The effect of piscidin antimicrobial peptides on the formation of Gram-negative bacterial biofilms

Fish-derived antimicrobial peptides are an important part of the innate immune system due to their potent antimicrobial properties. Piscidins are a class of antimicrobial peptides first described in hybrid striped bass (Morone chrysops x Morone saxatilis) but have also been identified in many other fish species. Previous work demonstrated the broad antimicrobial activity of piscidins against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial species. This study sought to determine the extent to which class I (striped bass piscidin 1, white bass piscidin 1 and striped bass/white bass piscidin 3) and class II (striped bass piscidin 4 and white bass piscidin 5) piscidins inhibit biofilm formation of different Gram-negative bacteria. In general, the class I and II piscidins demonstrate potent activity against Escherichia coli and Flavobacterium columnare biofilms. The class II piscidins showed more activity against E. coli and F. columnare isolates than did the class I piscidins. The piscidins in general were much less effective against inhibiting Aeromonas hydrophila and A. veronii biofilm growth. Only the class I piscidins showed significant growth inhibition among the Aeromonas spp. examined.     

Evidence for synergism of the antimicrobial peptide piscidin 2 with antiparasitic and antioomycete drugs

Piscidins are potent, broad‐spectrum, host‐produced antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that appear to constitute the most common AMP family in teleost fish. Here, we show that piscidin 2 has potent activity against the water mould Saprolegnia, one of the most important pathogens of freshwater fish. The minimum oomyceticidal concentration (MOC₁₀₀) of piscidin 2 against zoospores of three pathogenic isolates of Saprolegnia ranged from 12.5 to 25.0 μg mL^?1. This piscidin concentration is well within levels that have been estimated to be present in at least some fish (1–32.5 μg mL^?1). In the presence of either copper or malachite green, two drugs commonly used to treat water moulds, there was evidence for partial synergism (PSYN) with piscidin 2. There was also evidence for PSYN after exposure of the ciliate parasite Tetrahymena pyriformis to piscidin 2 plus copper. Our data provide further evidence that piscidins may be an important host defence against skin and gill pathogens and that the piscidin levels in host tissue might influence the success of drug treatments.     

棕点石斑鱼Piscidin样肽基因的克隆及其成熟肽的原核表达

以简并引物通过RT-PCR从重要经济海水鱼类棕点石斑鱼Epinephelus fuscoguttatus白细胞中扩增出一条388bp具有完整编码框的cDNA序列。Blast分析初步显示,该序列属于鱼类抗菌肽Piscidin家族的一员,将其命名为棕点石斑鱼Piscidin样肽(GU592793),推导氨基酸序列具有界定鱼类Piscidin的以下共同特征:(1)预测的信号肽序列与其他Piscidin的同源性较高,在60%~95%之间;(2)推测的成熟肽N端6个氨基酸残基富含Phe、Ile及His;(3)成熟肽第8个和第13个氨基酸位点均为Gly。NJ进化树分析表明,该cDNA推导的氨基酸序列与赤点石斑鱼Epinephelusakaarapiscidin-like peptide(ACE78290)、斜带石斑鱼Epinephelus coioidesPiscidin-like peptide(ACE78291)以高达81%的支持率聚为一支。也表明本研究成功克隆到棕点石斑鱼首条PiscidincDNA序列。推测的成熟肽为两亲性阳离子肽,等电点12.48,Schiffer-Edmunson预测其二级结构呈α螺旋构型。将...     

