Prevalence, genetic conservation and transmissibility of the Chlamydia pneumoniae bacteriophage (phiCpn1)

The Chlamydia pneumoniae bacteriophage was first identified in isolate AR-39. Its relevance for chlamydial biology and pathogenicity remains unknown. In this study, a collection of 36 C. pneumoniae isolates was screened and the phage was detected in eight. As the positive isolates differed by several polymorphisms, they presumably belonged to different genetic lineages. It was investigated whether different genotypes of the phage also existed and whether they could be assigned to chlamydial genotypes as evidence of coevolution. Sequencing of >3000 bp of the 4524 bp phage genome revealed complete identity to the published sequences. Thus, it was hypothesized that the genetic conservation was related to easy transmissibility of the phage between C. pneumoniae isolates. Cocultivation of phage positive and negative isolates followed by cloning and identification of different C. pneumoniae genotypes demonstrated for the first time transmissibility of the bacteriophage from one isolate to the other. These observations indicate that the phage is capable of infecting C. pneumoniae isolates of different genetic backgrounds and suggest that all C. pneumoniae strains might be susceptible. The successful in vitro infection of C. pneumoniae with the phage provides the basis for studying its pathogenetic relevance in isolates of identical genetic background and provides a potential tool for genetic manipulation of C. pneumoniae.     

Bxz1, a new generalized transducing phage for mycobacteria

We have isolated and characterized a new generalized transducing phage, Bxz1, from soil sampling at a neighboring Wildlife Preservation Park. The hosts of the phage, measured by the formation of plaques, include fast growing Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium vaccae. Bxz1 is capable of transducing chromosomal markers, point mutations, and plasmids at frequencies ranging from 10(-8) to 10(-6) per plaque forming unit between strains of M. smegmatis. We also demonstrated cotransduction of a transposon insertion linked to a point mutation of the ndh gene.     

鸡源大肠杆菌噬菌体vB_EcoM-E33的分离鉴定和基因组特征及其治疗效果评价

【背景】大肠杆菌是导致规模化养殖家禽死亡的重要病原体,噬菌体防治耐药性细菌感染具有广阔的应用前景。【目的】从鸡场环境样本中分离出噬菌体,研究其生物学活性特征及其对白羽肉鸡大肠杆菌病的治疗效果。【方法】采用双层平板法分离纯化噬菌体vB_EcoM-E33(E33);利用透射电镜观察其形态特征;克隆噬菌体E33基因组序列并分析其基因组特征;通过裂解谱、最佳感染复数、理化因子耐受性和一步生长曲线确定噬菌体E33的生物学活性;构建白羽肉鸡大肠杆菌感染模型,检测噬菌体E33的治疗效果。【结果】从鸡场粪便样本中分离到一株Straboviridae科噬菌体E33,其宿主谱为35.4%(34/96),基因组全长为170625bp,包含271个开放阅读框和2个tRNA,无毒力基因和耐药基因。以Escherichia coli E32为宿主菌增殖,噬菌体E33的潜伏期为10min,暴发量为60PFU/cell;当感染复数为0.001时,噬菌体E33效价最高,达到1.93×10⁹PFU/mL;在50℃以下和pH3.0–11.0范围内活性稳定;对紫外线敏感。口服10⁸CFU/mL的致病性E.coliO78构建白羽肉鸡感染模型,肌肉注射10⁸PFU/mL噬菌体E33具有良好的治疗效果。【结论】噬菌体E33具有宿主谱宽、裂解性能高、理化因子耐受性强、不携带有害基因等优点,具有较好的开发价值,有望作为抗生素替代品用于鸡场致病性大肠杆菌病的防控。     

Morphological and genetic analysis of three bacteriophages of Serratia marcescens isolated from environmental water

Increases in multidrug-resistant strains of Serratia marcescens are of great concern in pediatrics, especially in neonatal intensive care units. In the search for bacteriophages to control infectious diseases caused by multidrug-resistant S. marcescens , three phages (KSP20, KSP90, and KSP100) were isolated from environmental water and were characterized morphologically and genetically. KSP20 and KSP90 belonged to morphotype A1 of the family Myoviridae , and KSP100 belonged to morphotype C3 of the family Podoviridae . Analysis of the DNA region coding virion proteins, together with their morphological features, indicated that KSP20, KSP90, and KSP100 were related to the P2-like phage (temperate), T4-type phage (virulent), and phiEco32 phage (virulent), respectively. Based on amino acid sequences of the major capsid protein, KSP90 formed a new branch with a Stenotrophomonas maltophilia phage, Smp14, in the T4-type phage phylogeny. Both Smp14 and phiEco32 have been reported as potential therapeutic phages. These results suggest that KSP90 and KSP100 may be candidate therapeutic phages to control S. marcescens infection.     

