HCV Antibody Response and Genotype Distribution in Different Areas and Races of China

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) heterogeneity accounts for the failure of effective vaccine development and the lack of successful anti-viral therapy in some patients. Little is known about the immune response to HCV peptides and the region or race specific genotypes in China. The objective of this study was to characterize HCV antibody immune response to HCV peptides and HCV genotypes in different regions and races of China. A total of 363 serum samples were collected from HCV carriers in 6 regions in China. The immune response to HCV peptides was evaluated by ELISA. HCV genotypes were examined using nested RT-PCR. We found that the anti-HCV antibody neutralization rates were significantly different among the serum samples from different areas or from different races in the same area. For samples from Tibet and Sinkiang, the rates of neutralization by HCV peptides were only 3.2% and 30.8%, respectively. The genotypes of samples from Tibet and Sinkiang were apparently heterogeneic and included type I, II, III and multiple types (I/II/III, I/II, I/III, II/III). One specific sample with multiple-genotype (I/II/III) HCV infection was found to consist of type I, II, III, II/III and an unclassified genotype. These studies indicate that the anti-HCV antibody immune response to HCV peptides varied across regions and among races. The distribution of HCV genotypes among Tibetans in Tibet and Uighurs in Sinkiang was different from that in the inner areas of China. In addition, a “master” genotype, type II, was found to exist in HCV infection with multiple HCV genotypes.     

香蕉枯萎病菌Argonaute基因功能分析及其调控小RNA发生

尖孢镰刀菌古巴专化型Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.cubense是威胁香蕉生产的重要土传病原真菌,其中4号生理小种(Foc4)能感染几乎所有的栽培品系.Argonaute蛋白(AGO)介导的RISC复合体在RNAi干扰中起到重要作用.Foc4含有两个进化上高度保守的AGO蛋白,本研究利用同源重组技术获...     

连作花生田根际土壤优势微生物的分离和鉴定

【目的】从不同连作年限的花生田根际土壤中分离优势微生物并进行鉴定,为研究花生连作后优势微生物的变化奠定基础。【方法】采用土壤稀释分离法从不同连作年限花生根际土壤中分离优势细菌、真菌和放线菌,结合菌株形态特征、培养性状、生理生化特征及16S rDNA序列分析对细菌、放线菌进行鉴定,通过形态特征、培养特征和分子鉴定方法对优势真菌进行鉴定。【结果】从连作花生田根际土壤中分离鉴定出7种优势细菌、7种优势真菌和7种优势放线菌。7种优势细菌分别为Leifsonia xyli、氯酚节杆菌(Arthrobacterchlorophenolicus)、黄色微杆菌(Microbacterium flavescens)、鞘氨醇单胞菌属(Sphingomonas sp.)、巴斯德菌属(Pasteurella sp.)、简单芽孢杆菌(Bacillus simplex)和巨大芽孢杆菌(Bacillus megaterium)。7种优势真菌分别为枝状枝孢菌(Cladosporium cladosporioides)、产紫青霉(Penicillium purpurogenum)、哈茨木霉有性型(Hypocrea lixii)、Exophiala pisciphila、微紫青霉(Penicillium janthinellum)、曲霉(Aspergillus sp.)和大丽轮枝菌(Verticillium dahliae)。7种优势放线菌分别为紫红链霉菌(Streptomyces violaceoruber)、华丽黄链霉菌(Streptomyces flaveus)、Streptomyces panaciterrae、不产色链霉菌(Streptomyces achromogenes)、假浅灰链霉菌(Streptomyces pseudogriseolus)、纤维素链霉菌(Streptomyces cellulosae)和金色链霉菌(Streptomyces aureus)。【结论】本研究是第一次系统的从连作花生根际土中分离鉴定优势微生物,种植花生后根际土壤中优势微生物的种类发生了明显变化,但变化没有规律。     

Modulation of viability of live cells by focused ion‐beam exposure

Introduction of membrane‐impermeant substances into living cells is the key method to understand contemporary cellular processes by investigating cellular responses and phenotypes. Here, we performed gold ion beam exposure into live cells by using the focused ion beam implantation method, which was originally developed to precisely control semiconductor device performances. We evaluated the viability of the gold‐irradiated cells by measuring the concentration of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is an intracellular energy source produced in the mitochondrial membrane. The viability of the irradiated cells was found to be 20% higher than that of the unirradiated control cells. The atoms might promote the energy generating processes within the mitochondrion. Our results suggest that the viability of living cells can be modulated by accurately controlling the dopant atom numbers. Our technique may be considered as a potential tool in life and medical sciences to quantitatively elucidate the dose‐dependent effects of dopants. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011; 108:222–225. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

High-Efficiency Targeted Editing of Large Viral Genomes by RNA-Guided Nucleases

A facile and efficient method for the precise editing of large viral genomes is required for the selection of attenuated vaccine strains and the construction of gene therapy vectors. The type II prokaryotic CRISPR-Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated (Cas)) RNA-guided nuclease system can be introduced into host cells during viral replication. The CRISPR-Cas9 system robustly stimulates targeted double-stranded breaks in the genomes of DNA viruses, where the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homology-directed repair (HDR) pathways can be exploited to introduce site-specific indels or insert heterologous genes with high frequency. Furthermore, CRISPR-Cas9 can specifically inhibit the replication of the original virus, thereby significantly increasing the abundance of the recombinant virus among progeny virus. As a result, purified recombinant virus can be obtained with only a single round of selection. In this study, we used recombinant adenovirus and type I herpes simplex virus as examples to demonstrate that the CRISPR-Cas9 system is a valuable tool for editing the genomes of large DNA viruses.     

