RNA沉默与植物病毒

植物中RNA沉默（RNAsilencing)亦称为转录后基因沉默（PTGS）或共抑制,是植物抵抗外来核酸（转座子、转基因或病毒）入侵,并保护自身基因组完整性的一种防御机制。RNA沉默是近十年来发现的植物界中普遍存在的现象,已成为植物分子生物学领域的一个新的研究方向。对RNA沉默特点和机制的研究表明,植物病毒与（转基因）植物内发生的RNA沉默有着密切的联系,作者从病毒对RNA沉默的诱导、抑制、防御等方面,简述了RNA沉默与病毒的关系。并对病毒载体所诱导的RNA沉默在植物发育和基因组功能分析等方面的应用价值进行了讨论。     

RNA 沉默的病毒抑制子

RNA 沉默是一种在真核生物体内普遍保守的、通过核酸序列特异性的相互作用来抑制基因表达的调控机制 . RNA 沉默的一种重要生物学效应是防御病毒的侵染,而针对寄主的这种防御机制,许多植物病毒已演化通过编码 RNA 沉默的抑制子来克服这种防御反应 . 目前,已从植物、动物和人类病毒中鉴定了 20 多种 RNA 沉默的抑制子,围绕抑制子的鉴定和作用机理研究已成为病毒学研究的一个热点 . 对 RNA 沉默抑制子的发现、鉴定方法、作用机理及与病毒病症状形成的关系、动物病毒的沉默抑制子等方面的最新进展做了综述,并对沉默抑制子的应用和存在的问题进行了讨论 .     

大麦黄矮病毒运动蛋白是RNA沉默抑制因子

大麦黄矮病毒(barley yellow dwarf virus,BYDV)属黄症病毒科家族,其基因组包含6个开放阅读框(open reading frames,ORFs).将BYDV的6个基因分别克隆到pWEIMING101载体上,得到重组基因.电击转化农杆菌后,利用农杆菌瞬时表达方法渗透注射转GFP基因的本氏烟草16c植株的叶片,在长波长紫外灯下观察GFP的表达,并通过Northern blot证明所得现象.研究结果表明,BYDV的PAV株系ORF4编码的运动蛋白(movement protein,MP)是RNA沉默抑制因子,其表达可以抑制局部和系统RNA沉默.BYDV-MP与GFP的双链RNA(dsGFP)共表达后仍能抑制RNA沉默,荧光强度与叶片中GFP的mRNA和其沉默降解形成的siRNA的量有对应关系,其N端核定位序列对抑制局部基因沉默起主要作用,第5、6位氨基酸是抑制基因沉默的关键氨基酸.BYDV-MP单独渗透注射的部位均产生细胞死亡.     

植物中病毒诱导基因沉默的研究进展

研究表明TGS往往与目的基因启动子的甲基化密切相关,RNA沉默则由目的基因的mRNA特异,挫降解引起。植物体中诱导RNA沉默的外部因素有转基因和病毒。与传统的转基因技术相比,病毒诱导的基因沉默（Virus-induced gene silencing VIGS）是一种瞬时表达体系,能在较短的时间里取得良好的效果,目前被广泛地用来研究植物基因的功能。就VIGS的研究进展做一个比较全面的综述。阐述了DNA和RNA病毒诱导植物基因沉默的机理,同时讨论了利用病毒诱导的基因沉默（VIGS）鉴定植物基因功能的优缺点和将来的发展趋势。     

植物病毒基因沉默抑制子研究进展

RNAi普遍存在于真核生物中,是植物应对外来病毒入侵的一种防御机制。但是植物病毒能通过产生不同的抑制子蛋白来抑制寄主基因沉默的发生。病毒抑制子通过干扰基因沉默的起始、siRNA的积累或干扰系统性基因沉默等方式抑制寄主的基因沉默。有的病毒抑制子蛋白还能促进病毒的积累和胞间移动,加强侵染组织的病毒病症状表现。主要阐述了RNAi的机制、病毒抑制PTGS的作用方式、几种常见的沉默抑制子以及抑制子与病毒侵染的关系。     

病毒编码的转录后沉默抑制蛋白

转录后水平沉默是植物体内天然存在的抗病毒防御机制,该机制基于双链RNA诱导的RNA干扰过程特异性降解植物病毒在体内复制时产生的双链RNA中间体,从而终止病毒的复制及扩散。而病毒在长期与植物体的互作进化过程中通过表达产生沉默抑制蛋白,也建立了针对寄主沉默机制的抗“防御”系统。     

