An Mpeg (macrophage expressed gene) from the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas: molecular characterization and gene expression

Mpegs (macrophage expressed genes) encode members of the MACPF (membrane-attack complex/perforin) protein superfamily that play essential roles in innate immunity. In the present study, a homolog of Mpeg1 was identified in Crassostrea gigas and designed Cg-Mpeg1. The complete cDNA of Cg-Mpeg1 is 2781 bp in length, containing an ORF of 2226 bp, which encodes a putative protein of 742 amino acids with a predicted 19-aa hydrophobic signal peptide, an MACPF domain, and a transmembrane domain. Phylogenetic analysis shows that Cg-Mpeg1 is similar to other mollusk MACPF proteins and might originate in an ancient ancestor gene before the divergence of protostomes and deuterostomes. Localization study revealed that Cg-Mpeg1 protein is found primarily in late endosomes. The MACPF domain from Cg-Mpeg1 exhibits significant antibacterial activity to both Gram-negative and positive bacteria. Furthermore, Real-time Quantitative PCR analysis showed that Cg-Mpeg1 is expressed in all tissues detected with highest expression in gill and gonads. Moreover, Mpeg1 mRNA levels are significantly up-regulated following infection with Vibrio alginolyticus. These results highlight that Cg-Mpeg1 plays an essential role in host defense and elimination of pathogens in C. gigas.     

太平洋牡蛎i型溶菌酶基因的克隆与重组高效表达

在双壳类软体动物牡蛎体内,溶菌酶(Lysozyme)在实现宿主免疫防御,破坏和消除侵入体内的病原中发挥着重要的作用.根据GenBank已有的太平洋牡蛎溶菌酶的全长cDNA序列(GenBank:AB179775),通过RT-PCR技术,从太平洋牡蛎(Crassostrea gigas)中克隆得到溶菌酶(简称为CgLys)基因的开放阅读框(open reading frame,ORF)序列.生物信息软件分析表明,其ORF为414 bp,编码137个氨基酸(aa),前20个aa为信号肽,成熟肽由117个aa组成,其分子量为13.2 kD.通过构建分子系统发育树对其同源性进行分析比较,初步推断该CgLys属于i型溶菌酶.将该CgLys基因的成熟肽亚克隆进原核表达载体pET-32a(+)中,构建重组质粒pET32a(+)-CgLys,再转化至大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)pLysS.该基因工程菌经IPTG诱导发酵后,成功高效地表达了重组CgLys蛋白,其分子质量约为18 kD.该重组CgLya蛋白主要存在于细菌裂解液的上清液中,即以可溶性蛋白形式存在.上述结果将显著简化后续的蛋白纯化过程,为今后扩大规模生产牡蛎溶菌酶提供参考.     

Molecular cloning of calnexin and calreticulin in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas and its expression in response to air exposure

Calnexin (CNX) and calreticulin (CRT) are endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperones. CNX is a type I transmembrane protein and CRT is a soluble CNX homologue. In the ER, CNX and CRT are important for Ca(2+) homeostasis and protein maturation. Here, we describe the full-length cDNA of the first mollusk CNX (cgCNX) and a second mollusk CRT (cgCRT) from the oyster Crassostrea gigas. CgCNX, containing 3255bp, was composed of a 1764bp open reading frame (ORF) that encodes a 588-amino acid protein. CgCRT, containing 1727bp, was composed of a 1242bp ORF that encodes a 414-amino acid protein. CgCNX and cgCRT contains an N-terminal 21- and 16-amino acid sequence, respectively, which is characteristic of a signal sequence. At the C-terminus, cgCRT also contains the KDEL (-Lys-Asp-Glu-Leu) peptide motif suggesting that cgCRT localizes in the ER. Northern blot analysis showed that both cgCNX and cgCRT mRNAs are induced by air exposure. The expression patterns of cgCNX mRNA differed from those of cgCRT during air exposure. This suggests that these two molecular chaperones have different roles in the response to air exposure.     

