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Sample records for recombinantly produced hydrophobins

  1. Scale-up of hydrophobin-assisted recombinant protein production in tobacco BY-2 suspension cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reuter, Lauri J; Bailey, Michael J; Joensuu, Jussi J; Ritala, Anneli

    2014-05-01

    Plant suspension cell cultures are emerging as an alternative to mammalian cells for production of complex recombinant proteins. Plant cell cultures provide low production cost, intrinsic safety and adherence to current regulations, but low yields and costly purification technology hinder their commercialization. Fungal hydrophobins have been utilized as fusion tags to improve yields and facilitate efficient low-cost purification by surfactant-based aqueous two-phase separation (ATPS) in plant, fungal and insect cells. In this work, we report the utilization of hydrophobin fusion technology in tobacco bright yellow 2 (BY-2) suspension cell platform and the establishment of pilot-scale propagation and downstream processing including first-step purification by ATPS. Green fluorescent protein-hydrophobin fusion (GFP-HFBI) induced the formation of protein bodies in tobacco suspension cells, thus encapsulating the fusion protein into discrete compartments. Cultivation of the BY-2 suspension cells was scaled up in standard stirred tank bioreactors up to 600 L production volume, with no apparent change in growth kinetics. Subsequently, ATPS was applied to selectively capture the GFP-HFBI product from crude cell lysate, resulting in threefold concentration, good purity and up to 60% recovery. The ATPS was scaled up to 20 L volume, without loss off efficiency. This study provides the first proof of concept for large-scale hydrophobin-assisted production of recombinant proteins in tobacco BY-2 cell suspensions. © 2013 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. The role of repellents and hydrophobins in Ustilago maydis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Teertstra, W.R.

    2009-01-01

    Ustilago maydis is an important model organism to study fungal pathogenicity. U. maydis can grow yeast-like and filamentous. In the latter form this fungus infects maize. In my Thesis the expression and function of hydrophobins and repellents of U. maydis were studied. Hydrophobins are produced by

  3. Cloning and heterologous expression of a hydrophobin gene Ltr.hyd from the tiger milk mushroom Lentinus tuber-regium in yeast-like cells of Tremella fuciformis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dongmei Liu

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Hydrophobins are small proteins secreted by filamentous fungi, which show a highly surface activity. Because of the signally self-assembling abilities and surface activities, hydrophobins were considered as candidates in many aspects, for example, stabilizing foams and emulsions in food products. Lentinus tuber-regium, known as tiger milk mushroom, is both an edible and medicinal sclerotium-producing mushroom. Up to now, the hydrophobins of L. tuber-regium have not been identified. Results: In this paper, a Class I hydrophobin gene, Ltr.hyd, was cloned from L. tuber-regium and expressed in the yeast-like cells of Tremella fuciformis mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The expression vector pGEH-GH was under the control of T. fuciformis glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene (gpd promoter. The integration of Ltr.hyd into the genome of T. fuciformis was confirmed by PCR, Southern blot, fluorescence observation and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE demonstrated that recombinant hydrophobin rLtr.HYD with an expected molecular mass of 13 kDa was extracted. The yield of rLtr.HYD was 0.66 mg/g dry weight. The emulsifying activity of rLtr.HYD was better than the typical food emulsifiers sodium caseinate and Tween 20. Conclusions: We evaluated the emulsifying property of hydrophobin Ltr.HYD, which can be potentially used as a food emulsifier. Keywords: Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Emulsifier, Expression vector, Filamentous fungi, Gel electrophoresis, Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, Heterogenous expression, Hydrophobin, Quantitative real-time PCR, Southern blot, Surface activity

  4. Coating Nanoparticles with Plant-Produced Transferrin-Hydrophobin Fusion Protein Enhances Their Uptake in Cancer Cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reuter, Lauri J.; Shahbazi, Mohammad-Ali; Makila, Ermei M.

    2017-01-01

    can be expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana plants as a fusion with Trichoderma reesei hydrophobins HFBI, HFBII, or HFBIV. Transferrin-HFBIV was further expressed in tobacco BY-2 suspension cells. Both partners of the fusion protein retained their functionality; the hydrophobin moiety enabled migration...... to a surfactant phase in an aqueous two-phase system, and the transferrin moiety was able to reversibly bind iron. Coating porous silicon nanoparticles with the fusion protein resulted in uptake of the nanoparticles in human cancer cells. This study provides a proof-of concept for the functionalization...

  5. Analysis of the ionic interaction between the hydrophobin RodA and two cutinases of Aspergillus nidulans obtained via an Aspergillus oryzae expression system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Takumi; Nakayama, Mayumi; Takahashi, Toru; Nanatani, Kei; Yamagata, Youhei; Abe, Keietsu

    2017-03-01

    Hydrophobins are amphipathic secretory proteins with eight conserved cysteine residues and are ubiquitous among filamentous fungi. In the fungus Aspergillus oryzae, the hydrophobin RolA and the polyesterase CutL1 are co-expressed when the sole available carbon source is the biodegradable polyester polybutylene succinate-co-adipate (PBSA). RolA promotes the degradation of PBSA by attaching to the particle surface, changing its structure and interacting with CutL1 to concentrate CutL1 on the PBSA surface. We previously reported that positively charged residues in RolA and negatively charged residues in CutL1 are cooperatively involved in the ionic interaction between RolA and CutL1. We also reported that hydrophobin RodA of the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans, which was obtained via an A. oryzae expression system, interacted via ionic interactions with CutL1. In the present study, phylogenetic and alignment analyses revealed that the N-terminal regions of several RolA orthologs contained positively charged residues and that the corresponding negatively charged residues on the surface of CutL1 that were essential for the RolA-CutL1 interaction were highly conserved in several CutL1 orthologs. A PBSA microparticle degradation assay, a pull-down assay using a dispersion of Teflon particles, and a kinetic analysis using a quartz crystal microbalance revealed that recombinant A. nidulans RodA interacted via ionic interactions with two recombinant A. nidulans cutinases. Together, these results imply that ionic interactions between hydrophobins and cutinases may be common among aspergilli and other filamentous fungi.

  6. Applications of Functional Amyloids from Fungi: Surface Modification by Class I Hydrophobins

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    Alessandra Piscitelli

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Class I hydrophobins produced from fungi are amongst the first proteins recognized as functional amyloids. They are amphiphilic proteins involved in the formation of aerial structures such as spores or fruiting bodies. They form chemically robust layers which can only be dissolved in strong acids. These layers adhere to different surfaces, changing their wettability, and allow the binding of other proteins. Herein, the modification of diverse types of surfaces with Class I hydrophobins is reported, highlighting the applications of the coated surfaces. Indeed, these coatings can be exploited in several fields, spanning from biomedical to industrial applications, which include biosensing and textile manufacturing.

  7. ATR FT-IR spectroscopy on Vmh2 hydrophobin self-assembled layers for Teflon membrane bio-functionalization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Portaccio, M.; Gravagnuolo, A.M.; Longobardi, S.; Giardina, P.; Rea, I.; De Stefano, L.; Cammarota, M.; Lepore, M.

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Hydrophobin self-assembled layers on Teflon in different preparation conditions were investigated. • ATR collection data geometry allowed samples examination without any particular preparation. • Amide content, lipid/amide and carbohydrate/amide ratios of the protein layer were estimated. • Secondary structure of protein was determined for the examined samples. • FT-IR demonstrated to be of extreme relevance in monitoring hydrophobin self-assembled layers preparation. - Abstract: Surface functionalization by layers of hydrophobins, amphiphilic proteins produced by fungi offers a promising and green strategy for fabrication of biomedical and bioanalytical devices. The layering process of the Vmh2 hydrophobin from Pleurotus ostreatus on Teflon membrane has been investigated by Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy. In particular, protein layers obtained with hydrophobin purified with two different procedures and in various coating conditions have been examined. The layers have been characterized by quantifying the amide I and amide II band area together with the lipid/amide ratio and carbohydrate/amide ratio. This characterization can be very useful in evaluating the best purification strategy and coating conditions. Moreover the analysis of the secondary structure of the layered protein using the deconvolution procedure of amide I band indicate the prevalent contribution from β-sheet state. The results inferred by infrared spectroscopy have been also confirmed by scanning electron microscopy imaging

  8. ATR FT-IR spectroscopy on Vmh2 hydrophobin self-assembled layers for Teflon membrane bio-functionalization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Portaccio, M., E-mail: marianna.portaccio@unina2.it [Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale – Seconda Università di Napoli, Via S.M. di Costantinopoli, 16-80134 Napoli (Italy); Gravagnuolo, A.M., E-mail: alfredomaria.gravagnuolo@unina.it [Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università “Federico II”, Via Cintia, 21- 80126 Napoli (Italy); Longobardi, S., E-mail: sara.longobardi@unina.it [Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università “Federico II”, Via Cintia, 21- 80126 Napoli (Italy); Giardina, P., E-mail: paola.giardina@unina.it [Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università “Federico II”, Via Cintia, 21- 80126 Napoli (Italy); Rea, I., E-mail: ilaria.rea@na.imm.cnr.it [Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, CNR, Via P. Castellino, 111-80131 Napoli (Italy); De Stefano, L., E-mail: luca.destefano@na.imm.cnr.it [Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, CNR, Via P. Castellino, 111-80131 Napoli (Italy); Cammarota, M., E-mail: marcella.cammarota@unina2.it [Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale – Seconda Università di Napoli, Via S.M. di Costantinopoli, 16-80134 Napoli (Italy); Lepore, M., E-mail: maria.lepore@unina2.it [Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale – Seconda Università di Napoli, Via S.M. di Costantinopoli, 16-80134 Napoli (Italy)

    2015-10-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Hydrophobin self-assembled layers on Teflon in different preparation conditions were investigated. • ATR collection data geometry allowed samples examination without any particular preparation. • Amide content, lipid/amide and carbohydrate/amide ratios of the protein layer were estimated. • Secondary structure of protein was determined for the examined samples. • FT-IR demonstrated to be of extreme relevance in monitoring hydrophobin self-assembled layers preparation. - Abstract: Surface functionalization by layers of hydrophobins, amphiphilic proteins produced by fungi offers a promising and green strategy for fabrication of biomedical and bioanalytical devices. The layering process of the Vmh2 hydrophobin from Pleurotus ostreatus on Teflon membrane has been investigated by Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy. In particular, protein layers obtained with hydrophobin purified with two different procedures and in various coating conditions have been examined. The layers have been characterized by quantifying the amide I and amide II band area together with the lipid/amide ratio and carbohydrate/amide ratio. This characterization can be very useful in evaluating the best purification strategy and coating conditions. Moreover the analysis of the secondary structure of the layered protein using the deconvolution procedure of amide I band indicate the prevalent contribution from β-sheet state. The results inferred by infrared spectroscopy have been also confirmed by scanning electron microscopy imaging.

  9. Hydrophobins in the Life Cycle of the Ectomycorrhizal Basidiomycete Tricholoma vaccinum.

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    Dominik Sammer

    Full Text Available Hydrophobins-secreted small cysteine-rich, amphipathic proteins-foster interactions of fungal hyphae with hydrophobic surfaces, and are involved in the formation of aerial hyphae. Phylogenetic analyses of Tricholoma vaccinum hydrophobins showed a grouping with hydrophobins of other ectomycorrhizal fungi, which might be a result of co-evolution. Further analyses indicate angiosperms as likely host trees for the last common ancestor of the genus Tricholoma. The nine hydrophobin genes in the T. vaccinum genome were investigated to infer their individual roles in different stages of the life cycle, host interaction, asexual and sexual development, and with respect to different stresses. In aerial mycelium, hyd8 was up-regulated. In silico analysis predicted three packing arrangements, i.e., ring-like, plus-like and sheet-like structure for Hyd8; the first two may assemble to rodlets of hydrophobin covering aerial hyphae, whereas the third is expected to be involved in forming a two-dimensional network of hydrophobins. Metal stress induced hydrophobin gene hyd5. In early steps of mycorrhization, induction of hyd4 and hyd5 by plant root exudates and root volatiles could be shown, followed by hyd5 up-regulation during formation of mantle, Hartig' net, and rhizomorphs with concomitant repression of hyd8 and hyd9. During fruiting body formation, mainly hyd3, but also hyd8 were induced. Host preference between the compatible host Picea abies and the low compatibility host Pinus sylvestris could be linked to a stronger induction of hyd4 and hyd5 by the preferred host and a stronger repression of hyd8, whereas the repression of hyd9 was comparable between the two hosts.

  10. Adsorption of Hydrophobin-Protein Mixtures at the Air-Water Interface: The Impact of pH and Electrolyte.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tucker, Ian M; Petkov, Jordan T; Penfold, Jeffrey; Thomas, Robert K; Cox, Andrew R; Hedges, Nick

    2015-09-15

    The adsorption of the proteins β-casein, β-lactoglobulin, and hydrophobin, and the protein mixtures of β-casein/hydrophobin and β-lactoglobulin/hydrophobin have been studied at the air-water interface by neutron reflectivity, NR. Changing the solution pH from 7 to 2.6 has relatively little impact on the adsorption of hydrophobin or β-lactoglobulin, but results in a substantial change in the structure of the adsorbed layer of β-casein. In β-lactoglobulin/hydrophobin mixtures, the adsorption is dominated by the hydrophobin adsorption, and is independent of the hydrophobin or β-lactoglobulin concentration and solution pH. At pH 2.6, the adsorption of the β-casein/hydrophobin mixtures is dominated by the hydrophobin adsorption over the range of β-casein concentrations studied. At pH 4 and 7, the adsorption of β-casein/hydrophobin mixtures is dominated by the hydrophobin adsorption at low β-casein concentrations. At higher β-casein concentrations, β-casein is adsorbed onto the surface monolayer of hydrophobin, and some interpenetration between the two proteins occurs. These results illustrate the importance of pH on the intermolecular interactions between the two proteins at the interface. This is further confirmed by the impact of PBS, phosphate buffered saline, buffer and CaCl2 on the coadsorption and surface structure. The results provide an important insight into the adsorption properties of protein mixtures and their application in foam and emulsion stabilization.

  11. Hydrophobins from Aspergillus species cannot be clearly divided into two classes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Britt Guillaume; Andersen, Mikael Rørdam; Pedersen, Mona Højgaard

    2010-01-01

    in the attachment of hyphae to hydrophobic structures, the formation of aerial structures and appear to be involved in pathogenicity. Findings Analysis of nine genome sequences from seven Aspergilli revealed fifty hydrophobins, where each species displayed between two to eight hydrophobins. Twenty of the identified...

  12. Immunolocalization of hydrophobin HYDPt-1 from the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Pisolithus tinctorius during colonization of Eucalyptus globulus roots

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tagu, D; De Bellis, R; Balestrini, R; De Vries, OMH; Piccoli, G; Stocchi, [No Value; Bonfante, P; Martin, F

    The immunolocalization of one of the hydrophobins of Pisolithus tinctorius (HYDPt-1) is reported. Hydrophobin proteins play key roles in adhesion and aggregation of fungal hyphae, and it is already known that formation of ectomycorrhizas on eucalypt roots enhances the accumulation of hydrophobin

  13. Kinetic and equilibrium aspects of adsorption and desorption of class II hydrophobins HFBI and HFBII at silicon oxynitride/water and air/water interfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krivosheeva, Olga; Dėdinaitė, Andra; Linder, Markus B; Tilton, Robert D; Claesson, Per M

    2013-02-26

    Hydrophobins are relatively small globular proteins produced by filamentous fungi. They display unusual high surface activity and are implied as mediators of attachment to surfaces, which has resulted in high scientific and technological interest. In this work we focus on kinetic and equilibrium aspects of adsorption and desorption properties of two representatives of class II hydrophobins, namely HFBI and HFBII, at a negatively charged hydrophilic solid/water interface and at the air/water interface. The layers formed at the air/liquid interface were examined in a Langmuir trough, whereas layers formed at the solid/liquid interface were studied using dual polarization interferometry (DPI) under different flow conditions. For comparison, another globular protein, lysozyme, was also investigated. It was found that both the adsorbed amount and the adsorption kinetics were different for HFBI and HFBII, and the adsorption behavior of both hydrophobins on the negatively charged surface displayed some unusual features. For instance, even though the adsorption rate for HFBI was slowed down with increasing adsorbed amount as expected from packing constraints at the interface, the adsorption kinetics curves for HFBII displayed a region indicating adsorption cooperativity. Further, it was found that hydrophobin layers formed under flow partly desorbed when the flow was stopped, and the desorption rate for HFBII was enhanced in the presence of hydrophobins in solution.

