The Influence of SV40 polyA on Gene Expression of Baculovirus Expression Vector Systems

The simian virus 40 polyadenylation signal (SV40 polyA) has been routinely inserted downstream of the polyhedrin promoter in many baculovirus expression vector systems (BEVS). In the baculovirus prototype Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV), the polyhedrin promoter (very late promoter) transcribes its gene by a viral RNA polymerase therefore there is no supporting evidence that SV40 polyA is required for the proper gene expression under the polyhedrin promoter. Moreover, the effect of the SV40 polyA sequence on the polyhedrin promoter activity has not been tested either at its natural polyhedrin locus or in other loci in the viral genome. In order to test the significance of adding the SV40 polyA sequence on gene expression, the expression of the enhanced green fluorescent protein (egfp) was evaluated with and without the presence of SV40 polyA under the control of the polyhedrin promoter at different genomic loci (polyherin, ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyltransferase (egt), and gp37). In this study, spectrofluorometry and western blot showed reduction of EGFP protein for all recombinant viruses with SV40 polyA, whereas qPCR showed an increase in the egfp mRNA levels. Therefore, we conclude that SV40 polyA increases mRNA levels but decreases protein production in the BEVS when the polyhedrin promoter is used at different loci. This work suggests that SV40 polyA in BEVSs should be replaced by an AcMNPV late gene polyA for optimal protein production or left untouched for optimal RNA production (RNA interference applications).     

Biological activity of SeMNPV, AcMNPV, and three AcMNPV deletion mutants against Spodoptera exigua larvae (Lepidoptera: noctuidae)

Virulence and speed of action, as related to dose, are important effectiveness-determining properties of insect-pathogenic biocontrol agents. We used the droplet-feeding bioassay to compare dose responses between two wild-type baculoviruses, Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) and Spodoptera exigua MNPV (SeMNPV), and three deletion mutants of AcMNPV in S. exigua larvae. In each mutant one gene was deleted by genetic engineering: pp34, coding for the polyhedral membrane; egt, coding for ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyltransferase; or p10, coding for fibrillar structures in infected insect cells. SeMNPV had the lowest median lethal dose (LD(50)) as well as the highest speed of action (LT(50)) of all viruses investigated. In our comparative bioassays the only significant effect of gene deletions in AcMNPV was a slightly lower speed of action for the p10 deletion mutant. Otherwise, wild-type and recombinant AcMNPVs had similar biological activities. Our results suggest, in contrast to what is generally assumed, that gene deletions in AcMNPV for improved insecticidal activity should be critically assessed in each host system prior to further implementation as a control agent. Insertion of foreign genes coding for entomotoxins is less questionable and more promising in this respect.     

家蚕核型多角体病毒egt基因的分子进化分析

过PCR方法获得家蚕核型多角体病毒（Bombyx mori nuclearpolyhedrosis virus,BmNPV）的蜕皮甾体尿苷二磷酸葡萄糖基转移酶基因（egt）片段,序列分析表明该片段带有EGT的完整ORF,推测的多肽可形成EGT结构域的高级结构。为了研究egt的起源,利用家蚕基因组数据库,电子克隆了多个家蚕尿苷二磷酸葡萄糖醛酸转移酶（UGT）基因,在此基础上进行了进化分析,表明BmNPV的EGT为antennal-enriched型UGT;推测核型多角体病毒（nucleopolyhedrivirus,NPV）和颗粒体病毒（granulovirus,GV）的egt基因在进化上来源于昆虫的UGT基因,但GV的egt基因在进化上的起源可能要早于NPV的egt基因;可能在昆虫祖先种进化形成不同昆虫目的某一时期,杆状病毒的祖先种从昆虫中获得了antennal-enriched型UGT基因,并进化为egt基因。家蚕的部分UGT基因与转座子元件连锁的基因组结构特点反映了杆状病毒的egt基因可能通过转座子的传递而获得。     

Genetic engineering of Helicoverpa armigera single-nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus as an improved pesticide

