家蚕微孢子虫海藻糖合成酶基因Nbtps1的克隆与原核表达

海藻糖在保护细胞质膜和生物大分子空间结构,维持胞内渗透压增大的过程中发挥重要作用,海藻糖合成酶是海藻糖合成途径中的一个关键酶。通过检索微孢子虫基因组数据库发现,家蚕微孢子虫(Nosema bombycis)基因组中含有4个海藻糖合成酶基因,其中Nbtps1基因的开放阅读框长1 386 bp,为单外显子结构,编码461个氨基酸残基,预测蛋白质分子质量53.7 k D,等电点5.19。Nb TPS1蛋白序列含有1个糖基转移酶结构域和4个潜在的N-糖基化位点,亚细胞定位预测该蛋白质位于细胞质中。多重序列比对分析结果表明,Nb TPS1与东方蜜蜂微孢子虫(Nosema ceranae)、兔脑炎微孢子虫(Encephalitozoon cuniculi)海藻糖合成酶的氨基酸序列相似度分别为59.0%、54.7%,系统发育进化树显示三者的亲缘关系与之相符。构建重组表达载体Nbtps1/p ET-28a(+)并转化大肠埃希菌Rosetta(DE3)菌株,经IPTG诱导表达及亲和纯化后获得最终质量浓度为1.18 mg/m L的重组融合蛋白His-Nb TPS1。用纯化后的融合蛋白制备兔多克隆抗体Anti-Nb TPS1,利用间接ELISA法测定多克隆抗体的效价达1∶25 600,并通过Western blotting检测验证了该多克隆抗体的特异性,为研究Nb TPS1的生物学功能以及家蚕微孢子虫的间接免疫检测奠定了实验基础。     

两种微孢子虫全基因组中密码子偏好性比较

微孢子虫(Microsporidia)是一类细胞内营专性寄生的单细胞真核生物.基于其已测得的两个典型种的基因组数据,比较了家蚕微孢子虫(Nosema bombycis)与兔脑炎微孢子虫(Encephalitozoon cuniculi)之间全基因组的密码子偏好性异同.结果表明两基因组的密码子偏好性都较弱,基因表达程度都...     

家蚕微孢子虫的一个Dicer相似蛋白基因的鉴定及系统进化和转录活性分析

Dicer是一种具有RNaseⅢ酶活性的蛋白质,参与RNAi起始阶段siRNA和miRNA的形成,为RNA诱导沉默复合物(RISC)形成的关键因子之一,在基因的转录后调控中扮演重要角色。采用生物信息学方法从家蚕微孢子虫(Nosema bombycis)全基因组数据中鉴定到一个Dicer相似蛋白(Dicer-like)基因,命名为Nb DCL(Gen Bank登录号:EOB15391)。预测Nb DCL的二级结构中含有RNaseⅢ结构域和dsRNA结合结构域。基于Dicer-like基因的系统进化分析显示,家蚕微孢子虫与柞蚕微孢子虫(Nosema pernyi)的亲缘关系最近,并与真菌形成姊妹枝,说明微孢子虫Dicer-like与真菌的同源基因来自共同的祖先。基因组共线性分析显示,Dicer-like基因及其两侧基因在微孢子虫基因组中的排列顺序具有显著的保守性,但兔脑炎微孢子虫(Encephalitozoon cuniculi)和比氏肠道微孢子虫(Enterocytozoon bieneusi)基因组中的Dicer-like基因在物种分化过程中发生了丢失。对Dicer-like基因和Agronaute相似蛋白基因、转座子的共存分析表明,家蚕微孢子虫等Nosema属微孢子虫均保留了古老的RNAi作用机制。RT-PCR检测被家蚕微孢子虫感染48~240 h的家蚕幼虫中肠中Nb DCL基因均有转录。研究结果为进一步探究家蚕微孢子虫RNAi的调控机制提供了有益线索。     