  14. Hydrophobin genes of the entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium brunneum, are differentially expressed and corresponding mutants are decreased in virulence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hydrophobins are small, cysteine-rich, secreted proteins, ubiquitously produced by filamentous fungi that are speculated to function in fungal growth, cell surface properties, and development, although this has been rigorously tested for only a few species. Herein, we report identification of three ...

  15. Permeation studies of novel terbinafine formulations containing hydrophobins through human nails in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vejnovic, Ivana; Huonder, Cornelia; Betz, Gabriele

    2010-09-15

    Existing treatments of onychomycosis are not satisfactory. Oral therapies have many side effects and topical formulations are not able to penetrate into the human nail plate and deliver therapeutical concentrations of active agent in situ. The purpose of the present study was to determine the amount of terbinafine, which permeates through the human nail plate, from liquid formulations containing enhancers, namely hydrophobins A-C in the concentration of 0.1% (w/v). The used reference solution contained 10% (w/v) of terbinafine in 60% (v/v) ethanol/water without enhancer. Permeability studies have been performed on cadaver nails using Franz diffusion cells modified to mount nail plates and filled with 60% (v/v) ethanol/water in the acceptor chamber. Terbinafine was quantitatively determined by HPLC. The amount of terbinafine remaining in the nail was extracted by 96% ethanol from pulverized nail material after permeation experiment and presented as percentage of the dry nail weight before the milling test. Permeability coefficient (PC) of terbinafine from reference solution was determined to be 1.52E-10 cm/s. Addition of hydrophobins improved PC in the range of 3E-10 to 2E-9 cm/s. Remaining terbinafine reservoir in the nail from reference solution was 0.83% (n=2). An increase of remaining terbinafine reservoir in the nail was observed in two out of three tested formulations containing hydrophobins compared to the reference. In all cases, known minimum inhibitory concentration of terbinafine for dermatophytes (0.003 microg/ml) has been exceeded in the acceptor chamber of the diffusion cells. All tested proteins (hydrophobins) facilitated terbinafine permeation after 10 days of permeation experiment, however one of them achieved an outstanding enhancement factor of 13.05 compared to the reference. Therefore, hydrophobins can be included in the list of potential enhancers for treatment of onychomycosis. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Hydrophobins in ectomycorrhizas: heterologous transcription of the Pisolithus HydPt-1 gene in yeast and Hebeloma cylindrosporum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D Tagu

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Hydrophobins are fungal cell wall proteins involved in aggregation of hyphae. Upon the development of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis between tree roots and fungal hyphae, the transcripts of hydrophobin genes markedly accumulated. As the precise role of these proteins in symbiosis is not yet known, we develop heterologous expression system of the Pisolithus hydrophobin HYDPt-1. This gene has been introduced in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and in the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Hebeloma cylindrosporum. Introns were required for hydPt-1 transcript accumulation in the basidiomycete H. cylindrosporum. Heterologous transcript accumulation did not alter the phenotype of either species. The lack of altered phenotype resulted from the absence of HYDPt-1 polypeptide accumulation in transformed strains.

  17. Tobacco BY-2 Media Component Optimization for a Cost-Efficient Recombinant Protein Production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Häkkinen, Suvi T; Reuter, Lauri; Nuorti, Ninni; Joensuu, Jussi J; Rischer, Heiko; Ritala, Anneli

    2018-01-01

    Plant cells constitute an attractive platform for production of recombinant proteins as more and more animal-free products and processes are desired. One of the challenges in using plant cells as production hosts has been the costs deriving from expensive culture medium components. In this work, the aim was to optimize the levels of most expensive components in the nutrient medium without compromising the accumulation of biomass and recombinant protein yields. Wild-type BY-2 culture and transgenic tobacco BY-2 expressing green fluorescent protein-Hydrophobin I (GFP-HFBI) fusion protein were used to determine the most inexpensive medium composition. One particularly high-accumulating BY-2 clone, named 'Hulk,' produced 1.1 ± 0.2 g/l GFP-HFBI in suspension and kept its high performance during prolonged subculturing. In addition, both cultures were successfully cryopreserved enabling truly industrial application of this plant cell host. With the optimized culture medium, 43-55% cost reduction with regard to biomass and up to 69% reduction with regard to recombinant protein production was achieved.

  18. Formation and elasticity of membranes of the class II hydrophobin Cerato-ulmin at oil-water interfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xujun; Kirby, Stephanie M; Chen, Yuwu; Anna, Shelley L; Walker, Lynn M; Hung, Francisco R; Russo, Paul S

    2018-04-01

    Protein surfactants show great potential to stabilize foams, bubbles, and emulsions. An important family of surface active proteins, the hydrophobins, is secreted by filamentous fungi. Two hydrophobin classes have been recognized, with Class II exhibiting slightly better solubility than Class I, although neither is very soluble in water. Hydrophobins are small proteins (8-14 kDa), but they are larger and more rigid than typical surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulfate. This rigidity seems to be manifested in the strength of adsorbed hydrophobin layers on oil droplets or air bubbles. A particular Class II hydrophobin, Cerato-ulmin, was characterized at the oil-water interface (the oil was squalane). The results are compared to measurements at the air-water interface, newly extended to lower Cerato-ulmin concentrations. For both oil-water and air-water interfaces, static and dynamic properties were measured during the evolution of the membrane structure. The static measurements reveal that dilute Cerato-ulmin solution efficiently decreases the interfacial tension, whether at oil-water or air-water interfaces. The reduction in surface tension requires several hours. Interfacial mechanics were characterized too, and the dilatational modulus was found to reach large values at both types of interfaces: 339 ± 19 mN/m at the squalane-water interface and at least 764 ± 45 mN/m at the air-water interface. Both values well exceed those typical of small-molecule surfactants, but come closer to those expected of particulate-loaded interfaces. Circular dichroism provides some insight to adsorption-induced molecular rearrangements, which seem to be more prevalent at the oil-water interface than at the air-water interface. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Hydrophobins as aqueous lubricant additive for a soft sliding contact

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lee, Seunghwan; Røn, Troels; Pakkanen, Kirsi I.

    2015-01-01

    lubrication characteristic is dominant via ‘self-healing’ mechanism. FpHYD5 revealed a better lubrication than HFBI presumably due to the presence of glycans and improved hydration of the sliding interface. Two type II hydrophobins function more favorably compared to a synthetic amphiphilic copolymer, PEO-PPO...

  20. Characterization of Emericella nidulans RodA and DewA hydrophobin mutants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Britt Guillaume; Nielsen, Jakob Blæsbjerg; Pedersen, Mona Højgaard

    Hydrophobins are small amphiphilic proteins containing an eight cysteine pattern only found in filamentous fungi. They are involved in the attachment of hyphae to hydrophobic structures and the formation of aerial structures. Five Emericella nidulans mutant strains were examined to study the two...

  1. Mucorales spores induce a proinflammatory cytokine response in human mononuclear phagocytes and harbor no rodlet hydrophobins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wurster, Sebastian; Thielen, Vanessa; Weis, Philipp; Walther, Paul; Elias, Johannes; Waaga-Gasser, Ana Maria; Dragan, Mariola; Dandekar, Thomas; Einsele, Hermann; Löffler, Jürgen; Ullmann, Andrew J

    2017-11-17

    Mucormycoses are life-threatening infections in immunocompromised patients. This study characterizes the response of human mononuclear cells to different Mucorales and Ascomycota. PBMC, monocytes, and monocyte derived dendritic cells (moDCs) from healthy donors were stimulated with resting and germinated stages of Mucorales and Ascomycota. Cytokine response and expression of activation markers were studied. Both inactivated germ tubes and resting spores of Rhizopus arrhizus and other human pathogenic Mucorales species significantly stimulated mRNA synthesis and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. Moreover, R. arrhizus spores induced the upregulation of co-stimulatory molecules on moDCs and a specific T-helper cell response. Removal of rodlet hydrophobins by hydrofluoric acid treatment of A. fumigatus conidia resulted in enhanced immunogenicity, whereas the cytokine response of PBMCs to dormant R. arrhizus spores was not influenced by hydrofluoric acid. Scanning electron micrographs of Mucorales spores did not exhibit any morphological correlates of rodlet hydrophobins. Taken together, this study revealed striking differences in the response of human mononuclear cells to resting stages of Ascomycota and Mucorales, which may be explained by absence of an immunoprotective hydrophobin layer in Mucorales spores.

  2. Insect Larvae: A New Platform to Produce Commercial Recombinant Proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Targovnik, Alexandra M; Arregui, Mariana B; Bracco, Lautaro F; Urtasun, Nicolas; Baieli, Maria F; Segura, Maria M; Simonella, Maria A; Fogar, Mariela; Wolman, Federico J; Cascone, Osvaldo; Miranda, Maria V

    2016-01-01

    In Biotechnology, the expression of recombinant proteins is a constantly growing field and different hosts are used for this purpose. Some valuable proteins cannot be produced using traditional systems. Insects from the order Lepidoptera infected with recombinant baculovirus have appeared as a good choice to express high levels of proteins, especially those with post-translational modifications. Lepidopteran insects, which are extensively distributed in the world, can be used as small protein factories, the new biofactories. Species like Bombyx mori (silkworm) have been analyzed in Asian countries to produce a great number of recombinant proteins for use in basic and applied science and industry. Many proteins expressed in this larva have been commercialized. Several recombinant proteins produced in silkworms have already been commercialized. On the other hand, species like Spodoptera frugiperda, Heliothis virescens, Rachiplusia nu, Helicoverpa zea and Trichoplusia ni are widely distributed in both the occidental world and Europe. The expression of recombinant proteins in larvae has the advantage of its low cost in comparison with insect cell cultures. A wide variety of recombinant proteins, including enzymes, hormones and vaccines, have been efficiently expressed with intact biological activity. The expression of pharmaceutically proteins, using insect larvae or cocoons, has become very attractive. This review describes the use of insect larvae as an alternative to produce commercial recombinant proteins.

  3. Molecular dynamics simulations of the hydrophobin SC3 at a hydrophobic/hydrophilic interface

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fan, Hao; Wang, Xiaoqin; Zhu, Jiang; Robillard, George T.; Mark, Alan E.

    2006-01-01

    Hydrophobins are small (similar to 100 aa) proteins that have an important role in the growth and development of mycelial fungi. They are surface active and, after secretion by the fungi, self-assemble into amphipathic membranes at hydrophobic/hydrophilic interfaces, reversing the hydrophobicity of

  4. Purifying Selection and Birth-and-Death Evolution in the Class II Hydrophobin Gene Families of the Ascomycete Trichoderma/Hypocrea

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    kubicek, Christian P.; Baker, Scott E.; Gamauf, Christian; Kenerley, Chuck; Druzhinina, Irina S.

    2008-01-10

    Hydrophobins are proteins containing eight conserved cysteine residues that occur uniquely in mycelial fungi, where their main function is to confer hydrophobicity to fungal surfaces in contact with air and during attachment of hyphae to hydrophobic surfaces of hosts, symbiotic partners or of themselves resulting in morphogenetic signals. Based on their hydropathy patterns and their solubility characteristics, they are classified in class I and class II hydrophobins, the latter being found only in ascomycetes. Here we have investigated the mechanisms driving the evolution of the class II hydrophobins in nine species of the mycoparasitic ascomycetous genus Trichoderma/Hypocrea, using three fully sequenced genomes (H. jecorina=T. reesei, H. atroviridis=T. atroviride; H. virens=T. virens) and a total of 14.000 ESTs of six others (T. asperellum, H. lixii=T. harzianum, T. aggressivum var. europeae, T. longibrachiatum, T. cf. viride). The former three contained six, ten and nine members, which is the highest number found in any other ascomycete so far. They all showed the conserved four beta-strands/one helix structure, which is stabilized by four disulfide bonds. In addition, a small number of these HFBs contained an extended N-terminus rich in either praline and aspartate, or glycine-asparagine. Phylogenetic analysis reveals a mosaic of terminal clades contain duplicated genes and shows only three reasonably supported clades. Calculation of the ratio of differences in synonymous vs. non-synonymous nucleotide substitutions provides evidence for strong purifying selection (KS/Ka >> 1). A genome database search for class II HFBs from other ascomycetes retrieved a much smaller number of hydrophobins (2-4) from each species, and most of them were from Pyrenomycetes. A combined phylogeny of these sequences with those of Trichoderma showed that the Trichoderma HFBs mostly formed their own clades, whereas those of other pyrenomycetes occured in shared clades. Our study shows

  5. Oligomerization of hydrophobin SC3 in solution : From soluble state to self-assembly

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, Xiaoqin; Graveland-Bikker, Johanna F.; Kruif, Cornelis G. de; Robillard, George T.

    2004-01-01

    Hydrophobin SC3 is a protein with special self-association properties that differ depending on whether it is in solution, on an air/water interface or on a solid surface. Its self-association on an air/water interface and solid surface have been extensively characterized. The current study focuses

  6. Surface-water interface induces conformational changes critical for protein adsorption: Implications for monolayer formation of EAS hydrophobin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamron eLey

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The class I hydrophobin EAS is part of a family of small, amphiphilic fungal proteins best known for their ability to self-assemble into stable monolayers that modify the hydrophobicity of a surface to facilitate further microbial growth. These proteins have attracted increasing attention for industrial and biomedical applications, with the aim of designing surfaces that have the potential to maintain their clean state by resisting non-specific protein binding. To gain a better understanding of this process, we have employed all-atom molecular dynamics to study initial stages of the spontaneous adsorption of monomeric EAS hydrophobin on fully hydroxylated silica, a commonly used industrial and biomedical substrate. Particular interest has been paid to the Cys3-Cys4 loop, which has been shown to exhibit disruptive behavior in solution, and the Cys7-Cys8 loop, which is believed to be involved in the aggregation of EAS hydrophobin at interfaces. Specific and water mediated interactions with the surface were also analyzed. We have identified two possible binding motifs, one which allows unfolding of the Cys7-Cys8 loop due to the surfactant-like behavior of the Cys3-Cys4 loop, and another which has limited unfolding due to the Cys3-Cys4 loop remaining disordered in solution. We have also identified intermittent interactions with water which mediate the protein adsorption to the surface, as well as longer lasting interactions which control the diffusion of water around the adsorption site. These results have shown that EAS behaves in a similar way at the air-water and surface-water interfaces, and have also highlighted the need for hydrophilic ligand functionalization of the silica surface in order to prevent the adsorption of EAS hydrophobin.

  7. New rifamycins produced by a recombinant strain of Nocardia mediterranei.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schupp, T; Traxler, P; Auden, J A

    1981-08-01

    A recombinant strain of Nocardia mediterranei was found to produce a number of new rifamycins which are structurally related to rifamycin S, rifamycin W and rifamycin G. This strain was derived from two Nocardia mediterranei mutants by intraspecific recombination.

