Artificial insemination in pigs: predicting male fertility

Efficient artificial insemination (AI) is essential for future challenges in the pig industry. Knowledge on the exact relation between semen quality characteristics and fertility can have a major impact on both the genetic merit of future animals and the efficiency of AI. Variation in fertility is caused not only by farm- or sow-related parameters but also by boar- and semen-related parameters. In pig AI there is no gold standard concerning semen quality assessment. Assessing semen quality characteristics objectively and relating them to large field fertility datasets leads to an efficient production of insemination doses, which results in an efficient dissemination/descent of the breeding program required genes. Overall, this contributes to the development of semen quality assessments, which improves the prediction of porcine male fertility. Knowing which semen characteristics, and to what extent, contribute to male fertility and makes the field fertility more predictable.     

Construction and Identification of PRRSV ORF5 Gene Prokaryotic Expression Vector

The present study was designed to construct recombinant plasmids,which could express porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) ORF5 gene.RNA was extracted from spleen and lung samples of the suspected pigs which were infected with PRRSV.According to PRRSV ORF5 gene,a pair of primers was designed for RT-PCR amplification.The ORF5 target gene was cloned into pMD19-T vector and then the recombinant pMD19-ORF5 was achieved.According to the sequencing results and the characteristics of expression vectors,a pair of primers with NcoⅠand XbaⅠenzyme cleavage sites was designed.Target fragment dORF5 was amplified and then connected to pProEXHTb and pNZ8149 vectors,respectively.And recombinant HTb-dORF5/DE3 and pNZ8149-dORF5/NZ3900 was induced by IPTG and Nisin,respectively,and analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting.Recombinant HTb-dORF5/DE3 induced by 1.5 mmol/L IPTG was expressed in the highest quantity.There were specific band at about 22 ku with reactionogenicity when it was tested by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting.Recombinant pNZ8149-dORF5/NZ3900 induced by 20 ng/mL Nisin was expressed in the highest quantity.There were specific band at about 19 ku with reactionogenicity when it was tested by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting.The IFA result showed specific green fluorescence.This study successfully constructed recombinant plasmids HTb-dORF5 and pNZ8149-dORF5 and expressed,the result laid a solid foundation for further development of PRRS vaccines.     

Etiological Investigation of Diarrhea in Newborn Piglets and Molecular Characterization and Genetic Variation Analysis of ORF3 Gene of PEDV in North Guangdong

In order to understand the main pathogen of newborn piglets diarrhea in North Guangdong region, 31 diarrhea samples were collected from six pig farms in North Guangdong, the pathogen of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) and porcine rotavirus (PoRV) were detected by Real-time RT-PCR, meanwhile, ORF3 gene of PEDV amplified from positive samples were sequenced and analyzed. Pathogen detection results showed that 83.87%(26/31) samples were positive for PEDV, all herds and samples were negative for TGEV and PoRV. The sequence analysis revealed that the ORF3 gene of 5 epidemic strains of PEDV were all 675 bp, homologies of nucleotides were 98.7% to 100.0%, and homologies with reference sequences of nucleotides were 94.5% to 100.0%, and some gene mutation in common nucleotides site. The results of gene phylogenetic trees showed that PEDV could be divided into two groups, PEDV genetic relationship between field strains in North Guangdong and some regions in China, Southeast Asia, North America, Europe from 2013 to 2015 was closer, classed as a gene subgroup, from 2011 to 2012 main epidemic strains in our country and vaccine strains classed as other two gene subgroups. These results indicated that PEDV infection was the main pathogen of newborn piglets diarrhea in North Guangdong region, as time passed, the PEDV epidemic strains gene presented a tendency of evolution and variation.     

Genome Characterization of a Recombinant Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) mutates continuously, and it is increasingly difficult to control it. To monitor the genetic evolution characteristics of PRRSV timely under the condition of natural infection, a novel PRRSV variant named SHpd1/2018 was isolated from PRRSV positive clinical samples. The results showed that the SHpd1/2018, with a total genome length of 15 018 bp (excluding poly A), showed similar proliferation characteristics to HP-PRRSV strain HuN4. However, it could not be recognized by the monoclonal antibody against HuN4-Nsp2. The sequence analysis indicated that SHpd1/2018 had the greatest homology with HP-PRRSV-like strains, reaching 94.3% with HuN4 strain. The results of recombination analysis showed that SHpd1/2018 was recombined from HP-PRRSV-like strain (main parent strain) and NADC30 strain (secondary parent strain), and both the two recombination breakpoints nt2002 and nt3205 are located in the hypervariable regions of the Nsp2 gene. In short, we confirmed that the isolated strain SHpd1/2018 is a recombinant PRRSV, which may be the main cause of the disease in the pig farm in Shanghai.     

