Expression of Anti-Lipopolysaccharide Factor Isoform 3 in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Showing High Antimicrobial Activity

Antimicrobial peptides are a class of proteins with antibacterial functions. In this study, the anti-lipopolysaccharide factor isoform 3 gene (ALFPm3), encoding an antimicrobial peptide from Penaeus monodon with a super activity was expressed in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which would develop a microalga strain that can be used for the antimicrobial peptide production. To construct the expression cluster, namely pH2A-Pm3, the codon optimized ALFPm3 gene was fused with the ble reporter by 2A peptide and inserted into pH124 vector. The glass-bead method was performed to transform pH2A-Pm3 into C. reinhardtii CC-849. In addition to 8 μg/mL zeocin resistance selection, the C. reinhardtii transformants were further confirmed by genomic PCR and RT-PCR. Western blot analysis showed that the C. reinhardtii-derived ALFPm3 (cALFPm3) was successfully expressed in C. reinhardtii transformants and accounted for 0.35% of the total soluble protein (TSP). Furthermore, the results of antibacterial assay revealed that the cALFPm3 could significantly inhibit the growth of a variety of bacteria, including both Gram-negative bacteria and Gram-positive bacteria at a concentration of 0.77 μM. Especially, the inhibition could last longer than 24 h, which performed better than ampicillin. Hence, this study successfully developed a transgenic C. reinhardtii strain, which can produce the active ALFPm3 driven from P. monodon, providing a potential strategy to use C. reinhardtii as the cell factory to produce antimicrobial peptides.     

A pilot study to investigate the measurement of immunoglobulin A in Welsh Cob and Welsh Pony foals’ faeces and their dam’s milk

ABSTRACT

Aims: To determine if an ELISA for measurement of IgA in equine serum could be used to measure concentrations of IgA in foal faeces and to determine correlations with concentrations in the milk of the dam.

Methods: Faeces from 20 Welsh Cob and Welsh Pony foals and milk from their dams were collected within 12?hours (Day 0) and at 6 days after parturition (Day 6). On Day 6, faeces could not be collected from 2/20 foals, and milk samples could not be collected from 3/20 mares. An equine IgA ELISA validated for serum and plasma was used to measure concentrations of IgA in all samples in triplicate. The precision of the assay for each sample type was determined using modified CV.

Results: IgA was not detectable in 7/20 Day 0 faecal samples and in 2/18 Day 6 faecal samples. For samples with detectable IgA, the mean modified CV was 10.5 (95% CI?=?6.0–15.0)% for Day 0 faecal samples, and was 6.8 (95% CI?=?4.3–9.4)% for Day 6 faecal samples. Median concentrations of IgA in faeces on Day 0 were lower than concentrations on Day 6 (0.7?mg/g vs. 37?mg/g dry matter; p?=?0.003). Concentrations of IgA in milk and faeces on Day 6 were statistically correlated (r?=?0.59; p?=?0.006).

Conclusions and clinical relevance: The IgA ELISA showed acceptable precision when used to estimate concentrations of IgA in foal faeces during the first week of life, but IgA could not be detected in 37% of meconium samples collected on Day 0. This assay may be useful for investigation of the role of maternal milk IgA in the gastrointestinal tract of neonatal foals, but further assessment of both accuracy and precision of the ELISA is required.     

