非典型肺炎病例标本中新型冠状病毒的分离与鉴定

目的对非典型肺炎的病原体进行分离鉴定,为该病的诊断、预防和治疗提供依据。方法采用细胞培养和乳鼠接种法,从非典型肺炎病例标本中分离致病病原体,通过电镜形态学、血清学和动物致病性观察及RTPCR扩增与部分基因序列分析,对分离的病原体进行鉴定。结果成功地从死亡病例尸解的肺组织标本和患者鼻咽拭子标本中采用细胞培养法分离出病原体。通过电镜在病变细胞及其培养上清中观察到大量冠状病毒样颗粒。免疫荧光染色检测非典型肺炎患者血清,表明分离的病毒与此次流行的非典型肺炎密切相关。分离的病毒可对乳鼠致病,并在发病乳鼠的肺组织标本中通过电镜同样观察到冠状病毒样颗粒。从非典型肺炎病例尸解肺组织、传代发病小鼠肺组织及分离物感染的细胞培养物中,通过RTPCR可分别扩增出冠状病毒的cDNA片段,测序结果显示其核苷酸序列与已知冠状病毒的同源性在60%左右。结论从非典型肺炎病例标本中已成功分离出一种新的冠状病毒,它与此次流行的非典型肺炎密切相关,很可能是此次流行的非典型肺炎的主要病原体 。     

Identification of Novel Cryptosporidium Genotypes from Avian Hosts

A total of 430 avian-derived fecal specimens were randomly collected from selected Western Australian commercial aviaries, poultry farms, hatcheries, wildlife parks, and the Perth Zoo and screened for the presence of Cryptosporidium by PCR. Of these, 27 Cryptosporidium-positive isolates were detected, characterized, and compared with 11 avian-derived isolates from the Czech Republic at the 18S rRNA and actin gene loci. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis identified four genetically distinct genotypes, avian genotypes I to IV, from various avian hosts. In addition, the host range for Cryptosporidium galli was extended. Cryptosporidium muris and Cryptosporidium andersoni were also identified in a tawny frogmouth and a quail-crested wood partridge, respectively.     

呈现新型冠状病毒RBD抗原病毒样颗粒的表达与鉴定*

目的:以乙型肝炎病毒核心抗原HBcAg为载体,构建呈现新冠病毒刺突蛋白受体结合域的病毒样颗粒,并鉴定其免疫原性,为新冠病毒疫苗的开发提供新思路。方法:在乙型肝炎病毒核心蛋白氨基酸编码序列第78和81位插入新冠病毒刺突蛋白受体结合域(RBD),并通过柔性linker(G4S)3进行连接,序列优化后将融合基因克隆到原核表达载体pET-28a(+),转化表达菌Rosetta,在自诱导培养基中诱导表达,菌体破碎后经蔗糖密度梯度离心,透析浓缩的方法纯化病毒样颗粒。SDS-PAGE、Western blot、透射电子显微镜检测和鉴定VLPs。将制备的VLPs与佐剂等比例混合经皮下免疫BALB/c小鼠,ELISA检测小鼠血清中特异性抗体,分析该HBc-RBD VLPs的免疫原性。结果:在自诱导培养基中,大肠埃希菌可表达部分可溶的VLPs,经蔗糖密度梯度离心纯化后在透射电子显微镜下可以观察到病毒样颗粒的存在。动物实验表明HBc-RBD VLPs刺激小鼠产生了特异性抗体。结论:在原核表达系统中成功表达了展示RBD抗原的VLPs,并通过小鼠实验初步验证了免疫原性,为新冠病毒疫苗的研发提供了新方向。     