Cloning,expression, and identification of anti‐carbofuran single chain Fv gene

Phage display method was used to clone anti‐carbofuran (CBF) single chain Fv (scFv) gene. The heavy chain and light chain variable region genes were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction from the CBF‐specific hybridoma cell lines 5D3 and assembled as a scFv DNA fragment with linker peptide (Gly₄Ser)₃. The scFv DNA fragment was cloned into M13 phagemid vector pCANTAB5E and the anti‐CBF antibody libraries were then constructed. After one round of panning with CBF‐ovalbumin (CBF‐OVA) as a conjugate, antigen‐binding positive recombinant phage clones were successfully selected by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The positive phages were used to infect Escherichia coli HB2151 cells and the expression of the soluble scFv antibodies was then induced by IPTG. The scFv antibody was about 31 kDa by SDS‐PAGE and showed HRP‐anti‐E‐tag antibody‐recognized activity by Western blotting. The indirect competitive ELISA (icELISA) showed that the recombinant scFv antibody could competitively combine with CBF, with the IC₅₀ value of 1.07 ng/mL. The cross reactivity studies showed that the anti‐CBF scFv antibody, similar to the parent monoclonal antibody, poses high specificity to CBF and has little reactivity to the analogs. Taken together, these findings suggest that the recombinant scFv antibody can be used for further developing immunoassay method for CBF. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009     

一株感染铜绿假单胞菌的双链RNA噬菌体PaP6的分离和鉴定

【目的】鉴定一株新分离的铜绿假单胞菌噬菌体PaP6的生物学特性。【方法】利用铜绿假单胞菌临床分离株PA038为宿主,从西南医院污水中分离得到一株裂解性噬菌体PaP6,观察其噬斑特点;氯化铯密度梯度离心纯化噬菌体颗粒后,用透射电子显微镜观察噬菌体形态;提取PaP6基因组,通过DNA酶和RNA酶酶切,做基因组酶切图谱分析;按照感染复数(MOI)分别为10、1、0.1、0.01、0.001和0.000 1加入噬菌体和宿主菌,裂解细菌后,测定噬菌体滴度;以MOI=10的比例加入噬菌体和宿主菌,绘制一步生长曲线;用112株铜绿假单胞菌临床分离株检测PaP6宿主谱。【结果】PaP6的噬斑直径约2 mm-4 mm,圆形透明,边缘清晰;PaP6噬菌体呈多面体立体对称的头部,直径约45 nm;酶切图谱表明PaP6基因组对DNase不敏感,对RNase敏感,未酶切基因组具有3节段双链RNA(dsRNA),长度分别约为9.0、4.5、3.5 kb,共约17 kb;当MOI为0.1时PaP6感染其宿主菌产生的子代噬菌体滴度最高,达到3.4×109 PFU/m L;用一步生长曲线描绘了其生长特性;PaP6可以感染40.1%的临床分离株,是一株比较广谱的噬菌体。【结论】首次报道了一株铜绿假单胞菌的ds RNA分节段噬菌体,分类学上属于囊病毒科,该噬菌体具有较广的宿主谱,在噬菌体治疗领域具有应用前景。     

一株耐碳青霉烯类鲍曼不动杆菌噬菌体的分离鉴定和临床应用

【背景】耐药菌感染是人类生命健康的重要威胁,寻找抗生素替代或辅助疗法迫在眉睫,噬菌体是细菌的天敌,有很大的开发潜力。【目的】分离针对耐碳青霉烯类鲍曼不动杆菌(carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, CRAB)的烈性噬菌体,治疗患者CRAB肺部感染,为噬菌体疗法的推广积累经验。【方法】用CRAB临床菌株NAB11B做宿主菌,从医院污水中分离新噬菌体,进行生物学特征和基因组特点的表征、分析后制备成高纯度的噬菌体制剂,通过雾化吸入的方式治疗肺部CRAB感染,评估噬菌体疗法的有效性和安全性。【结果】分离到一株新噬菌体,命名为AB＿SZL4,其潜伏期短、增殖速度快、抑菌能力强、生物学稳定性高且不携带有害基因。在临床应用中,噬菌体鸡尾酒联合抗生素疗法能快速清除肺部病原菌,且未见明显噬菌体相关不良反应。【结论】AB＿SZL4是一株有极大临床应用潜力的烈性噬菌体。     

Temperate phages TP901-1 and phiLC3, belonging to the P335 species, apparently use different pathways for DNA injection in Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris 3107