家蚕微孢子虫烯醇化酶(Enolase)基因的克隆及序列分析与原核表达

烯醇化酶(enolase,ENO)是糖酵解途径的限速酶,对家蚕微孢子虫(Nosema bombycis,Nb)烯醇化酶的研究有助于了解微孢子虫的能量代谢机制。依据微孢子虫基因组数据库中的家蚕微孢子虫烯醇化酶编码序列设计引物,以家蚕微孢子虫基因组DNA为模板,PCR扩增获得家蚕微孢子虫烯醇化酶基因(Nb ENO)。该基因ORF全长1 242 bp,编码413个氨基酸,预测蛋白质分子质量46.323 k D,等电点6.13;蛋白质二级结构主要由α螺旋(28.33%)、延伸片段(22.52%)和无规则卷曲(49.15%)组成,含有25个磷酸化位点和1个糖基化位点,无信号肽和跨膜结构域。系统进化树分析Nb ENO与蜜蜂微孢子虫(Nosema ceranae)烯醇化酶基因序列(Nc ENO)的亲缘关系较近,序列比对显示二者的一致性为62.10%。将Nb ENO基因插入原核表达载体p ET-28a并转化大肠埃希菌Rosatta(DE3)感受态细胞,经IPTG诱导表达后获得预期大小约50 k D的重组Nb ENO蛋白,有利于进一步研究Nb ENO的功能及亚细胞定位。     

家蚕微孢子虫Ubc9蛋白的基因克隆与功能研究

SUMO(small ubiquitin-like modifier)修饰是一种重要的蛋白质翻译后修饰,Ubc9(ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme)是SUMO修饰靶蛋白过程中唯一的E2结合酶,在SUMO修饰过程中发挥关键作用。本研究克隆了家蚕微孢子虫(Nosema bombycis,Nb)NbUbc9基因的完整开放阅读框。序列分析表明,NbUbc9与所有来源于微孢子虫属(Nosema)的Ubc9聚类在同一大分支上,与同为Nosema属的西方蜜蜂微孢子虫(Nosema apis)和东方蜜蜂微孢子虫(Nosema ceranae)Ubc9同源性最高,说明NbUbc9蛋白在进化上高度保守。qRT-PCR分析表明,家蚕内源性Ubc9的表达量在Nb感染后有所下降,而Nb自身NbUbc9的表达显著增加。对NbUbc9基因RNAi后,Nb基因组DNA的复制水平显著下降,说明NbUbc9在Nb的细胞增殖中起着关键作用。经Pull-down和质谱分析,初步鉴定出有46个家蚕蛋白和8个Nb蛋白可能与NbUbc9相互作用,涉及蛋白质折叠与转运、去泛素化、信号转导等。研究结果为进一步研...     

家蚕微孢子虫表面蛋白NBO_33g0013的序列特征及亚细胞定位与功能分析

选择家蚕微孢子虫(Nosema bombycis)表面蛋白质谱数据库中新发现的假定表面蛋白NBO_33g0013进行研究,了解该蛋白质的功能及是否参与微孢子虫对宿主细胞的侵染过程。预测该蛋白质分子质量为26.1 k D,等电点为4.59,其序列N端具有信号肽,无跨膜螺旋结构,含3个N-糖基化位点,无O-糖基化位点,不具有典型的功能结构域,与柑橘凤蝶微孢子虫(Papilio xuthus)的一个假定蛋白序列相似度达到93%。以家蚕微孢子虫CQ1分离株的基因组DNA为模板克隆该蛋白质的编码基因,构建重组表达载体进行该蛋白质的原核表达,并制备获得多克隆抗体,通过间接免疫荧光分析确证该蛋白质定位在家蚕微孢子虫孢子表面。经体外细胞感染实验初步分析,尚未发现该蛋白质参与了微孢子虫孢子对宿主Bm E细胞的粘附过程,推测该蛋白质可能为家蚕微孢子虫孢壁的结构组成型蛋白质,在孢壁的构架形成中发挥作用。     

毕氏肠微孢子虫基因分型及公共卫生学重要性

微孢子虫(Microsporidia)是一类细胞内专性寄生的真核生物,广泛存在于无脊椎动物如蜜蜂、蚕和几乎所有种类的脊椎动物中.在已知并被命名的1 200多个虫种中,共有8个属中的14个虫种可以感染人,其中毕氏肠微孢子虫(E.bieneusi)、兔脑炎微孢子虫(E.cuniculi)、肠脑炎微孢子虫(E.intestinalis)以及海伦脑炎微孢子虫(E.hellem)较为常见[1-3].E.bieneusi是感染人和动物最常见的病原体,能导致免疫妥协或低下者长期的致死性腹泻,也能够导致免疫功能正常者剧烈的自限性腹泻[2-3].     