  8. HFB7 - A novel orphan hydrophobin of the Harzianum and Virens clades of Trichoderma, is involved in response to biotic and abiotic stresses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Przylucka, Agnes; Akcapinar, Gunseli Bayram; Chenthamara, Komal; Cai, Feng; Grujic, Marica; Karpenko, Juriy; Livoi, Miriam; Shen, Qirong; Kubicek, Christian P; Druzhinina, Irina S

    2017-05-01

    Hydrophobins are small secreted cysteine-rich proteins exclusively found in fungi. They are able to self-assemble in single molecular layers at hydrophobic-hydrophilic interfaces and can therefore be directly involved in establishment of fungi in their habitat. The genomes of filamentous mycotrophic fungi Trichoderma encode a rich diversity of hydrophobins, which are divided in several groups based on their structure and evolution. Here we describe a new member of class II hydrophobins, HFB7, that has a taxonomically restricted occurrence in Harzianum and Virens clades of Trichoderma. Evolutionary analysis reveals that HFB7 proteins form a separate clade distinct from other Trichoderma class II hydrophobins and that genes encoding them evolve under positive selection pressure. Homology modelling of HFB7 structure in comparison to T. reesei HFB2 reveals that the two large hydrophobic patches on the surface of the protein are remarkably conserved between the two hydrophobins despite significant difference in their primary structures. Expression of hfb7 gene in T. virens increases at interactions with other fungi and a plant and in response to a diversity of abiotic stress conditions, and is also upregulated during formation of aerial mycelium in a standing liquid culture. This upregulation significantly exceeds that of expression of hfb7 under a strong constitutive promoter, and T. virens strains overexpressing hfb7 thus display only changes in traits characterized by low hfb7 expression, i.e. faster growth in submerged liquid culture. The hfb7 gene is not expressed in conidia. Our data allow to conclude that this protein is involved in defence of Trichoderma against a diversity of stress factors related to the oxidative stress. Moreover, HFB7 likely helps in the establishment of the fungus in wetlands or other conditions related to high humidity. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Coating of hydrophobins on three-dimensional electrospun poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffolds for cell adhesion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hou Sen; Li Xinxin; Li Xiaoyu; Feng Xizeng, E-mail: xzfeng@nankai.edu.c [College of Life Science, Nankai University, Weijin Road 94, Tianjin, 300071 (China)

    2009-09-15

    Surface modification with hydrophobins is very important for cell adhesion in its applications in biosensor fabrication. In this study, we modified the surface of three-dimensional electrospun poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) scaffolds with hydrophobin HFBI and collagen, and investigated its applications for cell adhesion. We found that HFBI could not only improve the hydrophilicity of the three-dimensional electrospun PLGA scaffolds but also endow the electrospun PLGA scaffolds with water permeability. This permeability should be attributed to both the hydrophilicity of the modified PLGA surface and the large positive capillary effect induced by the microstructures. Further experiment indicated that HFBI modification could improve collagen immobilization on the electrospun PLGA scaffolds and the HFBI/collagen modified electrospun PLGA scaffolds showed higher efficiency in promoting cell adhesion than the native PLGA scaffolds. This finding should be of potential application in biosensor device fabrication.

  10. Structural changes and molecular interactions of hydrophobin SC3 in solution and on a hydrophobic surface

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, X.; Vocht, M.L. de; Poolman, B.; Robillard, G.T.; Wang, [No Value; Jonge, J. de

    2002-01-01

    The hydrophobin SC3 belongs to a class of small proteins functioning in the growth and development of fungi. Its unique amphipathic property and remarkable surface activity make it interesting not only for biological studies but also for medical and industrial applications. Biophysical studies have

  11. Enhanced production and isotope enrichment of recombinant glycoproteins produced in cultured mammalian cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Skelton, David; Goodyear, Abbey [Florida State University, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (United States); Ni, DaQun; Walton, Wendy J.; Rolle, Myron; Hare, Joan T. [Florida State University, Institute of Molecular Biophysics (United States); Logan, Timothy M., E-mail: tlogan@fsu.ed [Florida State University, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (United States)

    2010-10-15

    NMR studies of post-translationally modified proteins are complicated by the lack of an efficient method to produce isotope enriched recombinant proteins in cultured mammalian cells. We show that reducing the glucose concentration and substituting glutamate for glutamine in serum-free medium increased cell viability while simultaneously increasing recombinant protein yield and the enrichment of non-essential amino acids compared to culture in unmodified, serum-free medium. Adding dichloroacetate, a pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase inhibitor, further improves cell viability, recombinant protein yield, and isotope enrichment. We demonstrate the method by producing partially enriched recombinant Thy1 glycoprotein from Lec1 Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells using U-{sup 13}C-glucose and {sup 15}N-glutamate as labeled precursors. This study suggests that uniformly {sup 15}N,{sup 13}C-labeled recombinant proteins may be produced in cultured mammalian cells starting from a mixture of labeled essential amino acids, glucose, and glutamate.

  12. Enhanced production and isotope enrichment of recombinant glycoproteins produced in cultured mammalian cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skelton, David; Goodyear, Abbey; Ni, DaQun; Walton, Wendy J.; Rolle, Myron; Hare, Joan T.; Logan, Timothy M.

    2010-01-01

    NMR studies of post-translationally modified proteins are complicated by the lack of an efficient method to produce isotope enriched recombinant proteins in cultured mammalian cells. We show that reducing the glucose concentration and substituting glutamate for glutamine in serum-free medium increased cell viability while simultaneously increasing recombinant protein yield and the enrichment of non-essential amino acids compared to culture in unmodified, serum-free medium. Adding dichloroacetate, a pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase inhibitor, further improves cell viability, recombinant protein yield, and isotope enrichment. We demonstrate the method by producing partially enriched recombinant Thy1 glycoprotein from Lec1 Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells using U- 13 C-glucose and 15 N-glutamate as labeled precursors. This study suggests that uniformly 15 N, 13 C-labeled recombinant proteins may be produced in cultured mammalian cells starting from a mixture of labeled essential amino acids, glucose, and glutamate.

  13. Targeted mutation of the SC3 hydrophobin gene of Schizophyllum commune affects formation of aerial hyphae

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    vanWetter, MA; Schuren, FHJ; Schuurs, TA; Wessels, JGH

    1996-01-01

    The SC3 hydrophobin gene of Schizophyllum commune was disrupted by homologous integration of an SC3 genomic fragment interrupted by a phleomycin resistance cassette. The phenotype of the mutant was particularly clear in sealed plates in which formation of aerial hyphae was blocked. In non-sealed

  14. Cultivating Insect Cells To Produce Recombinant Proteins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spaulding, Glenn; Goodwin, Thomas; Prewett, Tacey; Andrews, Angela; Francis, Karen; O'Connor, Kim

    1996-01-01

    Method of producing recombinant proteins involves growth of insect cells in nutrient solution in cylindrical bioreactor rotating about cylindrical axis, oriented horizontally and infecting cells with viruses into which genes of selected type cloned. Genes in question those encoding production of desired proteins. Horizontal rotating bioreactor preferred for use in method, denoted by acronym "HARV", described in "High-Aspect-Ratio Rotating Cell-Culture Vessel" (MSC-21662).

  15. Adsorption behavior of hydrophobin and hydrophobin/surfactant mixtures at the air-water interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaoli L; Penfold, Jeffrey; Thomas, Robert K; Tucker, Ian M; Petkov, Jordan T; Bent, Julian; Cox, Andrew; Campbell, Richard A

    2011-09-20

    The adsorption of the surface-active protein hydrophobin, HFBII, and the competitive adsorption of HFBII with the cationic, anionic, and nonionic surfactants hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB, sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS, and hexaethylene monododecyl ether, C(12)E(6), has been studied using neutron reflectivity, NR. HFBII adsorbs strongly at the air-water interface to form a dense monolayer ∼30 Å thick, with a mean area per molecule of ∼400 Å(2) and a volume fraction of ∼0.7, for concentrations greater than 0.01 g/L, and the adsorption is independent of the solution pH. In competition with the conventional surfactants CTAB, SDS, and C(12)E(6) at pH 7, the HFBII adsorption totally dominates the surface for surfactant concentrations less than the critical micellar concentration, cmc. Above the cmc of the conventional surfactants, HFBII is displaced by the surfactant (CTAB, SDS, or C(12)E(6)). For C(12)E(6) this displacement is only partial, and some HFBII remains at the surface for concentrations greater than the C(12)E(6) cmc. At low pH (pH 3) the patterns of adsorption for HFBII/SDS and HFBII/C(12)E(6) are different. At concentrations just below the surfactant cmc there is now mixed HFBII/surfactant adsorption for both SDS and C(12)E(6). For the HFBII/SDS mixture the structure of the adsorbed layer is more complex in the region immediately below the SDS cmc, resulting from the HFBII/SDS complex formation at the interface. © 2011 American Chemical Society

  16. Characterization of recombinant human erythropoietin produced in Chinese hamster ovary cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davis, J.M.; Arakawa, T.; Strickland, T.W.; Yphantis, D.A.

    1987-01-01

    Physicochemical properties of recombinant human erythropoietin were examined. This protein, produced in Chinese hamster ovary cells, showed a conformation apparently identical with the natural product isolated from human urine when examined by circular dichroism, UV absorbance, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Sedimentation equilibrium experiments showed the recombinant erythropoietin preparation to be essentially a single macromolecular component with a molecular weight of 30,400 and a carbohydrate content of 39%. The Stokes radius of recombinant erythropoietin was estimated to be 32 A from gel filtration, much larger than the 20-A radius calculated for a sphere of the observed molecular weight. This difference may be ascribed to the extensive glycosylation. The fluorescence and phosphorescence spectra showed that the luminescent tryptophan(s) is (are) solvent-exposed and can be quenched by I - and acrylamide but not by Cs + . On acid titration, the recombinant erythropoietin showed a conformational transition with a midpoint of pH 4.1. This suggests that the net charges on the protein moiety rather than on the whole molecule play a role in protein structure stability

  17. Evolutionary relationships in Aspergillus section Fumigati inferred from partial beta-tubulin and hydrophobin sequences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Geiser, D.M.; Frisvad, Jens Christian; Taylor, J.W.

    1998-01-01

    are heterothallic. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred among members of Aspergillus section Fumigati based on partial DNA sequences from the benA beta-tubulin and rodA hydrophobin genes. Aspergillus clavatus was chosen as an outgroup. The two gene regions provided nearly equal numbers of phylogenetically...... informative nucleotide characters. The rodA region possessed a considerably higher level of inferred amino acid variation than did the benA region. The results of a partition homogeneity test showed that the benA and rodA data sets were not in significant conflict, and the topologies of the most parsimonious...

  18. Increased biological activity of deglycosylated recombinant human granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor produced by yeast or animal cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moonen, P.; Mermod, J.J.; Ernst, J.F.; Hirschi, M.; DeLamarter, J.F.

    1987-01-01

    Human granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (hGM-CSF) produced by several recombinant sources including Escherichia coli, yeast, and animal cells was studied. Recombinant animal cells produced hGM-CSF in low quantities and in multiple forms of varying size. Mammalian hGM-CSF was purified 200,000-fold using immunoaffinity and lectin chromatography. Partially purified proteins produced in yeast and mammalian cells were assayed for the effects of deglycosylation. Following enzymatic deglycosylation, immunoreactivity was measured by radioimmunoassay and biological activity was measured in vitro on responsive human primary cells. Removal of N-linked oligosaccharides from both proteins increased their immunoreactivities by 4- to 8-fold. Removal of these oligosaccharides also increased their specific biological activities about 20-fold, to reach approximately the specific activity of recombinant hGM-CSF from E. coli. The E. coli produced-protein-lacking any carbohydrate- had by far the highest specific activity observed for the recombinant hGM-CSFs

  19. Fusion to Hydrophobin HFBI Improves the Catalytic Performance of a Cytochrome P450 System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulz, Sebastian; Schumacher, Dominik; Raszkowski, Daniel; Girhard, Marco; Urlacher, Vlada B.

    2016-01-01

    Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450) are heme-containing enzymes that oxidize a broad range of substrates in the presence of molecular oxygen and NAD(P)H. For their activity, most P450s rely on one or two redox proteins responsible for the transfer of electrons from the cofactor NAD(P)H to the heme. One of the challenges when using P450s in vitro, especially when non-physiological redox proteins are applied, is the inefficient transfer of electrons between the individual proteins resulting in non-productive consumption of NAD(P)H – referred to as uncoupling. Herein, we describe the improvement of the coupling efficiency between a P450 and its redox partner – diflavin reductase – by fusing both enzymes individually to the hydrophobin HFBI – a small self-assembling protein of the fungus Trichoderma reesei. The separated monooxygenase (BMO) and reductase (BMR) domains of P450 BM3 from Bacillus megaterium were chosen as a P450-reductase model system and individually fused to HFBI. The fusion proteins could be expressed in soluble form in Escherichia coli. When HFBI-fused BMO and BMR were mixed in vitro, substantially higher coupling efficiencies were measured as compared with the respective non-fused enzymes. Consequently, myristic acid conversion increased up to 20-fold (after 6 h) and 5-fold (after 24 h). Size exclusion chromatography demonstrated that in vitro the hydrophobin-fused enzymes build multimeric protein assemblies. Thus, the higher activity is hypothesized to be due to HFBI-mediated self-assembly arranging BMO and BMR in close spatial proximity in aqueous solution. PMID:27458582

  20. Generation of a Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell Line Producing Recombinant Human Glucocerebrosidase

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novo, Juliana Branco; Morganti, Ligia; Moro, Ana Maria; Paes Leme, Adriana Franco; Serrano, Solange Maria de Toledo; Raw, Isaias; Ho, Paulo Lee

    2012-01-01

    Impaired activity of the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCR) results in the inherited metabolic disorder known as Gaucher disease. Current treatment consists of enzyme replacement therapy by administration of exogenous GCR. Although effective, it is exceptionally expensive, and patients worldwide have a limited access to this medicine. In Brazil, the public healthcare system provides the drug free of charge for all Gaucher's patients, which reaches the order of $ 84 million per year. However, the production of GCR by public institutions in Brazil would reduce significantly the therapy costs. Here, we describe a robust protocol for the generation of a cell line producing recombinant human GCR. The protein was expressed in CHO-DXB11 (dhfr−) cells after stable transfection and gene amplification with methotrexate. As expected, glycosylated GCR was detected by immunoblotting assay both as cell-associated (~64 and 59 kDa) and secreted (63–69 kDa) form. Analysis of subclones allowed the selection of stable CHO cells producing a secreted functional enzyme, with a calculated productivity of 5.14 pg/cell/day for the highest producer. Although being laborious, traditional methods of screening high-producing recombinant cells may represent a valuable alternative to generate expensive biopharmaceuticals in countries with limited resources. PMID:23091360

  1. Generation of a Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell Line Producing Recombinant Human Glucocerebrosidase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Branco Novo

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Impaired activity of the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCR results in the inherited metabolic disorder known as Gaucher disease. Current treatment consists of enzyme replacement therapy by administration of exogenous GCR. Although effective, it is exceptionally expensive, and patients worldwide have a limited access to this medicine. In Brazil, the public healthcare system provides the drug free of charge for all Gaucher’s patients, which reaches the order of $ 84 million per year. However, the production of GCR by public institutions in Brazil would reduce significantly the therapy costs. Here, we describe a robust protocol for the generation of a cell line producing recombinant human GCR. The protein was expressed in CHO-DXB11 (dhfr− cells after stable transfection and gene amplification with methotrexate. As expected, glycosylated GCR was detected by immunoblotting assay both as cell-associated (~64 and 59 kDa and secreted (63–69 kDa form. Analysis of subclones allowed the selection of stable CHO cells producing a secreted functional enzyme, with a calculated productivity of 5.14 pg/cell/day for the highest producer. Although being laborious, traditional methods of screening high-producing recombinant cells may represent a valuable alternative to generate expensive biopharmaceuticals in countries with limited resources.

  2. Protein Hydration Thermodynamics: The Influence of Flexibility and Salt on Hydrophobin II Hydration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Remsing, Richard C; Xi, Erte; Patel, Amish J

    2018-04-05

    The solubility of proteins and other macromolecular solutes plays an important role in numerous biological, chemical, and medicinal processes. An important determinant of protein solubility is the solvation free energy of the protein, which quantifies the overall strength of the interactions between the protein and the aqueous solution that surrounds it. Here we present an all-atom explicit-solvent computational framework for the rapid estimation of protein solvation free energies. Using this framework, we estimate the hydration free energy of hydrophobin II, an amphiphilic fungal protein, in a computationally efficient manner. We further explore how the protein hydration free energy is influenced by enhancing flexibility and by the addition of sodium chloride, and find that it increases in both cases, making protein hydration less favorable.

