Molecular characterization and expression analysis of an inhibitor of NF-κB (IκB) from Asiatic hard clam Meretrix meretrix

Inhibitor of NF-κB (IκB) is an important member of Rel/NF-κB signaling pathway, which is an important mediator of immune responses in innate immune system. In this study, the IκB cDNA of hard clam Meretrix meretrix (designated as Mm-IκB) was cloned and characterized. The full-length cDNA of Mm-IκB was of 2098 bp, containing a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 123 bp, a 3' UTR of 810 bp with a poly (A) tail, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 1164 bp encoding a polypeptide of 387 amino acids. The high similarity of Mm-IκB with other IκBs from invertebrates indicated that Mm-IκB should be a member of IκB family. Similar to most IκBs, Mm-IκB possessed all conserved features critical for the fundamental structure and function of IκBs, such as five ankyrin repeats and a conserved degradation motif (DS(44)RYSS(48)). Two PEST domains and a phosphorylation site motif (S(367)EEE(370)) at the C-terminus of Mm-IκB were identified. By quantitative real-time RT-PCR analysis, mRNA level of Mm-IκB was found to be most abundantly expressed in the tissues of mantle, gill and hepatopancreas, weakly expressed in muscle, foot and haemocyte. The Mm-IκB gene expression was significantly up-regulated at 24 h in haemocyte and at 12 h in gill after Vibrio anguillarum challenge, respectively. The results suggested the involvement of Mm-IκB in response against bacterial infection and further highlighted its functional importance in the immune system of M. meretrix.     

三角帆蚌热休克蛋白70基因克隆及其表达分析

对三角帆蚌HSP70基因序列进行全长克隆及其分子生物学分析,并检测其在不同水温刺激下鳃组织中的表达变化。通过高通量转录组测序获得三角帆蚌HSP70基因（HcHSP70）长片段,采用3'RACE对其进行了3'末端克隆,经拼接得到HcHSP70 cDNA全长序列。采用多种分子生物学软件对HcHSP70 cDNA全长序列进行了特征分析,采用实时荧光定量PCR技术检测了其组织分布,并结合Western-blot技术检测蚌鳃中该基因mRNA与蛋白经不同水温刺激后的表达变化。结果显示,HcHSP70 cDNA全长为2298 bp,其中开放阅读框为1974 bp,编码657个氨基酸。预测分子量大小为71.6 Ku,pH7.0时的理论等电点为5.61。氨基酸序列分析表明,HcHSP70氨基酸序列含HSP70家族的3个标签序列（I₉DLGTTYS₁₆、I₁₉₇FDLGGGTFDVSIL₂₁₀和I₃₃₆ VLVGGSTRIPKVQK₃₅₀）,与长牡蛎及泥蚶的HSP70同源性最高（91%）。实时荧光定量PCR检测结果显示,HcHSP70在鳃、性腺、肝胰腺、外套膜及肌肉等5种被检组织中均有表达,以肝胰腺中的表达水平最高。实时荧光定量PCR与Western-blot技术检测皆表明,蚌鳃组织中HcHSP70基因与蛋白的表达量在37℃时达到最高,而在40℃水温刺激下表达水平下调至正常值,表明其在适应高温刺激时发挥了重要作用。     

PmMGST3, a novel microsomal glutathione S-transferase gene in the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum, is a potential biomarker of oxidative stress

In this study, we evaluated a novel microsomal glutathione S-transferase3 (MGST3) gene from the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum, and examined its expression pattern in response to copper-and nickel-induced stresses. The full length of PmMGST3 was 732 bp, ranging from the dinoflagellate splice leader (DinoSL) sequence to the poly (A) tail, covering a 441-bp ORF, 97-bp 5′UTR, and 194-bp 3′UTR. The PmMGST3 was up-regulated by metals, including copper and nickel. The highest up-regulation levels of the PmMGST3 were found under 0.1 mg/L copper and 0.5 mg/L nickel treatment, respectively. In addition, the PmMGST3 was gradually up-regulated by 0.1 mg/L copper with increasing exposure time. Furthermore, ROS production and reduced GSH was measured in the copper treated cells. A significant increased ROS production and reduced GSH were found in the copper treated cells. These results suggest that PmMGST3 may be related to defense mechanisms associated with oxidative stress in dinoflagellates.     

