透明颤菌血红蛋白基因(vgb)在大肠杆菌中的高效表达

利用PCR技术将透明颠菌血红蛋白基因（vgb）克隆到融合表达载体pET28a，在大肠杆菌BL21（DE3）表达。重组蛋白在30℃诱导获得可溶表达。利用Ni^2＋亲和层析对重组蛋白进行了纯化，得到重组的透明颠菌血红蛋白，蛋白呈红色。实验现象显示重组蛋白与血红索相结合。紫外光区和可见光区波长扫描分析显示：蛋白粗提物和纯化后的血红蛋白在230nm和413nm都有强吸收峰，初步表明，尽管重组蛋白比天然蛋白多36个氨基酸，重组蛋白仍然具有生理活性。诱导后4h和6h的培养液氨基乙酰丙酸含量分别达到17mg／L和21mg／L。说明重组蛋白的表达明显促进了体内heme合成途径。     

鸡IL-18真核表达载体的构建及其对新城疫疫苗免疫增强作用的研究

利用首次从鸡新城疫疫苗接种的鸡胚脾细胞中扩增出的鸡IL 18 全基因,构建IL 18 真核表达载体(pcDNA3 IL18),并观察其对新城疫疫苗的免疫增强作用。结果表明,同时接种pcDNA3 IL18 质粒和活疫苗的免疫鸡在接种后35 d内,特别是15 d之后所产生的HI抗体效价和T、B淋巴细胞增殖反应均高于单纯疫苗免疫组及pcDNA3 空白质粒和疫苗联合免疫组。其中,HI抗体效价在15 d 时差异显著(P<0 05),在30 和35 d时差异极显著(P<0 01); T淋巴细胞增殖反应在15 d后均表现为差异显著(P<0 05〉或极显著(P<0 01);而单纯疫苗组与空白质粒和疫苗联合免疫组之间的各测定指标则无明显的差异(P>0 05)。在35 d时进行攻毒, pcDNA3 IL18和疫苗联合免疫组的保护率为83.3%,而单纯疫苗免疫组、空白质粒和疫苗联合免疫组鸡的保护率则分别只有61.5%和66.7%。说明该pcDNA3 IL18真核表达质粒在鸡体内得到了表达,表达产物不仅能够显著增强新城疫疫苗所诱导的细胞免疫和体液免疫反应,而且还可以明显提高疫苗的保护率。     

鸡白细胞介素2原核表达载体的构建及表达产物的鉴定

将鸡白细胞介素2(IL-2)的cDNA克隆到原核表达载体pET-30a( )上，构建原核重组表达质粒pET-IL-2，并在大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中诱导表达，37℃用IPTG诱导3.5h后，SDS-PAGE检测表明，表达蛋白以包涵体的形式存在。将诱导后的工程菌超声波裂解，离心后的沉淀用PBS洗涤5～6次，得到高纯度的目的蛋白。     

毒害艾美耳球虫(Eimeria necatrix)广东株微线蛋白-2基因在大肠杆菌的表达

根据克隆的毒害艾美耳球虫(Eimeria necatrix)广东株微线蛋白-2基因(EnMIC-2(Gd))的cDNA序列设计特异性引物，用PCR方法扩增其阅读框架(ORF)后，克隆至质粒表达载体pET-32a( )，成功构建了重组表达质粒pET-32a( )-EnMIC-2。用CaCl2法将其转化至宿主细菌E.cliBL21(DE3)，并用IPTG成功诱导了EnMIC-2重组抗原在大肠杆菌表达。表达的重组蛋白约占菌体总蛋白的10．8％，其相对分子质量约为55000。重组蛋白经SDS-AGE分析后，用E．necatrix(广东株)感染鸡的高免血清进行Western Blotting分析，结果为阳性。     

雏鸡脑雌激素受体的表达及分布

采用免疫组化SP法研究了雌激素受体在lO日龄雏鸡脑组织内的表达，着重观察了雌激素受体在小脑、中脑、下丘脑及端脑的分布。研究表明，雌激素受体主要存在于细胞核中，少数区域仅存于胞浆或胞膜。雌激素受体在脑内分布广泛。在小脑中部皮质的颗粒层、蒲肯野氏层，中脑的中央白质、外侧丘系腹侧核、视束、后连合等区域，雌激素受体免疫反应产物为高密度；在小脑前部皮质的颗粒层，中脑中央灰质、尾侧线形核，端脑副高纹状体等区域，雌激素受体免疫反应产物为中等密度；小脑前部皮质的蒲肯野氏细胞，下丘脑视上核，端脑原始旧纹状体等区域，雌激素受体免疫反应产物为低密度。结果揭示，在鸡脑早期发育过程中，雌激素起著广泛而重要的作用。     