  3. Purification and crystallization of human Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase recombinantly produced in the protozoan Leishmania tarentolae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gazdag, Emerich Mihai; Cirstea, Ion Cristian; Breitling, Reinhard; Lukeš, Julius; Blankenfeldt, Wulf; Alexandrov, Kirill

    2010-01-01

    The structures of two new crystal forms of human Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase produced in the eukaryotic expression host L. tarentolae are reported. The rapid and inexpensive production of high-quality eukaryotic proteins in recombinant form still remains a challenge in structural biology. Here, a protein-expression system based on the protozoan Leishmania tarentolae was used to produce human Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) in recombinant form. Sequential integration of the SOD1 expression cassettes was demonstrated to lead to a linear increase in expression levels to up to 30 mg per litre. Chromatographic purification resulted in 90% pure recombinant protein, with a final yield of 6.5 mg per litre of culture. The protein was crystallized and the structures of two new crystal forms were determined. These results demonstrate the suitability of the L. tarentolae expression system for structural research

  4. Localization of Cladosporium fulvum hydrophobins reveals a role for HCf-6 in adhesion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lacroix, Hélène; Whiteford, James; Spanu, Pietro D

    2008-01-01

    for establishing hydrophobin localization during growth in culture and in plants. In this paper we localize HCf-2, -3, -4 and -5 and compare the data to our previous observations for HCf-1 and -6. In culture, HCf-1, -2, -3 and 4 localize to conidia and also appear on aerial hyphae. HCf-4 is unique...... in that it appears on submerged hyphae. HCf-5 expression is tightly regulated and appears on aerial hyphae early on during growth. Only HCf-1, -3 and -6 were observed during infection; HCf-3 appears on both conidia and emerging germ tubes. We also show that HCf-6 is secreted and coats surfaces under and around...... growing hyphae and demonstrate the effect of deleting HCf-6 on the adhesion of germinating C. fulvum conidia to glass slides....

  5. Polysome profiling of mAb producing CHO cell lines links translational control of cell proliferation and recombinant mRNA loading onto ribosomes with global and recombinant protein synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godfrey, Charlotte L; Mead, Emma J; Daramola, Olalekan; Dunn, Sarah; Hatton, Diane; Field, Ray; Pettman, Gary; Smales, C Mark

    2017-08-01

    mRNA translation is a key process determining growth, proliferation and duration of a Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture and influences recombinant protein synthesis rate. During bioprocessing, CHO cells can experience stresses leading to reprogramming of translation and decreased global protein synthesis. Here we apply polysome profiling to determine reprogramming and translational capabilities in host and recombinant monoclonal antibody-producing (mAb) CHO cell lines during batch culture. Recombinant cell lines with the fastest cell specific growth rates were those with the highest global translational efficiency. However, total ribosomal capacity, determined from polysome profiles, did not relate to the fastest growing or highest producing mAb cell line, suggesting it is the ability to utilise available machinery that determines protein synthetic capacity. Cell lines with higher cell specific productivities tended to have elevated recombinant heavy chain transcript copy numbers, localised to the translationally active heavy polysomes. The highest titre cell line was that which sustained recombinant protein synthesis and maintained high recombinant transcript copy numbers in polysomes. Investigation of specific endogenous transcripts revealed a number that maintained or reprogrammed into heavy polysomes, identifying targets for potential cell engineering or those with 5' untranslated regions that might be utilised to enhance recombinant transcript translation. © 2017 The Authors. Biotechnology Journal published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Purification of recombinant aprotinin produced in transgenic corn seed: separation from CTI utilizing ion-exchange chromatography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. R. Azzoni

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available Protein expression in transgenic plants is considered one of the most promising approaches for producing pharmaceutical proteins. As has happened with other recombinant protein production schemes, the downstream processing (dsp of these proteins produced in plants is key to the technical and economic success of large-scale applications. Since dsp of proteins produced transgenically in plants has not been extensively studied, it is necessary to broaden the investigation in this field in order to more precisely evaluate the commercial feasibility of this route of expression. In this work, we studied the substitution of an IMAC chromatographic step, described in previous work (Azzoni et al., 2002, with ion-exchange chromatography on SP Sepharose Fast Flow resin as the second step in the purification of recombinant aprotinin from transgenic maize seed. The main goal of this second purification step is to separate the recombinant aprotinin from the native corn trypsin inhibitor. Analysis of the adsorption isotherms determined at 25°C under different conditions allowed selection of 0.020 M Tris pH 8.5 as the adsorption buffer. The cation-exchange chromatographic process produced a high-purity aprotinin that was more than ten times more concentrated than that generated using an IMAC step.

  7. Lifetime and quenching of CO /a super 3 pi/ produced by recombination of CO2 ions in a helium afterglow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wauchop, T. S.; Broida, H. P.

    1972-01-01

    Demonstration that rapid dissociative recombination of CO2(+) in a flowing, helium afterglow is an efficient source of CO in the a super 3 pi metastable state. Ions produced by mixing CO2 with He(2 super 3 S) recombine to produce a CO metastable afterglow with a number density as great as 10 to the 9th per sq cm. Monitoring of the (a super 3 pi-X super 1 sigma) Cameron transition in CO was used to study the lifetime and quenching of CO (a super 3 pi) by CO2, N2, NO, and He. Recombination of CO2(+) also produces CO in the d super 3 delta and a' super 3 sigma states.

  8. Hydrophobins contribute to root colonization and stress responses in the rhizosphere-competent insect pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moonjely, Soumya; Keyhani, Nemat O; Bidochka, Michael J

    2018-04-01

    The hyd1/hyd2 hydrophobins are important constituents of the conidial cell wall of the insect pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. This fungus can also form intimate associations with several plant species. Here, we show that inactivation of two Class I hydrophobin genes, hyd1 or hyd2, significantly decreases the interaction of B. bassiana with bean roots. Curiously, the ∆hyd1/∆hyd2 double mutant was less impaired in root association than Δhyd1 or Δhyd2. Loss of hyd genes affected growth rate, conidiation ability and oosporein production. Expression patterns for genes involved in conidiation, cell wall integrity, insect virulence, signal transduction, adhesion, hydrophobicity and oosporein production were screened in the deletion mutants grown in different conditions. Repression of the major MAP-Kinase signal transduction pathways (Slt2 MAPK pathway) was observed that was more pronounced in the single versus double hyd mutants under certain conditions. The ∆hyd1/∆hyd2 double mutant showed up-regulation of the Hog1 MAPK and the Msn2 transcription factor under certain conditions when compared to the wild-type or single hyd mutants. The expression of the bad2 adhesin and the oosporein polyketide synthase 9 gene was severely reduced in all of the mutants. On the other hand, fewer changes were observed in the expression of key conidiation and cell wall integrity genes in hyd mutants compared to wild-type. Taken together, the data from this study indicated pleiotropic consequences of deletion of hyd1 and hyd2 on signalling and stress pathways as well as the ability of the fungus to form stable associations with plant roots.

  9. Bacterially produced recombinant influenza vaccines based on virus-like particles.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Jegerlehner

    Full Text Available Although current influenza vaccines are effective in general, there is an urgent need for the development of new technologies to improve vaccine production timelines, capacities and immunogenicity. Herein, we describe the development of an influenza vaccine technology which enables recombinant production of highly efficient influenza vaccines in bacterial expression systems. The globular head domain of influenza hemagglutinin, comprising most of the protein's neutralizing epitopes, was expressed in E. coli and covalently conjugated to bacteriophage-derived virus-like particles produced independently in E.coli. Conjugate influenza vaccines produced this way were used to immunize mice and found to elicit immune sera with high antibody titers specific for the native influenza hemagglutinin protein and high hemagglutination-inhibition titers. Moreover vaccination with these vaccines induced full protection against lethal challenges with homologous and highly drifted influenza strains.

  10. Morphological characterization of recombinant strains of Aspergillus oryzae producing alpha-amylase during batch cultivations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Spohr, Anders Bendsen; Carlsen, Morten; Nielsen, Jens Bredal

    1997-01-01

    Three alpha-amylase producing strains of Aspergillus oryzae used for recombinant protein production have been studied with respect to growth and protein production. By comparing the three strains with respect to morphology and protein production it is shown that a morphological mutant with a more...

  11. Characterization of recombinant human lysosomal beta-hexosaminidases produced in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela Johana Espejo Mojica

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available β-hexosaminidases (Hex are dimeric enzymes involved in the lysosomal degradation of glycolipids and glycans. They are formed by α- and/or β-subunits encoded byHEXA and HEXB genes, respectively. Mutations in these genes lead to Tay Sachs or Sandhoff diseases, which are neurodegenerative disorders caused by the accumulation of non-degraded glycolipids. Although tissue-derived Hex have been widely characterized, limited information is available for recombinant β-hexosaminidases. In this study, human lysosomal recombinant Hex (rhHex-A, rhHex-B, and rhHex-S were produced in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris GS115. The highest specific enzyme activities were 13,124 for rhHexA; 12,779 for rhHex-B; and 14,606 U .mg-1 for rhHex-S. These results were 25- to 50-fold higher than those obtained from normal human leukocytes. Proteins were purified and characterized at different pH and temperature conditions. All proteins were stable at acidic pH, and at 4 °C and 37 °C. At 45 °C rhHex-S was completely inactivated, while rhHex-A and rhHex-B showed high stability. This study demonstrates P. pastoris GS115 potential for polymeric lysosomal enzyme production, and describes the characterization of recombinant β-hexosaminidases produced within the same host.

  12. The Functional Quality of Soluble Recombinant Polypeptides Produced in Escherichia coli Is Defined by a Wide Conformational Spectrum▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Alonso, Mónica; González-Montalbán, Nuria; García-Fruitós, Elena; Villaverde, Antonio

    2008-01-01

    We have observed that a soluble recombinant green fluorescent protein produced in Escherichia coli occurs in a wide conformational spectrum. This results in differently fluorescent protein fractions in which morphologically diverse soluble aggregates abound. Therefore, the functional quality of soluble versions of aggregation-prone recombinant proteins is defined statistically rather than by the prevalence of a canonical native structure. PMID:18836021

  13. Characterization of Emericella nidulans RodA and DewA hydrophobin mutants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Britt Guillaume; Nielsen, Jakob Blæsbjerg; Pedersen, Mona Højgaard

    hydrophobins RodA and DewA. Individual knock-out mutants rodAΔ, dewAΔ and the double deletion strain rodAΔdewAΔ were constructed. Furthermore, two strains containing a point mutation in the first of the cysteines of RodA (rodA-C57G), where one was coupled to the dewA deletion, were included. The reference...... strain (NID1) and dewAΔ displayed green conidia. However, rodAΔ and rodAΔdewAΔ showed a dark green/brown conidial pigmentation, while rodA-C57G and rodAC57G dewAΔ displayed lighter brown conidia. rodAΔ and rodAΔdewAΔ displayed a higher degree of hülle cells compared to the moderate amount observed...... for NID1 and dewAΔ, while rodA-C57G and rodA-C57G dewAΔ displayed a low number of hülle cells. NID1 and dewAΔ conidia were dispersed as spore chains. rodAΔ, rodAΔdewAΔ, rodA-C57G and rodA-C57G dewAΔ spores were associated in large clumps, where the conidia seemed to adhere to one another. The largest...

  14. The amphiphilic hydrophobin Vmh2 plays a key role in one step synthesis of hybrid protein-gold nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Politi, Jane; De Stefano, Luca; Longobardi, Sara; Giardina, Paola; Rea, Ilaria; Methivier, Christophe; Pradier, Claire-Marie; Casale, Sandra; Spadavecchia, Jolanda

    2015-12-01

    We report a simple and original method to synthesize gold nanoparticles in which a fungal protein, the hydrophobin Vmh2 from Pleurotus ostreatus and dicarboxylic acid-terminated polyethylene-glycol (PEG) has been used as additional components in a one step process, leading to hybrid protein-metal nanoparticles (NPs). The nanoparticles have been characterized by ultra-violet/visible, infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies, dynamic light scattering and also by electron microscopy imaging. The results of these analytical techniques highlight nanometric sized, stable, hybrid complexes of about 12 nm, with outer surface rich in functional chemical groups. Interaction with protein and antibodies has also been exploited. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Modulation of allergic immune responses by mucosal application of recombinant lactic acid bacteria producing the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniel, C; Repa, A; Wild, C; Pollak, A; Pot, B; Breiteneder, H; Wiedermann, U; Mercenier, A

    2006-07-01

    Probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are able to modulate the host immune system and clinical trials have demonstrated that specific strains have the capacity to reduce allergic symptoms. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the potential of recombinant LAB producing the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 for mucosal vaccination against birch pollen allergy. Recombinant Bet v 1-producing Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactococcus lactis strains were constructed. Their immunogenicity was compared with purified Bet v 1 by subcutaneous immunization of mice. Intranasal application of the live recombinant strains was performed to test their immunomodulatory potency in a mouse model of birch pollen allergy. Bet v 1 produced by the LAB was recognized by monoclonal anti-Bet v 1 and IgE antibodies from birch pollen-allergic patients. Systemic immunization with the recombinant strains induced significantly lower IgG1/IgG2a ratios compared with purified Bet v 1. Intranasal pretreatment led to reduced allergen-specific IgE vs enhanced IgG2a levels and reduced interleukin (IL)-5 production of splenocytes in vitro, indicating a shift towards non-allergic T-helper-1 (Th1) responses. Airway inflammation, i.e. eosinophils and IL-5 in lung lavages, was reduced using either Bet v 1-producing or control strains. Allergen-specific secretory IgA responses were enhanced in lungs and intestines after pretreatment with only the Bet v 1-producing strains. Mucosal vaccination with live recombinant LAB, leading to a shift towards non-allergic immune responses along with enhanced allergen-specific mucosal IgA levels offers a promising approach to prevent systemic and local allergic immune responses.

  16. Functional mitochondrial ATP synthase proteolipid gene produced by recombination of parental genes in a petunia somatic hybrid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rothenberg, M.; Hanson, M.R.

    1988-01-01

    A novel ATP synthase subunit 9 gene (atp9) was identified in the mitochondrial genome of a Petunia somatic hybrid line (13-133) which was produced from a fusion between Petunia lines 3688 and 3704. The novel gene was generated by intergenomic recombination between atp9 genes from the two parental plant lines. The entire atp9 coding region is represented on the recombinant gene. Comparison of gene sequences using electrophoresis and autoradiography, indicate that the 5' transcribed region is contributed by an atp9 gene from 3704 and the 3' transcribed region is contributed by an atp9 gene from 3688. The recombinant atp9 gene is transcriptionally active. The location of the 5' and 3' transcript termini are conserved with respect to the parental genes, resulting in the production of hybrid transcripts

  17. N-Glycosylation of Plant-produced Recombinant Proteins

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bosch, H.J.; Castilho, A.; Loos, A.; Schots, A.; Steinkeller, H.

    2013-01-01

    Plants are gaining increasingly acceptance as a production platform for recombinant proteins. One reason for this is their ability to carry out posttranslational protein modifications in a similar if not identical way as mammalian cells. The capability of plants to carry out human-like complex

  18. Peptaibol, secondary-metabolite, and hydrophobin pattern of commercial biocontrol agents formulated with species of the Trichoderma harzianum complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Degenkolb, Thomas; Fog Nielsen, Kristian; Dieckmann, Ralf; Branco-Rocha, Fabiano; Chaverri, Priscila; Samuels, Gary J; Thrane, Ulf; von Döhren, Hans; Vilcinskas, Andreas; Brückner, Hans

    2015-04-01

    The production of bioactive polypeptides (peptaibiotics) in vivo is a sophisticated adaptation strategy of both mycoparasitic and saprotrophic Trichoderma species for colonizing and defending their natural habitats. This feature is of major practical importance, as the detection of peptaibiotics in plant-protective Trichoderma species, which are successfully used against economically relevant bacterial and fungal plant pathogens, certainly contributes to a better understanding of these complex antagonistic interactions. We analyzed five commercial biocontrol agents (BCAs), namely Canna(®) , Trichosan(®) , Vitalin(®) , Promot(®) WP, and TrichoMax(®) , formulated with recently described species of the Trichoderma harzianum complex, viz. T. afroharzianum, T. simmonsii, and T. guizhouense. By using the well-established, HPLC/MS-based peptaibiomics approach, it could unequivocally be demonstrated that all of these formulations contained new and recurrent peptaibols, i.e., peptaibiotics carrying an acetylated N-terminus, the C-terminus of which is reduced to a 1,2-amino alcohol. Their chain lengths, including the amino alcohol, were 11, 14, and 18 residues, respectively. Peptaibols were also to be the dominating secondary metabolites in plate cultures of the four strains obtained from four of the Trichoderma- based BCAs, contributing 95% of the UHPLC-UV/VIS peak areas and 99% of the total ion count MS peak area from solid media. Furthermore, species-specific hydrophobins, as well as non-peptaibiotic secondary metabolites, were detected, the latter being known for their antifungal, siderophore, or plant-growth-promoting activities. Notably, none of the isolates produced low-molecular weight mycotoxins. Copyright © 2015 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG, Zürich.

