草鱼呼肠孤病毒RNA聚合酶基因的表达与产物纯化

草鱼呼肠孤病毒是引起草鱼出血病的主要病原,隶属于呼肠孤病毒科水生呼肠孤病毒属。序列分析表明,GCRVS2片段长为3877核苷酸,编码一个分子量为138kDa的蛋白VP2,具有RNA聚合酶性质。为进一步了解该病毒RNA聚合酶特性,本研究在对GCRV RNA聚合酶基因(GCRV—RdRp)保守区(约1．5kb)重组质粒pR／RRp高效表达的基础上,分别构建了编码GCRV RNA聚合酶保守区N端与C端部分基因的pR／RRpN及pR／RRpC重组表达载体,并在原核细胞中获得成功表达。筛选的重组表达菌株经IPTG诱导培养,得到分子量分别为98kDa、103kDa的目的表达融合蛋白。Western blot分析表明,该表达产物与兔抗GCRV—VP2血清呈阳性反应。通过ProBond柱亲和层析,纯化了融合有6个组氨酸的重组表达产物,并获得约90％纯的目的蛋白。上述结果为GCRV RNA聚合酶特性分析提供了依据。     

草鱼呼肠孤病毒RNA聚合酶基因的表达与产物纯化

草鱼呼肠孤病毒是引起草鱼出血病的主要病原,隶属于呼肠孤病毒科水生呼肠孤病毒属.序列分析表明,GCRV S2 片段长为3 877核苷酸,编码一个分子量为138kDa 的蛋白VP2,具有RNA聚合酶性质.为进一步了解该病毒 RNA聚合酶特性,本研究在对GCRV RNA聚合酶基因(GCRV-RdRp)保守区(约1.5kb)重组质粒pR/RRp高效表达的基础上,分别构建了编码GCRV RNA聚合酶保守区N端与C端部分基因的 pR/RRpN及pR/RRpC重组表达载体,并在原核细胞中获得成功表达.筛选的重组表达菌株经IPTG诱导培养,得到分子量分别为98kDa、103kDa的目的表达融合蛋白.Western blot分析表明,该表达产物与兔抗GCRV-VP2血清呈阳性反应.通过ProBond柱亲和层析,纯化了融合有6个组氨酸的重组表达产物,并获得约90%纯的目的蛋白.上述结果为GCRV RNA聚合酶特性分析提供了依据.     

Expression of outer capsid protein VP5 of grass carp reovirus in <Emphasis Type="Italic">E.coli</Emphasis> and analysis of its immunogenicity

Grass carp reovirus (GCRV) is a tentative member of the Aquareovirus genus in the family Reoviridae. The mature virion comprises 11 dsRNA genomes enclosed by two concentric icosahedral proteins shells that is comprised of five core proteins and two outer capsid proteins. The genome sequence and 3D structure demonstrate there is a higher level of sequence homology in structural proteins between GCRV and mammalian orthoreoviruses (MRV) compared to other members of the family. To understand the pathogenesis of GCRV infection, the outer capsid protein VP5, a homology of the μ1 protein of MRV, was expressed in E.coli. It was found that the recombinant VP5 was highly expressed, and the expressed His-tag fusion protein was involved in the formation of the inclusion body. Additionally, specific anti-VP5 serum was prepared from purified protein and western blot demonstrated that the expressed protein was able to bind immunologically to rabbit anti GCRV particle serum and the immunogenicity was determined by ELISA assay. Additional experiments in investigating the functional properties of VP5 will further elucidate the role of the GCRV outer capsid protein VP5 during entry into host cells, and its interaction among viral proteins and host cells during the infection process.     

草鱼呼肠孤病毒RNA聚合酶基因功能区在原核细胞中的表达

草鱼呼肠孤病毒(grass carp reovirus)为我国分离、鉴定的第一株水生动物病毒.1983年,我国首次报道引起爆发性草鱼出血病的病原为草鱼出血病病毒[1,2],其后相继进行了系统的病毒形态学、生物学、生物化学及分子生物学特性等研究[3-8].自1979年Meyers T R等报道从水生动物中分离出第一株呼肠孤样病毒,迄今国际上已分离鉴定40余种水生呼肠孤病毒(aquareovirus).在这些分离株中,大多数毒株不能引起寄主的病理反应或仅表现出较弱的致病性.然而研究认为,GCRV为水生呼肠孤病毒中致病力最强的毒株[9].可见,以GCRV为模型,研究水生呼肠孤病毒的复制与致病机理具有一定的理论及实际意义.我们在对GCRV反应核心及体外转录研究中,已证实GCRV RNA聚合酶在病毒粒子中的存在及其位置[5];GCRV序列测定及定位结果显示,GCRV-VP2多肽为该病毒RNA聚合酶(RNA dependent RNA polymerase RdRp)[6,7].为了探讨草鱼呼肠孤病毒的侵染与宿主的相关性及复制机制,我们首次进行了该病毒RNA聚合酶基因(GCRV-RdRp)功能区序列在原核细胞中的表达研究,并得到高效表达融合蛋白.这一结果将为该酶的活性及特性分析提供实验依据.下面报道本研究结果.     