桑泛素延伸蛋白基因片段的克隆及序列分析

目的:利用3’RACE技术克隆植物泛素基因,是进一步研究其功能的基础。方法:本研究从桑树(丰驰桑)(Morus bomby-cis)幼叶中提取总RNA,反转录成cDNA,根据已报道的泛素基因序列设计1条正向引物,利用3’RACE(Rapid Amplification of cDNAEnd)技术进行扩增。结果:扩增出1条690 bp的泛素基因片段。该片段5’端为编码156个氨基酸残基的阅读框,3’末端有219bp的非翻译区。结论:同源分析表明,此cDNA序列为泛素延伸蛋白基因(Genebank登录号为DQ839403)。用Genedoc软件对该片段编码的氨基酸序列进行同源性分析的结果表明:桑树泛素延伸蛋白与马铃薯、烟草、陆地棉、黄瓜的泛素延伸蛋白以及苜蓿的核糖体S27A蛋白的同源性都在96%以上。     

虾夷扇贝脂多糖诱导的肿瘤坏死因子LITAF基因的克隆及表达分析

脂多糖诱导的肿瘤坏死因子(Lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF-alpha factor,LITAF)是一类重要的炎症细胞因子,在先天性免疫系统中发挥重要的介质作用。文章根据虾夷扇贝LITAF基因EST序列,应用RACE技术克隆了虾夷扇贝LITAF全长cDNA,对序列及编码的氨基酸进行生物信息学分析。结果显示,该基因cDNA全长1 551 bp,其5′非编码区包含76 bp,3′非编码区包含1 001 bp;开放阅读框(ORF)为474 bp,编码157个氨基酸,氨基酸序列中存在一个保守的LITAF结构域;理论分子量16.99 kDa,等电点为6.24。LITAF基因序列为3 698 bp,由3个外显子和两个内含子组成。利用实时荧光定量PCR技术分析LITAF在虾夷扇贝不同组织、不同胚胎发育阶段以及鳗弧菌(Vibrio anguillarum)刺激后各时间段的表达情况。结果表明:LITAF基因在所检测的6个成体组织中均有表达,其中肾脏的表达量最高;胚胎发育的7个时期中,担轮幼体时期表达量最高;菌刺激36 h实验组与对照组的表达量差异大。LITAF基因是LITAF家族的一员,推测LITAF基因参与虾夷扇贝的先天性免疫反应。     

孔石莼凝集素蛋白基因的克隆与表达

根据孔石莼(Ulva pertusa)凝集素(Lectin)蛋白cDNA全长序列(GenBank登录号:AY433960)设计引物,以其总DNA为模板,采用PCR技术扩增蛋白DNA序列,经克隆、测序获得基因序列。结果表明,孔石莼凝集素蛋白(UPL)基因序列长约为670 bp,含有一个大小为56 bp的内含子。此外,设计带酶切位点的引物,以UPL-cDNA为模板,扩增其开放阅读框,并与表达载体pGEX-2T连接,构建原核表达载体pG2T-UPL,并在大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中成功表达大小约为47 kD的目的蛋白。     

凡纳滨对虾MT基因序列及其在卵巢发育和低温胁迫中的表达分析

在低温处理仔虾全长cDNA文库的筛选测序中, 获得凡纳滨对虾(Litopenaeus vannmei)金属硫蛋白基因全长cDNA序列, 该序列含有425个碱基, 包含177 bp开放阅读框, 上游98 bp的非编码区及下游150 bp 的非编码区, 编码58个氨基酸, 其中半胱氨酸含量丰富, 富含金属硫蛋白典型的Cys-X(1-3)-Cys 结构。多序列比对表明, 凡纳滨对虾MT蛋白序列与美洲螯龙虾(Homarus americanus)MT蛋白序列具最高同源性72.4%。Real-time PCR结果表明, 凡纳滨对虾MT基因在卵巢组织中呈优势表达, 在不同发育期的卵巢中的表达量都很高, 在低温处理凡纳滨对虾肝胰腺组织中上调表达。实验所得结果为研究凡纳滨对虾金属硫蛋白基因在生殖发育和低温应激中的功能提供了参考。       

银鲫apelin基因的克隆、组织表达谱和摄食关系的初步研究

apelin是一种参与哺乳动物和鱼类摄食调控的重要神经肽。为了更好地研究apelin在银鲫(Carassius auratus gibelio)上的摄食调控作用,本试验采用RACE技术首次获得了银鲫apelin的cDNA全长序列,并通过实时荧光定量PCR(RT-PCR)技术检测了apelin基因在各组织的表达情况以及餐前餐后和禁食对其表达量的影响。结果显示银鲫apelin全长cDNA序列长度为1082 bp,其中5’非编码区(5’-UTR)的长度为114 bp,3’非编码区(3’-UTR)的长度为734 bp,开放阅读框(open reading frame,ORF)的长度为234 bp。银鲫apelin基因的ORF区编码77个氨基酸,前22个氨基酸为信号肽。apelin基因在银鲫21个组织中普遍表达,特别是在下丘脑中表达量最高。在餐前餐后的试验中,银鲫下丘脑apelin基因在餐后表达量显著下降(p<0.05);在禁食试验中,禁食组下丘脑apelin基因的表达量在第5天显著升高(p<0.05),第7天极显著升高(p<0.01),复投喂后,apelin基因的表达量在第9天、第11天、第14天极显著降低(p<0.01)。综上所述,apelin基因可能是银鲫的诱食因子,在其摄食调控起到一定的作用。     