The Helicoverpa armigera single-nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV) has been registered and is commercially produced in China as a biopesticide to control the bollworm in cotton. However, the virus has a relatively slow speed of action. To improve its efficacy, recombinant HearNPVs were generated by deleting the ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyltransferase (egt) gene (HaCXW1 and HaLM2) or by inserting the insect-specific toxin gene AaIT in the egt locus (HaCXW2) of HearNPV using conventional recombination strategies in insect cell culture. The various recombinants remained genetically stable when cultured in HzAM1 insect cells. Bioassay data showed a significant reduction in the time required for all HearNPV recombinants to kill second instar H. armigera larvae. The LT(50) of the egt deletion recombinants HaCXW1 and HaLM2 was about 27% faster than that of wild-type HearNPV. The largest reduction in LT(50) was achieved by inserting the gene for the insect-specific neurotoxin, AaIT, in the egt locus, giving a reduction in LT(50) of 32% compared to wild-type HearNPV. The ability to genetically improve the properties of HearNPV as a biopesticide provides a further opportunity to develop this virus into a commercially viable product to control the bollworm in China.     

Novel baculovirus DNA elements strongly stimulate activities of exogenous and endogenous promoters.

A DNA sequence upstream from the polyhedrin gene of baculovirus Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) was found to activate strongly the expression of full or minimal promoters derived from AcMNPV and other sources. Promoters tested included the minimal CMV (CMVm) promoter from human cytomegalovirus, the full heat shock 70 promoter from Drosophila, and the minimal p35 promoter from baculovirus. Deletion and mutagenesis analyses showed that this functional polyhedrin upstream (pu) activator sequence contains three open reading frames (ORFs), ORF4, ORF5, and lef2. In plasmid transfection assays, the pu sequence was able to confer high level luciferase expression driven by all of these full or minimal promoters in insect Sf21 cells. A known baculovirus enhancer, the homologous region (hr) of AcMNPV, further enhanced the expression of these promoters. Experiments showed that although multiple hr sequences function in an additive manner, pu and hr together function synergistically, resulting in as much as 18,000-fold promoter activation. Furthermore, a modified CMVm promoter containing pu and/or hr was inserted into the baculovirus genome to drive the luciferase coding region. The CMVm promoter expressed luciferase much earlier, and although it expressed a bit less than did the p10 promoter, the CMVm promoter gave rise to greater luciferase activity. Therefore, we have uncovered a cryptic viral sequence capable of activating a diverse group of promoters. Finally, these experiments demonstrate that synthetic sequences containing pu, hr, and different full or minimal promoters can generate a set of essentially unlimited novel promoters for weak to very strong expression of foreign proteins using baculovirus.     

Effects of egt gene transfer on the development of Bombyx mori

This study investigated the effects of gain of ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyltransferase (EGT) gene function mutation on the development of the silkworm, Bombyx mori. A novel piggyBac-derived plasmid containing the egt gene from B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) driven by a heat-shock protein (hsp) 23.7 promoter, with a neomycin-resistance gene (neo) controlled by the BmNPV ie-1 promoter and a green fluorescent protein gene (gfp) under the control of the B. mori actin 3 (A3) promoter was constructed. The vector was transferred into silkworm eggs by sperm-mediated gene transfer. Transgenic silkworms were produced after screening for neo and gfp genes and gene transfer was verified by polymerase chain reaction, dot-blot hybridization and western blotting. The hatching rate of G1 generation silkworm eggs was about 60% lower than that of normal silkworm eggs. The duration of the G1 generation larval period was extended, and the G2 generation pupal stage lasted four days longer than that in non-transgenic silkworms. The ecdysone blood level in G2 silkworms in the third instar molting stage was reduced by up to 90%. These results show that EGT suppressed transgenic silkworm molting, and that egt expression in egt-transgenic silkworms resulted in arrest of metamorphosis from pupae to moths.     

