Construction of a canine bacterial artificial chromosome library for screening with PCR

We have constructed a canine bacterial artificial chromosome library amenable to PCR screening. The library consists of 96 768 clones and was initially screened with 112 microsatellites representing all canine chromosomes. For 87 primer sets (77%) one to seven positive superpools were identified. The library will be expanded by adding additional superpools in order to increase the genome coverage. Interested researchers can access the library following the rules published at http://www.dogmap.ch .     

Importance of PCR for the diagnostics of canine babesiosis

Clinical standards to confirm babesiosis in dogs include the direct identification of the infectious agent in blood smears and serological assays for Babesia canis-specific antibodies. Here, we demonstrate in seven cases (with data on anamnesis, clinics, laboratory diagnostics, and therapeutic outcomes) that a new diagnostic procedure is required. This is the molecular-genetic identification of babesia by real time PCR allowing an unequivocal identification of the infectious agents. Indeed, all seven patients presenting severe clinical symptoms were PCR-positive, but only two of them had specific antibodies and showed babesia in their bloodstream. Six of the dogs appeared to have acquired babesiosis while travelling abroad, and one in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen.     

犬瘟热病毒RT-nested PCR检测方法的建立与应用

根据犬瘟热病毒（CDV）弱毒株Onderstepoort的核衣壳蛋白（NP）基因序列设计了套式引物，建立了RT-nested PCR检测方法。特异性试验表明，该法可以特异扩增出CDV NP基因片段，但从RNA病毒狂犬病病毒（RV）、犬副流感病毒（CPIV）、犬冠状病毒（CCV），DNA病毒犬细小病毒（CPV）、犬腺病毒（CAV）及正常Vero细胞中均不能扩增出条带。敏感性试验表明，RT-PCR可以扩增10^-6稀释度的病毒RNA，而建立的RT-nested PCR可以扩增到10。稀释度的病毒RNA，后者的敏感性明显高于前者。用RT-nested PCR法检测了2006年我国东北地区临床表现犬瘟热症状的病例19例，检出率达90％，明显高于RT-PCR的检出率（45％）。部分病例扩增片段的测序结果表明，CDVNP基因出现个别碱基变异。研究结果表明，建立的犬瘟热病毒RT-nested PCR方法敏感、特异，适用于动物犬瘟热的快速诊断。     

Oocyte-based screening system for anti-microtubule agents

Taxol and vinblastine have been widely used in cancer chemotherapy as anti-microtubule agents. However, there are on-going efforts to find new anti-microtubule agents with fewer of the side effects associated with these drugs, such as toxicity or the development of resistance. The standard method used to identify anti-microtubule agents has been the in vitro microtubule polymerization assay. One limitation of this system is that the only compounds selected are those that act on tubulin. Novel compounds whose targets are upstream or are related unknown molecules are not detected. Therefore, many researchers have recently tried to develop novel, phenotype-based drug screening systems. In this study, we developed an oocyte-based screening system for anti-microtubule agents. Dramatic phenotypic changes in microtubules can easily be observed in ovulated oocytes treated with microtubule-stabilizing or -destabilizing agents, such as taxol or vinblastine. After culturing with test samples for 5 h, oocytes were analyzed with fluorescence microscopy after immunostaining. In the oocyte-based screening system, the effective dose (ED50) of taxol for microtubule polymerization is approximately 5 nM, and the ED50 of vinblastine for microtubule depolymerization is approximately 2.5 nM. In addition, taxol-like and vinblastine-like compounds can be evaluated simultaneously in a single assay using this system.     

犬髋关节发育不良候选基因的研究进展

髋关节发育不良是一种多基因遗传性疾病,几乎所有品种的犬都可发生此病,在医学上是小儿骨科常见的严重危害儿童健康的先天畸形之一。该病在遗传病因学方面尚无明确的定论,目前研究发现雌激素及受体基因、胶原基因、Hox基因、主要组织相容性抗原基因、生长分化因子5基因等多态性与髋关节发育不良存在一定的相关性。     

同时检测犬瘟热病毒和犬细小病毒双重PCR方法的建立

为建立可以同时检测犬瘟热病毒(CDV)和犬细小病毒(CPV)的双重PCR方法,本研究根据GenBank登录的CDV N蛋白序列和CPV NS基因保守序列,设计合成2对特异性引物。通过优化反应条件,对CDV阳性病毒株反转录后的cDNA模板和CPV的DNA模板进行双重PCR扩增,同时得到2条与试验设计相符的669 bp(CDV)和392 bp(CPV)特异性条带,建立了同时检测CDV和CPV的双重PCR方法。实验结果表明:在同一PCR反应体系中可以同时检测这2种病毒,而对犬腺病毒Ⅰ型、犬腺病毒Ⅱ型、狂犬病毒检测均为阴性;CDV和CPV的最低检出限分别为101.8TCID50和101.4TCID50。采用该方法对在黑龙江省不同地区所采集的30份犬病料样品进行检测,CDV阳性率为30%;CPV阳性率为23.33%,表明建立的PCR方法可以用于临床诊断。     