Molecular characterization of a Ran isoform gene up-regulated in shrimp immunity

Diseases caused by viruses are the greatest challenge to worldwide shrimp aquaculture. Ran gene was an important antiviral gene identified from shrimp and its mRNA level was up-regulated in response to viral infection. In this investigation, a Ran isoform gene (named Ran-iso) cDNA was cloned from shrimp, Marsupenaeus japonicus. The full-length cDNA of Ran-iso was 1286 bp, including a 5′-terminal untranslated region (UTR) of 272 bp, 3′-terminal UTR of 366 bp and an open reading frame (ORF) of 648 bp encoding a polypeptide of 215 amino acids. The deduced protein was highly homologous, it shared 90.64%, 84.19%, 81.48% and 67.58% identities with Ran protein of shrimp, honey bee, human and tobacco respectively. Ran-iso gene was constitutively expressed in 6 tissues examined, including gill, hepatopancreas, hemolymph, heart, intestine and muscle. However, Ran-iso was highest expressed in hepatopancreas (p < 0.01), whereas the expressions of other five tissues were equal and relatively low. Time course analysis showed that the expression level of Ran-iso was obviously up-regulated 2.8 times (at 6 h) as much as that in the control in the hepatopancreas challenged by WSSV. This investigation might provide a clue to elucidate the shrimp innate immunity and would be helpful to shrimp disease control.     

Cloning and expression pattern analysis of a lipopolysaccharide -and beta-1,3-glucan-binding protein in Portunus trituberculatus

The lipopolysaccharide -and beta-1,3-glucan-binding protein (LGBP) is a pattern recognition receptor, which is fundamental for the innate immune response of crustaceans. A LGBP gene was cloned from the haemocytes of Portunus trituberculatus using SMART RACE methods. The full-length LGBP cDNA (1 378 bp) had a 1 095 bp open reading frame encoding a protein of 365 amino acid residues including a 16 amino acid residues signal peptide, a 138 bp 5' untranslated region (UTR) and a 144 bp untranslated region in the 3' UTR with a 29 bp polyA tail. The calculated molecular mass of the mature protein (349 amino acid residues) is 39,825.24 with an estimated pI of 4.49. The gene sequence and secondary structure of LGBP were analyzed by bio-informatics. Additionally, a Glyco hydro 16 domain was identified. The expression of P. trituberculatus in various tissues were detected through RT-PCR methods. The results showed that the LGBP gene expressed in all the tissues detected, including haemocytes, hepatopancreas, heart, gills and muscle. In response to the challenge of Staphyloccocus aureus and Vibrio alginolyticus, the LGBP gene expression in haemocytes of the group challenged with mixed bacteria were higher than the control group within 48 h. It suggested that the LGBP gene plays an active role in immunologic process against bacterial infection.     

罗氏沼虾Rab11基因cDNA克隆及其组织表达分析

为了发掘罗氏沼虾(Macrobrachium rosenbergii)免疫相关基因, 研究Rab蛋白(Ras-related proteins inbrain)在罗氏沼虾免疫应答中发挥的作用, 研究采用RACE-PCR技术克隆了罗氏沼虾Rab11基因全长cDNA序列, 记为MrRab11。全长1381 bp, 包括226 bp的5'UTR, 511 bp的3'UTR和645 bp的开放阅读框, 编码214个氨基酸, 含有一个Rab结构域。氨基酸序列比对显示, 罗氏沼虾与冈比亚按蚊(Anopheles gambiae)、蚤状溞(Daphniapulex)、叶蝉(Homalodisca vitripennis) Rab11一致性分别为82%、83%和82%。软件预测, MrRab11编码的蛋白分子量约为23.75 kD, 等电点约为5.34。实时荧光定量表达分析表明, MrRab11基因在罗氏沼虾各组织中都有表达, 肝胰腺中的表达量最高, 其次是肌肉和肠道。在阴沟肠杆菌(Enterobacter cloacae)感染12h后, 罗氏沼虾肝胰腺中MrRab11的表达量上升, 显著高于对照组(P0.05), 推测这是MrRab11对阴沟肠杆菌的应激表达,MrRab11在肝胰腺中参与了罗氏沼虾免疫应答过程。