High level expression of grass carp reovirus VP7 protein in prokaryotic cells

Sequences analysis revealed Grass carp reovirus (GCRV) s10 was 909 nucleotides coding a 34 kDa protein denoted as VP7, which was determined to be a viral outer capsid protein (OCP). To obtain expressed OCP in vitro, a full length VP7 gene was produced by RT-PCR amplification, and the amplified fragment was cloned into T7 promoted prokaryotic expression vector pRSET. The recombinant plasmid,which was named as pR/GCRV-VP7,was then transformed into E.coli BL21 host cells. The data indicated that the expressed recombinant was in frame with the N-terminal fusion peptide. The over-expressed fusion protein was produced by inducing with IPTG, and its molecular weight was about 37kDa, which was consistent with its predicted size. In addition, the fusion protein was produced in the form of the inclusion body with their yield remaining steady at more than 60% of total bacterial protein. Moreover,the expressed protein was able to bind immunologically to anti-his-tag monoclonal antibody (mouse) and anti-GCRV serum (rabbit). This work provides a research basis for further structure and function studies of GCRV during entry into cells.     

Molecular characterization of nonstructural protein NS38 of grass carp reovirus

Viral nonstructural proteins in both enveloped and non-enveloped viruses play important roles in viral replication. Protein NS38 of Grass carp reovirus (GCRV), has been deduced to be a non-structural protein, and, consistent with other reoviruses, is considered to cooperate with the NS80 protein in viral particle assembly. To investigate the molecular basis of the role of NS38, a complete protein was expressed in E.coli for the first time. It was found that there is a better expression of NS38 induced with IPTG at 28 ℃ rather than 37 ℃. In addition, the antiserum of NS38 prepared with purified fusion protein and injected into rabbit could be used for detecting NS38 protein expression in GCRV infected cell lysate, while there is not any reaction crossed with purified virus particle, confirming NS38 is not a component of the viral structural protein. The result reported in this study will provide evidence for further viral protein-protein and protein-RNA interaction in dsRNA viruses replication.     

Photosynthetic and transpiration responses of <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>-regenerated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Solanum nigrum</Emphasis> L. plants to <Emphasis Type="Italic">ex vitro</Emphasis> adaptation

In vitro regeneration of black nightshade (Solanum nigrum L.) plants was achieved through callus-mediated shoot organogenesis followed by 30 d indoor ex vitro adaptation to nutritional stress under environmental ambience and thereafter 6-d outdoor acclimatization in pots prior to field establishment. Relevant physiological parameters including pigment content, chlorophyll a fluorescence, net photosynthetic rate (P _N), transpiration rate (E), and stomatal conductance (g _s) of in vitro-regenerated plants were investigated during the course of ex vitro adaptation. During the first 4 d of indoor transplantation to potting substrate, there was a marginal reduction in the leaf chlorophyll and carotenoid contents but P _N and E were strongly reduced. The stomatal conductance and E/P _N ratio were significantly higher in plants up to 20 d of indoor adaptation than those of comparable age grown naturally from seeds. The shape of the OJIP fluorescence transient varied significantly with acclimatization, and the maximum change was observed at 2.0 ms. The 2.0 ms variable fluorescence (V _j), 30 ms relative fluorescence (M ₀), photon trapping probability (TR₀/Abs), and photosystem II (PSII) trapping rate (TR₀/RC) showed initial disturbance and subsequent stabilization during 30 d of indoor acclimatization. Energy dissipation (DI₀/RC) and electron transport probability (ET₀/TR₀) showed an initial phase of increase during the 4 d after plants were transplanted outdoors. During the 6-d outdoor acclimatization after transfer of plants to soil, no significant change in total chlorophylls and carotenoids, E, and g _s were observed, but P _N improved after reduction on the first d. The OJIP-derived parameters experienced change on the first d but were stabilized quickly thereafter. There was no significant difference between outdoor acclimatized plants and those of the seed-grown plants of comparable age with respect to photosynthetic and fluorescence parameters. Direct transfer of plants without indoor acclimatization, however, showed a completely different trend with respect to P _N, E, and OJIP fluorescence transients. The bearing of this study on optimizing micropropagation is discussed.     

Chromosomes are eliminated in the symmetric fusion between <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis </Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">thaliana</Emphasis> L. and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bupleurum scorzonerifolium</Emphasis> Willd.

In order to investigate chromosome elimination in symmetric somatic hybridization between Bupleurum scorzonerifolium and Arabidopsis thaliana, protoplasts were isolated from suspension cultures of both A. thaliana and B. scorzonerifolium parents. Biparental protoplasts were mixed at a rate of 1.5:1 and fused with PEG-method. After protoplast fusion, the products were cultured in the P5 liquid medium for microcallus formation. Single cell lines formed from microcalli after subculturing on the MB1 (Xia and Chen, Plant Sci 120:197–203, 1996) solid medium. The putative somatic hybrid cell lines were identified by cytological and molecular analysis. Of the 132 somatic cell lines generated, 16 were identified as somatic hybrids, with the phenotypes resembled B. scorzonerifolium parent. These hybrids showed a complete set of B. scorzonerifolium chromosome and 0–2 small chromosome(s) of A. thaliana. A few of them showed nuclear and cytoplasmic SSR fragments of A. thaliana. These hybrid cell lines could differentiate to green spots, buds/leaves through complementation of regeneration ability. The chromosomes elimination of A. thaliana was discussed. Wang Minqin and Zhao Junsheng contributed equally to the work.     