Use of serum amyloid A in equine medicine and surgery

Serum amyloid A (SAA) has become an indispensable part of the management of equine patients in general practice and specialized hospital settings. Although several proteins possess acute phase properties in horses, the usefulness of SAA exceeds that of other acute phase proteins. This is due to the highly desirable kinetics of the equine SAA response. SAA concentrations exhibit a rapid and pronounced increase in response to inflammation and a rapid decline after the resolution of inflammation. This facilitates the detection of inflammatory disease and real-time monitoring of inflammatory activity. SAA may be used in all stages of patient management: (1) before diagnosis (to rule in/rule out inflammatory disease), (2) at the time of diagnosis (to assess the severity of inflammation and assist in prognostication), and (3) after diagnosis (to monitor changes in inflammatory activity in response to therapy, with relapse of disease, or with infectious/inflammatory complications). By assessing other acute phase reactants in addition to SAA, clinicians can succinctly stage inflammation. White blood cell counts and serum iron concentration change within hours of an inflammatory insult, SAA within a day, and fibrinogen within 2–3 days; the interrelationship of these markers thus indicates the duration and activity of the inflammatory condition. Much research on the equine SAA response and clinical use has been conducted in the last decade. This is the prerequisite for the evidence-based use of this analyte. However, still today, most published studies involve a fairly low number of horses. To obtain solid evidence for use of SAA, future studies should be designed with larger sample sizes.     

Suppression of influenza virus infection by the orf virus isolated in Taiwan

Orf virus (ORFV), a member of parapoxvirus, is an enveloped virus with genome of double-stranded DNA. ORFV causes contagious pustular dermatitis or contagious ecthyma in sheep and goats worldwide. In general, detection of viral DNA and observing ORFV virion in tissues of afflicted animals are two methods commonly used for diagnosis of orf infection; however, isolation of the ORFV in cell culture using virus-containing tissue as inoculum is known to be difficult. In this work, the ORFV (Hoping strain) isolated in central Taiwan was successfully grown in cell culture. We further examined the biochemical characteristic of our isolate, including viral genotyping, viral mRNA and protein expression. By electron microscopy, one unique form of viral particle from ORFV infected cellular lysate was demonstrated in the negative-stained field. Moreover, immunomodulating and anti-influenza virus properties of this ORFV were investigated. ORFV stimulated human monocytes (THP-1) secreting proinflammatory cytokines IL-8 and TNF-α. And, pre-treatment of ORFV-infected cell medium prevents A549 cells from subsequent type A influenza virus (IAV) infection. Similarly, mice infected with ORFV via both intramuscular and subcutaneous routes at two days prior to IAV infection significantly decreased the replication of IAV. In summary, the results of a current study indicated our Hoping strain harbors the immune modulator property; with such a bio-adjuvanticity, we further proved that pre-exposure of ORFV protects animals from subsequent IAV infection.     

用于水生病原菌的3种高通量活菌计数方法的比较

以一株副溶血弧菌(Vibrio parahaemolyticus)作为研究对象，比较了MTT [3-(4,5-二甲基噻唑-2)-2,5-二苯基四氮唑溴盐]比色法、ATP生物发光法和高通量生长曲线法在活细菌高通量计数上的应用效果。用96孔培养板进行不同浓度细菌活菌计数，确定了上述3种方法在副溶血弧菌活菌计数的标准曲线和线性范围。结果显示，副溶血弧菌的MTT比色法以DMSO溶解的MTT产物甲瓒在555 nm的吸光度(OD555 nm)为计数依据，活菌数的对数(LgC)与LgOD555 nm线性关系的标准曲线为LgC=(1.0439±0.0200)LgOD555 nm+(8.0565±0.0125)，相关系数R²=0.9965，线性检测范围为7.8×106~2.5×108 CFU/ml；ATP生物发光法以ATP产生的相对发光度值(RLU)为计数依据，LgC与LgRUL线性关系的标准曲线为LgC=(0.9590±0.0065)LgRLU+(0.9949±0.0366)，相关系数R²=0.9994，线性检测范围为1.0×104~3.0×108 CFU/ml；高通量生长曲线法以生长曲线达到拐点的时间(Ts)为计数依据，LgC与Ts线性关系的标准曲线为LgC=?(0.8727±0.0230)Ts+(9.0128±0.1572)，相关系数R²=0.9924，线性检测范围为1.0×100~1.0×107 CFU/ml。用3种方法对实际菌液测量并与平板计数法比较表明，ATP生物发光法与高通量生长曲线法有很好的准确性，MTT比色法准确度稍差，而高通量生长曲线法有最宽的线性范围，也最适合高通量测定。     