  19. Intragenotypic JFH1 based recombinant hepatitis C virus produces high levels of infectious particles but causes increased cell death

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mateu, Guaniri; Donis, Ruben O; Wakita, Takaji

    2008-01-01

    The full-length hepatitis C virus (HCV) JFH1 genome (genotype 2a) produces moderate titers of infectious particles in cell culture but the optimal determinants required for virion production are unclear. It has been shown that intragenotypic recombinants encoding core to NS2 from J6CF...... in the context of JFH1 are more robust in the release of viral particles. To understand the contributions of structural and nonstructural genes to HCV replication potential and infectivity, we have characterized intragenotypic recombinant genotype 2a viruses with different portions of the J6 isolate engineered...... into the JFH1 infectious clone. All genomes produced high levels of intracellular HCV RNA and NS3 protein in Huh-7.5 transfected cells. However, JFH1 genomes containing J6 sequences from C to E2 (CE2) or C to p7 (Cp7) secreted up to 100-fold more infectious HCV particles than the parental JFH1 clone...

  20. Vaccinia virus vectors: new strategies for producing recombinant vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hruby, D E

    1990-01-01

    The development and continued refinement of techniques for the efficient insertion and expression of heterologous DNA sequences from within the genomic context of infectious vaccinia virus recombinants are among the most promising current approaches towards effective immunoprophylaxis against a variety of protozoan, viral, and bacterial human pathogens. Because of its medical relevance, this area is the subject of intense research interest and has evolved rapidly during the past several years. This review (i) provides an updated overview of the technology that exists for assembling recombinant vaccinia virus strains, (ii) discusses the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches, (iii) outlines the areas of outgoing research directed towards overcoming the limitations of current techniques, and (iv) provides some insight (i.e., speculation) about probable future refinements in the use of vaccinia virus as a vector. PMID:2187593

  1. Murine leukemia virus-derived retroviral vector has differential integration patterns in human cell lines used to produce recombinant factor VIII

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcela Cristina Correa de Freitas

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Nowadays recombinant factor VIII is produced in murine cells including in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO and baby hamster kidney cells (BHK. Previous studies, using the murine leukemia virus-derived retroviral vector pMFG-FVIII-P140K, modified two recombinant human cell lines, HepG2 and Hek293 to produce recombinant factor VIII. In order to characterize these cells, the present study aimed to analyze the integration pattern of retroviral vector pMFG-FVIII-P140K.METHODS: This study used ligation-mediated polymerase chain reaction to locate the site of viral vector integration by sequencing polymerase chain reaction products. The sequences were compared to genomic databases to characterize respective clones.RESULTS: The retroviral vector presented different and non-random profiles of integration between cells lines. A preference of integration for chromosomes 19, 17 and 11 was observed for HepG2FVIIIdB/P140K and chromosome 9 for Hek293FVIIIdB/P140K. In genomic regions such as CpG islands and transcription factor binding sites, there was no difference in the integration profiles for both cell lines. Integration in intronic regions of encoding protein genes (RefSeq genes was also observed in both cell lines. Twenty percent of integrations occurred at fragile sites in the genome of the HepG2 cell line and 17% in Hek293.CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the cell type can affect the profile of chromosomal integration of the retroviral vector used; these differences may interfere in the level of expression of recombinant proteins.

  2. Multiple barriers to recombination between divergent HIV-1 variants revealed by a dual-marker recombination assay

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nikolaitchik, Olga A; Galli, Andrea; Moore, Michael D

    2011-01-01

    Recombination is a major force for generating human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) diversity and produces numerous recombinants circulating in the human population. We previously established a cell-based system using green fluorescent protein gene (gfp) as a reporter to study the mechanisms...... of HIV-1 recombination. We now report an improved system capable of detecting recombination using authentic viral sequences. Frameshift mutations were introduced into the gag gene so that parental viruses do not express full-length Gag; however, recombination can generate a progeny virus that expresses...

  3. Transient glyco-engineering to produce recombinant IgA1 with defined N- and O-glycans in plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martina eDicker

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The production of therapeutic antibodies to combat pathogens and treat diseases such as cancer is of great interest for the biotechnology industry. The recent development of plant-based expression systems has demonstrated that plants are well-suited for the production of recombinant monoclonal antibodies with defined glycosylation. Compared to immunoglobulin G (IgG, less effort has been undertaken to express immunoglobulin A (IgA, which is the most prevalent antibody class at mucosal sites and a promising candidate for novel recombinant biopharmaceuticals with enhanced anti-tumour activity. Here, we transiently expressed recombinant human IgA1 against the VP8* rotavirus antigen in glyco-engineered deltaXT/FT Nicotiana benthamiana plants. Mass spectrometric analysis of IgA1 glycopeptides revealed the presence of complex biantennary N-glycans with terminal N-acetylglucosamine present on the N-glycosylation site of the CH2 domain in the IgA1 alpha chain. Analysis of the peptide carrying nine potential O-glycosylation sites in the IgA1 alpha chain hinge region showed the presence of plant-specific modifications including hydroxyproline formation and the attachment of pentoses. By co-expression of enzymes required for initiation and elongation of human O-glycosylation it was possible to generate disialylated mucin-type core 1 O-glycans on plant-produced IgA1. Our data demonstrate that deltaXT/FT Nicotiana benthamiana plants can be engineered towards the production of recombinant IgA1 with defined human-type N- and O-linked glycans.

  4. Chromate-reducing activity of Hansenula polymorpha recombinant cells over-producing flavocytochrome b₂.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smutok, Oleh; Broda, Daniel; Smutok, Halyna; Dmytruk, Kostyantyn; Gonchar, Mykhailo

    2011-04-01

    b(2) and direct electron transfer from the enzyme to the electrode surface. The application of the chromate-reducing ability of FC b(2)-over-producing recombinant cells of H. polymorpha toward chromate bioremediation and the construction of cells-based biosensor for chromate monitoring in the environment are discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Rapid generation of recombinant Pseudomonas putida secondary metabolite producers using yTREX

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas Domröse

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Microbial secondary metabolites represent a rich source of valuable compounds with a variety of applications in medicine or agriculture. Effective exploitation of this wealth of chemicals requires the functional expression of the respective biosynthetic genes in amenable heterologous hosts. We have previously established the TREX system which facilitates the transfer, integration and expression of biosynthetic gene clusters in various bacterial hosts. Here, we describe the yTREX system, a new tool adapted for one-step yeast recombinational cloning of gene clusters. We show that with yTREX, Pseudomonas putida secondary metabolite production strains can rapidly be constructed by random targeting of chromosomal promoters by Tn5 transposition. Feasibility of this approach was corroborated by prodigiosin production after yTREX cloning, transfer and expression of the respective biosynthesis genes from Serratia marcescens. Furthermore, the applicability of the system for effective pathway rerouting by gene cluster adaptation was demonstrated using the violacein biosynthesis gene cluster from Chromobacterium violaceum, producing pathway metabolites violacein, deoxyviolacein, prodeoxyviolacein, and deoxychromoviridans. Clones producing both prodigiosin and violaceins could be readily identified among clones obtained after random chromosomal integration by their strong color-phenotype. Finally, the addition of a promoter-less reporter gene enabled facile detection also of phenazine-producing clones after transfer of the respective phenazine-1-carboxylic acid biosynthesis genes from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. All compounds accumulated to substantial titers in the mg range. We thus corroborate here the suitability of P. putida for the biosynthesis of diverse natural products, and demonstrate that the yTREX system effectively enables the rapid generation of secondary metabolite producing bacteria by activation of heterologous gene clusters, applicable for

  6. [Distiller Yeasts Producing Antibacterial Peptides].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klyachko, E V; Morozkina, E V; Zaitchik, B Ts; Benevolensky, S V

    2015-01-01

    A new method of controlling lactic acid bacteria contamination was developed with the use of recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains producing antibacterial peptides. Genes encoding the antibacterial peptides pediocin and plantaricin with codons preferable for S. cerevisiae were synthesized, and a system was constructed for their secretory expression. Recombinant S. cerevisiae strains producing antibacterial peptides effectively inhibit the growth of Lactobacillus sakei, Pediacoccus pentasaceus, Pediacoccus acidilactici, etc. The application of distiller yeasts producing antibacterial peptides enhances the ethanol yield in cases of bacterial contamination. Recombinant yeasts producing the antibacterial peptides pediocin and plantaricin can successfully substitute the available industrial yeast strains upon ethanol production.

  7. Long telomeres produced by telomerase-resistant recombination are established from a single source and are subject to extreme sequence scrambling.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianing Xu

    Full Text Available Considerable evidence now supports the idea that the moderate telomere lengthening produced by recombinational telomere elongation (RTE in a Kluyveromyces lactis telomerase deletion mutant occurs through a roll-and-spread mechanism. However, it is unclear whether this mechanism can account for other forms of RTE that produce much longer telomeres such as are seen in human alternative lengthening of telomere (ALT cells or in the telomerase-resistant type IIR "runaway" RTE such as occurs in the K. lactis stn1-M1 mutant. In this study we have used mutationally tagged telomeres to examine the mechanism of RTE in an stn1-M1 mutant both with and without telomerase. Our results suggest that the establishment stage of the mutant state in newly generated stn1-M1 ter1-Δ mutants surprisingly involves a first stage of sudden telomere shortening. Our data also show that, as predicted by the roll-and-spread mechanism, all lengthened telomeres in a newly established mutant cell commonly emerge from a single telomere source. However, in sharp contrast to the RTE of telomerase deletion survivors, we show that the RTE of stn1-M1 ter1-Δ cells produces telomeres whose sequences undergo continuous intense scrambling via recombination. While telomerase was not necessary for the long telomeres in stn1-M1 cells, its presence during their establishment was seen to interfere with the amplification of repeats via recombination, a result consistent with telomerase retaining its ability to add repeats during active RTE. Finally, we observed that the presence of active mismatch repair or telomerase had important influences on telomeric amplification and/or instability.

  8. Recombinant DNA production of spider silk proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tokareva, Olena; Michalczechen-Lacerda, Valquíria A; Rech, Elíbio L; Kaplan, David L

    2013-11-01

    Spider dragline silk is considered to be the toughest biopolymer on Earth due to an extraordinary combination of strength and elasticity. Moreover, silks are biocompatible and biodegradable protein-based materials. Recent advances in genetic engineering make it possible to produce recombinant silks in heterologous hosts, opening up opportunities for large-scale production of recombinant silks for various biomedical and material science applications. We review the current strategies to produce recombinant spider silks. © 2013 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

  9. Cytoprotective effect of recombinant human erythropoietin produced in transgenic tobacco plants.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farooqahmed S Kittur

    Full Text Available Asialo-erythropoietin, a desialylated form of human erythropoietin (EPO lacking hematopoietic activity, is receiving increased attention because of its broader protective effects in preclinical models of tissue injury. However, attempts to translate its protective effects into clinical practice is hampered by unavailability of suitable expression system and its costly and limit production from expensive mammalian cell-made EPO (rhuEPO(M by enzymatic desialylation. In the current study, we took advantage of a plant-based expression system lacking sialylating capacity but possessing an ability to synthesize complex N-glycans to produce cytoprotective recombinant human asialo-rhuEPO. Transgenic tobacco plants expressing asialo-rhuEPO were generated by stably co-expressing human EPO and β1,4-galactosyltransferase (GalT genes under the control of double CaMV 35S and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate gene (GapC promoters, respectively. Plant-produced asialo-rhuEPO (asialo-rhuEPO(P was purified by immunoaffinity chromatography. Detailed N-glycan analysis using NSI-FTMS and MS/MS revealed that asialo-rhuEPO(P bears paucimannosidic, high mannose-type and complex N-glycans. In vitro cytoprotection assays showed that the asialo-rhuEPO(P (20 U/ml provides 2-fold better cytoprotection (44% to neuronal-like mouse neuroblastoma cells from staurosporine-induced cell death than rhuEPO(M (21%. The cytoprotective effect of the asialo-rhuEPO(P was found to be mediated by receptor-initiated phosphorylation of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2 and suppression of caspase 3 activation. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that plants are a suitable host for producing cytoprotective rhuEPO derivative. In addition, the general advantages of plant-based expression system can be exploited to address the cost and scalability issues related to its production.

  10. Effective non-denaturing purification method for improving the solubility of recombinant actin-binding proteins produced by bacterial expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Jeong Min; Lee, Sangmin; Jung, Hyun Suk

    2017-05-01

    Bacterial expression is commonly used to produce recombinant and truncated mutant eukaryotic proteins. However, heterologous protein expression may render synthesized proteins insoluble. The conventional method used to express a poorly soluble protein, which involves denaturation and refolding, is time-consuming and inefficient. There are several non-denaturing approaches that can increase the solubility of recombinant proteins that include using different bacterial cell strains, altering the time of induction, lowering the incubation temperature, and employing different detergents for purification. In this study, we compared several non-denaturing protocols to express and purify two insoluble 34 kDa actin-bundling protein mutants. The solubility of the mutant proteins was not affected by any of the approaches except for treatment with the detergent sarkosyl. These results indicate that sarkosyl can effectively improve the solubility of insoluble proteins during bacterial expression. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  11. RNAi and heterochromatin repress centromeric meiotic recombination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ellermeier, Chad; Higuchi, Emily C; Phadnis, Naina

    2010-01-01

    During meiosis, the formation of viable haploid gametes from diploid precursors requires that each homologous chromosome pair be properly segregated to produce an exact haploid set of chromosomes. Genetic recombination, which provides a physical connection between homologous chromosomes, is essen......During meiosis, the formation of viable haploid gametes from diploid precursors requires that each homologous chromosome pair be properly segregated to produce an exact haploid set of chromosomes. Genetic recombination, which provides a physical connection between homologous chromosomes....... Surprisingly, one mutant derepressed for recombination in the heterochromatic mating-type region during meiosis and several mutants derepressed for centromeric gene expression during mitotic growth are not derepressed for centromeric recombination during meiosis. These results reveal a complex relation between...... types of repression by heterochromatin. Our results also reveal a previously undemonstrated role for RNAi and heterochromatin in the repression of meiotic centromeric recombination and, potentially, in the prevention of birth defects by maintenance of proper chromosome segregation during meiosis....

  12. Structure of recombinant human carboxylesterase 1 isolated from whole cabbage looper larvae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Greenblatt, Harry M.; Otto, Tamara C.; Kirkpatrick, Melanie G.; Kovaleva, Elena; Brown, Susan; Buchman, George; Cerasoli, Douglas M.; Sussman, Joel L.

