Rapid detection of plum pox virus by reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Plum pox virus (PPV) is one of the most destructive viral pathogens infecting stone fruit trees worldwide. As PPV causes a viral disease that requires...     

Genetic and pathogenic characterization of Akabane viruses isolated from cattle with encephalomyelitis in Korea

A large-scale outbreak of Akabane viral encephalomyelitis in cattle was reported in the southern part of Korea in 2010. Fifteen Akabane virus (AKAV) strains were isolated from the brain and spinal cord samples by using BHK-21 and/or HmLu-1 cells. To examine the genetic relationships and characteristics of the isolates, nucleotide sequences of the S, M, and L segments of the 15 isolates were determined and analyzed. Complete sequence analysis of the 15 AKAV isolates showed 99.9-100% amino acid identities, indicating that the 15 isolates originated from a single strain. The S and M RNA segments of a representative isolate (AKAV-7/SKR/2010) were also compared with the segments of representative reference sequences. This AKAV-7/SKR/2010 strain showed the highest identity with the Iriki and KM-1/Br/06 strains. Neighbor-joining phylogenetic trees of S and M RNA segments were constructed. Four representative AKAV isolates were classified into subgroup Ia, which contains the Iriki and KM-1/Br/06 strains recognized to cause encephalomyelitis in calves and adult cattle in Japan. Moreover, experimental intraperitoneal infection was performed using the AKAV-7/SKR/2010 and AKAV-17/SKR/2010 strains to assess pathogenesis in suckling mice. The 2 isolates, genetically related to the Iriki strain, were neurovirulent and caused neurological signs in suckling mice. In contrast, the 93FMX strain and the K0505 strain, related to the OBE-1 strain, were avirulent in mice. The present results indicate that these isolates most likely had originated from the Iriki strain and are closely related to the Iriki strain both genetically and pathogenically.     

Mutation of threonine 422 to glutamic acid mimics the phosphorylation state and alters the action of deltamethrin on Cav2.2

Effects of deltamethrin on voltage-sensitive calcium channels (VSCC) from rat brain (Ca_v2.2) expressed in Xenopus oocytes were assessed electrophysiologically. Deltamethrin reduced peak current of wild-type Ca_v2.2 in a stereospecific and concentration-dependent manner with an EC₅₀ of 1 × 10⁻⁹ M. Phosphorylation of threonine 422 enhances voltage-sensitive calcium current, increases the probability that Ca_v2.2 will open under depolarizing conditions and antagonizes the inhibition of the channel by the betagamma subunit of heterotrimeric G-protein (Gβγ). Site-directed mutagenesis of threonine 422 to glutamic acid (T422E) results in a channel that acts as if it were permanently phosphorylated. Deltamethrin (10⁻⁷ M) significantly enhanced peak current via the T422E channel (1.5-fold) compared to the nontreated control and the increase was significantly greater than for either the wild-type (T422) or T422A (permanently unphosphorylated mutant) channels. The effect of deltamethrin on T422E Ca_v2.2 was stereospecific and concentration-dependent with an EC₅₀ of 9.8 × 10⁻¹¹ M. Thus, Ca_v2.2 is modified by deltamethrin but the resulting perturbation is dependent upon the phosphorylation state of threonine 422.     

Two-year field study shows little evidence that PPO-transgenic rice affects the structure of soil microbial communities

There is global concern about the environmental consequences associated with transgenic crops. Their effects on the soil ecosystem are of special interest when assessing ecological safety and integrity. Although many efforts have been made to develop crops genetically modified to have resistance to protoporphyrin oxidase (PPO)-inhibiting herbicides, little is known about their influence on soil microbial communities. We conducted a 2-year field study and an analysis via terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) to assess the impacts of PPO-transgenic rice on bacterial and fungal communities. In the first year we sampled the rhizosphere and surrounding bulk soil, while in the second year we sampled rhizosphere soil only. No differences were observed in the diversity indices and community composition of microbial communities between transgenic rice and its parental non-transgenic counterpart (cultivar Dongjin). Instead, community variation was strongly dependent on growth stage and year. Therefore, we observed no adverse effects by these crops of modified rice on the microbial community composition in paddy soils.