SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 is susceptible to neutralizing antibodies elicited by ancestral spike vaccines

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Polypeptide analysis of genotypic variants of occluded Heliothis spp. baculoviruses

The structural polypeptides of 12 baculovirus isolates which included nuclear polyhedrosis viruses (NPVs) and granulosis viruses (GVs) obtained from four different species of the insect genus Heliothis collected in different geographical regions of the world were characterized using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The matrix proteins were compared according to their molecular weights and peptide profiles produced after limited proteolysis. Examination of the matrix and virion polypeptide profiles revealed three major polypeptide phenotypes which corresponded to the three baculovirus morphological groups; singly embedded nuclear polyhedrosis viruses (SNPVs), multiply embedded nuclear polyhedrosis viruses (MNPVs), and granulosis viruses (GVs). Enveloped nucleocapsid polypeptide profiles of isolates within each NPV phenotype differed in only one polypeptide whereas the two GV isolates differed by as many as five polypeptides. Nucleocapsid polypeptide profiles of isolates within each of the NPV subgroups were identical while those profiles from the GV nucleocapsids differed slightly in molecular weight of one polypeptide.     

Targeted genotyping to identify potential functional variants associated with cholesterol content in bovine milk

High blood cholesterol concentration, mainly caused by high dietary cholesterol, is a potential risk factor for human health. Dairy products are important sources of human dietary cholesterol intake. Therefore, monitoring bovine milk cholesterol concentration is important for human health benefit. Genetic selection for improvement of cow milk cholesterol content requires understanding of the genetics of milk cholesterol. For this purpose, we performed analyses of additive and dominance effects of 126 potentially functional SNPs within 43 candidate genes with milk cholesterol content [expressed as mg of cholesterol in 100 g of fat (CHL_fat) or in 100 mg of milk (CHL_milk)]. The additive and dominance effects of SNPs rs380643365 in AGPAT1 (P = 0.04) and rs134357240 in SOAT1 (P = 0.035) genes associated significantly with CHL_fat. Moreover, five (rs109326954 and rs523413537 in DGAT1, rs109376747 in LDLR, rs42781651 in FAM198B and rs109967779 in ACAT2) and four (rs137347384 in RBM19, rs109376747 in LDLR, rs42016945 in PPARG and rs110862179 in SCAP) SNPs were significantly associated with CHL_milk (P < 0.05) based on additive and dominance effect analyses respectively. Rs109326954 and rs523413537 in DGAT1 explained a considerable portion of the phenotypic variance of CHL_milk (7.54 and 6.84% respectively), and might be useful in selection programs for reduced milk cholesterol content. Several significantly associated SNPs were in genes (such as ACAT2 and LDLR) involved in cholesterol metabolism in the liver or cholesterol transport, suggesting multiple mechanisms regulating milk cholesterol content. Nine and seven SNPs identified by additive or dominance effect analyses associated significantly with milk yield and fat yield respectively. Further analyses are required to better understand the consequences of these variants and their potential use in genomic selection of the studied traits.     

Govania unica gen. nov., sp. nov., a rare biosphere bacterium that represents a novel family in the class Alphaproteobacteria

Strain LMG 31809 ^T was isolated from a top soil sample of a temperate, mixed deciduous forest in Belgium. Comparison of its 16S rRNA gene sequence with that of type strains of bacteria with validly published names positioned it in the class Alphaproteobacteria and highlighted a major evolutionary divergence from its near neighbor species which represented species of the orders Emcibacterales and Sphingomonadales. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of the same soil sample revealed a highly diverse community in which Acidobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria predominated, but failed to yield amplicon sequence variants highly similar to that of strain LMG 31809 ^T. There were no metagenome assembled genomes that corresponded to the same species and a comprehensive analysis of public 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing data sets demonstrated that strain LMG 31809 ^T represents a rare biosphere bacterium that occurs at very low abundances in multiple soil and water-related ecosystems. The genome analysis suggested that this strain is a strictly aerobic heterotroph that is asaccharolytic and uses organic acids and possibly aromatic compounds as growth substrates. We propose to classify LMG 31809 ^T as a novel species within a novel genus, Govania unica gen. nov., sp. nov, within the novel family Govaniaceae of the class Alphaproteobacteria. Its type strain is LMG 31809 ^T (=CECT 30155 ^T). The whole-genome sequence of strain LMG 31809 ^T has a size of 3.21 Mbp. The G + C content is 58.99 mol%. The 16S rRNA gene and whole-genome sequences of strain LMG 31809 ^T are publicly available under accession numbers OQ161091 and JANWOI000000000, respectively.     

Infection- and vaccine-induced antibody binding and neutralization of the B.1.351 SARS-CoV-2 variant

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Trans-ethnic variation in germline variants of patients with renal cell carcinoma

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