    2012-01-01

    Large quantities of recombinant human carboxylesterase 1 have been produced in an economical whole insect larvae system. The crystal structure of this enzyme is essentially identical to that produced by cell culture techniques. The use of whole insect larvae as a source of recombinant proteins offers a more cost-effective method of producing large quantities of human proteins than conventional cell-culture approaches. Human carboxylesterase 1 has been produced in and isolated from whole Trichoplusia ni larvae. The recombinant protein was crystallized and its structure was solved to 2.2 Å resolution. The results indicate that the larvae-produced enzyme is essentially identical to that isolated from cultured Sf21 cells, supporting the use of this expression system to produce recombinant enzymes for crystallization studies

  13. New recombinant bacterium comprises a heterologous gene encoding glycerol dehydrogenase and/or an up-regulated native gene encoding glycerol dehydrogenase, useful for producing ethanol

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2010-01-01

    dehydrogenase encoding region of the bacterium, or is inserted into a phosphotransacetylase encoding region of the bacterium, or is inserted into an acetate kinase encoding region of the bacterium. It is operably linked to an inducible, a regulated or a constitutive promoter. The up-regulated glycerol......TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - BIOTECHNOLOGY - Preparation (claimed): Producing recombinant bacterium having enhanced ethanol production characteristics when cultivated in growth medium comprising glycerol comprises: (a) transforming a parental bacterium by (i) the insertion of a heterologous gene encoding...... glycerol dehydrogenase; and/or (ii) up-regulating a native gene encoding glycerol dehydrogenase; and (b) obtaining the recombinant bacterium. Preferred Bacterium: In the recombinant bacterium above, the inserted heterologous gene and/or the up-regulated native gene is encoding a glycerol dehydrogenase...

  14. Activated recombinant adenovirus proteinases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Carl W.; Mangel, Walter F.

    1999-08-10

    This application describes methods and expression constructs for producing activatable recombinant adenovirus proteinases. Purified activatable recombinant adenovirus proteinases and methods of purification are described. Activated adenovirus proteinases and methods for obtaining activated adenovirus proteinases are further included. Isolated peptide cofactors of adenovirus proteinase activity, methods of purifying and identifying said peptide cofactors are also described. Antibodies immunoreactive with adenovirus proteinases, immunospecific antibodies, and methods for preparing them are also described. Other related methods and materials are also described.

  15. Exploiting translational coupling for the selection of cells producing toxic recombinant proteins from expression vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tagliavia, Marcello; Cuttitta, Angela

    2016-01-01

    High rates of plasmid instability are associated with the use of some expression vectors in Escherichia coli, resulting in the loss of recombinant protein expression. This is due to sequence alterations in vector promoter elements caused by the background expression of the cloned gene, which leads to the selection of fast-growing, plasmid-containing cells that do not express the target protein. This phenomenon, which is worsened when expressing toxic proteins, results in preparations containing very little or no recombinant protein, or even in clone loss; however, no methods to prevent loss of recombinant protein expression are currently available. We have exploited the phenomenon of translational coupling, a mechanism of prokaryotic gene expression regulation, in order to select cells containing plasmids still able to express recombinant proteins. Here we designed an expression vector in which the cloned gene and selection marker are co-expressed. Our approach allowed for the selection of the recombinant protein-expressing cells and proved effective even for clones encoding toxic proteins.

  16. Generation of insulin-producing human mesenchymal stem cells using recombinant adeno-associated virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jeong Hwan; Park, Si-Nae; Suh, Hwal

    2007-02-28

    The purpose of current experiment is the generation of insulin-producing human mesenchymal stem cells as therapeutic source for the cure of type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is generally caused by insulin deficiency accompanied by the destruction of islet beta-cells. In various trials for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, cell-based gene therapy using stem cells is considered as one of the most useful candidate for the treatment. In this experiment, human mesenchymal stem cells were transduced with AAV which is containing furin-cleavable human preproinsulin gene to generate insulin-producing cells as surrogate beta-cells for the type 1 diabetes therapy. In the rAAV production procedure, rAAV was generated by transfection of AD293 cells. Human mesenchymal stems cells were transduced using rAAV with a various multiplicity of infection. Transduction of recombinant AAV was also tested using beta-galactosidse expression. Cell viability was determined by using MTT assay to evaluate the toxicity of the transduction procedure. Expression and production of Insulin were tested using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and immunocytochemistry. Secretion of human insulin and C-peptide from the cells was assayed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Production of insulin and C-peptide from the test group represented a higher increase compared to the control group. In this study, we examined generation of insulin-producing cells from mesenchymal stem cells by genetic engineering for diabetes therapy. This work might be valuable to the field of tissue engineering for diabetes treatment.

  17. Recombination and dissociative recombination of H2+ and H3+ ions on surfaces with application to hydrogen negative ion sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hiskes, J.R.; Karo, A.M.

    1988-12-01

    A four-step model for recombination and dissociative recombination of H 2 + and H 3 + ions on metal surfaces is discussed. Vibrationally excited molecules, H 2 (v''), from H 3 + recombination are produced in a broad spectrum that enhances the excited level distribution. The application of this latter process to hydrogen negative ion discharges is discussed. 5 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

  18. Serum from Nipah Virus Patients Recognises Recombinant Viral Proteins Produced in Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiong, Vunjia; Lam, Chui-Wan; Phoon, Wai-Hong; AbuBakar, Sazaly; Chang, Li-Yen

    2017-01-24

    The genes for Nipah virus (NiV) proteins were amplified from viral RNA, cloned into the plasmid pTriEx-3 Hygro, expressed, and purified using immobilized metal affinity chromatography. The recombinant N, F, and G NiV proteins (rNiV-N, rNiV-F, and rNiV-G), were successfully expressed in Escherichia coli and purified with a yield of 4, 16, and 4 mg/L, respectively. All 3 recombinant viral proteins reacted with all 19 samples of NiV-positive human sera. The rNiV-N and rNiV-G proteins were the most immunogenic. The recombinant viral proteins did not react with any of the 12 NiV-negative sera. However, serum from a patient with a late-onset relapsing NiV infection complication was found to be primarily reactive to rNiV-G only. Additionally, there is a distinctive variation in the profile of antigen-reactive bands between the sample from a case of relapsing NiV encephalitis and that of acute NiV infection. The overall findings of this study suggest that the recombinant viral proteins have the potential to be developed further for use in the detection of NiV infection, and continuous biosurveillance of NiV infection in resource-limited settings.

  19. Recombinant interleukin 6 with M cell-targeting moiety produced in Lactococcus lactis IL1403 as a potent mucosal adjuvant for peroral immunization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hui-Shan; Piao, Da-Chuan; Jiang, Tao; Bok, Jin-Duck; Cho, Chong-Su; Lee, Yoon-Seok; Kang, Sang-Kee; Choi, Yun-Jaie

    2015-04-15

    Development and application of safe and effective mucosal adjuvants are important to improve immunization efficiency in oral vaccine. Here, we report a novel mucosal adjuvant, IL-6-CKS9, a recombinant cytokine generated by conjugating an M cell-targeting peptide (CKS9) with c-terminus of the murine interleukin 6 (IL-6), which facilitated enhancement of mucosal immune response. Lactococcus lactis IL1403, a food-grade strain of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) which is widely used in dairy industry, was used as a host cell to express and secrete the IL-6-CKS9 for a mucosal vaccine adjuvant. The recombinant L. lactis IL1403 secreting IL-6-CKS9 was orally administered with a model antigen protein, M-BmpB (Brachyspira membrane protein B conjugated with CKS9), to BALB/c mice for mucosal immunization. ELISA analyses showed consistent enhancement tendencies in induction of anti-M-BmpB antibody levels both with mucosal (IgA) and systemic (IgG) immune responses in IL-6-CKS9-LAB treated group compared with other groups tested by conducting two separated mice immunization assays. In addition, we characterized that the oral administration of model protein antigen with live LAB producing IL-6-CKS9 could induce both Th1 and Th2 type immune responses by analysis of the specific anti-BmpB IgG1 and IgG2a isotypes in the sera and also investigated possible oral tolerance in our vaccine strategy. Collectively, our results showed successful production and secretion of recombinant murine IL-6 with M cell-targeting moiety (IL-6-CKS9) from L. lactis IL1403 and demonstrated the live recombinant LAB producing IL-6-CKS9 could have a potential to be used as an efficient adjuvant for peroral vaccination. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Developing baculovirus-insect cell expression systems for humanized recombinant glycoprotein production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jarvis, Donald L.

    2003-01-01

    The baculovirus-insect cell expression system is widely used to produce recombinant glycoproteins for many different biomedical applications. However, due to the fundamental nature of insect glycoprotein processing pathways, this system is typically unable to produce recombinant mammalian glycoproteins with authentic oligosaccharide side chains. This minireview summarizes our current understanding of insect protein glycosylation pathways and our recent efforts to address this problem. These efforts have yielded new insect cell lines and baculoviral vectors that can produce recombinant glycoproteins with humanized oligosaccharide side chains

  1. Homologous recombination in hybridoma cells: heavy chain chimeric antibody produced by gene targeting.

    OpenAIRE

    Fell, H P; Yarnold, S; Hellström, I; Hellström, K E; Folger, K R

    1989-01-01

    We demonstrate that murine myeloma cells can efficiently mediate homologous recombination. The murine myeloma cell line J558L was shown to appropriately recombine two transfected DNA molecules in approximately 30% of cells that received and integrated intact copies of both molecules. This activity was then exploited to direct major reconstructions of an endogenous locus within a hybridoma cell line. Production of antigen-specific chimeric heavy chain was achieved by targeting the human IgG1 h...

  2. Manufacturing process used to produce long-acting recombinant factor VIII Fc fusion protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCue, Justin; Kshirsagar, Rashmi; Selvitelli, Keith; Lu, Qi; Zhang, Mingxuan; Mei, Baisong; Peters, Robert; Pierce, Glenn F; Dumont, Jennifer; Raso, Stephen; Reichert, Heidi

    2015-07-01

    Recombinant factor VIII Fc fusion protein (rFVIIIFc) is a long-acting coagulation factor approved for the treatment of hemophilia A. Here, the rFVIIIFc manufacturing process and results of studies evaluating product quality and the capacity of the process to remove potential impurities and viruses are described. This manufacturing process utilized readily transferable and scalable unit operations and employed multi-step purification and viral clearance processing, including a novel affinity chromatography adsorbent and a 15 nm pore size virus removal nanofilter. A cell line derived from human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293H cells was used to produce rFVIIIFc. Validation studies evaluated identity, purity, activity, and safety. Process-related impurity clearance and viral clearance spiking studies demonstrate robust and reproducible removal of impurities and viruses, with total viral clearance >8-15 log10 for four model viruses (xenotropic murine leukemia virus, mice minute virus, reovirus type 3, and suid herpes virus 1). Terminal galactose-α-1,3-galactose and N-glycolylneuraminic acid, two non-human glycans, were undetectable in rFVIIIFc. Biochemical and in vitro biological analyses confirmed the purity, activity, and consistency of rFVIIIFc. In conclusion, this manufacturing process produces a highly pure product free of viruses, impurities, and non-human glycan structures, with scale capabilities to ensure a consistent and adequate supply of rFVIIIFc. Copyright © 2015 Biogen. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  3. Dendritic Cell Activity Driven by Recombinant Mycobacterium bovis BCG Producing Human IL-18, in Healthy BCG Vaccinated Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szpakowski, Piotr; Biet, Franck; Locht, Camille; Paszkiewicz, Małgorzata; Rudnicka, Wiesława; Druszczyńska, Magdalena; Allain, Fabrice; Fol, Marek; Pestel, Joël; Kowalewicz-Kulbat, Magdalena

    2015-01-01

    Tuberculosis remains an enormous global burden, despite wide vaccination coverage with the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), the only vaccine available against this disease, indicating that BCG-driven immunity is insufficient to protect the human population against tuberculosis. In this study we constructed recombinant BCG producing human IL-18 (rBCGhIL-18) and investigated whether human IL-18 produced by rBCGhIL-18 modulates DC functions and enhances Th1 responses to mycobacterial antigens in humans. We found that the costimulatory CD86 and CD80 molecules were significantly upregulated on rBCGhIL-18-infected DCs, whereas the stimulation of DCs with nonrecombinant BCG was less effective. In contrast, both BCG strains decreased the DC-SIGN expression on human DCs. The rBCGhIL-18 increased IL-23, IL-10, and IP-10 production by DCs to a greater extent than nonrecombinant BCG. In a coculture system of CD4(+) T cells and loaded DCs, rBCGhIL-18 favoured strong IFN-γ but also IL-10 production by naive T cells but not by memory T cells. This was much less the case for nonrecombinant BCG. Thus the expression of IL-18 by recombinant BCG increases IL-23, IP-10, and IL-10 expression by human DCs and enhances their ability to induce IFN-γ and IL-10 expression by naive T cells, without affecting the maturation phenotype of the DCs.

  4. Dendritic Cell Activity Driven by Recombinant Mycobacterium bovis BCG Producing Human IL-18, in Healthy BCG Vaccinated Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piotr Szpakowski

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Tuberculosis remains an enormous global burden, despite wide vaccination coverage with the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG, the only vaccine available against this disease, indicating that BCG-driven immunity is insufficient to protect the human population against tuberculosis. In this study we constructed recombinant BCG producing human IL-18 (rBCGhIL-18 and investigated whether human IL-18 produced by rBCGhIL-18 modulates DC functions and enhances Th1 responses to mycobacterial antigens in humans. We found that the costimulatory CD86 and CD80 molecules were significantly upregulated on rBCGhIL-18-infected DCs, whereas the stimulation of DCs with nonrecombinant BCG was less effective. In contrast, both BCG strains decreased the DC-SIGN expression on human DCs. The rBCGhIL-18 increased IL-23, IL-10, and IP-10 production by DCs to a greater extent than nonrecombinant BCG. In a coculture system of CD4+ T cells and loaded DCs, rBCGhIL-18 favoured strong IFN-γ but also IL-10 production by naive T cells but not by memory T cells. This was much less the case for nonrecombinant BCG. Thus the expression of IL-18 by recombinant BCG increases IL-23, IP-10, and IL-10 expression by human DCs and enhances their ability to induce IFN-γ and IL-10 expression by naive T cells, without affecting the maturation phenotype of the DCs.

  5. Genetic recombination in auxotrophic strains of Phanerochaete chrysosporium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krejci, R.

    1987-01-01

    Four auxotrophic strains of ligninolytic basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium were obtained by UV mutagenesis. The heterokaryotic mycelium formed by complementation of different auxotrophic isolates was able to fruit and produce basidiospores. Prototrophic strains and strains with a recombined set of parental nutritional requirements were isolated from the basidiospore progeny of the heterokaryons. Genetic recombination hence takes place in fruit bodies produced by the heterokaryotic mycelium. (author). 3 tabs., 13 refs

  6. BIOTECHNOLOGY OF RECOMBINANT HORMONES IN DOPING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Biljana Vitošević

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Recombinant DNA technology has allowed rapid progress in creating biosynthetic gene products for the treatment of many diseases. In this way it can produce large amounts of hormone, which is intended for the treatment of many pathological conditions. Recombinant hormones that are commonly used are insulin, growth hormone and erythropoietin. Precisely because of the availability of these recombinant hormones, it started their abuse by athletes. Experiments in animal models confirmed the potential effects of some of these hormones in increasing physical abilities, which attracted the attention of athletes who push the limits of their competitive capability by such manipulation. The risks of the use of recombinant hormones in doping include serious consequences for the health of athletes. Methods of detection of endogenous hormones from recombined based on the use of a monoclonal antibodies, capillary zone electrophoresis and protein biomarkers

  7. Comprehensive characterization of glutamine synthetase-mediated selection for the establishment of recombinant CHO cells producing monoclonal antibodies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Noh, Soo Min; Shin, Seunghyeon; Min Lee, Gyun

    2018-01-01

    To characterize a glutamine synthetase (GS)-based selection system, monoclonal antibody (mAb) producing recombinant CHO cell clones were generated by a single round of selection at various methionine sulfoximine (MSX) concentrations (0, 25, and 50 μM) using two different host cell lines (CHO-K1...... and GS-knockout CHO). Regardless of the host cell lines used, the clones selected at 50 μM MSX had the lowest average specific growth rate and the highest average specific production rates of toxic metabolic wastes, lactate and ammonia. Unlike CHO-K1, high producing clones could be generated...... in the absence of MSX using GS-knockout CHO with an improved selection stringency. Regardless of the host cell lines used, the clones selected at various MSX concentrations showed no significant difference in the GS, heavy chain, and light chain gene copies (P > 0.05). Furthermore, there was no correlation...