家蚕微孢子虫单克隆抗体的研制

以家蚕(Bombyx mori)微孢子虫(Nosema bombycis)免疫BALB/C小鼠的脾细胞与骨髓瘤细胞融合后制备杂交瘤细胞,分泌对N.bombycis孢子表面抗原特异性的单克隆抗体。用酶联吸附免疫分析(ELISA)以筛选杂交瘤细胞,经3次有限稀释法克隆后,用包括N.bombycis等6种微孢子虫及正常蚕体组织匀浆作抗原筛选出1株分泌仅对N.bombycis孢子有特异性单克隆抗体的杂交瘤细胞株(LC_2)。小鼠腹水滴度为1:640O,用ELISA最少检出100O个孢子的样本。     

家蚕微孢子虫海藻糖酶(Trehalase)基因的生物信息学分析及原核表达和多克隆抗体制备

海藻糖是家蚕微孢子虫(Nosema bombycis,Nb)成熟孢子的主要糖类物质之一,海藻糖酶作为海藻糖代谢的主要催化酶,在微孢子虫的发芽及侵染过程中发挥重要作用。通过生物信息学分析发现,家蚕微孢子虫的海藻糖酶具有4个序列相似度较高的编码基因拷贝(Nb Tre1、Nb Tre2、Nb Tre3和Nb Tre4),除了Nb Tre4编码蛋白质的N端有18个氨基酸组成的信号肽,其他拷贝的编码蛋白质均没有信号肽结构域,但都具有少数的N-糖基化位点,而没有O-糖基化位点,此外,丝氨酸磷酸化位点的比率也较高,二级结构较为简单,仅有螺旋区和低复杂度区。基于生物信息学分析结果,设计特异性引物克隆了Nb Tre1基因,该基因片段长933 bp,编码310个氨基酸,预测蛋白质分子质量36.7 k D,蛋白质的氨基酸序列有2个潜在的N-糖基化位点和14个磷酸化位点。通过构建重组表达载体并转化Escherichia coli Rosetta(DE3)感受态细胞,获得Nb Tre1蛋白的表达菌株,利用IPTG诱导获得大量以包涵体形式表达的融合Nb Tre1蛋白,其分子质量与预期值一致。融合Nb Tre1蛋白经亲和层析纯化后免疫新西兰白兔制备多克隆抗体,利用间接ELISA法测定多克隆抗体的效价达1∶25 600。通过Western blot检测验证了该多克隆抗体的特异性,制备的多克隆抗体能够应用于家蚕微孢子虫海藻糖酶的检测等。     

从家蚕和龙眼裳卷蛾分离到的微孢子虫的荧光抗体法识别

本研究应用间接荧光抗体检验技术识别微孢子虫。对种茧养蚕分离的微孢子虫(NIS—741,NIS—3922,NIS—388,NIS—2624,NIS—4141)与Nosema,bombycis进行了血清学性状的比较,且对危害家蚕的龙眼裳卷蛾微孢子虫进行了荧光抗体的鉴定观察。实验表明:从家蚕分离的不同形态差异的微孢子虫分离株与家蚕微粒子(N.bombycis)孢子虫具有相同的抗原性;对龙眼裳卷蛾微孢子虫的荧光抗体观察没有看到特异性荧光,不能判断龙眼裳卷蛾微孢子虫与N.bombycis具有相同的表面抗原。另一方面,对微孢子虫的发育前期裂殖体和孢子体的荧光抗体法观察表明:从染病组织中能够识别出裂殖体和孢子体,但要区别N.bombycis的裂殖体和龙眼裳卷蛾微孢子虫的裂殖体则比较困难,对此尚待于进一步研究。     

家蚕微孢子虫蛋白水解酶的活性检测及质谱鉴定和序列分析

微孢子虫的蛋白水解酶类不仅参与代谢活动,而且可能作为一种潜在的侵染宿主的毒力因子。为了研究家蚕微孢子虫蛋白水解酶的种类及蛋白质结构特点,将家蚕微孢子虫总蛋白经非变性凝胶电泳后与底物酪蛋白孵育,检测到可水解酪蛋白的蛋白酶类的活性。采用质谱法分析该类蛋白酶主要是锌离子依赖型的细胞质型亮氨酰氨肽酶和丝氨酸蛋白酶。细胞质型亮氨酰氨肽酶序列是由1 515个碱基编码的505个氨基酸组成,无信号肽,有2个潜在的锌离子结合部位,属于金属蛋白酶M17家族;丝氨酸蛋白酶具有肽酶S8结构域和跨膜域。通过序列比对发现在兔脑炎微孢子虫、蝗虫微孢子虫、蜜蜂微孢子虫、肠道微孢子虫和比氏肠道微孢子虫中均有这2种酶,且相似度较高,其进化较为保守。     

The first report on natural Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon spp. infections in wild East-European House Mice (Mus musculus musculus) and West-European House Mice (M. m. domesticus) in a hybrid zone across the Czech Republic-Germany border

