Molecular characterization of a cDNA encoding vitellogenin in the banana shrimp, Penaeus (Litopenaeus) merguiensis and sites of vitellogenin mRNA expression

In order to determine the primary structure of banana shrimp, Penaeus merguiensis, vitellogenin (Vg), we previously purified vitellin (Vt) from the ovaries of vitellogenic females, and chemically analyzed the N-terminal amino acid sequence of its 78 kDa subunit. In this study, a cDNA from this species encoding Vg was cloned based on the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the major 78 kDa subunit of Vt and conserved sequences of Vg/Vt from other crustacean species. The complete nucleotide sequence of Vg cDNA was achieved by RT-PCR and 5' and 3' rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) approaches. The full-length Vg cDNA consisted of 7,961 nucleotides. The open reading frame of this cDNA encoding a precursor peptide was comprised of 2,586 amino acid residues, with a putative processing site, R-X-K/R-R, recognized by subtilisin-like endoproteases. The deduced amino acid sequence was obtained from the Vg cDNA and its amino acid composition showed a high similarity to that of purified Vt. The deduced primary structure, of P. merguiensis Vg was 91.4% identical to the Vg of Penaeus semisulcatus and was also related to the Vg sequences of six other crustacean species with identities that ranged from 86.9% to 36.6%. In addition, the amino acid sequences corresponding to the signal peptide, N-terminal region and C-terminal region of P. merguiensis Vg were almost identical to the same sequences of the seven other reported crustacean species. Results from RT-PCR analysis showed that Vg mRNA expression was present in both the ovary and hepatopancreas of vitellogenic females but was not detected in other tissues including muscle, heart, and intestine of females or in the hepatopancreas of mature males. These results indicate that the Vg gene may be expressed only by mature P. merguiensis females and that both the ovary and hepatopancreas are possible sites for Vg synthesis in this species of shrimp.     

埃及伊蚊不同组织的基因共表达模式分析

【目的】利用权重基因共表达网络分析(weighted gene co-expression network analysis,WGCNA)探索埃及伊蚊Aedes aegypti不同组织基因共表达模式。【方法】从NCBI SRA数据库中选择埃及伊蚊不同组织的转录组数据中具代表性的9种组织(雌雄成蚊的触角和脑,雌蚊的喙、下颚须和卵巢,雄成蚊的前足、中足、后足和腹部末端)的双端测序数据;经过缺失值移除以及方差计算后,筛选出方差最大的5 000个基因,利用R软件中WGCNA包建立埃及伊蚊成蚊不同组织的基因共表达网络并划分模块;然后利用clusterProfiler包对组织特异性模块内的基因进行GO(Gene Ontology)和KEGG(Kyoto Encyclopediaof Genes and Genomes)富集分析,并用Cytoscape软件中的CytoHubba插件筛选共表达模块内的hub基因。【结果】从埃及伊蚊成蚊不同组织中共鉴定出11个基因共表达模块,在雌蚊触角、喙、卵巢、下颚须以及雄蚊脑、腹部末端组织中各鉴定出1个特异性表达模块,雄蚊前足、中足和后足组织中无特异性表达模块。6个组织特异性表达模块内基因功能注释到组织生物学功能;其中,雌蚊触角特异性green模块内基因具有气味结合和嗅觉受体活性等功能;雌蚊喙特异性purple模块内基因具有丝氨酸型肽链内切酶活性和丝氨酸水解酶活性等功能;雄蚊脑特异性blue模块内基因在生物学过程调节、信号转导和神经系统过程等生物学过程中发挥主要作用。利用CytoHubba进一步鉴定出所选组织特异性共表达模块中具有高连通性的hub基因,包括AAEL010426, AAEL002896, AAEL002600, AAEL000961, AAEL007784和AAEL006429。【结论】本研究依据埃及伊蚊不同组织转录组数据,利用WGCNA方法发现了许多重要的基因共表达模块。本研究的结果为蚊虫基因共表达模式分析提供新思路和方法基础,对探究蚊虫不同组织特有的基因资源信息以及功能基因生物信息学研究有参考价值。     