Genomic Analysis and Surveillance of the Coronavirus Dominant in Ducks in China

The genetic diversity, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy of some coronaviruses dominant in birds other than chickens remain enigmatic. In this study we sequenced the genome of a newly identified coronavirus dominant in ducks (DdCoV), and performed a large-scale surveillance of coronaviruses in chickens and ducks using a conserved RT-PCR assay. The viral genome harbors a tandem repeat which is rare in vertebrate RNA viruses. The repeat is homologous to some proteins of various cellular organisms, but its origin remains unknown. Many substitutions, insertions, deletions, and some frameshifts and recombination events have occurred in the genome of the DdCoV, as compared with the coronavirus dominant in chickens (CdCoV). The distances between DdCoV and CdCoV are large enough to separate them into different species within the genus Gammacoronavirus. Our surveillance demonstrated that DdCoVs and CdCoVs belong to different lineages and occupy different ecological niches, further supporting that they should be classified into different species. Our surveillance also demonstrated that DdCoVs and CdCoVs are prevalent in live poultry markets in some regions of China. In conclusion, this study shed novel insight into the genetic diversity, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy of the coronaviruses circulating in chickens and ducks.     

Avian Influenza Ecology in North Atlantic Sea Ducks: Not All Ducks Are Created Equal

Wild waterfowl are primary reservoirs of avian influenza viruses (AIV). However the role of sea ducks in the ecology of avian influenza, and how that role differs from freshwater ducks, has not been examined. We obtained and analyzed sera from North Atlantic sea ducks and determined the seroprevalence in those populations. We also tested swab samples from North Atlantic sea ducks for the presence of AIV. We found relatively high serological prevalence (61%) in these sea duck populations but low virus prevalence (0.3%). Using these data we estimated that an antibody half-life of 141 weeks (3.2 years) would be required to attain these prevalences. These findings are much different than what is known in freshwater waterfowl and have implications for surveillance efforts, AIV in marine environments, and the roles of sea ducks and other long-lived waterfowl in avian influenza ecology.     

近年来华东地区家鸭中禽流感病毒的亚型分布

[目的]为了研究近年来华东地区家鸭中禽流感病毒的亚型分布情况.[方法]对2002-2006年分离自华东地区家鸭的180株禽流感病毒的HA亚型和其中88株禽流感病毒的NA亚型分别进行了测定.[结果]近年来华东地区家鸭中至少存在9种HA亚型和6种NA亚型组成的H1N1,H3N1,H3N2,H3N8,H4N6,H5N1,H5N2,H6N2,H6N8,H8N4,H9N2,H10N3,H11N2共13种亚型的禽流感病毒.[结论]华东地区家鸭中有多种亚型的禽流感病毒分布,应加强家鸭禽流感的监测和防制工作.     

Discovery of a Novel Bottlenose Dolphin Coronavirus Reveals a Distinct Species of Marine Mammal Coronavirus in Gammacoronavirus

While gammacoronaviruses mainly comprise infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and its closely related bird coronaviruses (CoVs), the only mammalian gammacoronavirus was discovered from a white beluga whale (beluga whale CoV [BWCoV] SW1) in 2008. In this study, we discovered a novel gammacoronavirus from fecal samples from three Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), which we named bottlenose dolphin CoV (BdCoV) HKU22. All the three BdCoV HKU22-positive samples were collected on the same date, suggesting a cluster of infection, with viral loads of 1 × 10³ to 1 × 10⁵ copies per ml. Clearance of virus was associated with a specific antibody response against the nucleocapsid of BdCoV HKU22. Complete genome sequencing and comparative genome analysis showed that BdCoV HKU22 and BWCoV SW1 have similar genome characteristics and structures. Their genome size is about 32,000 nucleotides, the largest among all CoVs, as a result of multiple unique open reading frames (NS5a, NS5b, NS5c, NS6, NS7, NS8, NS9, and NS10) between their membrane (M) and nucleocapsid (N) protein genes. Although comparative genome analysis showed that BdCoV HKU22 and BWCoV SW1 should belong to the same species, a major difference was observed in the proteins encoded by their spike (S) genes, which showed only 74.3 to 74.7% amino acid identities. The high ratios of the number of synonymous substitutions per synonymous site (K_s) to the number of nonsynonymous substitutions per nonsynonymous site (K_a) in multiple regions of the genome, especially the S gene (K_a/K_s ratio, 2.5), indicated that BdCoV HKU22 may be evolving rapidly, supporting a recent transmission event to the bottlenose dolphins. We propose a distinct species, Cetacean coronavirus, in Gammacoronavirus, to include BdCoV HKU22 and BWCoV SW1, whereas IBV and its closely related bird CoVs represent another species, Avian coronavirus, in Gammacoronavirus.     

