EFFECTS OF HELPER PROTEINS ENCODED BY p19 AND orf1-orf2 GENES ON Cyt1Aa PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN ACRYSTALLIFEROUS STRAIN OF BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS

A series of plasmids were constructed to examine the effects of p19 and orf1‐orf2 genes from Bacillus thuringiensis on Cyt1Aa synthesis and inclusion formation. The plasmids expressed the cyt1Aa gene along with either p19 or orf1‐orf2, or each of them coordinatively with p20 in the acrystalliferous strain of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis 4Q7. No effect on the expression of Cyt1Aa protein was found when P19 or Orf1‐Orf2 co‐expressed with Cyt1Aa. However, when including p20 gene, the constructs with p19 or orf1‐orf2 gene produced lower yield of Cyt1Aa proteins than without p19 or orf1‐orf2 gene. Electron microscopy observation and bioassay showed that P19 and Orf1‐Orf2 have no influence on the crystal size and toxicity of Cyt1Aa protein. It is presumed that P19 and Orf1‐Orf2 might have negative effects on Cyt1Aa synthesis in B. thuringiensis.     

猪链球菌2型Orf207基因缺失菌株的构建及其生物学特性检测

【背景】猪链球菌2型(streptococcus suis type 2, SS2)可引起人、猪的脑膜炎、关节炎及败血症等,不仅给养猪业带来巨大的经济损失,同时严重威胁公共卫生安全。本团队前期通过噬菌体展示文库技术发现Orf207编码蛋白可能参与SS2诱导的脑膜炎发生,然而其在SS2致病过程中的具体作用尚不清楚。【目的】探究Orf207基因对SS2致病性的影响。【方法】采用温敏性自杀质粒介导的同源重组系统,构建SC19 Orf207基因缺失菌株ΔOrf207及其回补菌株CΔOrf207,系统比较缺失菌株与野生株间在生长特性、形态、组织定殖能力、毒力情况、细胞黏附与侵袭及抗巨噬细胞吞噬能力等生物学特性方面的差异。【结果】与野生株相比,缺失菌株链长变短,生长速度略慢;而且Orf207缺失显著增加了小鼠的存活率,降低了细菌在血液、心脏、肝脏、脾脏、肺脏、肾脏、脑组织的定殖能力和对肺组织的病理损伤并显著减弱SS2对HeLa细胞的黏附与侵袭能力及抗巨噬细胞吞噬能力。【结论】Orf207基因可以显著降低SS2对宿主的致病能力,本研究结果不仅丰富了SS2的致病机制,也为SS2疫苗等研发提供了新靶点。     

Variations in Orf3a protein of SARS-CoV-2 alter its structure and function

Severe acquired respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) rapidly spread worldwide and acquired multiple mutations in its genome. Orf3a, an accessory protein encoded by the genome of SARS-CoV-2, plays a significant role in viral infection and pathogenesis. In the present in-silico study, 15,928 sequences of Orf3a reported worldwide were compared to identify variations in this protein. Our analysis revealed the occurrence of mutations at 173 residues of Orf3a protein. Subsequently, protein modelling was performed that revealed twelve mutations which can considerably affect the stability of Orf3a. Among the 12 mutations, three mutations (Y160H, D210Y and S171L) also lead to alterations in secondary structure and protein disorder parameters of the Orf3a protein. Further, we used predictive tools to identify five promising epitopes of B-cells, which resides in the mutated regions of Orf3a. Altogether, our study sheds light on the variations occurring in Orf3a that might contribute to alteration in protein structure and function.     

ArdA proteins from different mobile genetic elements can bind to the EcoKI Type I DNA methyltransferase of E. coli K12

Anti-restriction and anti-modification (anti-RM) is the ability to prevent cleavage by DNA restriction–modification (RM) systems of foreign DNA entering a new bacterial host. The evolutionary consequence of anti-RM is the enhanced dissemination of mobile genetic elements. Homologues of ArdA anti-RM proteins are encoded by genes present in many mobile genetic elements such as conjugative plasmids and transposons within bacterial genomes. The ArdA proteins cause anti-RM by mimicking the DNA structure bound by Type I RM enzymes. We have investigated ArdA proteins from the genomes of Enterococcus faecalis V583, Staphylococcus aureus Mu50 and Bacteroides fragilis NCTC 9343, and compared them to the ArdA protein expressed by the conjugative transposon Tn916. We find that despite having very different structural stability and secondary structure content, they can all bind to the EcoKI methyltransferase, a core component of the EcoKI Type I RM system. This finding indicates that the less structured ArdA proteins become fully folded upon binding. The ability of ArdA from diverse mobile elements to inhibit Type I RM systems from other bacteria suggests that they are an advantage for transfer not only between closely-related bacteria but also between more distantly related bacterial species.     