转录后基因沉默及植物病毒对它的抑制

转录后基因沉默是发生在细胞质中同源依赖的特定mRNA降解过程,也是生物体天然存在的对抗外源核酸(包括转基因、病毒)入侵的防御机制。概述转录后基因沉默的机制及双链RNA、21～25nt小RNA和RNA依赖的RNA聚合酶在其中的重要作用,以及抑制PTGS的植物病毒抑制子方面的研究进展。     

RNA沉默在植物生物逆境反应中的作用

RNA沉默是真核生物共有的基因表达调节机制和防御机制。在植物RNA沉默中, 一些小RNAs, 如微小 RNAs和小干扰RNAs, 在植物防御病毒、细菌或食草动物的反应中具有重要作用。为了抑制宿主的RNA沉默系统, 植物病毒或细菌进化出了在RNA沉默不同阶段起作用的病毒沉默抑制子或细菌沉默抑制子, 来克服寄主的RNA沉默反应。文章就植物RNA沉默、病毒沉默抑制子、细菌沉默抑制子及其相关防御反应的一些新进展做一概述。     

抑制RNA沉默现象的机理及其在生物医学领域内的应用

RNA沉默在机体防御病毒入侵和调控基因表达中发挥着重要的作用,目前已成为一种有效的工具应用于基因功能研究和疾病治疗等领域.RNA沉默现象普遍存在于真核细胞中,然而在宿主与病毒漫长的进化过程中,病毒已经演化出一系列逃逸或抑制RNA沉默作用的方法和途径,使RNA沉默效果显著降低,另一方面,哺乳动物体细胞自身也存在调节RNA沉默功能从而使生命活动的调节更加精细完善.为了使RNA沉默发挥它的潜在效应,人们设计出一系列的策略针对抑制RNA沉默效应以达到弱化抑制的目的.全面总结抑制RNA沉默机制及其应用,从而使人们充分认识到使用RNA沉默技术时应考虑到存在的不利因素.     

植物中病毒来源的小RNA介导的RNA沉默

植物RNA 沉默机制的主要功能之一是具有抗病毒作用. 在被病毒侵染的宿主细胞中发现的病毒来源的小RNA表明, 宿主的RNA沉默机制可以靶向病毒RNA. 随着vsiRNAs 高通量测序技术的发展, 近年来的遗传学研究揭示了vsiRNAs 的起源和组成以及它们调控基因表达的潜在功能. 本文简述了vsiRNAs 的起源和生物合成过程, 并着重围绕在抗病毒过程中vsiRNAs 介导的对病毒基因组和宿主转录本的RNA 沉默现象进行综述, 以更好地理解植物中vsiRNAs 在病毒致病性以及和宿主互作中的作用机制.     

Supervised Learning Classification Models for Prediction of Plant Virus Encoded RNA Silencing Suppressors

Viral encoded RNA silencing suppressor proteins interfere with the host RNA silencing machinery, facilitating viral infection by evading host immunity. In plant hosts, the viral proteins have several basic science implications and biotechnology applications. However in silico identification of these proteins is limited by their high sequence diversity. In this study we developed supervised learning based classification models for plant viral RNA silencing suppressor proteins in plant viruses. We developed four classifiers based on supervised learning algorithms: J48, Random Forest, LibSVM and Naïve Bayes algorithms, with enriched model learning by correlation based feature selection. Structural and physicochemical features calculated for experimentally verified primary protein sequences were used to train the classifiers. The training features include amino acid composition; auto correlation coefficients; composition, transition, and distribution of various physicochemical properties; and pseudo amino acid composition. Performance analysis of predictive models based on 10 fold cross-validation and independent data testing revealed that the Random Forest based model was the best and achieved 86.11% overall accuracy and 86.22% balanced accuracy with a remarkably high area under the Receivers Operating Characteristic curve of 0.95 to predict viral RNA silencing suppressor proteins. The prediction models for plant viral RNA silencing suppressors can potentially aid identification of novel viral RNA silencing suppressors, which will provide valuable insights into the mechanism of RNA silencing and could be further explored as potential targets for designing novel antiviral therapeutics. Also, the key subset of identified optimal features may help in determining compositional patterns in the viral proteins which are important determinants for RNA silencing suppressor activities. The best prediction model developed in the study is available as a freely accessible web server pVsupPred at http://bioinfo.icgeb.res.in/pvsup/.     