Five mutants of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris 3107 resistant to phage TP901-1 were obtained after treatment with ethyl methanesulfonate. Two of the mutants were also resistant to phage phiLC3. The remaining three mutants were as sensitive as 3107. Mutants E46 and E100 did not adsorb the two phages. Mutants E119, E121 and E126 adsorbed phage phiLC3 as well as 3107 but phage TP901-1 with significantly reduced efficiency. All, except E46, could be lysogenized with phage TP901-BC1034, a derivative of TP901-1 harboring an erythromycin-resistance marker. However, the lysogenization frequency was 10(3)-10(4) fold higher for 3107 than for the mutants. Mitomycin C induction of lysogenized mutants 3107 indicated that phage propagation was not affected in these four mutants. Electron microscopy and analysis of total DNA of infected cells showed that DNA was liberated from the phage particle during infection of strain 3107 with TP901-1 and that intracellular phage DNA replication occurred. This was not the case for mutants E121 and E126. This strongly suggests that some step starting with triggering DNA release and ending with DNA injection is impaired during infection with TP901-1. As such impairment was not seen when infecting E119, E121 and E126 with phiLC3, we conclude that TP901-1 and phiLC3 either are differently triggered by their receptor or utilize different pathways of injection.     

路德维希肠杆菌噬菌体的分离及生物学特性

【背景】噬菌体能够特异性杀死宿主细菌,特别是耐药性细菌,可以作为新型杀菌剂,而关于路德维希肠杆菌噬菌体的研究尚属空白。【目的】分离路德维希肠杆菌噬菌体,并对其生物学特性进行研究。【方法】通过双层平板法分离、纯化、鉴定噬菌体;通过SDS-PAGE电泳分析结构蛋白;通过透射电子显微镜分析噬菌体的形态;通过结晶紫染色法和刚果红平板法分析生物被膜。【结果】以路德维希肠杆菌X20为指示菌从环境样品中分离获得了噬菌体GM20,噬菌斑透明且有较小晕环,直径大小平均为0.47 mm。透射电镜观察显示,噬菌体GM20具有可伸缩尾部,属于肌尾噬菌体科(Myoviridae)。GM20的滴度为7.65×10~9PFU/mL,为烈性噬菌体。一步生长曲线结果显示,噬菌体的潜伏期约为15 min,释放量约为164.3 PFU/infection center。进一步分析显示,GM20具有较好的抑菌效果,耐噬菌体菌株突变株平均突变率为1.06×10~(-5)。【结论】烈性噬菌体GM20能够杀死路德维希肠杆菌X20,有可能应用于路德维希肠杆菌感染的预防与控制。     

Genome comparison of Pseudomonas aeruginosa large phages

Pseudomonas aeruginosa phage EL is a dsDNA phage related to the giant phiKZ-like Myoviridae. The EL genome sequence comprises 211,215 bp and has 201 predicted open reading frames (ORFs). The EL genome does not share DNA sequence homology with other viruses and micro-organisms sequenced to date. However, one-third of the predicted EL gene products (gps) shares similarity (Blast alignments of 17-55% amino acid identity) with phiKZ proteins. Comparative EL and phiKZ genomics reveals that these giant phages are an example of substantially diverged genetic mosaics. Based on the position of similar EL and phiKZ predicted gene products, five genome regions can be delineated in EL, four of which are relatively conserved between EL and phiKZ. Region IV, a 17.7 kb genome region with 28 predicted ORFs, is unique to EL. Fourteen EL ORFs have been assigned a putative function based on protein similarity. Assigned proteins are involved in DNA replication and nucleotide metabolism (NAD+-dependent DNA ligase, ribonuclease HI, helicase, thymidylate kinase), host lysis and particle structure. EL-gp146 is the first chaperonin GroEL sequence identified in a viral genome. Besides a putative transposase, EL harbours predicted mobile endonucleases related to H-N-H and LAGLIDADG homing endonucleases associated with group I intron and intein intervening sequences.     

利用丝状噬菌体展示技术进行抗原决定族图谱及其基因工程的研究

噬茵体展示是90年代初发展起来的一种新型表达技术。其主要特点是得到表达的蛋白或肽段能够被展示在病毒粒子的表面,从而使得大规模的专一性选择成为可能。目前此技术已被广泛用于生命科学研究的不同领域。比较突出的有抗体工程的研究,随机抗原决定族库的研究．以及随机肽在新药开发中的研究。本文将集中回顾一下噬菌体展示技术在抗原决定族定位研究中的应用,及其在新型诊断试剂和疫苗开发中的潜在前景。     

Cloning, characterization and expression analysis of nucleotide metabolism-related genes of mycobacteriophage L5