Functional landscape of SARS-CoV-2 cellular restriction

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植物LTR-反转座子中Orf1基因的分子进化

LTR-反转座子是植物基因组的主要组成部分。它们在结构上非常保守, 通常含有gag和pol两个基因, 是完成其转座过程所必需的。在前期研究中, 本项目组对大豆基因组SARE转座子家族进行了详细的分析。结果表明, 该家族的拷贝中还存在第3个基因——Orf1。文章借助生物信息学的研究方法, 对33个已测序的基因组进行了全基因组注释。结果发现, 在7个植物基因组(桉树、杨树、棉花、大豆、百脉根、亚麻和苜蓿)中, 部分LTR-反转座子元件在gag基因的上游存在约1~2 kb未知的Orf1基因或基因片段。这类转座子多数在0~3百万年内插入到其所在的寄主基因组中, 但它们在不同物种中的分子结构、发生的频率、扩增的强度和活跃的时期等方面差异较大。系统进化树分析表明, 这类具有特殊结构的转座子较整齐的聚类到双子叶植物的一个进化分支上, 表明它们可能是部分双子叶植物在进化过程中所产生的。不同物种间的相对保守性、大量拷贝的转录活性以及可能存在的多个功能结构域, 提示Orf1基因可能具有一定的生物学功能。     

A cryptic activity in the Nudix hydrolase superfamily

The Nudix hydrolase superfamily is identified by a conserved cassette of 23 amino acids, and it is characterized by its pyrophosphorylytic activity on a wide variety of nucleoside diphosphate derivatives. Of the 13 members of the family in Escherichia coli, only one, Orf180, has not been identified with a substrate, although a host of nucleoside diphosphate compounds has been tested. Several reports have noted a strong similarity in the three‐dimensional structure of the unrelated enzyme, isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (IDI) to the Nudix structure, and the report that a Nudix enzyme was involved in the synthesis of geraniol, a product of the two substrates of IDI, prompted an investigation of whether the IDI substrates, isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP), and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DAPP) could be substrates of Orf180. This article demonstrates that Orf180 does have a very low activity on IPP, DAPP, and geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP). However, several of the other Nudix enzymes with established nucleoside diphosphate substrates hydrolyze these compounds at substantial rates. In fact, some Nudix hydrolases have higher activities on IPP, DAPP, and GPP than on their signature nucleoside diphosphate derivatives.     

苏云金杆菌辅助蛋白基因p19和orf1-orf2对杀虫晶体蛋白Cyt1 Aa表达的影响(英文)

为检测苏云金杆菌辅助蛋白P19和ORF1 ORF2对杀虫晶体蛋白Cyt1Aa表达的影响 ,构建了 5个重组表达质粒。 5个质粒都含有cyt1Aa基因 ,但pT1只含有cyt1Aa基因 ,pT2同时含有p19基因 ,pT3同时含有orf1 orf2串联基因 ,pT4同时含有p19基因和p2 0基因 ,pT5同时含有orf1 orf2串联基因和p2 0基因。将这 5个表达质粒和质粒pWF4 5电转化到苏云金杆菌晶体缺陷型 4Q7中 ,分别获得转化菌株Bt T1、Bt T2、Bt T3、Bt T4、Bt T5和Bt WF4 5。SDS PAGE结果显示 ,菌株Bt T1、Bt T2和Bt T3只产生少量的 2 7kDCyt1Aa蛋白 ,而且部分降解为大约 2 4kD的蛋白。而Bt T4和Bt T5能产生大量的Cyt1Aa蛋白 ,但Bt T4和Bt T5的Cyt1Aa蛋白产量都明显少于Bt WF4 5。电镜观察和生物测定结果表明Bt T4和Bt T5与Bt WF4 5的晶体大小和杀蚊毒力没有显著性差异。研究表明P19和ORF1 ORF2对Cyt1Aa蛋白的合成显示可能有抑制作用。     

羊口疮病毒安徽株VIR基因克隆与 生物信息学分析

目的获取并分析ORFV AH-F10株VIR基因序列及预测其编码蛋白的生物信息学特点。方法利用实验室保存的羊口疮AH-F10株,设计VIR基因引物并进行PCR扩增、克隆及序列测定,同时利用生物信息学方法对其编码的蛋白的理化性质、二级结构、三级结构、信号肽、磷酸化位点、跨膜结构域以及线性细胞表位进行预测。结果 AH-F10-VIR基因长552bp,编码183个氨基酸,与Nantou株的VIR基因同源性最高,核苷酸同源性高达99.6%,氨基酸同源性为100.0%。生物信息学分析结果显示编码的蛋白相对分子量为19.88kDa,等电点为4.83,为亲水性蛋白;α-螺旋、β-转角、无规则卷曲和延伸链分别占36.07%、3.83%、43.17%和16.94%;三级结构预测显示VIR蛋白存在较多的α-螺旋与无规则卷曲,同二级结构预测结果相符;含有17个磷酸化位点,无信号肽和跨膜结构区域,有15个潜在的B细胞优势表位,4个CTL细胞表位以及5个Th细胞表位。结论成功克隆了羊口疮安徽株VIR基因并预测了VIR蛋白的生物信息学相关信息,为进一步研究VIR蛋白奠定了基础。