Identification of a Receptor-Binding Domain in the S Protein of the Novel Human Coronavirus Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus as an Essential Target for Vaccine Development

A novel human Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) caused outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-like illness with a high mortality rate, raising concerns of its pandemic potential. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) was recently identified as its receptor. Here we showed that residues 377 to 662 in the S protein of MERS-CoV specifically bound to DPP4-expressing cells and soluble DPP4 protein and induced significant neutralizing antibody responses, suggesting that this region contains the receptor-binding domain (RBD), which has a potential to be developed as a MERS-CoV vaccine.     

Detection and Molecular Characterization of J Subgroup Avian Leukosis Virus in Wild Ducks in China

To assess the status of avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) in wild ducks in China, we examined samples from 528 wild ducks, representing 17 species, which were collected in China over the past 3 years. Virus isolation and PCR showed that 7 ALV-J strains were isolated from wild ducks. The env genes and the 3′UTRs from these isolates were cloned and sequenced. The env genes of all 7 wild duck isolates were significantly different from those in the prototype strain HPRS-103, American strains, broiler ALV-J isolates and Chinese local chicken isolates, but showed close homology with those found in some layer chicken ALV-J isolates and belonged to the same group. The 3′UTRs of 7 ALV-J wild ducks isolates showed close homology with the prototype strain HPRS-103 and no obvious deletion was found in the 3′UTR except for a 1 bp deletion in the E element that introduced a binding site for c-Ets-1. Our study demonstrated the presence of ALV-J in wild ducks and investigated the molecular characterization of ALV-J in wild ducks isolates.     

Novel Coronavirus and Astrovirus in Delaware Bay Shorebirds

Background

Wild birds are an important but to some extent under-studied reservoir for emerging pathogens. We used unbiased sequencing methods for virus discovery in shorebird samples from the Delaware Bay, USA; an important feeding ground for thousands of migratory birds.

Findings

Analysis of shorebird fecal samples indicated the presence of a novel astrovirus and coronavirus. A sanderling sample yielded sequences with distant homology to avian nephritis virus 1, an astrovirus associated with acute nephritis in poultry. A ruddy turnstone sample yielded sequences with homology to deltacoronaviruses.

Conclusions

Our findings highlight shorebirds as a virus reservoir and the need to closely monitor wild bird populations for the emergence of novel virus variants.     

转禽冠状病毒免疫原基因马铃薯及其对小鼠的免疫原性

为了探索禽冠状病毒免疫原基因在植物中表达的可行性 ,将传染性支气管炎病毒 (IBV) ZJ971毒株S1基因定向克隆到pBI1 2 1质粒的 35S启动子下游。用三亲交配法将重组质粒导入EHA1 0 5根癌农杆菌 ,建立了一种由农杆菌介导的马铃薯转化体系 ,其愈伤形成率达 1 0 0 % ,芽的分化率达 95 %。经PCR和Southern印迹检测证明 ,IBVS1基因已整合到植物基因组内 ,获 4 7株转基因植株。Northern印迹和ELISA分析表明 ,转基因植株中IBVS1基因能正常转录和翻译。转基因马铃薯的BALB/C小鼠免疫试验结果表明 ,0 .5g和 1 g剂量转基因马铃薯免疫小鼠 ,2 1天后的抗体ELISA效价分别达 1∶2 0～ 1∶4 0和 1∶80 1∶1 6 0 ,中和抗体效价分别达 1∶1 6 5～ 1∶5 6 2和 1∶330～ 1∶2 0 4 8,说明禽冠状病毒免疫原基因的转基因马铃薯表达产物具有免疫原性     