Activity of the antimicrobial polypeptide piscidin 2 against fish ectoparasites

Abstract The antiparasitic effects of piscidin 2, an antimicrobial polypeptide (AMPP) first isolated from mast cells of hybrid striped bass, were tested against three protistan ectoparasites of marine fish (the ciliates Cryptocaryon irritans and Trichodina sp., and the dinoflagellate Amyloodinium ocellatum) and one ciliate ectoparasite of freshwater fish (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis). I. multifiliis was the most susceptible parasite, with all theronts killed at 6.3 microg mL(-1) piscidin 2. The most resistant parasite was Trichodina, where a few cells were killed at 12.5 microg mL(-1), but several were still alive even at 100 microg mL(-1). C. irritans was of intermediate sensitivity, with some theronts killed at 12.5 microg mL(-1) and all killed at 25 microg mL(-1). High parasite density apparently exhausted the piscidin 2 before it could attain its maximal effect, but surviving parasites were often visibly damaged. The lower efficacy of piscidin 2 against marine parasites compared with the freshwater ciliate might be related to the inhibitory effects of high sea water cation levels. The tissue concentration of piscidins estimated in healthy hybrid striped bass gill (40 microg mL(-1)) suggests that piscidin 2 is lethal to the parasites tested at physiological concentrations and is thus an important component of innate defence in fish expressing this type of AMPP.     

Effect of biofilm formation on antimicrobial tolerance of Flavobacterium psychrophilum

Treatment of bacterial fish diseases can be complicated by resistant bacterial biofilms harbouring pathogenic bacteria and causing recurrent exposure of fish to infections. In this study, the effect of biofilm formation on antimicrobial tolerance was examined using three bacterial isolates of the fish pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum and two antimicrobial agents, oxytetracycline and flumequine, commonly used in aquaculture. Planktonic and biofilm cells were exposed to a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), to a 3 × MIC concentration and to an environmental concentration level of each antimicrobial in 96-well microtitre plates after which growth on agar plates was measured. The type strain NCIMB1947 of F. psychrophilum was further used to study the development of antimicrobial resistance in biofilm cells. The results suggest that at high bacterial densities (>10(7) CFU mL(-1)), biofilm cells of F. psychrophilum are less susceptible to antimicrobial agents. Furthermore, the results imply that biofilm cells of F. psychrophilum may rapidly develop resistance to both oxytetracycline and flumequine if exposed to subinhibitory concentrations of these antimicrobials.     

Cloning,characterization and expression of the pepsinogen C from the golden mandarin fish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Siniperca scherzeri</Emphasis> (Teleostei: Perciformes)

Pepsinogens are precursors of pepsins, which are gastric digestive proteinases that degrade food proteins into peptides. In the study reported here, the cDNA and its corresponding genomic DNA of the golden mandarin fish (Siniperca scherzeri, Perciformes) pepsinogen C (PGC) were cloned and sequenced. The golden mandarin fish PGC gene was deduced to have nine exons and eight introns, a structure similar to the PGCs of other vertebrates. The full-length cDNA was found to contain a 37-bp 5′-untranslated region, a 1,164-bp open reading frame, and a 304-bp 3′-untranslated region and the PGC protein to consist of a signal peptide, an activation segment, and a pepsin moiety. A sequence analysis revealed that pairwise sequence similarities of PGC proteins are around 70% between golden mandarin fish and other vertebrate groups, and around 90% within the fish group. A comparison of vertebrate PGC protein sequences revealed two motifs. One was in the activation segment that occurred only in the mammal and avian PGCs, suggesting that PGCs active in homeotherms (mammal and avian) have different activation mechanisms than those in poikilotherms (amphibian and fish). The second was in the pepsin moiety that occurred only in fish, suggesting the primitive position of fish among vertebrates. PGC mRNA is mainly expressed in the stomach and esophagus and at much lower levels in the skin and muscle. Taken together with results reported from other studies, the results reported here will lead to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of fish digestive physiology and the evolution of fish pepsinogen genes.     