Validation of candidate bovine reference genes for use with real-time PCR

Accurate quantification with real-time PCR requires the use of stable endogenous controls. Recently, there has been much debate concerning the stability of commonly used reference or housekeeping genes. To address this concern, a number of statistical approaches have been designed to analyse data and assist in determining the most appropriate reference genes for experimental comparisons. In this study, three programs, BestKeeper, Norm Finder, and geNorm were used to assess four candidate reference genes: 18S rRNA, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), acidic ribosomal protein large (RPLP0) and beta-actin, for use in expression profiling of individuals from divergent cattle genotypes subject to parasitic challenge with the cattle tick Boophilus microplus. Results demonstrated beta-actin and GAPDH were the most suitable reference genes in blood and could be used either individually or combined as an index to normalise data. RPLP0 was identified as the least stable gene, while 18S rRNA was omitted as being too highly expressed. As the recommendations on the most suitable reference genes varied between the programs, it is recommended that more than one should be utilised, to ensure the most robust experimental tools are selected.     

犬细小病毒荧光定量PCR检测方法的建立与评价

通过序列比对和Blast分析,选定犬细小病毒(Canine parvovirus,CPV)VP2蛋白保守区基因为检测的目的基因,引物采用Primer Premier 5.0软件设计。利用灵敏度较高的TaqMan探针法建立CPV核酸检测方法。通过对标准品的扩增、测序及对标准扩增曲线的绘制,建立CPV核酸检测方法。同时对建立的检测方法进行了检测特异性、灵敏度和重复性分析。将阳性对照标准品进行10倍梯度稀释后可检测到102拷贝/μL样品,表明该检测体系具有较高的检测灵敏度。通过分析表明,本检测方法在用空白对照及类似的猪细小病毒、猪圆环病毒作为扩增对照时,没有发现非特异性产物的产生,表明该体系对于CPV的检测是特异的。通过6次批间重复检测,体系的变异系数小于3%,表明该检测体系具有良好的重复性。     

Real—time PCR和PCR方法快速检测犬细小病毒

为适应出入境口岸对进出境宠物快速检疫的需要,本研究在建立PCR方法检测犬细小病毒(CPV)的基础上,进一步采用Taqman探针技术建立了快速检测CPV的Real-time PCR方法.通过灵敏度对比试验,证实Real-time PCR方法比PCR方法检测灵敏度显著提高.通过对大量不同采样部位样品的检测证实,本研究建立的Real-time PCR和PCR方法具有较高的可靠性,并可显著提高CPV的阳性检出率.     

Reference genes for canine skin when using quantitative real-time PCR

Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) facilitates the quantification of mRNA expression. Accurate qPCR analysis of gene expression requires the normalisation of data using a reference or housekeeping gene which is expressed at a similar level in all tissues tested. GAPDH is the most well known and most widely used reference gene but many papers have demonstrated that it is not stably expressed in different tissues. The aim of this study was to measure reference gene stability in canine skin using real-time qPCR. Skin samples from healthy control dogs (n=7) and dogs with atopic dermatitis (lesional skin n=7 and non-lesional skin n=7) were used to quantify seven reference genes (IMP, CG14980, S7, HIRA, GAPDH, RPL13A and SDHA) in canine whole skin. Three different statistical programs (Bestkeeper, GeNorm and Normfinder) were used to assess the stability of the reference genes. The results confirmed that GAPDH is not a stably expressed reference gene in canine skin; this finding may influence interpretation of previous qPCR studies on canine skin using this as a reference gene. RPL13A and CG14980 were found to be the most stably expressed genes in canine whole skin and would be more suitable as reference genes in future studies.     

Exclusion of DMRT1 as a candidate gene for canine SRY-negative XX sex reversal

DMRT1, which encodes a zinc finger-like DNA binding motif, is a well-conserved gene that is involved in testis differentiation in a variety of mammalian and non-mammalian vertebrates. The objective of this study was to determine whether a DMRT1 microsatellite marker allele is associated with the affected phenotype in a pedigree of canine SRY-negative XX sex reversal generated from an American Cocker spaniel founder. Ten affected dogs and their parents and grandparents were genotyped. Four alleles at this locus and five different genotypes were found in this pedigree. All affected dogs inherited this trait from the foundation sire of this colony. Thus, the disease-causing mutation should be identical by descent in all affected dogs. Six affected dogs were found to have genotypes at this locus that were different from those of the founder sire. These results indicate that DMRT1 is an unlikely candidate gene for SRY-negative XX sex reversal in this model.