龄幼虫斑纹区的表皮,用实时定量RT-PCR测定表皮中Wnt1的相对表达量,验证电穿孔介导的RNAi效果。带有增强型绿色荧光蛋白报告基因EGFP和红色荧光蛋白报告基因DsRed2表达元件的转座子载体pPIG-A3GR,通过电穿孔导入家蚕2龄幼虫;正常饲养72 h后,用荧光体视显微镜观察幼虫中EGFP和DsRed2的表达,验证当世代家蚕的嵌合体转基因。【结果】家蚕4龄第3天幼虫中导入Wnt1的特异性siRNA后,5龄幼虫体表特定部位斑纹的形成明显受到抑制,实时定量RT PCR分析表明5龄幼虫表皮中Wnt1的表达水平显著降低。嵌合体转基因家蚕的阳性率达56.60%,并且两个荧光报告基因EGFP和DsRed2在幼虫、蛹及成虫期持续表达。【结论】电穿孔技术可快捷、高效地向家蚕活体内导入外源RNA或DNA,是家蚕乃至其他昆虫基因功能解析的有效方法。     

Bombyx mori protein disulfide isomerase enhances the production of nuecin, an antibacterial protein

The insect baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) is useful for producing biologically active recombinant proteins. However, the overexpressions of foreign proteins using this system often results in misfolded proteins and the formation of protein aggregates. To overcome this limitation, we developed a versatile baculovirus expression and secretion system using Bombyx mori protein disulfide isomerase (bPDI) as a fusion partner. bPDI gene fusion was found to improve the secretions and antibacterial activities of recombinant nuecin proteins. Thus, we conclude that bPDI gene fusion is a useful addition to BEVS for the large-scale production of bioactive recombinant proteins.