Signature-Tagged Mutagenesis in a Chicken Infection Model Leads to the Identification of a Novel Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli Fimbrial Adhesin

The extraintestinal pathogen, avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC), known to cause systemic infections in chickens, is responsible for large economic losses in the poultry industry worldwide. In order to identify genes involved in the early essential stages of pathogenesis, namely adhesion and colonization, Signature-tagged mutagenesis (STM) was applied to a previously established lung colonization model of infection by generating and screening a total of 1,800 mutants of an APEC strain IMT5155 (O2:K1:H5; Sequence type complex 95). The study led to the identification of new genes of interest, including two adhesins, one of which coded for a novel APEC fimbrial adhesin (Yqi) not described for its role in APEC pathogenesis to date. Its gene product has been temporarily designated ExPEC Adhesin I (EA/I) until the adhesin-specific receptor is identified. Deletion of the ExPEC adhesin I gene resulted in reduced colonization ability by APEC strain IMT5155 both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, complementation of the adhesin gene restored its ability to colonize epithelial cells in vitro. The ExPEC adhesin I protein was successfully expressed in vitro. Electron microscopy of an afimbriate strain E. coli AAEC189 over-expressed with the putative EA/I gene cluster revealed short fimbrial-like appendages protruding out of the bacterial outer membrane. We observed that this adhesin coding gene yqi is prevalent among extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) isolates, including APEC (54.4%), uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) (65.9%) and newborn meningitic E. coli (NMEC) (60.0%), and absent in all of the 153 intestinal pathogenic E. coli strains tested, thereby validating the designation of the adhesin as ExPEC Adhesin I. In addition, prevalence of EA/I was most frequently associated with the B2 group of the EcoR classification and ST95 complex of the multi locus sequence typing (MLST) scheme, with evidence of a positive selection within this highly pathogenic complex. This is the first report of the newly identified and functionally characterized ExPEC adhesin I and its significant role during APEC infection in chickens.     

The Replicase Gene of Avian Coronavirus Infectious Bronchitis Virus Is a Determinant of Pathogenicity

We have previously demonstrated that the replacement of the S gene from an avirulent strain (Beaudette) of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) with an S gene from a virulent strain (M41) resulted in a recombinant virus (BeauR-M41(S)) with the in vitro cell tropism of the virulent virus but that was still avirulent. In order to investigate whether any of the other structural or accessory genes played a role in pathogenicity we have now replaced these from the Beaudette strain with those from M41. The recombinant IBV was in effect a chimaeric virus with the replicase gene derived from Beaudette and the rest of the genome from M41. This demonstrated that it is possible to exchange a large region of the IBV genome, approximately 8.4 kb, using our transient dominant selection method. Recovery of a viable recombinant IBV also demonstrated that it is possible to interchange a complete replicase gene as we had in effect replaced the M41 replicase gene with the Beaudette derived gene. Analysis of the chimaeric virus showed that it was avirulent indicating that none of the structural or accessory genes derived from a virulent isolate of IBV were able to restore virulence and that therefore, the loss of virulence associated with the Beaudette strain resides in the replicase gene.     

鸭胚胎干细胞分离与鉴定

采用药勺法分离仙湖3号肉鸭鸭胚的胚盘细胞,并以鸭胚成纤维细胞作为饲养层,培养鸭胚胎干细胞。在此基础上,通过对体外培养的鸭胚胎干细胞形态观察,碱性磷酸酶染色(AKP)以及胚胎阶段表面特异性抗原(SSEA-1)免疫组化等方法,分离与鉴定鸭胚胎干细胞。结果表明传至第3代的鸭胚胎干细胞经AKP和SSEA-1鉴定均为阳性,AKP染色为深蓝色,SSEA-1染色呈绿色荧光,表明培养至第3代的鸭胚胎干细胞仍保持干细胞未分化特性,具有胚胎干细胞的特征。结果提示本试验分离、培养的鸭胚盘细胞为鸭胚胎干细胞。     