Establishment of a Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) hyper-sensitive cell line from the silkworm e21 strain

Baculoviral expression systems, including those of Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV), are used for recombinant protein production. Four B. mori-derived (BmN4, Bm5, Bmc140, and Bme21) cell lines were infected with recombinant BmNPV viruses expressing firefly luciferase or EGFP as reporters under the control of a viral polyhedrin promoter. Bme21 exhibited significantly higher (100-fold) luciferase activity than BmN4 and Bm5. With the EGFP reporter protein, Bme21 cells showed a marked increase in the ratio of EGFP-positive cells, reaching 90?% on day 4 post-infection, while Bm5 and BmN4 cells had a slow increase in the ratio of their EGFP-positive population. The viral titer in a supernatant of Bme21 cell culture increased faster than those of Bm5 and BmN4 cells. This susceptibility indicates that the Bme21 cell line is useful for large-scale protein expression using BmNPV.     

人Cuedc2启动子区的克隆与鉴定

目的:克隆并鉴定和分析人Cuedc2启动子,为进一步研究其转录调控机制和功能提供实验基础。方法:对Cuedc2基因翻译起始位点上游约2000bp的序列进行在线生物信息学分析,使用PCR技术扩增该序列并测序,将扩增获得的该片段定向克隆入PGL-3basic载体中,构建荧光素酶报告基因质粒Cuedc2-luc。荧光素酶分析检测启动子的活性。结果:本实验成功构建了含有Cuedc2基因启动子序列的荧光报告系统,经体外验证该报告基因重组载体具有转录活性。结论:本实验所构建的Cuedc2基因启动子报告基因载体,为进一步研究Cuedc2基因的转录调控及其功能奠定了基础。     

pH对红褐斑腿蝗中肠主要蛋白酶活性的影响

为评价pH对红褐斑腿蝗Catantops pinguis (Stål)中肠蛋白酶活性的影响, 本文用3种专性底物测定了不同pH环境下蝗虫中肠类胰蛋白酶和类胰凝乳蛋白酶的活性。结果表明: 雄性红褐斑腿蝗中肠肠液的pH值为6.92±0.043, 雌性为7.03±0.054, 两性间差异不显著（P>0.05）。并且发现3种蛋白酶的最适pH值各不相同, 其中雌雄虫的强碱性类胰蛋白酶（以BAPNA为底物）最适pH分别为8.5和10.5; 雌雄虫的弱碱性类胰蛋白酶（以TAME为底物）最适pH分别为9.0和9.5; 而雌雄虫的类胰凝乳蛋白酶（以BTEE为底物）最适pH雌性为8.5, 雄性为8.0。统计结果显示, pH对红褐斑腿蝗中肠蛋白酶活性影响显著（P<0.01）, 两性间蛋白酶活性差异显著（P<0.01）。在最适pH情况下, 雌性的类胰蛋白酶活性高于雄性, 而类胰凝乳蛋白酶活性则是雄性高于雌性。在中肠pH范围内雌性比雄性具有更高的消化蛋白酶活性, 显示雌性具有较强的食物处理能力以摄取更多的营养物质为繁殖活动（孕卵）作准备, 而该种蝗虫最适pH范围较宽, 可能与其取食植物范围较宽有关。     

棉铃虫单粒包埋型核型多角体病毒极早期基因(ie-1)分析(英文)