Rice Bran Expressing a Shrimp Antimicrobial Peptide Confers Delayed Spoilage of Fish Feed and Resistance of Tilapia to Aeromonas hydrophila

Penaeidin is an antimicrobial peptide family found in penaeid shrimp. Penaeidin3 has a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity and is most effective against certain bacterial species. In this study, the penaeidin3‐2 gene was cloned from the Chinese shrimp, Fenneropenaeus chinensis. It was then transformed into rice plants using an Agrobacterium‐mediated transformation system. The transformants were verified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) sequencing and real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) analysis. To evaluate the application of penaeidin3‐2 expressed by rice plants in the feedstock industry and aquaculture practice, the transgenic rice bran was added to fish feed. The proliferation of microbes in the feed was significantly inhibited by the transgenic rice bran. Furthermore, the mortality of tilapias challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila was also significantly reduced when they were fed with the transgenic bran expressing penaeidin3‐2. Their intestinal flora changed when the fish were fed with rice bran expressing the introduced gene for a relatively long period. Fish that survived the challenge had a more intact midgut structure. These results indicate that penaeidin3‐2 expressed in rice plants may possess the ability to modulate the intestinal bacterial community and protect the gut structure from damage.     

cDNA cloning and expression analysis of the myosin heavy chain (MYH) gene of the mandarin fish Siniperca kneri

In this study, we applied RT-PCR and cDNA cloning techniques to clone myosin heavy chain (MYH) cDNA from muscle tissues of the mandarin fish Siniperca kneri . The cDNA was determined to be of 6987 base pairs in length, encoding a peptide of 1937 amino acids (Genbank accession no. EF446616). A search of encoded protein sequences in the NCBI conserved domain database indicated the presence of all known protein domains for MYH proteins, i.e. the myosin motor domain in the N-terminal region, the DIL domain at the C-terminus, and the ATPase domain. The MYH gene and its protein were expressed predominantly in muscle tissues and weakly in cardiac tissues. Developmentally, the MYH gene was first expressed in the muscle formation stage and continued later on. Our work provided a novel mypsin heavy chain gene sequence in fish biology and the results indicate that the MYH gene and the protein it encodes are important for the growth and development of the mandarin fish, as well as its muscle characterization.     

河蟹不同套养模式成本效益分析

为优化河蟹套养不同品种养殖效益,构建河蟹+鳜鱼、河蟹+青虾+鳜鱼以及河蟹+小龙虾+鳜鱼三种河蟹套养模式,利用成本效益分析法对收益情况进行分析。结果表明:三种河蟹套养模式净利润分别为33552、32856和33369元/hm^2,模式间净利润水平无显著性差异;河蟹池套养鳜鱼能显著提高养殖效益,鳜鱼利润贡献达到4374~5622元/hm^2;河蟹价格波动显著影响三种河蟹套养模式净利润,河蟹池套养青虾、小龙虾能较好地分担市场风险。     

杂交鳜与鳜鱼、斑鳜肌肉营养成分和氨基酸含量比较

通过测定鳜鱼、斑鳜和杂交鳜的肌肉营养成分和18种氨基酸含量,结果表明：杂交鳜、斑鳜和鳜鱼的肌肉水分、脂肪、灰分的含量无显著差异（P〉0．05）,杂交鳜与斑鳜的肌肉蛋白质含量无显著差异（P〉0．05）,但均显著高于鳜鱼肌肉的蛋白质含量（P〈0．05）;鳜鱼、斑鳜和杂交鳜的18种氨基酸含量及其组成、18种氨基酸总量（TAA）、人体所需8种必须氨基酸总量（HEAA）及4种呈味氨基酸（天门冬氨孽、谷氨酸、甘氨酸和丙氨酸）的总量（FAA）均无显著差异（（P〉0．05）。     

Characterization of two membrane-associated protease genes obtained from screening out-membrane protein genes of Flavobacterium columnare G4