新城疫病毒F基因的真核表达及其免疫原性检测

为了探讨F基因在DNA免疫防制新城疫(ND)中的免疫原性,将NDV Z株F基因插入到真核表达载体pcDNA3.1/V5-H is-TOPO中,构建了真核表达质粒pcDNA NDV ZF。在脂质体作用下将pcDNA NDV ZF转染CEF细胞,用间接免疫荧光试验检测,在CEF细胞中可见有大量F蛋白表达。将重组质粒以100μg/只的剂量肌注免疫SPF雏鸡,经间接ELISA试验检测二免前后的血清,结果证明,pcDNA NDV ZF基因可在SPF鸡体内诱导相应抗体的产生,具有特定的免疫原性。     

羊草种子萌发相关基因的筛选及表达分析

前期实验表明,变温处理(28 ℃ 12 h/16 ℃ 12 h)可显著提高羊草种子的萌发率,且羊草种子萌发中的第1天是接受变温信号的关键时期。以此为研究基础,结合羊草种子变温萌发的转录组测序数据,针对羊草种子萌发初期对变温处理的响应筛选出与种子萌发、休眠及低温相关的基因24个,利用测序结果中这些基因的RPKM值制作基因表达热图并分析其表达差异。以萌发率高、低的两种羊草种质的种子为材料,对24个基因在恒温12 h(28 ℃)和变温1 d(28 ℃ 12 h/16 ℃ 12 h)萌发处理中的表达分别进行了定量分析。结果表明,与恒温对照相比,变温处理12 h后,表达明显上调的基因有SAIN1,PP2C62,EXPB3,EXPB4,GA3ox,EXPA2和EXPA7,而表达明显下调的基因有bHLH49,GID1,ABI8,Chi1,11833,CBF3,NAC2,PP2C72,SAIN2和5423。通过进一步分析相关基因在高、低萌发率两个种质中表达的差异,筛选出其中可能与羊草种子萌发相关的基因有几丁质酶基因Chi1,转录因子基因CBF3,羊草新基因5423,赤霉素合成基因GA3ox,细胞松弛素蛋白基因EXPB4和羊草新基因SAIN1,将为下一步阐明羊草种子萌发的分子作用机理奠定基础。     

低温胁迫对狗牙根生理及基因表达的影响

以耐寒性差异较大的杂交狗牙根品种运动百慕大、天堂419和普通狗牙根品种保定狗牙根为试验材料,分析了昼夜温度为适温(30 ℃/25 ℃)、亚适温(18 ℃/12 ℃)、冷害(8 ℃/4 ℃)和冻害(4 ℃/-4 ℃)4种温度处理下,低温对狗牙根生长速率和草坪质量、MDA含量、叶绿素荧光(F_v/F_m)、光合作用(P_n、G_s、C_i、T_r)、H₂O₂和O2·-含量、抗氧化酶活性(SOD、POD、CAT、APX)、抗氧化酶及耐寒相关基因(CBF1、COR、LEA)表达的影响。结果表明,随着温度的降低,狗牙根草坪质量、生长速率、F_v/F_m和光合作用显著下降,但在耐寒性强的运动百慕大中下降幅度较小;低温下叶片MDA和H₂O₂含量及O2·-产生速率显著升高,其中在耐寒性弱的保定狗牙根中升高程度更大;狗牙根叶片抗氧化酶活性及抗氧化酶基因的表达水平随着处理温度的下降而显著升高,其中在运动百慕大中更为明显;狗牙根CBF1、COR和LEA基因表达量随着温度的下降而显著升高,尤其是在耐寒狗牙根运动百慕大中更为显著。低温诱导的抗氧化酶和耐寒相关基因上调表达,增强了细胞内的抗氧化防御,有助于狗牙根植株维持较高的光合作用和细胞膜稳定性,延缓叶片的衰老,从而提高了狗牙根的抗寒能力。     

Identification and characterisation of microRNAs and Piwi-interacting RNAs in cockerels’ spermatozoa by Solexa sequencing

1. There has been substantial research focused on the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) and Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) derived from mammalian spermatozoa; however, comparatively little is known about the role of spermatozoa-derived miRNAs and piRNAs within breeding cockerels’ spermatozoa.