中国内陆发现HCoV-HKU1感染及N和S蛋白基因序列及进化分析

了解冠状病毒HKU1在我国大陆地区的感染情况及N基因和S基因的编码特征。采用RT-PCR的方法对2005年10月~2006年1月收集的260例急性呼吸道感染的住院儿童鼻咽抽吸物(NPA)进行了冠状病毒HKU1基因检测。将PCR阳性产物测序,并将所测序列在GenBank中进行比较分析。260份样本中共检测到2份冠状病毒HKU1阳性,阳性率为0.77%(2/260),且该2例冠状病毒HKU1阳性患者临床均表现为肺炎症状。扩增其中一株病毒N和S全基因,并进行测序,与GenBank中的冠状病毒HKU1参考株及冠状病毒科其它成员进行序列同源性和进化树分析,并对N和S蛋白的结构与功能进行了初步的预测分析。由此表明我国大陆地区存在冠状病毒HKU1感染,且可能与儿童下呼吸道感染存在相关性。     

Emergence of a Novel Avian Pox Disease in British Tit Species

Avian pox is a viral disease with a wide host range. In Great Britain, avian pox in birds of the Paridae family was first diagnosed in a great tit (Parus major) from south-east England in 2006. An increasing number of avian pox incidents in Paridae have been reported each year since, indicative of an emergent infection. Here, we utilise a database of opportunistic reports of garden bird mortality and morbidity to analyse spatial and temporal patterns of suspected avian pox throughout Great Britain, 2006–2010. Reports of affected Paridae (211 incidents) outnumbered reports in non-Paridae (91 incidents). The majority (90%) of Paridae incidents involved great tits. Paridae pox incidents were more likely to involve multiple individuals (77.3%) than were incidents in non-Paridae hosts (31.9%). Unlike the small wart-like lesions usually seen in non-Paridae with avian pox in Great Britain, lesions in Paridae were frequently large, often with an ulcerated surface and caseous core. Spatial analyses revealed strong clustering of suspected avian pox incidents involving Paridae hosts, but only weak, inconsistent clustering of incidents involving non-Paridae hosts. There was no spatial association between Paridae and non-Paridae incidents. We documented significant spatial spread of Paridae pox from an origin in south-east England; no spatial spread was evident for non-Paridae pox. For both host clades, there was an annual peak of reports in August/September. Sequencing of the avian poxvirus 4b core protein produced an identical viral sequence from each of 20 great tits tested from Great Britain. This sequence was identical to that from great tits from central Europe and Scandinavia. In contrast, sequence variation was evident amongst virus tested from 17 non-Paridae hosts of 5 species. Our findings show Paridae pox to be an emerging infectious disease in wild birds in Great Britain, apparently originating from viral incursion from central Europe or Scandinavia.     

我国部分地区犬冠状病毒感染状况调查

本研究旨在调查新冠疫情期间我国部分地区犬新型冠状病毒(SARS-CoV-2)以及犬冠状病毒(CCoV)感染状况。从14个城市的动物医院收集表现为呼吸道症状和或腹泻症状的犬的鼻拭子和直肠拭子样品,RTPCR检测样品是否存在SARS-CoV-2和CCoV核酸。结果显示,206只犬鼻拭子和直肠拭子样品均未检出SARS-CoV-2,24只犬检出CCoV,阳性率为11.65%,以犬肠道冠状病毒(CECoV)感染为主(19/24),CECoVⅠ和Ⅱ型均在我国流行。CECoV的M基因序列与人α冠状病毒属病毒相似性为47.3-61.3%,犬呼吸道冠状病毒(CRCoV)的M和N基因的部分基因序列与人β冠状病毒属病毒相似性为9.2%-46.2%。结果说明,新冠疫情期间,我国14个城市动物医院就诊犬未感染SARS-CoV-2,CCoV与SARS-CoV-2亲缘关系较远,表现呼吸道和消化道症状的犬应高度关注CCoV感染。