Tactics targeting circular mRNA biosynthesis

Faced with the development of mRNA technology in the field of medicine and vaccine, circular mRNA (circmRNA) becomes a strong alternative to mRNA for its circular secondary structure and higher stability. At present, the synthesis of circmRNAs has been realized by ligating linear mRNA precursors and is limited by poor efficiency. To solve this challenge, this study started with ribozyme catalysis and enzymatic reaction to explore different circmRNA biosynthesis strategies. In terms of ribozyme method, by screening different group I intron self-splicing system sequences, the sequence from thymidylate synthase (Td) gene of phage T4 showed the highest ligation efficiency. In terms of enzyme method, with the help of 20-bp homologous arm, T4 Rnl 2 was determined as the ligation method with the highest ligation efficiency. By comparing the two ligation methods, the expression level of circmRNA ligated by T4 Rnl 2 was 86% higher than that ligated by Td ribozyme. Based on these ligation methods, the screening results of internal ribosome entry site (IRES) sequences showed that mud crab dicistrovirus IRES was an IRES sequence with high ribosome binding ability and could be widely used in circmRNAs for efficient and stable translation in mammalian cells. These results should provide positive guidance for the industrial production of circmRNAs and the development of mRNA vaccines. Eventually, circmRNAs could widely function in the field of biomedicine.     

Influence of RNA-Seq library construction,sampling methods,and tissue harvesting time on gene expression estimation

RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) is popular for measuring gene expression in non-model organisms, including wild populations. While RNA-Seq can detect gene expression variation among wild-caught individuals and yield important insights into biological function, sampling methods can also affect gene expression estimates. We examined the influence of multiple technical variables on estimated gene expression in a non-model fish, the westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi), using two RNA-Seq library types: 3′ RNA-Seq (QuantSeq) and whole mRNA-Seq (NEB). We evaluated effects of dip netting versus electrofishing, and of harvesting tissue immediately versus 5 min after euthanasia on estimated gene expression in blood, gill, and muscle. We found no significant differences in gene expression between sampling methods or tissue collection times with either library type. When library types were compared using the same blood samples, 58% of genes detected by both NEB and QuantSeq showed significantly different expression between library types, and NEB detected 31% more genes than QuantSeq. Although the two library types recovered different numbers of genes and expression levels, results with NEB and QuantSeq were consistent in that neither library type showed differences in gene expression between sampling methods and tissue harvesting times. Our study suggests that researchers can safely rely on different fish sampling strategies in the field. In addition, while QuantSeq is more cost effective, NEB detects more expressed genes. Therefore, when it is crucial to detect as many genes as possible (especially low expressed genes), when alternative splicing is of interest, or when working with an organism lacking good genomic resources, whole mRNA-Seq is more powerful.     

Mouse Ifit1b is a cap1-RNA–binding protein that inhibits mouse coronavirus translation and is regulated by complexing with Ifit1c

Knockout mouse models have been extensively used to study the antiviral activity of IFIT (interferon-induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats). Human IFIT1 binds to cap0 (m7GpppN) RNA, which lacks methylation on the first and second cap-proximal nucleotides (cap1, m7GpppNm, and cap2, m7GpppNmNm, respectively). These modifications are signatures of “self” in higher eukaryotes, whereas unmodified cap0-RNA is recognized as foreign and, therefore, potentially harmful to the host cell. IFIT1 inhibits translation at the initiation stage by competing with the cap-binding initiation factor complex, eIF4F, restricting infection by certain viruses that possess “nonself” cap0-mRNAs. However, in mice and other rodents, the IFIT1 orthologue has been lost, and the closely related Ifit1b has been duplicated twice, yielding three paralogues: Ifit1, Ifit1b, and Ifit1c. Although murine Ifit1 is similar to human IFIT1 in its cap0-RNA–binding selectivity, the roles of Ifit1b and Ifit1c are unknown. Here, we found that Ifit1b preferentially binds to cap1-RNA, whereas binding is much weaker to cap0- and cap2-RNA. In murine cells, we show that Ifit1b can modulate host translation and restrict WT mouse coronavirus infection. We found that Ifit1c acts as a stimulatory cofactor for both Ifit1 and Ifit1b, promoting their translation inhibition. In this way, Ifit1c acts in an analogous fashion to human IFIT3, which is a cofactor to human IFIT1. This work clarifies similarities and differences between the human and murine IFIT families to facilitate better design and interpretation of mouse models of human infection and sheds light on the evolutionary plasticity of the IFIT family.     

Mnemons and the memorization of past signaling events

Current advances are raising our awareness of the diverse roles that protein condensation plays in the biology of cells. Particularly, findings in organisms as diverse as yeast and Drosophila suggest that cells may utilize protein condensation to establish long-lasting changes in cellular activities and thereby encode a memory of past signaling events. Proteins that oligomerize to confer such cellular memory have been termed ‘mnemons’. In the forming of super-assemblies, mnemons change their function and modulate the influence that the affected protein originally had on cellular processes. Because mnemon assemblies are self-templating, they allow cells to retain the memory of past decisions over larger timescales. Here, we review the mechanisms behind the formation of cellular memory with an emphasis on mnemon-mediated memorization of past signaling events.