Prokaryotic Expression and Polyclonal Antibody Preparation of African Swine Fever Virus Georgia 2007/1 Strain CD2v Protein

The study was aimed to express the EP402R gene of African swine fever virus (ASFV) Georgia 2007/1 strain via prokaryotic expression system,obtain the recombinant CD2v protein,and prepare polyclonal antibodies against the purified recombinant CD2v protein.After codon optimization,ASFV EP402R full-length gene was linked into pET-28a(+) expression vector to construct prokaryotic recombinant expression plasmid.After induction by 1 mmol/L IPTG at 16 ℃ for 12 h,the recombinant protein was identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting.The purified recombinant CD2v protein was used as immunogen to prepare mouse anti-CD2v polyclonal antibodies.The antibody titer was measured by indirect ELISA and the specificity was further analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and Western blotting.The results showed that ASFV EP402R gene was successfully cloned into pET-28a(+),and pET-28a-EP402R was obtained.The recombinant plasmid was transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3) for expression,the recombinant protein was expressed mainly in the form of inclusion bodies,with molecular mass at about 47 ku,while some of the recombinant protein could also exist in a soluble form.Western blotting results showed that the purified protein had good immunoreactivity.The indirect ELISA result showed that the polyclonal antibodies had a high titer of 1:512 000,IFA and Western blotting results indicated that it could specifically recognize recombinant CD2v protein.These results confirmed the recombinant CD2v protein expressed via prokaryotic system had good immunogenicity,and the prepared polyclonal antibodies had high titer and specificity.This research provided technical support for further study of ASFV EP402R biological function,as well as its gene-deletion based vaccine development.