Duck Enteritis Virus Glycoprotein D and B DNA Vaccines Induce Immune Responses and Immunoprotection in Pekin Ducks

DNA vaccine is a promising strategy for protection against virus infection. However, little is known on the efficacy of vaccination with two plasmids for expressing the glycoprotein D (gD) and glycoprotein B (gB) of duck enteritis virus (DEV) in inducing immune response and immunoprotection against virulent virus infection in Pekin ducks. In this study, two eukaryotic expressing plasmids of pcDNA3.1-gB and pcDNA3.1-gD were constructed. Following transfection, the gB and gD expressions in DF1 cells were detected. Groups of ducks were vaccinated with pcDNA3.1-gB and/or pcDNA3.1-gD, and boosted with the same vaccine on day 14 post primary vaccination. We found that intramuscular vaccinations with pcDNA3.1-gB and/or pcDNA3.1-gD, but not control plasmid, stimulated a high frequency of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells in Pekin ducks, particularly with both plasmids. Similarly, vaccination with these plasmids, particularly with both plasmids, promoted higher levels of neutralization antibodies against DEV in Pekin ducks. More importantly, vaccination with both plasmids significantly reduced the virulent DEV-induced mortality in Pekin ducks. Our data indicated that vaccination with plasmids for expressing both gB and gD induced potent cellular and humoral immunity against DEV in Pekin ducks. Therefore, this vaccination strategy may be used for the prevention of DEV infection in Pekin ducks.     

Multi-Strain Infections and ‘Relapse’ of Leucocytozoon sabrazesi Gametocytes in Domestic Chickens in Southern China

Leucocytozoon parasites infect many species of avian hosts, including domestic chicken, and can inflict heavy economic loss to the poultry industry. Although the prevalence and distribution of two Leucocytozoon species (L. sabrazesi and L. caulleryi) have been reported in China previously, there are many questions related to the parasite infection that remain unanswered, including population diversity and transmission dynamics in domestic chickens. Here we surveyed chicken blood samples from seven sites in four provinces of China to identify Leucocytozoon infection, characterized parasite diversity within individual infected hosts and between sampling sites, and investigated the dynamics of gametocytemia in chickens over time. We found high infection rates in three of the seven sites. Clustering parasite sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase III (coxIII) and cytochrome b (cytb) genes showed lack of grouping according to geographic origins and individual hosts carrying large numbers of L. sabrazesi strains. Monitoring gametocytemia in blood samples from infected chickens over time showed ‘relapse’ or persistence of low-level gametocytemia for 4–5 months, which could be explored as an in vivo model for testing drugs against liver stages of Apicomplexan parasites. This study provides important information on population diversity and transmission dynamics of L. sabrazesi and for disease control.     

The Sl TPL3–Sl WUS module regulates multi-locule formation in tomato by modulating auxin and gibberellin levels in the shoot apical meristem

Malformed fruits depreciate a plant’s market value.In tomato(Solanum lycopersicum),fruit malformation is associated with the multi-locule trait,which involves genes regulating shoot apical meristem(SAM) development.The expression pattern of TOPLESS3(SITPL3) throughout SAM development prompted us to investigate its functional significance via RNA interference(RNAi) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated nuclease 9(Cas9)-mediated gene editing.Lower SITPL3 t...     

High frequency of mitochondrial DNA D-loop mutations in Ewing’s sarcoma

Somatic mutations and polymorphisms in the noncoding displacement (D)-loop of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are present in a variety of human cancers. To investigate whether Ewing’s sarcoma (EWS) harbors genetic alterations within the D-loop region and their potential association with EWS carcinogenesis, we analyzed and compared the complete mtDNA D-loop sequences from 17 pairs of tumor tissues and corresponding peripheral blood samples using the direct DNA sequencing method. Our results revealed that 12 of the 17 EWS tumor specimens (70.6%) carried 19 somatic mutations in the D-loop of mtDNA, including 11 single-base substitutions, 3 insertions and 5 deletions. Among the tested 17 patients, we screened a total of 40 germline polymorphisms including one novel sequence variant in the D-loop fragment. Most of these identified mutations and germline variations were clustered within two hypervariable segments (HVS1 and HVS2) as well as the homopolymeric C stretch between nucleotide position 303 and 309. In addition, there was no significant correlation between mtDNA D-loop mutations and various clinicopathological factors of EWS. In conclusion, our study reports for the first time that mtDNA D-loop mutations occur at a high frequency in EWS. These data provide evidence of mtDNA alterations’ possible involvement in the initiation and/or progression of this rare malignancy.