草鱼CD81基因的克隆及功能分析

为研究白细胞表面分化抗原81(CD81)的功能, 对草鱼CD81进行了克隆, CD81全长共1376 bp, 其中5'非翻译区87 bp, 3'非翻译区581 bp, 开放阅读框为708 bp, 包括8个外显子, 7个内含子, 编码235个氨基酸。实验采用实时荧光定量PCR的方法检测了CD81在健康草鱼不同组织中的表达情况及草鱼出血病病毒(GCRV)攻毒前后的表达变化情况。结果显示草鱼CD81在所有被检测组织中均有表达, 在头肾中表达量最高。在GCRV攻毒前后草鱼鳃、脾、肝、肠及头肾5个组织中的CD81表达量均有明显变化。同时, 采用绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)来示踪CD81的亚细胞表达部位, 激光共聚焦显微镜显示, 同人类一样, 草鱼CD81定位于细胞膜上。       

马氏珠母贝(Pinctada fucata martensii)Pm-HK基因的克隆及其对温度胁迫的响应

己糖激酶(hexokinase, HK)是糖酵解过程中的首个限速酶。本实验利用RACE技术克隆获得了马氏珠母贝HK (Pm-HK)基因,并对其基因和氨基酸序列结构特征进行了生物信息学分析,同时采用荧光定量PCR技术分析了该基因在不同组织的表达模式及不同温度下的时序表达模式。序列分析表明,Pm-HK cDNA序列全长为2 403 bp,其中开放式阅读框1 548 bp,5'UTR 74 bp,3'UTR 781 bp,共编码515个氨基酸,分子量为57.67 kD,理论等电点为6.08。结构域分析发现Pm-HK具有两个完整的保守功能域Hexokinase_1、Hexokinase_2,以及两个Glucose-6-Phosphate结合位点、三个Glucose结合位点,两个ATP结合位点。多序列比对结果表明Pm-HK与太平洋牡蛎HK同源性最高,为81%;系统进化分析发现,Pm-HK与太平洋牡蛎等贝类HK聚为一支。组织表达定量分析结果显示,Pm-HK在马氏珠母贝肝胰腺中显著高表达;对不同温度下鳃组织中Pm-HK的时序表达分析发现,在处理12 h后各时间点低温组(12℃) Pm-HK基因表达水平最高,且均显著高于中低温组(17℃)、对照组(22℃)和高温组(32℃)。以上结果表明Pm-HK可能参与马氏珠母贝的低温胁迫响应。该研究为进一步探索Pm-HK在马氏珠母贝在温度适应性中的作用提供了基础资料。     

Molecular cloning, characterization and expression analysis of an IL-21 homologue from Tetraodon nigroviridis

Interleukin-21 (IL-21) is an important immune cytokine that was well characterized in human and mammals, but little is known in fish. In present study, an IL-21 homologue was cloned and well characterized from Tetraodon nigroviridis. The full-length Tetraodon IL-21 cDNA was 849bp in size, containing an open reading frame (ORF) of 438bp that translated a 145 amino-acid peptide, a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 69bp, and a 3' UTR of 342bp. The deduced peptide shared identity of 20-49% with other known IL-21 sequences. The Tetraodon IL-21 gene had six exons while both human and Takifugu IL-21 gene contained only five exons. However, the level of synteny between human, Takifugu and Tetraodon genomes was well conserved during evolution. In vivo expression study showed that Tetraodon IL-21 mRNAs were constitutively expressed at a low level and only in limited tissues, including gut, gill and gonad in healthy fish, and stimulation with LPS increased the expression of IL-21 in these tissues and induced the expression of IL-21 in kidney, spleen and skin, indicating that IL-21 is an inflammatory stress inducible gene associated with the anti-bacterial defense in fish. Our study provided further evidence for the existence of IL-21 in fish, and gained further insight into the immunological functions of IL-21 gene in fish.     