克隆了棉铃虫Helicoverpaarmigera单粒包埋型核型多角体病毒 (HaSNPV)C1株基因组DNA ,并通过随机测序的方法测定了经XbaI酶切后的H片段的核苷酸全序列。序列比较和分析发现该片段中ORF1 3与苜蓿丫纹夜蛾Autographacalifornica多粒包埋型核型多角体病毒 (AcMNPV)基因组ORF1 47(ie 1 )同源。ie 1基因编码区全长 1 986bp ,根据推测的氨基酸序列 ,可编码 6 6 1个氨基酸残基组成的多肽 ,预计分子量为 76 .5kD。将所推导的HaSNPVIE 1氨基酸序列与其它已知的杆状病毒IE 1氨基酸序列进行比较 ,结果表明 ,HaSNPV和谷实夜蛾H .zea单粒包埋型核型多角体病毒IE 1氨基酸序列最为相似 ,同源性高达 98%。与AcMNPV、家蚕Bombyxmori核型多角体病毒 (BmNPV)、云杉卷叶蛾Choristoneurafu miferana多粒包埋型核型多角体病毒 (CfMNPV)、舞毒蛾Lymantriadispar多粒包埋型核型多角体病毒(LdMNPV)、黄杉毒蛾Orgyiapseudotsugata多粒包埋型核型多角体病毒 (OpMNPV)、甜菜夜蛾Spodopteraex igua多粒包埋型核型多角体病毒 (SeMNPV)、小菜蛾Plutellaxylostella颗粒体病毒 (PxGV)和Xestiac ni grum颗粒体病毒 (XcGV)的IE 1氨基酸序列同源性较低 ,分别为 2 3 %、2 3 %、2 3 %、2 5 %、2 3 %、1 4%、2 7%和 7%。根据氨基酸序列由GENETYX     

家蚕hsp20.4启动子克隆及其驱动表达产物EGT对家蚕蛹体发育的影响

为验证家蚕Bombyx mori热休克蛋白基因hsp20.4启动子的活性以及家蚕核多角体病毒egt的表达产物对家蚕发育的影响, 本实验通过PCR扩增分别得到hsp20.4启动子片段和egt片段。利用hsp20.4的启动子和红色荧光蛋白报告基因DsRed构建重组载体, 在家蚕BmN细胞以及家蚕组织中得到了瞬时表达, 表明所克隆的hsp20.4启动子序列具有热休克蛋白基因的启动子活性。又利用hsp20.4启动子和家蚕核多角体病毒的egt构建重组载体, 通过注射到蚕蛹中进行瞬时表达, 以检测egt表达产物对家蚕发育的影响, 经42℃ 1 h热诱导后, hsp20.4启动子控制的egt表达产物可以延迟家蚕发育。     

Bollworm responses to release of genetically modified Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedroviruses in cotton

Helicoverpa armigera single nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (HaSNPV) has been developed as a commercial biopesticide to control the cotton bollworm, H. armigera, in China. The major limitation to a broader application of this virus has been the relative long time to incapacitate the target insect. Two HaSNPV recombinants with improved insecticidal properties were released in bollworm-infested cotton. One recombinant (HaCXW1) lacked the ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyltransferase (egt) gene and in another recombinant (HaCXW2), an insect-selective scorpion toxin (AaIT) gene replaced the egt gene. In a cotton field situation H. armigera larvae treated with either HaCXW1 or HaCXW2 were killed faster than larvae in HaSNPV-wt treated plots. Second instar H. armigera larvae, which were collected from HaCXW1 and HaCXW2 treated plots and further reared on artificial diet, showed reduced ST(50) values of 15.3 and 26.3%, respectively, as compared to larvae collected from HaSNPV-wt treated plots. The reduction in consumed leaf area of field collected larvae infected with HaCXW1 and HaCXW2 was approximated 50 and 63%, respectively, as compared to HaSNPV-wt infected larvae at 108 h after treatment. These results suggest that in a cotton field situation the recombinants will be more effective control agents of the cotton bollworm than wild-type HaSNPV.     

Deletion of the baculovirus ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyltransferase gene induces early degeneration of Malpighian tubules in infected insects.

Deletion of the ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyltransferase gene (egt) from the Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV) genome increases the speed of killing of this virus (D. R. O'Reilly and L. K. Miller, Bio/Technology 9:1086-1089, 1991). Second-instar Spodoptera exigua larvae are killed more rapidly by the egt deletion mutant of AcNPV than by wild-type AcNPV. Unlike wild-type AcNPV-infected larvae, larvae infected with an egt deletion mutant molt and resume feeding as mock-infected larvae do. Wild-type AcNPV and egt deletion mutant recombinants marked with a lacZ gene were used to study their pathogenesis in insects. Histopathological investigation revealed that early degeneration of the Malpighian tubules, not the molting per se, may be the cause of this increased speed of killing by AcNPV.