In order to identify genes encoding the outer membrane proteins (OMPs) of the myxobacter Flavobacterium columnare G(4), the expression library of the bacterium was screened by using rabbit antisera developed against its OMPs. Positive colonies of Escherichia coli M15 containing fragments encoding the bacterial OMPs were selected for cloning the relevant genes by genomic walking methods. Two genes encoding a membrane-associated zinc metalloprotease and prolyl oligopeptidase are reported in this paper. The membrane-associated zinc metalloprotease gene (map) is 1800 bp in length, coding for 449 amino acids (aa). Despite the presence of a conserved motif HEXXH for all metalloproteases, the special HEXXH approximately 32 aa approximately E motif of the F. columnare G(4) Map and its low level of identity with other reported zinc-containing metalloproteases may imply that the membrane-associated zinc metalloprotease of F. columnare G(4) represents a new family of zincins. The gene encoding prolyl oligopeptidase (Pop), a serine proteinase, is 2352 bp in length, coding for 649 aa. Sequence homology analysis revealed that the Pop is also novel as it has < 50% identity with other reported prolyl oligopeptidase family proteins. The present study represents the first to employ anti-fish bacterial OMP sera to screen genes of membrane-associated proteases of fish pathogenic bacteria, and to provide necessary information for the examination of the role of the two genes in the infection and pathogenesis of F. columnare.     

鳜IRAK4基因的克隆、组织表达及病毒感染后表达分析

为了研究鳜IRAK4生物学特性及其在抗病毒免疫应答中的作用,根据鳜转录组数据中筛选出的IRAK4 unigene序列设计引物,利用SMART-RACE技术克隆得到CDS全长为1389 bp的c DNA(命名为Sc IRAK),编码462个氨基酸,含有1个N端死亡结构域和1个保守的中央蛋白激酶结构域。采用荧光定量RT-PCR方法分析了Sc IRAK4在健康鳜各组织中的表达差异及病毒感染后在脾脏中的表达变化,结果显示,健康鳜中Sc IRAK4在肝脏中表达量最大,与其他组织差异显著,而在血液、脑和胃中表达量最低;传染性脾肾坏死病毒(infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus,ISKNV)感染鳜后Sc IRAK4的表达量呈现下调趋势,24 h脾脏中的表达量达到最低,为对照组的45%;而鳜弹状病毒(siniperca chuatsi rhabdovirus,SCRV)感染鳜后Sc IRAK4的表达量呈现上调趋势,12 h脾脏中Sc IRAK4的表达量达到最高,为对照组的8.17倍,表明Sc IRAK4在抗ISKNV和SCRV的免疫应答中可能发挥不同的作用。本研究为进一步揭示Sc IRAK4的抗病毒免疫反应机制提供了依据。     

鳜pep和gh基因SNP标记与驯食性状的关联分析

以鳜(Siniperca chuatsi)选育群体为实验材料,在易驯食与不易驯食鳜转录组Unigene数据库中共预测到4809个SNP位点,其中胃蛋白酶基因(pepsinoge, pep)和生长激素基因(growth hormone, gh)均为转录组筛选获得的鳜驯食性状候选基因,本研究将候选基因上的多态SNP位点在易驯食和不易驯食鳜群体中进行基因分型,并与鳜驯食性状进行关联分析。在易驯食与不易驯食的鳜群体中共发现5个单核苷酸(SNP)多态性位点,有效等位基因(N_e)在1.1959～1.7001,观测杂合度(H_o)和期望杂合度(H_e)分别分布于0.1800～0.3585和0.1655～0.4160,多态信息含量(PIC)为0.2477,全部位点都属于中度多态性位点。结果表明SNP位点pep-A T/C中2种基因型TT和CT与鳜驯食性状呈高水平显著相关(P0.05),组合得到的3种基因型Genotype1(CT,CC/CT/TT,AA,AA,TT)、Genotype2(TT,CC/CT/TT, AA, AA, TT)和Genotype3(TT, CC, AA, AA, TT)也与鳜驯食性状呈高水平显著相关(P0.05),显著影响鳜驯食性状表型,其中Genotype2相关性最高,可作为最优基因型个体进行选育。本研究在鳜pep和gh基因中鉴定出与驯食性状呈显著关联的SNP分子标记,为加快易驯食鳜新品种的基因辅助选育提供有效的SNP分子标记。     

Antiparasitic activity of the antimicrobial peptide HbβP‐1, a member of the β‐haemoglobin peptide family