  8. Spider Silk Fibers Spun from Soluble Recombinant Silk Produced in Mammalian Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazaris, Anthoula; Arcidiacono, Steven; Huang, Yue; Zhou, Jiang-Feng; Duguay, François; Chretien, Nathalie; Welsh, Elizabeth A.; Soares, Jason W.; Karatzas, Costas N.

    2002-01-01

    Spider silks are protein-based ``biopolymer'' filaments or threads secreted by specialized epithelial cells as concentrated soluble precursors of highly repetitive primary sequences. Spider dragline silk is a flexible, lightweight fiber of extraordinary strength and toughness comparable to that of synthetic high-performance fibers. We sought to ``biomimic'' the process of spider silk production by expressing in mammalian cells the dragline silk genes (ADF-3/MaSpII and MaSpI) of two spider species. We produced soluble recombinant (rc)-dragline silk proteins with molecular masses of 60 to 140 kilodaltons. We demonstrated the wet spinning of silk monofilaments spun from a concentrated aqueous solution of soluble rc-spider silk protein (ADF-3; 60 kilodaltons) under modest shear and coagulation conditions. The spun fibers were water insoluble with a fine diameter (10 to 40 micrometers) and exhibited toughness and modulus values comparable to those of native dragline silks but with lower tenacity. Dope solutions with rc-silk protein concentrations >20% and postspinning draw were necessary to achieve improved mechanical properties of the spun fibers. Fiber properties correlated with finer fiber diameter and increased birefringence.

  9. Recombination epoch revisited

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krolik, J.H.

    1989-01-01

    Previous studies of cosmological recombination have shown that this process produces as a by-product a highly superthermal population of Ly-alpha photons which retard completion of recombination. Cosmological redshifting was thought to determine the frequency distribution of the photons, while two-photon decay of hydrogen's 2s state was thought to control their numbers. It is shown here that frequency diffusion due to photon scattering dominate the cosmological redshift in the frequency range near line center which fixes the ratio of ground state to excited state population, while incoherent scattering into the far-red damping wing effectively destroys Ly-alpha photons as a rate which is competitive with two-photon decay. The former effect tends to hold back recombination, while the latter tends to accelerate it; the net results depends on cosmological parameters, particularly the combination Omega(b) h/sq rt (2q0), where Omega(b) is the fraction of the critical density provided by baryons. 18 references

  10. Cells and methods for producing fatty alcohols

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfleger, Brian F.; Youngquist, Tyler J.

    2017-07-18

    Recombinant cells and methods for improved yield of fatty alcohols. The recombinant cells harbor a recombinant thioesterase gene, a recombinant acyl-CoA synthetase gene, and a recombinant acyl-CoA reductase gene. In addition, a gene product from one or more of an acyl-CoA dehydrogenase gene, an enoyl-CoA hydratase gene, a 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase gene, and a 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase gene in the recombinant cells is functionally deleted. Culturing the recombinant cells produces fatty alcohols at high yields.

  11. Characterization of a recombinant humanized anti-cocaine monoclonal antibody produced from multiple clones for the selection of a master cell bank candidate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wetzel, Hanna N; Webster, Rose P; Saeed, Fatima O; Kirley, Terence L; Ball, William J; Norman, Andrew B

    2017-06-03

    We have generated a humanized anti-cocaine monoclonal antibody (mAb), which is at an advanced stage of pre-clinical development. We report here in vitro binding affinity studies, and in vivo pharmacokinetic and efficacy studies of the recombinant mAb. The overall aim was to characterize the recombinant antibody from each of the three highest producing transfected clones and to select one to establish a master cell bank. In mAb pharmacokinetic studies, after injection with h2E2 (120 mg/kg iv) blood was collected from the tail tip of mice over 28 days. Antibody concentrations were quantified using ELISA. The h2E2 concentration as a function of time was fit using a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model. To test in vivo efficacy, mice were injected with h2E2 (120 mg/kg iv), then one hour later injected with an equimolar dose of cocaine. Blood and brain were collected 5 min after cocaine administration. Cocaine concentrations were quantified using LC/MS. The affinity of the antibody for cocaine was determined using a [ 3 H] cocaine binding assay. All three antibodies had long elimination half-lives, 2-5 nM Kd for cocaine, and prevented cocaine's entry into the brain by sequestering it in the plasma. Pharmacokinetic and radioligand binding assays supported designation of the highest producing clone 85 as the master cell bank candidate. Overall, the recombinant h2E2 showed favorable binding properties, pharmacokinetics, and in vivo efficacy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Construction of a Recombinant Allergen-Producing Probiotic Bacterial Strain: Introduction of a New Line for a Live Oral Vaccine Against Chenopodium album Pollen Allergy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leila Roozbeh Nasiraie

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: During the last two decades, significant advances have been made in the fields of lactococcal genetics and protein expression. Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis is an effective vector for protein expression and can be used as an antigen delivery system. Hence, L. lactis is an ideal candidate for mucosal immunotherapy. Profilin (Che a 2, the major allergen in Chenopodium album, is one of the most important causes of allergic diseases in desert and semi-desert areas, especially in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait that was cloned and expressed in L. lactis for the first time. Methods: To construct L. lactis that expressed Che a 2, a DNA sequence was cloned and used to transform bacteria. Expression of Che a 2 was analyzed via monitoring of related RNA and protein. Hydrophobicity, adherence to HT-29 cells, antibiotic resistance, resistance to gastrointestinal contents, pH, and bile salt in recombinant and native L. lactis were evaluated. Results: Immunoblot analyses demonstrated that recombinant Che a 2 is expressed as a 32 kDa dimeric protein immunological studies showed it can bind human IgE. Both native and recombinant bacteria were sensitive to low pH and simulated gastric conditions. Bacterial survival was reduced 80-100% after 2 h of exposure to pH 1.5-2. Both native and recombinant bacteria were able to grow in 0.3 and 2% bile salts. After incubation of recombinant L. lactis in simulated gastric and intestinal juices for one and two hours, respectively, cell survival was reduced by 100%. Adhesion capability in both strains was minimal and there were no significant differences in any of our tests between native and recombinant bacteria. Conclusion: Successfully recombinant L. lactis with capability of expression Che a 2 was produced and revealed it is sensitive to gastrointestinal contents.

  13. Expression and purification of recombinant hemoglobin in Escherichia coli.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chandrasekhar Natarajan

    Full Text Available Recombinant DNA technologies have played a pivotal role in the elucidation of structure-function relationships in hemoglobin (Hb and other globin proteins. Here we describe the development of a plasmid expression system to synthesize recombinant Hbs in Escherichia coli, and we describe a protocol for expressing Hbs with low intrinsic solubilities. Since the α- and β-chain Hbs of different species span a broad range of solubilities, experimental protocols that have been optimized for expressing recombinant human HbA may often prove unsuitable for the recombinant expression of wildtype and mutant Hbs of other species.As a test case for our expression system, we produced recombinant Hbs of the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus, a species that has been the subject of research on mechanisms of Hb adaptation to hypoxia. By experimentally assessing the combined effects of induction temperature, induction time and E. coli expression strain on the solubility of recombinant deer mouse Hbs, we identified combinations of expression conditions that greatly enhanced the yield of recombinant protein and which also increased the efficiency of post-translational modifications.Our protocol should prove useful for the experimental study of recombinant Hbs in many non-human animals. One of the chief advantages of our protocol is that we can express soluble recombinant Hb without co-expressing molecular chaperones, and without the need for additional reconstitution or heme-incorporation steps. Moreover, our plasmid construct contains a combination of unique restriction sites that allows us to produce recombinant Hbs with different α- and β-chain subunit combinations by means of cassette mutagenesis.

  14. Expression and purification of recombinant hemoglobin in Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Natarajan, Chandrasekhar; Jiang, Xiaoben; Fago, Angela; Weber, Roy E; Moriyama, Hideaki; Storz, Jay F

    2011-01-01

    Recombinant DNA technologies have played a pivotal role in the elucidation of structure-function relationships in hemoglobin (Hb) and other globin proteins. Here we describe the development of a plasmid expression system to synthesize recombinant Hbs in Escherichia coli, and we describe a protocol for expressing Hbs with low intrinsic solubilities. Since the α- and β-chain Hbs of different species span a broad range of solubilities, experimental protocols that have been optimized for expressing recombinant human HbA may often prove unsuitable for the recombinant expression of wildtype and mutant Hbs of other species. As a test case for our expression system, we produced recombinant Hbs of the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), a species that has been the subject of research on mechanisms of Hb adaptation to hypoxia. By experimentally assessing the combined effects of induction temperature, induction time and E. coli expression strain on the solubility of recombinant deer mouse Hbs, we identified combinations of expression conditions that greatly enhanced the yield of recombinant protein and which also increased the efficiency of post-translational modifications. Our protocol should prove useful for the experimental study of recombinant Hbs in many non-human animals. One of the chief advantages of our protocol is that we can express soluble recombinant Hb without co-expressing molecular chaperones, and without the need for additional reconstitution or heme-incorporation steps. Moreover, our plasmid construct contains a combination of unique restriction sites that allows us to produce recombinant Hbs with different α- and β-chain subunit combinations by means of cassette mutagenesis.

  15. [A study of recombinant human sestrin 1 and sestrin 2 proteins produced in a prokaryotic system].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rai, N; Kumar, R; Haque, Md A; Hassan, Md I; Dey, S

    2017-01-01

    Sestrins are highly conserved stress-inducible proteins capable of suppressing the production of ROS and signalling through mTORC1. Here we report a study of human sestrin1 (sesn1) and sestrin2 (sesn2) proteins produced in a pET28^(+) vector based prokaryotic system. Mass spectrometry analysis, western blot and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of affinity purified sesn1 and sesn2 proteins confirmed their identity; biophysical characteristics were observed using circular dichroism (CD) showing that sesn1 and sesn2 have a predominant α-helical structure. Here we describe a simple, one step purification process to purify a large amount of sestrin proteins with significant yield. Further study of recombinant human sestrins may further facilitate the understanding of their roles in eukaryotic cells.

  16. Genetic evidence for inducibility of recombination competence in yeast

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fabre, F.; Roman, H.

    1977-01-01

    Recombination between unirradiated chromosomes was induced by UV or x-ray irradiation of haploids followed by a mating with heteroallelic diploids of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The selected event of intragenic recombination did not involve the participation of the irradiated chromosome and apparently was not caused by lesions introduced into the unirradiated chromosomes by some indirect process. The results favor the idea that recombination is repressed in the majority of vegetative cells and that one effect of radiation is the release of some factor(s) necessary for recombination. Consequently, the proportion of competent cells (i.e., cells able to recombine) in the population increases. This competent state seems necessary not only for the recombinational repair of radiation-induced lesions but also, since recombinants are produced in the absence of such lesions, for spontaneous recombination. Photoreactivation of the UV-irradiated haploids led to a decrease in the production of recombinants. Hence, lesions in the DNA appear to be responsible for the induction of the recombinational ability

  17. Electric hydrogen recombiner special tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilson, J.F.

    1975-12-01

    Westinghouse has produced an electric hydrogen recombiner to control hydrogen levels in reactor containments following a postulated loss-of-coolant accident. The recombiner underwent extensive testing for NRC qualification (see WCAP 7709-L and Supplements 1, 2, 3, 4). As a result, WCAP 7709-L and Supplements 1, 2, 3, and 4 have been accepted by the NRC for reference in applications not committed to IEEE-323-1974. Supplement 5 and the next supplement will demonstrate conformance to IEEE-323-1974. This supplement describes additional tests, beyond those necessary to qualify the system, which will be referenced in supplement 6. Each test has demonstrated a considerable margin of safety over required performance. Concurrently, the test results increased the fund of technical information on the electric hydrogen recombiner

  18. Antibody responses to two new Lactococcus lactis-produced recombinant Pfs48/45 and Pfs230 proteins increase with age in malaria patients living in the Central Region of Ghana

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Acquah, Festus K.; Obboh, Evans K.; Asare, Kwame

    2017-01-01

    difficult to produce recombinantly in the absence of a fusion partner. Methods Regions of Pfs48/45 and Pfs230 known to contain transmission blocking epitopes, 6C and C0, respectively, were produced in a Lactococcus lactis expression system and used in enzyme linked immunosorbent assays to determine...

  19. The recombinant EHV-1 vector producing CDV hemagglutinin as potential vaccine against canine distemper.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Zihao; Liu, Jin; Ma, Jiale; Jin, Qiuli; Yao, Huochun; Osterrieder, Nikolaus

    2017-10-01

    Canine distemper virus (CDV), is a pantropic agent of morbillivirus that causes fetal disease in dogs. Base on a broad host rang of CDV, the continued vaccines inoculation is unavoidable to pose gene recombination risk in vaccine virus and wild virus. The current study presents the construction of novel vectors, using equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) expressing the canine distemper virus (CDV). The recent field strain hemagglutinin protein and nucleoprotein were used for the construction of the viral vector vaccines. Based on the Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) genomes of EHV-1 RacH strain, the recombinant EHV-1 vaccine virus encoding CDV hemagglutinin protein (EHV-H) or CDV nucleoprotein (EHV-N) was constructed separately. The constructed BACs were rescued after 72 h post infection, and the expression of H or N in the recombinant viruses was confirmed by western-blotting. Furthermore, high levels of neutralizing antibodies were induced persistently following vaccination in the groups EHV-H&EHV-N and EHV-H, but the EHV-N group. The groups of vaccinated EHV-H and EHV-H&EHV-N pups were monitored for clinical signs, whereas the vaccinated EHV-N group developed moderate symptoms. The present study demonstrated that EHV-1 based recombinant virus carrying CDV H could be a promising vaccine candidate against canine distemper. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  20. Recombination pattern reanalysis of some HIV-1 circulating recombination forms suggest the necessity and difficulty of revision.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei Jia

    Full Text Available Recombination is one of the major mechanisms underlying the generation of HIV-1 variability. Currently 61 circulating recombinant forms of HIV-1 have been identified. With the development of recombination detection techniques and accumulation of HIV-1 reference stains, more accurate mosaic structures of circulating recombinant forms (CRFs, like CRF04 and CRF06, have undergone repeated analysis and upgrades. Such revisions may also be necessary for other CRFs. Unlike previous studies, whose results are based primarily on a single recombination detection program, the current study was based on multiple recombination analysis, which may have produced more impartial results.Representative references of 3 categories of intersubtype recombinants were selected, including BC recombinants (CRF07 and CRF08, BG recombinants (CRF23 and CRF24, and BF recombinants (CRF38 and CRF44. They were reanalyzed in detail using both the jumping profile hidden Markov model and RDP3.The results indicate that revisions and upgrades are very necessary and the entire re-analysis suggested 2 types of revision: (i length of inserted fragments; and (ii number of inserted fragments. The reanalysis also indicated that determination of small regions of about 200 bases or fewer should be performed with more caution.Results indicated that the involvement of multiple recombination detection programs is very necessary. Additionally, results suggested two major challenges, one involving the difficulty of accurately determining the locations of breakpoints and the second involving identification of small regions of about 200 bases or fewer with greater caution. Both indicate the complexity of HIV-1 recombination. The resolution would depend critically on development of a recombination analysis algorithm, accumulation of HIV-1 stains, and a higher sequencing quality. With the changes in recombination pattern, phylogenetic relationships of some CRFs may also change. All these results may

  1. Recombinant Vaccinia Virus: Immunization against Multiple Pathogens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perkus, Marion E.; Piccini, Antonia; Lipinskas, Bernard R.; Paoletti, Enzo

    1985-09-01

    The coding sequences for the hepatitis B virus surface antigen, the herpes simplex virus glycoprotein D, and the influenza virus hemagglutinin were inserted into a single vaccinia virus genome. Rabbits inoculated intravenously or intradermally with this polyvalent vaccinia virus recombinant produced antibodies reactive to all three authentic foreign antigens. In addition, the feasibility of multiple rounds of vaccination with recombinant vaccinia virus was demonstrated.