西伯利亚蓼钙调蛋白基因的克隆及其在盐胁迫下的表达

已从西伯利亚蓼叶中cDNA文库中获得的钙调蛋白EST序列,采用cDNA末端快速扩增（RACE）技术克隆了具有完整编码区的钙调蛋白基因的cDNA序列（GenBank登录号GQ988382）,命名为PsCaM。该基因全长615bp,编码区为450bp,编码149个氨基酸,5＇非翻译区为63bp,3＇非翻译区为102bp。同源性分析表明,该蛋白与其他植物钙调蛋白高度保守,氨基酸同源性高达98%。用实时荧光定量PCR研究3%NaHCO3胁迫下西伯利亚蓼基因表达的结果显示,自然条件下,该基因在叶中表达量最高,地下茎次之,茎中最低;盐胁迫下CaM在西伯利亚蓼的地下茎、茎和叶中均有表达,表达模式不同。     

一个新的二色补血草金属硫蛋白基因LbMT2的克隆及其表达分析

从二色补血草cDNA文库中分离出一个新的金属硫蛋白基因LbMT2全长cDNA序列。该基因全长518 bp, 其中5′非翻译区(UTR)64 bp, 3′非翻译区205 bp, 开放阅读框(ORF)249 bp, 编码由82个氨基酸组成的蛋白质, 编码蛋白的分子量为8.1 kDa, 理论等电点(pI)为4.72。利用实时定量PCR方法研究了二色补血草在CuSO4、CdCl2、NaCl、低温和PEG胁迫下不同时间该基因的表达模式。结果表明, CuSO4、CdCl2、NaCl和低温处理均能诱导LbMT2基因在二色补血草的根和叶中的表达, 而PEG处理则抑制了LbMT2在根和叶中的表达。构建LbMT2基因的原核表达载体pGEX-LbMT2, 通过IPTG诱导在大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli) BL21中融合表达, SDS-PAGE 电泳获得35 kDa 的蛋白条带, 大小与预期相符。     

紫杆柽柳与其它物种脂质转运蛋白基因编码蛋白的同源性比较

根据从柽柳cDNA文库克隆获得的脂质转运蛋白(LTP)的部分序列,用RACE技术克隆出其全长cDNA序列.基因的5'非翻译区96bp,3'非翻译区222bp,开放阅读框285bp,编码94个氨基酸,预计蛋白的分子量为9.9 kD,等电点为8.02.此基因有8个位置保守的Cys残基及26个氨基酸的信号肽,为典型的植物脂质转运蛋白基因.其基因序列数据库(GenBank)登录号为AY574218(基因)和AAS79106(蛋白).     

cDNA cloning by amplification of circularized first strand cDNAs reveals non-IRE-regulated iron-responsive mRNAs

Currently, the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) is the most common method for PCR cloning of cDNA. Because RACE uses a gene specific primer and one adaptor primer that is shared by all cDNAs may result in numerous nonspecific products that can hinder the cloning process. Here we report a new method that uses circularized first strand cDNA from mRNA and two gene specific primers to amplify both the 5' and 3' cDNA ends in one reaction. A cDNA band of correct size can be obtained on the first pass in this approach. If the correct size is not obtained on the first pass, amplification of cDNA ends can be repeated until the correct size of the cDNA is obtained. We tested this new method on eight mRNAs that we have previously shown to respond to cellular iron levels. We obtained sequences for six mRNAs that were 43 bp to 1324 bp longer than that reported in GenBank and obtained the same length sequence for the other two mRNAs. RNA folding program shows no iron responsive elements (IRE) on these mRNA. In conclusion, our cloning approach offers a more efficient method for cloning full-length cDNA and it may be used to replace the existing method of 5' end cDNA extension. The data enabled us to exclude the possibility that the expression of these iron responsive genes are regulated by IREs.     

Cloning of two different 5' untranslated exons of bovine acidic fibroblast growth factor by the single strand ligation to single-stranded cDNA methodology.

In an attempt to characterize the 5' UTR of the aFGF mRNAs we used the new anchored PCR methodology, single strand ligation to ss-cDNAs (SLIC). In bovine brain and retina, two kinds of aFGF cDNA clones were isolated. They contained two alternative exons located 34 bp upstream to the translation initiation codon ATG. Taking into account the number of clones specific for each exon, the two mRNAs are expressed with the same ratio in both tissues. One of these bovine 5' UTR exons (136 bp) showed 81% identity to a human 5' UTR exon, the second one (323 bp) was 70% identical to the second human 5' UTR exon with a central region of 90 nucleotides showing 41% identity. The conservation of the splicing positions for these 5' UTR alternate exons in both bovine and human species, suggests that the overall structure of the aFGF gene is conserved in mammals. Furthermore, the conservation of the nucleotide sequences and of the localization of these 5' UTR exons suggests that these non-coding regions may be involved in the control of aFGF gene expression.