A family of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) derived from the β‐subunit of haemoglobin was recently isolated from channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, infected with Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (ich), an important freshwater fish parasite that causes ichthyophthiriosis. We previously discovered that one of these AMPs, HbβP‐1, had strong cidal activity against ich as well as another ectoparasite, Tetrahymena pyriformis. HbβP‐1 toxicity was specific, primarily affecting the trophozoite (trophont) stage of ich. Here, we show that HbβP‐1 acts more rapidly to kill smaller (presumably less mature) trophonts of ich, taking almost twice as long to kill larger trophonts (P < 0.0001). It acts more rapidly than an unrelated AMP, piscidin 1, which is haemolytic and also lethal to ich trophonts. HbβP‐1 is potently and selectively lethal to the trophont stage of the dinoflagellate ectoparasite, Amyloodinium ocellatum, one of the most important pathogens of warmwater marine fish. HbβP‐1 has no effect on the fish gill cell line feeder layer (G1B cells) used to propagate Amyloodinium, further suggesting a highly selective action. These findings suggest that HbβP‐1 or related AMPs might function in protecting marine as well as freshwater fish and that HbβP‐1 has highly selective activity against specific life stages of important fish ectoparasites.     

巢式PCR检测鳜传染性脾肾坏死病毒(ISKNV)

鳜(Siniperca chuatsi)传染性脾肾坏死病毒(infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus,ISKNV)是鳜暴发性传染病的主要病原,给鳜养殖业造成了严重的经济损失,因此快速、灵敏的检测方法对鳜养殖业的发展具有非常重要的意义.根据鳜ISKNV主要衣壳蛋白(MCP)基因序列设计了2对引物,利用巢式PCR方法对病鱼脾肾组织进行扩增,建立了ISKNV快速特异的巢式PCR检测方法.应用该方法对含MCP基因的质粒进行倍比稀释后检测扩增的灵敏度可达到5 fg;巢式PCR检测的灵敏度是一步法PCR的104倍以上.     

柱状黄杆菌强毒株和弱毒株胞外蛋白中差异蛋白的初步鉴定

柱状黄杆菌(Flavobacterium columnare)是一种世界范围的水产动物致病菌,是中国重要养殖鱼类草鱼(Ctenopharyngodon idellus)、鳜(Siniperca chuatsi)等烂鳃病的病原。本研究以1972年从患"烂鳃病"草鱼上分离的两株冻干柱状黄杆菌G4和G18菌株为研究对象,并将G4株再次分离纯化得纯化菌株,命名为G4R3。对草鱼鱼苗浸泡攻毒结果显示,G4R3的LD50至少比G18的高3个数量级,因此G4R3为"强毒株",G18为"弱毒株"。利用蛋白质组学方法分析柱状黄杆菌强毒株G4R3和弱毒株G18的胞外蛋白,经过双向电泳并结合图像分析,共发现了34个点是差异表达的蛋白。胶内酶解、肽质量指纹图谱和串联质谱分析后,鉴定出其中的7个蛋白点,代表滑动蛋白K、腺酐甲硫氨酸合成酶和一种可能的膜蛋白等3种蛋白,它们可能是柱状黄杆菌的毒力因子。     

不同冷冻贮藏时间对三种鱼类肌肉中孔雀石绿残留量的影响

研究鲤鱼、鳗鲡、鳜鱼在加入不同浓度的孔雀石绿标准样品且在不同冷冻贮藏时间下对孔雀石绿残留量的影响。三种基质中,鳗鲡组织中添加有无色孔雀石绿降解速率最慢、鳜鱼次之、鲤鱼较快。三种基质中添加10μg/kg、50μg/kg、100μg/kg有色孔雀石绿平均降解率分别为57.9%、48.0%、23.0%;无色孔雀石绿平均降解率分别为46.6%、43.4%、19.8%,有色孔雀石绿较无色孔雀石绿降解快,低浓度较高浓度降解快。在三种基质鲤鱼、鳗鲡、鳜鱼组织中有色和无色孔雀石绿降解反应均符合准一级反应动力学。分析可能由于鳗鲡组织脂肪较多,其结合方式影响了有色无色孔雀石绿的降解。