The role of ear environment in postharvest susceptibility of maize to toxigenic Aspergillus flavus

A kernel screening assay (KSA) was used to assess the genetic and environmental effects on the vulnerability of maize to aflatoxin accumulation. Kernels of 26 inbred lines that had been grown in seven environments, and 190 lines of the Intermated B73xMo17 (IBM) population grown in one location in the United States, were inoculated with a toxigenic strain of A. flavus and incubated in the dark at 30°C for 6 days. Percent kernel colonization (PKC), sporulation and aflatoxin were influenced by the maize genotypes (G), the location (“ear environment” or E) and the GxE interactions. Overall, low broad‐sense heritabilities were observed for PKC, sporulation and aflatoxin. PKC was significantly correlated with sporulation in all environments. Aflatoxin was positively correlated with colonization for two and with sporulation for all ear environments. Higher grain sulphur or magnesium in IBM was associated with less colonization or aflatoxin. Postharvest susceptibility of maize to aflatoxin is thus influenced by factors that are modulated by the ear environment. In a KSA, sporulation could be a proxy test for aflatoxin accumulation.     

VEGF在绵羊生殖管道中的表达规律

以不同发情周期雌性绵羊子宫、输卵管为研究对象,采用免疫组织化学技术,针对血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）在绵羊子宫、输卵管的表达、定位和变化规律进行了检测,同时应用相关图像分析软件对抗原染色强度进行了定量分析。结果表明：输卵管在发情0～15d,VEGF表达量在第9天达到峰值后经历波动逐渐下降过程,输卵管内膜上皮细胞是VEGF抗原的主要靶细胞;而子宫角在发情0～15d,VEGF表达量在第5天达到峰值后经历波动逐渐下降过程,子宫内膜固有层及腺体周围细胞为VEGF抗原的主要靶细胞。该研究结果为绵羊生产中进一步提高受胎率和妊娠率及频密产羔等技术的应用提供了科学依据。     

数字PCR技术在动物疫病检测中的应用

为了支持动物疫病流行地区的控制及消除计划,以及在动物疫病非流行地区进行有效筛查,必须使用更加准确灵敏的诊断手段。数字PCR可实现绝对定量及痕量核酸的检测,与传统检测方法相比具有不依赖参考物或标准品、对抑制剂具有较高耐受性、灵敏度和精准度更高的优点。数字PCR作为一种定量分析的核酸检测新方法,在动物疫病检测中得到了应用,围绕数字PCR技术的原理、应用、存在的问题及发展趋势等进行综述及分析,为数字PCR在动物疫病检测中的进一步应用提供参考。     

Development and identification of glyphosate-tolerant transgenic soybean via direct selection with glyphosate

Glyphosate-tolerant soybean is the most widely planted genetically modified crop worldwide. However, soybean remains recalcitrant to routine transformation because of the low infection efficiency of Agrobacterium to soybean and lack of useful selectable markers. In this study, several Agrobacterium strains and cell densities were compared by transient expression of the GUS gene. The results showed that Agrobacterium strain Ag10 at cell densities of OD_(600) of 0.6–0.9 yielded the highest infection efficiency in Agrobacterium-mediated soybean cotyledonary node transformation system. Meanwhile, a simple and rapid method was developed for identification of glyphosate tolerance in putative T_0 transgenic plants, consisting of spotting plantlets with 1 μL Roundup~?. The whole cycle of genetic transformation could be shortened to about 3 mon by highly efficient selection with glyphosate during the transformation process and application of the spot assay in putative T_0 transgenic plantlets. The transformation frequency ranged from 2.9 to 5.6%. This study provides an improved protocol for development and identification of glyphosate-tolerant transgenic soybeans.