植物抗病毒分子机制的研究进展

植物在进化过程中为微生物提供了丰富的物质环境,微生物的生存依赖于植物的生物合成和产生能量的能力.有近450种植物致病病毒,可导致一系列的疾病.但植物不是被动地面对病毒的攻击,而是进化了精细而有效的防御机制来抵抗、限制或损害病毒的感染.植物抗病基因(R-gene)可以抵抗包括病毒在内的多种病原体.由特定病毒而引发的防御反应是先天固有的,而且研究人员已经鉴定了与这种防御反应相关的细胞学和生理学特性.作为抵抗外来核酸(包括病毒)的重要细胞防御途径,RNA沉默近来获得了显著性的研究进展.在植物中这些途径的协同作用有效地防御了病毒的感染.     

Novel Drosophila Viruses Encode Host-Specific Suppressors of RNAi

The ongoing conflict between viruses and their hosts can drive the co-evolution between host immune genes and viral suppressors of immunity. It has been suggested that an evolutionary ‘arms race’ may occur between rapidly evolving components of the antiviral RNAi pathway of Drosophila and viral genes that antagonize it. We have recently shown that viral protein 1 (VP1) of Drosophila melanogaster Nora virus (DmelNV) suppresses Argonaute-2 (AGO2)-mediated target RNA cleavage (slicer activity) to antagonize antiviral RNAi. Here we show that viral AGO2 antagonists of divergent Nora-like viruses can have host specific activities. We have identified novel Nora-like viruses in wild-caught populations of D. immigrans (DimmNV) and D. subobscura (DsubNV) that are 36% and 26% divergent from DmelNV at the amino acid level. We show that DimmNV and DsubNV VP1 are unable to suppress RNAi in D. melanogaster S2 cells, whereas DmelNV VP1 potently suppresses RNAi in this host species. Moreover, we show that the RNAi suppressor activity of DimmNV VP1 is restricted to its natural host species, D. immigrans. Specifically, we find that DimmNV VP1 interacts with D. immigrans AGO2, but not with D. melanogaster AGO2, and that it suppresses slicer activity in embryo lysates from D. immigrans, but not in lysates from D. melanogaster. This species-specific interaction is reflected in the ability of DimmNV VP1 to enhance RNA production by a recombinant Sindbis virus in a host-specific manner. Our results emphasize the importance of analyzing viral RNAi suppressor activity in the relevant host species. We suggest that rapid co-evolution between RNA viruses and their hosts may result in host species-specific activities of RNAi suppressor proteins, and therefore that viral RNAi suppressors could be host-specificity factors.     

病毒编码泛素及相关蛋白的研究进展

泛素(Ubiquitin, Ub)是一种由76个氨基酸残基组成的小分子蛋白,广泛存在于各种真核生物中,不同来源的泛素蛋白具有类似的结构、功能和免疫学特征.目前所知,泛素主要通过ATP依赖性的泛素-蛋白酶复合体通路(Ubiquitin-proteasomes pathway, UPP)途径,经泛素活化酶(E1)、泛素结合酶(E2)和泛素连接酶(E3)的梯级反应,高效并高度选择性地对胞质或胞核内蛋白进行完全或部分降解,泛素依赖性蛋白质降解涉及细胞周期调控、信号转导、DNA修复和蛋白质数量控制[1].另外,泛素还可作为分子伴侣参与核糖体的生物发生、DNA转录调控及其它多种生理功能[2].近年来发现,一些真核生物病毒,如杆状病毒、疱疹病毒、痘病毒、腺病毒和反转录病毒等,均编码泛素或能与泛素相互作用的蛋白.病毒编码的泛素和泛素相关蛋白与病毒粒子形成及病毒出芽增殖有关,也与宿主细胞凋亡调控、宿主免疫系统调控及病毒侵染宿主细胞的机理相联系.本文就这一方面的研究进展进行简述.     

Suppressors: Determinants of Specificity Produced by Plant Pathogens

Plant pathogens secrete suppressors that delay or prevent thehost defense responses, with resultant conditioning of hostcells such that they become susceptible even to avirulent ornon-pathogenic microorganisms. Suppressors have been characterizedas glycoproteins, glycopeptides, peptides and anionic and nonanionicglucans. A suppressor itself is non-toxic to plant cells and,thus, it can be distinguished from host-specific toxins producedby certain pathogens. Suppressors disturb fundamental functionsof host plasma membranes. For example, the suppressor from apea pathogen, Mycosphaerella pinodes, inhibits both the ATPaseactivity and polyphosphoinositide metabolism in pea plasma membranes,causing the temporary suppression of the signal-transductionpathway that leads to the expression of defense genes, whichencode key enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway to phytoalexin.In this review, evidence for the role of suppressors in thedetermination of plant host-parasite specificity is summarized. ³Present address: Plant Pathology Laboratory, School of Agriculture,Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya, 464-01 Japan     