Hormonal control of the outgrowth of axillary buds in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alstroemeria</Emphasis> cultured <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

We study apical dominance in Alstroemeria, a plant with an architecture very different from the model species used in research on apical dominance. The standard explant was a rhizome with a tip and two vertically growing shoots from which the larger part had been excised leaving ca. 1 cm stem. The axillary buds that resumed growth were located at this 1-cm stem just above the rhizome. They were released by removal of the rhizome tip and the shoot tips. Replacement of excised tips by lanolin with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) restored apical dominance. The auxin transport inhibitors 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA) and N-1-napthylphthalamic acid (NPA) reduced apical dominance. 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) enhanced axillary bud outgrowth but the highest concentrations (> 9 μM) caused fasciation. Thidiazuron (TDZ) did not show improvement relative to BAP. Even though the architecture of Alstroemeria and the model species are very different, their hormonal mechanisms in apical dominance are for the greater part very similar.     

Effect of abscisic acid and proline on <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis> flowering in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vigna aconitifolia</Emphasis>

An experiment was taken up to find out possibilities of manipulating the in vitro flowering in moth bean. Abscisic acid (ABA) and proline both alone and in combination influenced days to flower induction, number of flowers per plant, number of pods per plant and seeds per pod. Frequency of flowering plants approached 100 % at 1 and 3 μM ABA and 800 μM proline. The range of flowering period (3 to 23.6 d) has also been influenced by various treatments.     

Expression and identification of inclusion forming-related domain of NS80 nonstructural protein of grass carp reovirus

Grass carp reovirus (GCRV), a double stranded RNA virus that infects aquatic animals, often with disastrous effects, belongs to the genus Aquareovirus and family Reoviridea. Similar to other reoviruses, genome replication of GCRV in infected cells occurs in cytoplasmic inclusion bodies, also called viral factories. Sequences analysis revealed the nonstructural protein NS80, encoded by GCRV segment 4, has a high similarity with uNS in MRV(Mammalian orthoreoviruses), which may be associated with viral factory formation. To understand the function of the uNS80 protein in virus replication, the initial expression and identification of the immunogenicity of the GCRV NS80 protein inclusion forming-related region (335.742) was investigated in this study. It is shown that the over-expressed fusion protein was produced by inducing with IPTG at 28oC. In addition, serum specific rabbit antibody was obtained by using super purified recombinant NS80(335.742) protein as antigen. Moreover, the expressed protein was able to bind to anti-his-tag monoclonal antibody (mouse) and NS80(335-742) specific rabbit antibody. Further western blot analysis indicates that the antiserum could detect NS80 or NS80C protein expression in GCRV infected cells. This data provides a foundation for further investigation of the role of NS80 in viral inclusion formation and virion assembly.     

Ontogenetic shift in dietary preference and low dietary overlap in rohu (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Labeo rohita</Emphasis>) and common carp (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cyprinus carpio</Emphasis>) in semi-intensive polyculture ponds

In order to investigate ontogenetic changes in diet and diet overlap between rohu (Labeo rohita) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in polyculture ponds, food preferences of different size classes of these fishes were quantified. Rohu diet consisted of both phytoplankton and zooplankton, and there was a distinct ontogenetic shift in the relative importance of these food items. Zooplankton was the dominant food for rohu up to 20.6 cm total length (TL) and then gradually decreased in importance as fish grew. Phytoplankton was initially a minor component of rohu diet but gradually increased in importance and became the dominant food for rohu at 24.2 cm TL. Phytoplankton biovolume in rohu guts was positively correlated with fish size (TL). Chesson’s α indicated that rohu of all sizes preferentially selected Cladocera and avoided Cyanophyceae and Euglenophyceae. Young rohu initially preferred Rotifera and Copepoda but gradually switched to Bacillariophyceae and Chlorophyceae. Common carp diet consisted of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and benthic macroinvertebrates, but was dominated by benthic macroinvertebrates (63–92% of total diet). As common carp grew, the proportion of zooplankton ingested decreased and the proportion of benthic macroinvertebrates increased. Benthic macroinvertebrate biovolume in common carp guts was positively correlated with fish size. Common carp of up to 15.4 cm TL preferentially selected zooplankton, but common carp larger than 18.9 cm TL avoided this food item. Common carp of all sizes avoided phytoplankton. A low dietary overlap was found between rohu and common carp (Schoener overlap index: 0.08–0.35), probably due to ingestion of smaller quantities of zooplankton by the latter. Dietary overlap also decreased with increasing rohu and common carp size because of divergent ontogenetic shifts in dietary preferences of the two species.