The genomes of mycobacteriophages of the L5 family, which includes the lytic phage D29, contain several genes putatively linked to nucleotide-metabolizing functions. Two such genes, 48 and 50 , encoding thymidylate synthase and ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), respectively, were overexpressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant proteins were biochemically characterized. It was established that Gp50 was a class II RNR having properties similar to that of the corresponding enzyme from Lactobacillus leichmanni , whereas Gp48 was a flavin-dependent thymidylate synthase (ThyX) that resembled the Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus-1 ThyX enzyme in its properties. That both these proteins play a role in phage development was evident from the observation that they were detectable soon after the lytic phase of growth commenced. Gp48 and 50 were also found to coimmunoprecipitate, which indicates the possible existence of an L5 thymidylate synthase complex. Thymidylate synthase assays revealed that during the intracellular stage of phage growth, a significant decrease in the host thymidylate synthase (ThyA) activity occurred. It appears that synthesis of the viral enzyme (ThyX) is necessary to compensate for this loss in activity. In general, the results suggest that phage-encoded nucleotide metabolism-related functions play an important role in the lytic propagation of L5 and related mycobacteriophages.     

Characteristics of the cell surface antigen, p72, associated with a variety of human tumours and mitogen-stimulated T-lymphoblasts

We recently purified two closely related 33 kDa proteins from rat hepatic cytosol, designated bile acid binder I and II, which selectively bind bile acids with comparable affinity as glutathione S-transferase B. This work has now been extended to human liver in which we have identified a similar cytosolic binding activity in the 30-40 kDa fraction from gel filtration. Subsequent chromatofocusing and hydroxyapatite chromatography resulted in the isolation of a homogeneous monomeric protein of 36 kDa. The binding affinity of this protein for lithocholate using the displacement of 1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) was 0.1 microM, whereas human hepatic glutathione S-transferases purified from glutathione affinity chromatography demonstrated no competitive displacement of ANS.     

噬菌体赋形剂的种类、配方及包被技术研究进展

噬菌体制剂的研究与应用受到医药领域、畜牧兽医领域及食品生产在内的各行业的重视。然而,噬菌体作为一种具有蛋白质外壳的活微生物,其在防治致病菌污染、感染及储存运输过程中,会遇到一些活性丧失、储存期短、液体状态运输不便等问题。因此,寻找合适的包被赋形剂,以减少噬菌体在使用、储存及运输过程中的活性损失,是噬菌体疗法亟须解决的问题。本文主要综述制备噬菌体制剂时使用的包被赋形剂种类、配方及包被技术等,及其对噬菌体抗逆性和储存稳定性的影响,并探讨了该领域最重要的研究成果,以期为固态噬菌体制剂寻找合适的包被赋形剂、配方和包被技术,为噬菌体的靶向治疗和控制释放奠定基础,有助于噬菌体治疗的更广泛的临床应用。     

Unlocking of the filamentous bacteriophage virion during infection is mediated by the C domain of pIII

Protein III (pIII) of filamentous phage is required for both the beginning and the end of the phage life cycle. The infection starts by binding of the N-terminal N2 and N1 domains to the primary and secondary host receptors, F pilus and TolA protein, respectively, whereas the life cycle terminates by the C-terminal domain-mediated release of the membrane-anchored virion from the cell. It has been assumed that the role of the C-terminal domain of pIII in the infection is that of a tether for the receptor-binding domains N1N2 to the main body of the virion. In a poorly understood process that follows receptor binding, the virion disassembles as its protein(s) become integrated into the host inner membrane, resulting in the phage genome entry into the bacterial cytoplasm. To begin revealing the mechanism of this process, we showed that tethering the functional N1N2 receptor-binding domain to the virion via termination-incompetent C domain abolishes infection. This infection defect cannot be complemented by in trans supply of the functional C domain. Therefore, the C domain of pIII acts in concert with the receptor-binding domains to mediate the post receptor binding events in the infection. Based on these findings, we propose a model in which binding of the N1 domain to the periplasmic portion of TolA, the secondary receptor, triggers in cis a conformational change in the C domain, and that this change opens or unlocks the pIII end of the virion, allowing the entry phase of infection to proceed. To our knowledge, this is the first virus that uses the same protein domain both for the insertion into and release from the host membrane.     

Large scale production of phage antibody libraries using a bioreactor

One of the limitations of the use of phage antibody libraries in high throughput selections is the production of sufficient phage antibody library at the appropriate quality. Here, we successfully adapt a bioreactor-based protocol for the production of phage peptide libraries to the production of phage antibody libraries. The titers obtained in the stirred-tank bioreactor are 4 to 5 times higher than in a standard shake flask procedure, and the quality of the phage antibody library produced is indistinguishable to that produced using standard procedures as assessed by Western blotting and functional selections. Availability of this protocol will facilitate the use of phage antibody libraries in high-throughput scale selections.