5株猪圆环病毒2型全基因克隆和序列分析

为了解广东地区猪圆环病毒2型(PCV2)流行势态及毒株的基因变异情况,从广东珠三角地区疑似断奶仔猪多系统衰竭综合征(PMWS)患病死亡猪中采集淋巴结,将PCR鉴定为阳性的病料在PK-15细胞上进行增殖培养,成功分离到5株猪圆环病毒2型毒株,分别标记为GD-jm、GD-sz、GD-pz、GD-gj和GD-ss。再从细胞培养物中提取病毒基因组DNA,对5株PCV2分离株全基因组进行PCR扩增并克隆到pMD18-T Simple Vector进行测序,测序结果提交GenBank,登录号分别为JX912914、JX912915、JX945575、JX945576和JX945577。借助相关生物学软件作同源性分析,这5株PCV2基因组长度均为1767 bp,其中3株为PCV2b亚型,2株为PCV2d亚型。     

猪丹毒和猪肺疫混合感染综合诊治

疫病一直是生猪养殖中影响猪群健康的重要因素,受到疾病影响的猪群会给养殖户带来巨大的经济损失,严重阻碍养殖业的发展。该文将简要概述猪丹毒和猪肺疫的病理状况,分析猪丹毒和猪肺疫混合感染的发病特征和临床症状,并研究综合诊治猪丹毒和猪肺疫混合感染的方法,降低猪丹毒和猪肺疫混合感染对生猪养殖的影响。     

表达猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒CH-1a株核衣壳蛋白重组鸡痘病毒的构建

从含有猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒（PRRSV）核衣壳蛋白（N）的质粒扩增出N基因，构建禽痘病毒转移载体。该载体含有禽痘病毒早晚期启动子LP2EP2控制之下的PRRSVN基因、P11启动下的报告基因lacZ以及用于同源重组的禽痘病毒基因组的片段。在转移载体转染亲本病毒S—FPV-017感染的鸡胚成纤维细胞（CEF）之后，采用蓝色表型筛选的方法，筛选到表达N基因的重组病毒，并对其进行了6轮蚀斑纯化。PCR方法鉴定证明重组病毒的基因组中含有完整PRRSVN基因，间接免疫荧光试验证明了PRRSVN蛋白在重组病毒感染的CEF细胞中获得表达，本研究为猪繁殖与呼吸综合征非复制型疫苗的研制打下了基础。     

猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒感染的诊断及其分子特点

采用流行病学调查、临床症状观察、病理学检查、病毒分离、分离毒株测序以及遗传演化分析的方法,对北京及其周边地区4个猪场剖检的4头猪进行分析。结果:流行病学和临床症状表现为急性高热性传染病;病理学观察为非化脓性脑炎和间质性肺炎等多器官严重的病理变化;RT-PCR和病毒分离确定该疫情的主要病原是猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒(PRRSV)。与典型PRRSV感染不同的是:成年猪感染率达50%以上,病死率达80%以上;PRRSV分离株全基因序列分析表明属于PRRSV北美洲型,特别是PRRSV NSP2不连续缺失30个氨基酸,说明此次流行的PRRSV毒株可能为高致病性毒株。     

猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒与副猪嗜血杆菌混合感染的诊断

为确诊广东省阳江市某规模化猪场（存栏800头母猪）保育猪发病死亡的原因,本试验对从该发病猪场采集的3份肺脏、肝脏、脾脏临床样品进行细菌学检测及药敏试验,采用PCR/RT-PCR检测临床样品中猪伪狂犬病病毒（PRV）、猪瘟病毒（CSFV）、猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒（PRRSV）、猪圆环病毒2型（PCV2）、猪圆环病毒3型（PCV3）和猪肺炎支原体等病原。对特异性扩增的3株PRRSV的ORF5基因产物进行序列测定,与VR2332、HuN4、JXA1、CH-1a等代表毒株进行核苷酸序列同源性分析,并构建系统进化树。结果表明,试验分离鉴定出1株副猪嗜血杆菌（Hps）,对7种临床常用药如阿莫西林、头孢拉定等均有较强的敏感性。同源性比对结果表明,3株PRRSV （LJW1、LJW2和LJW3）ORF5基因核苷酸同源性为99.3%~99.8%,与欧洲型代表毒株Lelystad核苷酸同源性为64.0%~64.2%,与HP-PRRSV毒株JXA1、HuN4、CH-1a和TJ核苷酸同源性较高,分别为99.2%~99.5%、99.0%~99.3%、94.5%~94.9%和98.8%~99.2%;与中国河南和广西分离的HP-PRRSV毒株HeNzm1-16和GXLZ05-2015核苷酸同源性较高,分别为99.3%~99.7%和99.2%~99.7%,与美洲型经典疫苗株MLV、美洲型标准株NC、美洲型经典株VR2332核苷酸同源性较低,分别为88.5%~88.8%、85.2%~85.5%和82.3%~82.6%。PRRSV ORF5基因系统进化树分析表明,3株PRRSV均属于美洲型毒株,与国内HP-PRRSV代表毒株JXA1、HuN4和TJ等处于同一分支,亲缘关系较近。本研究揭示了该场保育猪发病病原,并从分子水平上明确了分离的3株PRRSV与不同代表毒株的亲缘关系,为弱毒疫苗的合理选择使用和综合防控PRRSV提供了参考依据。