2. A small RNA library of cockerels’ spermatozoa was constructed using Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology. Unique sequences with lengths of 18–26 nucleotides were mapped to miRBase 21.0 and unique sequences with lengths of 25–37 nucleotides were mapped to a piRNA database. A total of 1311 miRNAs and 2448 potential piRNAs were identified. Based on stem-loop qRT-PCR, 8 miRNAs were validated.

3. Potential target genes of the abundant miRNAs were predicted, and further Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) analyses were performed, which revealed that some candidate miRNAs were involved in the spermatogenesis process, spermatozoa epigenetic programming and further embryonic development.

5. GO and KEGG analyses based on mapping genes of expressed piRNAs were performed, which revealed that spermatozoal piRNAs could play important regulatory roles in embryonic development of offspring.

6. The search for endogenous spermatozoa miRNAs and piRNAs will contribute to a preliminary database for functional and molecular mechanistic studies in embryonic development and spermatozoa epigenetic programming.     

Differential gene expression of Eph‐ephrin A1 and LEPR‐LEP with high or low number of embryos in pigs during implantation

The objective of this study was to ascertain whether mRNA and protein expressions of implantation‐related genes (erythropoietin‐producing hepatocellular receptor–ligand A1, Eph‐ephrin A1 and leptin receptor–leptin, LEPR‐LEP) differed between pigs with high and low number of embryos, and whether these differences in gene expression might affect embryo implantation. Experimental pig groups (n = 24) for high and low number of embryos were prepared by altering the number of eggs ovulated in pre‐pubertal gilts treated with 1.5 × (High) or 1.0 × (Low) PG600 ([400 IU PMSG + 200 IU hCG]/dose, AKZO‐NOBEL). Gilts expressing oestrus were artificially inseminated twice and maintained in breeding and gestation until the reproductive tract was collected on day 22 of pregnancy. At slaughter, the reproductive tracts from each pregnant gilt from each treatment were immediately processed to collect samples for RNA and protein analysis. Within each gilt, three conceptus points were sampled, one from each horn and then a random conceptus within the tract. At each conceptus point, endometrial attachment site, chorion–allantois and embryo were collected and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen. Number of corpus luteum (CL) (35.4 vs. 12.6) and total embryo number (18.8 vs. 10.2) were greater in the high‐embryo compared to the low‐embryo group, respectively (p < .05). Real‐time qPCR results showed that Eph‐ephrin A1 mRNA expression was less in the high‐embryo (p < .05) compared to the low‐embryo group. In addition, Western blotting analysis indicated that Eph‐ephrin A1 and LEP protein expression at endometrial attachment site in high‐embryo was less (p < .05) compared to low‐embryo group. It was also noted that mRNA expression of Eph‐ephrin A1 and LEPR‐LEP was greater in pregnant than non‐pregnant gilts (p < .05). Moreover, mRNA expression of Eph‐ephrin A1 (p < .05) and LEPR‐LEP was greatest at endometrial attachment site among all three tissues. There was a positive correlation between expressions of Eph‐ephrin A1, LEPR‐LEP and embryo length with the correlation coefficient 0.31–0.59. For Eph‐ephrin A1, the highest correlation coefficient appeared between Eph A1 expression and normal embryo number, between ephrin A1 expression and embryo length. For LEPR‐LEP, the highest correlation coefficient appeared between LEPR‐LEP expression and ovary weight (0.79 for both, p < .05), followed by embryo length and weight. The results of this study suggest that low expression of Eph‐ephrin A1 and LEPR‐LEP is somehow related to increased embryo number during implantation and that endometrial attachment site might be the main target tissue of these gene products. Yet, the increased expression of Eph‐ephrin A1 and LEPR‐LEP appeared associated with increased embryo growth (length and weight) and ovary weight, Eph‐ephrin A1 and LEPR‐LEP might play roles in the regulation of embryo implantation in pigs.