Intron Conservation in a UV-Specific DNA Repair Gene Encoded by Chlorella Viruses

Large dsDNA-containing chlorella viruses encode a pyrimidine dimer-specific glycosylase (PDG) that initiates repair of UV-induced pyrimidine dimers. The PDG enzyme is a homologue of the bacteriophage T4-encoded endonuclease V. The pdg gene was cloned and sequenced from 42 chlorella viruses isolated over a 12-year period from diverse geographic regions. Surprisingly, the pdg gene from 15 of these 42 viruses contain a 98-nucleotide intron that is 100% conserved among the viruses and another 4 viruses contain an 81-nucleotide intron, in the same position, that is nearly 100% identical (one virus differed by one base). In contrast, the nucleotides in the pdg coding regions (exons) from the intron-containing viruses are 84 to 100% identical. The introns in the pdg gene have 5′-AG/GTATGT and 3′-TTGCAG/AA splice site sequences which are characteristic of nuclear-located, spliceosomal processed pre-mRNA introns. The 100% identity of the 98-nucleotide intron sequence in the 15 viruses and the near-perfect identity of an 81-nucleotide intron sequence in another 4 viruses imply strong selective pressure to maintain the DNA sequence of the intron when it is in the pdg gene. However, the ability of intron-plus and intron-minus viruses to repair UV-damaged DNA in the dark was nearly identical. These findings contradict the widely accepted dogma that intron sequences are more variable than exon sequences. Received: 13 May 1999 / Accepted: 20 August 1999     

SARS-CoV 基因组编码蛋白研究进展

严重急性呼吸综合征(severe acute respiratory syndrome,SARS)2002年底暴发于中国广东,后蔓延至全球的传染性疾病．其病原体为一种新型的未知冠状病毒,基因组长度约30 kb,预测具有14个开放读码框．至今为止,对 SARS 冠状病毒(SARS-COV)基因组编码蛋白质的研究已取得显著进展,其研究主要集中在复制酶 1a/1b、结构蛋白及“附属”蛋白(SARS-CoV 特异性蛋白)结构与功能的研究．以 SARS-CoV 的蛋白组成及功能研究为主要内容,系统介绍了 SARS-CoV 蛋白质研究进展．     

植物检疫性病毒等温扩增检测技术研究进展

植物病毒严重影响农林作物的产量和质量.随着全球化的快速发展,植物检疫性病毒跨境入侵风险加剧,研发植物检疫性病毒的精准、快速的检测技术对于保障进出口贸易及农林业生产安全具有重要作用.早期植物病毒检测主要基于寄主生物学症状、病毒形态观察以及ELISA为主的血清学检测方法等.当前,核酸扩增技术成为主要的植物病毒检测方法,特别是近20年来发展起来的等温核酸扩增技术,因其具有快速、灵敏、适于现场检测等优势,在许多植物病毒检测中广泛开展研究.其中,我国20余种进境植物检疫性病毒已建立了等温扩增检测技术.本文在综述等温扩增技术原理的基础上,归纳总结了主要等温扩增技术在植物检疫性病毒检测中的研究进展,并对其在口岸检疫的应用前景进行展望.     

Uncovering the Potential Pan Proteomes Encoded by Genomic Strand RNAs of Influenza A Viruses

Influenza A virus genomes are composed of eight negative sense RNAs. In total, 16 proteins encoded by eight positive sense RNAs were identified. One putative protein coding sequence (PCS) encoded by genomic strand RNA of segment 8 has been previously proposed. In this study, 95,608, 123,965 and 35,699 genomic strand RNA sequences from influenza A viruses from avian, human and mammalian hosts, respectively, were used to identify PCSs encoded by the genomic strand RNAs. In total, 326,069 PCSs with lengths equal to or longer than 80 amino acids were identified and clustered into 270 PCS groups. Twenty of the 270 PCS groups which have greater than 10% proportion in influenza A viruses from avian, human or mammalian hosts were selected for detailed study. Maps of the 20 PCSGs in the influenza A virus genomes were constructed. The proportions of the 20 PCSGs in influenza A viruses from different hosts and serotypes were analyzed. One secretory and five membrane proteins predicted from the PCS groups encoded by genomic strand RNAs of segments 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 were identified. These results suggest the possibility of the ambisense nature of the influenza A virus genomic RNAs and a potential coding sequence reservoir encoding potential pan proteomes of influenza A viruses.