To determine the occurrence of potentially human pathogenic microsporidia (Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon spp.) in wild mice, we examined 289 East-European House Mice (Mus musculus musculus) and West-European House Mice (M. m. domesticus) trapped at 74 localities in an area across the Czech-German border. Microsporidia were detected at 33 localities, in 34% of M. m. musculus and 33% of M. m. domesticus examined specimens. Single-species infection was detected in 23 mice for E. hellem, 42 mice for E. cuniculi and 25 mice for E. bieneusi. No Encephalitozoon intestinalis positive animals were identified. Moreover, co-infections were detected in 6 animals; E. bieneusi co-existed with E. cuniculi or E. hellem in 3 mice. The natural infection of E. hellem has never been recorded in mice before. No differences were found by a statistical analysis of microsporidia occurrence between the House Mouse subspecies. Although the gender-dependent infestation of microsporidia was statistically supported in M. m. musculus, no significant differences were observed when the occurrence of microsporidia was estimated for all males and females irrespective of the House Mouse subspecies. The results of this report document the low host specificity of detected microsporidia species and imply the importance of synanthropic rodents as a potential source of human microsporidial infection.     

Mammalian microsporidiosis

The phylum Microspora contains a diverse group of single-celled, obligate intracellular protozoa sharing a unique organelle, the polar filament, and parasitizing a wide variety of invertebrate and vertebrate animals, including insects, fish, birds, and mammals. Encephalitozoon cuniculi is the classic microsporidial parasite of mammals, and encephalitozoonosis in rabbits and rodents has been and continues to be recognized as a confounding variable in animal-based biomedical research. Although contemporary research colonies are screened for infection with this parasite, E. cuniculi remains a cause of morbidity and mortality in pet and conventionally raised rabbits. In addition, E. cuniculi is a potential pathogen of immature domestic dogs and farm-raised foxes. The recent discovery and identification of Encephalitozoon intestinalis, Encephalitozoon hellem, and Enterocytozoon bieneusi, in addition to E. cuniculi, as opportunistic pathogens of humans have renewed interest in the Microspora. Veterinary pathologists, trained in the comparative anatomy of multiple animal species and infectious disease processes, are in a unique position to contribute to the diagnosis and knowledge of the pathogenesis of these parasitic diseases. This review article covers the life cycle, ultrastructure, and biology of mammalian microsporaidia and the clinical disease and lesions seen in laboratory and domestic animals, particularly as they relate to Encephalitozoon species. Human microsporidial disease and animal models of human infection are also addressed. Often thought of as rabbit pathogens of historical importance, E. cuniculi and the related mammalian microsporidia are emerging as significant opportunistic pathogens of immunocompromised individuals.     

家蚕微孢子虫cDNA文库的构建及部分EST同源性分析

以成熟的家蚕微孢子虫 (Nosemabombycis,N .b)为实验材料 ,以λTriplEx2为载体 ,构建了滴度为 1 86× 10 6pfu/mL ,插入片段平均在 5 0 0bp以上的较高质量的家蚕微孢子虫cDNA文库。从cDNA文库中随机挑取 180个克隆进行EST测序 ,得到了 130个有效序列。经BLASTn、BLASTx同源性分析后发现 ,7个ESTs编码基因在氨基酸水平上与脑孢虫有较高的同源性 ,推定为家蚕微孢子虫基因 (putativegene) ,同时获得了 2 7个未知序列。     

Direct agglutination test for Encephalitozoon cuniculi

Encephalitozoon cuniculi is a small protozoan parasite in the phylum Microspora. It has been shown to naturally infect several host species, including humans. Infection with microsporidia is usually asymptomatic, except in young or immunocompromised hosts. Currently, serological diagnosis of infection is made using the indirect immunofluorescent antibody assay (IFA) or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Although these methods are sensitive and reliable, there are several drawbacks to the IFA and ELISA tests. Cross-reactivity between other Encephalitozoon species is common, and specialized equipment is required to conduct these tests. This paper reports the development of a direct agglutination test for detecting IgG antibodies to E. cuniculi. The utility of the agglutination test was examined in CD-1 and C3H/He mice infected with E. cuniculi or one of 2 other Encephalitozoon species. Test sera were incubated overnight with eosin-stained microsporidia spores in round-bottom microtiter plates. In positive samples, agglutination of spores with antibodies in test sera resulted in an opaque mat spread across the well. The results indicate that the agglutination test is 86% sensitive and 98% specific for E. cuniculi, with limited cross-reactivity to Encephalitozoon intestinalis. No cross-reactivity to Encephalitozoon hellem was observed. The test is fast and easy to conduct, and species-specific antibodies are not required.     

Microsporidia in household dogs and cats in Iran; a zoonotic concern

Microsporidia in dogs and cats is primarily caused by the obligate, intracellular parasite Encephalitozoon cuniculi, which is a member of the phylum Microsporidia. The aim of the current study is the detection of this parasite in stool samples of small animals of Iran, by polymerase chain reaction. Microsporidia spp. was found in 31% (31/100) of dogs (E. cuniculi (18/100), Encephalitozoon bieneusi (8/100) and Encephalitozoon intestinalis (5/100)), and 7.5% (3/40) of the specimens obtained from cats were infected with E. bieneusi. Sequencing of PCR products confirmed these results. In conclusion, Microsporidia infection seems to be fairly common in pet animals of Iran, especially in dogs. This finding could indicate the importance of pet animals as zoonotic reservoirs of microsporidial human infections.     

The growing prevalence of Nosema ceranae in honey bees in Spain, an emerging problem for the last decade

Microsporidiosis caused by infection with Nosema apis or Nosema ceranae has become one of the most widespread diseases of honey bees and can cause important economic losses for beekeepers. Honey can be contaminated by spores of both species and it has been reported as a suitable matrix to study the field prevalence of other honey bee sporulated pathogens. Historical honey sample collections from the CAR laboratory (Centro Apícola Regional) were analyzed by PCR to identify the earliest instance of emergence, and to determine whether the presence of Nosema spp. in honey was linked to the spread of these microsporidia in honey bee apiaries. A total of 240 frozen honey samples were analyzed by PCR and the results compared with rates of Nosema spp. infection in worker bee samples from different years and geographical areas. The presence of Nosema spp. in hive-stored honey from naturally infected honey bee colonies (from an experimental apiary) was also monitored, and although collected honey bees resulted in a more suitable sample to study the presence of microsporidian parasites in the colonies, a high probability of finding Nosema spp. in their hive-stored honey was observed. The first honey sample in which N. ceranae was detected dates back to the year 2000. In subsequent years, the number of samples containing N. ceranae tended to increase, as did the detection of Nosema spp. in adult worker bees. The presence of N. ceranae as early as 2000, long before generalized bee depopulation and colony losses in 2004 may be consistent with a long incubation period for nosemosis type C or related with other unknown factors. The current prevalence of nosemosis, primarily due to N. ceranae, has reached epidemic levels in Spain as confirmed by the analysis of worker honey bees and commercial honey.     

家蚕几种病原微孢子虫的比较研究

从不同地区养蚕生产及桑园害虫中分别收集到四种微孢子虫，ＭＡ—１、ＭＤ—１、Ｐｈａ—Ｍ和Ｈａ—Ｍ。从它们孢子的形态、对蚕的致病性、相互间的血清学关系、在蚕体内的寄生部位和引起的组织与细胞病变以及在蚕体内增殖的生活史等方面与典型的家蚕微粒子病病原Ｎｏｓｅｍａｂｏｍｂｙｃｉｓ进行了比较研究。结果表明，ＭＡ—１与Ｎ．ｂｏｍｂｙｃｉｓ相同；Ｈａ—Ｍ可能亦来源于Ｎ．ｂｏｍｂｙｃｉｓ；ＭＤ—１为Ｎ．ｂｏｍｂｙｃｉｓ的形态变异株，定名为Ｎ．ｂｏｍｂｙｃｉｓｍｏｒ．ｖａｒ．；而Ｐｈａ—Ｍ为与Ｎ．ｂｏｍｂｙｃｉｓ不同的种，暂称为Ｎｏｓｅｍａｓｐ。     

家蚕微孢子虫(Nosema bombycis)交叉感染的孢子形态变化及表面蛋白差异

试验探讨了微孢子虫的交叉感染性与孢子表面蛋白的变化。结果表明,家蚕微孢子虫(Nosema bombycis)转主感染桑尺蠖(Hemerophila atrilineata)后孢子形态变为细长,分离纯化感染前和感染后的孢子表面蛋白,通过SDS-PAGE电泳发现形态变异株出现了34 kD和67 kD的差异带,在相同条带17、30、47、77和114 kD表达量存在明显的差异,但33 kD和43 kD条带表达量没有差异。孢子表面蛋白的差异性表达可能与微孢子虫感染适应性有关,而33 kD和43 kD可能是微孢子虫共有的保守蛋白。