  2. Recombination of a fast expanding plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salvat, M.

    1979-05-01

    The goal of the following calculations is to determine numerically the recombination of dense plasmas (for instance of laser-produced plasmas). The recombination is computed for plasmas with initial densities of 10 24 27 [m -3 ] and with initial temperatures >= 50 eV. The ionization of the plasma remains essentially constant during the early phase of expansion. The time for which the ionization is 'frozen-in' grows with decreasing initial density and with increasing initial temperature. (orig.) [de

  3. Co-factor activated recombinant adenovirus proteinases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Carl W.; Mangel, Walter F.

    1996-08-06

    This application describes methods and expression constructs for producing activatable recombinant adenovirus proteinases. Purified activatable recombinant adenovirus proteinases and methods of purification are described. Activated adenovirus proteinases and methods for obtaining activated adenovirus proteinases are further included. Isolated peptide cofactors of adenovirus proteinase activity, methods of purifying and identifying said peptide cofactors are also described. Antibodies immunoreactive with adenovirus proteinases, immunospecific antibodies, and methods for preparing them are also described. Other related methods and materials are also described.

  4. Recombinant Protein Production and Insect Cell Culture and Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spaulding, Glenn F. (Inventor); Goodwin, Thomas J. (Inventor); OConnor, Kim C. (Inventor); Francis, Karen M. (Inventor); Andrews, Angela D. (Inventor); Prewett, Tracey L. (Inventor)

    1997-01-01

    A process has been developed for recombinant production of selected polypeptides using transformed insect cells cultured in a horizontally rotating culture vessel modulated to create low shear conditions. A metabolically transformed insect cell line is produced using the culture procedure regardless of genetic transformation. The recombinant polypeptide can be produced by an alternative process using virtually infected or stably transformed insect cells containing a gene encoding the described polypeptide. The insect cells can also be a host for viral production.

  5. Recombination: the good, the bad and the variable.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stapley, Jessica; Feulner, Philine G D; Johnston, Susan E; Santure, Anna W; Smadja, Carole M

    2017-12-19

    Recombination, the process by which DNA strands are broken and repaired, producing new combinations of alleles, occurs in nearly all multicellular organisms and has important implications for many evolutionary processes. The effects of recombination can be good , as it can facilitate adaptation, but also bad when it breaks apart beneficial combinations of alleles, and recombination is highly variable between taxa, species, individuals and across the genome. Understanding how and why recombination rate varies is a major challenge in biology. Most theoretical and empirical work has been devoted to understanding the role of recombination in the evolution of sex-comparing between sexual and asexual species or populations. How recombination rate evolves and what impact this has on evolutionary processes within sexually reproducing organisms has received much less attention. This Theme Issue focusses on how and why recombination rate varies in sexual species, and aims to coalesce knowledge of the molecular mechanisms governing recombination with our understanding of the evolutionary processes driving variation in recombination within and between species. By integrating these fields, we can identify important knowledge gaps and areas for future research, and pave the way for a more comprehensive understanding of how and why recombination rate varies. © 2017 The Authors.

  6. In vivo production of recombinant proteins using occluded recombinant AcMNPV-derived baculovirus vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guijarro-Pardo, Eva; Gómez-Sebastián, Silvia; Escribano, José M

    2017-12-01

    Trichoplusia ni insect larvae infected with vectors derived from the Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV), are an excellent alternative to insect cells cultured in conventional bioreactors to produce recombinant proteins because productivity and cost-efficiency reasons. However, there is still a lot of work to do to reduce the manual procedures commonly required in this production platform that limit its scalability. To increase the scalability of this platform technology, a current bottleneck to be circumvented in the future is the need of injection for the inoculation of larvae with polyhedrin negative baculovirus vectors (Polh-) because of the lack of oral infectivity of these viruses, which are commonly used for production in insect cell cultures. In this work we have developed a straightforward alternative to obtain orally infective vectors derived from AcMNPV and expressing recombinant proteins that can be administered to the insect larvae (Trichoplusia ni) by feeding, formulated in the insect diet. The approach developed was based on the use of a recombinant polyhedrin protein expressed by a recombinant vector (Polh+), able to co-occlude any recombinant Polh- baculovirus vector expressing a recombinant protein. A second alternative was developed by the generation of a dual vector co-expressing the recombinant polyhedrin protein and the foreign gene of interest to obtain the occluded viruses. Additionally, by the incorporation of a reporter gene into the helper Polh+ vector, it was possible the follow-up visualization of the co-occluded viruses infection in insect larvae and will help to homogenize infection conditions. By using these methodologies, the production of recombinant proteins in per os infected larvae, without manual infection procedures, was very similar in yield to that obtained by manual injection of recombinant Polh- AcMNPV-based vectors expressing the same proteins. However, further analyses will be required for a

  7. Caenorhabditis briggsae recombinant inbred line genotypes reveal inter-strain incompatibility and the evolution of recombination.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph A Ross

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae is an emerging model organism that allows evolutionary comparisons with C. elegans and exploration of its own unique biological attributes. To produce a high-resolution C. briggsae recombination map, recombinant inbred lines were generated from reciprocal crosses between two strains and genotyped at over 1,000 loci. A second set of recombinant inbred lines involving a third strain was also genotyped at lower resolution. The resulting recombination maps exhibit discrete domains of high and low recombination, as in C. elegans, indicating these are a general feature of Caenorhabditis species. The proportion of a chromosome's physical size occupied by the central, low-recombination domain is highly correlated between species. However, the C. briggsae intra-species comparison reveals striking variation in the distribution of recombination between domains. Hybrid lines made with the more divergent pair of strains also exhibit pervasive marker transmission ratio distortion, evidence of selection acting on hybrid genotypes. The strongest effect, on chromosome III, is explained by a developmental delay phenotype exhibited by some hybrid F2 animals. In addition, on chromosomes IV and V, cross direction-specific biases towards one parental genotype suggest the existence of cytonuclear epistatic interactions. These interactions are discussed in relation to surprising mitochondrial genome polymorphism in C. briggsae, evidence that the two strains diverged in allopatry, the potential for local adaptation, and the evolution of Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities. The genetic and genomic resources resulting from this work will support future efforts to understand inter-strain divergence as well as facilitate studies of gene function, natural variation, and the evolution of recombination in Caenorhabditis nematodes.

  8. Mitigating Mitochondrial Genome Erosion Without Recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radzvilavicius, Arunas L; Kokko, Hanna; Christie, Joshua R

    2017-11-01

    Mitochondria are ATP-producing organelles of bacterial ancestry that played a key role in the origin and early evolution of complex eukaryotic cells. Most modern eukaryotes transmit mitochondrial genes uniparentally, often without recombination among genetically divergent organelles. While this asymmetric inheritance maintains the efficacy of purifying selection at the level of the cell, the absence of recombination could also make the genome susceptible to Muller's ratchet. How mitochondria escape this irreversible defect accumulation is a fundamental unsolved question. Occasional paternal leakage could in principle promote recombination, but it would also compromise the purifying selection benefits of uniparental inheritance. We assess this tradeoff using a stochastic population-genetic model. In the absence of recombination, uniparental inheritance of freely-segregating genomes mitigates mutational erosion, while paternal leakage exacerbates the ratchet effect. Mitochondrial fusion-fission cycles ensure independent genome segregation, improving purifying selection. Paternal leakage provides opportunity for recombination to slow down the mutation accumulation, but always at a cost of increased steady-state mutation load. Our findings indicate that random segregation of mitochondrial genomes under uniparental inheritance can effectively combat the mutational meltdown, and that homologous recombination under paternal leakage might not be needed. Copyright © 2017 by the Genetics Society of America.

  9. Gene Delivery into Plant Cells for Recombinant Protein Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiang Chen

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Recombinant proteins are primarily produced from cultures of mammalian, insect, and bacteria cells. In recent years, the development of deconstructed virus-based vectors has allowed plants to become a viable platform for recombinant protein production, with advantages in versatility, speed, cost, scalability, and safety over the current production paradigms. In this paper, we review the recent progress in the methodology of agroinfiltration, a solution to overcome the challenge of transgene delivery into plant cells for large-scale manufacturing of recombinant proteins. General gene delivery methodologies in plants are first summarized, followed by extensive discussion on the application and scalability of each agroinfiltration method. New development of a spray-based agroinfiltration and its application on field-grown plants is highlighted. The discussion of agroinfiltration vectors focuses on their applications for producing complex and heteromultimeric proteins and is updated with the development of bridge vectors. Progress on agroinfiltration in Nicotiana and non-Nicotiana plant hosts is subsequently showcased in context of their applications for producing high-value human biologics and low-cost and high-volume industrial enzymes. These new advancements in agroinfiltration greatly enhance the robustness and scalability of transgene delivery in plants, facilitating the adoption of plant transient expression systems for manufacturing recombinant proteins with a broad range of applications.

  10. Effects of the rad52 gene on recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prakash, S.; Prakash, L.; Burke, W.; Montelone, B.A.

    1979-01-01

    Effects of the rad52 mutation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae on meiotic, γ-ray-induced, uv-induced, and spontaneous mitotic recombination were studied. The rad52/rad52 diploids undergo premeiotic DNA synthesis; sporulation occurs but inviable spores are produced. Intra- and intergenic recombination during meiosis were examined in cells transferred from sporulation medium to vegetative medium at different time intervals. No intragenic recombination was observed at the hisl-1/hisl-315 and trp5-2/trp5-48 heteroalleles. Gene-centromere recombination was also not observed in rad52/rad52 diploids. No γ-ray-induced intragenic mitotic recombination is seen in rad52/rad52 diploids and uv-induced intragenic recombination is greatly reduced. However, spontaneous mitotic recombination is not similarly affected. The RAD52 gene thus functions in recombination in meiosis and in γ-ray and uv-induced mitotic recombination but not in spontaneous mitotic recombination

  11. Validation of the manufacturing process used to produce long-acting recombinant factor IX Fc fusion protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCue, J; Osborne, D; Dumont, J; Peters, R; Mei, B; Pierce, G F; Kobayashi, K; Euwart, D

    2014-07-01

    Recombinant factor IX Fc (rFIXFc) fusion protein is the first of a new class of bioengineered long-acting factors approved for the treatment and prevention of bleeding episodes in haemophilia B. The aim of this work was to describe the manufacturing process for rFIXFc, to assess product quality and to evaluate the capacity of the process to remove impurities and viruses. This manufacturing process utilized a transferable and scalable platform approach established for therapeutic antibody manufacturing and adapted for production of the rFIXFc molecule. rFIXFc was produced using a process free of human- and animal-derived raw materials and a host cell line derived from human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293H cells. The process employed multi-step purification and viral clearance processing, including use of a protein A affinity capture chromatography step, which binds to the Fc portion of the rFIXFc molecule with high affinity and specificity, and a 15 nm pore size virus removal nanofilter. Process validation studies were performed to evaluate identity, purity, activity and safety. The manufacturing process produced rFIXFc with consistent product quality and high purity. Impurity clearance validation studies demonstrated robust and reproducible removal of process-related impurities and adventitious viruses. The rFIXFc manufacturing process produces a highly pure product, free of non-human glycan structures. Validation studies demonstrate that this product is produced with consistent quality and purity. In addition, the scalability and transferability of this process are key attributes to ensure consistent and continuous supply of rFIXFc. © 2014 The Authors. Haemophilia Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Expression of recombinant Antibodies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    André eFrenzel

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Recombinant antibodies are highly specific detection probes in research, diagnostics and have emerged over the last two decades as the fastest growing class of therapeutic proteins. Antibody generation has been dramatically accelerated by in vitro selection systems, particularly phage display. An increasing variety of recombinant production systems have been developed, ranging from Gram-negative and positive bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi, insect cell lines, mammalian cells to transgenic plants and animals. Currently, almost all therapeutic antibodies are still produced in mammalian cell lines in order to reduce the risk of immunogenicity due to altered, non-human glycosylation patterns. However, recent developments of glycosylation-engineered yeast, insect cell lines and transgenic plants are promising to obtain antibodies with human-like post-translational modifications. Furthermore, smaller antibody fragments including bispecific antibodies without any glycosylation are successfully produced in bacteria and have advanced to clinical testing. The first therapeutic antibody products from a non-mammalian source can be expected in coming next years. In this review, we focus on current antibody production systems including their usability for different applications.

  13. Comprehensive characterization of glutamine synthetase-mediated selection for the establishment of recombinant CHO cells producing monoclonal antibodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noh, Soo Min; Shin, Seunghyeon; Lee, Gyun Min

    2018-03-29

    To characterize a glutamine synthetase (GS)-based selection system, monoclonal antibody (mAb) producing recombinant CHO cell clones were generated by a single round of selection at various methionine sulfoximine (MSX) concentrations (0, 25, and 50 μM) using two different host cell lines (CHO-K1 and GS-knockout CHO). Regardless of the host cell lines used, the clones selected at 50 μM MSX had the lowest average specific growth rate and the highest average specific production rates of toxic metabolic wastes, lactate and ammonia. Unlike CHO-K1, high producing clones could be generated in the absence of MSX using GS-knockout CHO with an improved selection stringency. Regardless of the host cell lines used, the clones selected at various MSX concentrations showed no significant difference in the GS, heavy chain, and light chain gene copies (P > 0.05). Furthermore, there was no correlation between the specific mAb productivity and these three gene copies (R 2  ≤ 0.012). Taken together, GS-mediated gene amplification does not occur in a single round of selection at a MSX concentration up to 50 μM. The use of the GS-knockout CHO host cell line facilitates the rapid generation of high producing clones with reduced production of lactate and ammonia in the absence of MSX.

  14. Expression and purification of recombinant Shiga toxin 2B from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Expression and purification of recombinant Shiga toxin 2B from Escherichia coli O157:H7. ... (SDS-PAGE) and StxB2 yield was 450 μg ml-1 confirmed by Bradford assay. Recombinant Stx2B protein was produced in highly pure yield using ...

  15. Recombination-ready Sindbis replicon expression vectors for transgene expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olson Ken E

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Sindbis viruses have been widely used as tools to study gene function in cells. Despite the utility of these systems, the construction and production of alphavirus replicons is time consuming and inefficient due to potential additional restriction sites within the insert region and lack of directionality for insert ligation. In this report, we present a system useful for producing recombinant Sindbis replicons that uses lambda phage recombination technology to rapidly and specifically construct replicon expression plasmids that contain insert regions in the desired orientation. Results Recombination of the gene of interest with the replicon plasmid resulted in nearly 100% recombinants, each of which contained a correctly orientated insert. Replicons were easily produced in cell culture and packaged into pseudo-infectious viral particles. Insect and mammalian cells infected with pseudo-infectious viral particles expressed various transgenes at high levels. Finally, inserts from persistently replicating replicon RNA were easily isolated and recombined back into entry plasmids for sequencing and subsequent analysis. Conclusion Replication-ready replicon expression plasmids make the use of alphavirus replicons fast and easy as compared to traditional replicon production methods. This system represents a significant step forward in the utility and ease of use of alphavirus replicons in the study of gene function.

  16. Constraints from jet calculus on quark recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, L.M.; Lassila, K.E.; Willen, D.

    1979-01-01

    Within the QCD jet calculus formalism, we deduce an equation describing recombination of quarks and antiquarks into mesons within a quark or gluon jet. This equation relates the recombination function R(x 1 ,x 2 ,x) used in current literature to the fragmentation function for producing that same meson out of the parton initiating the jet. We submit currently used recombination functions to our consistency test, taking as input mainly the u-quark fragmentation data into π + mesons, but also s-quark fragmentation into K - mesons. The constraint is well satisfied at large Q 2 for large moments. Our results depend on one parameter, Q 0 2 , the constraint equation being satisfied for small values of this parameter

  17. Characterization of the N-linked glycosylation site of recombinant pectate lyase

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Colangelo, J.; Licon, V.; Benen, J.A.E.; Visser, J.; Bergmann, C.; Orlando, R.

    1999-01-01

    Recombinant pectate lyase from Aspergillus niger was overexpressed in Aspergillus nidulans. The two recombinant proteins produced differed in molecular mass by 1200 Da, which suggested that the larger molecular weight protein was glycosylated. The deduced amino acid sequence was searched for

  18. Asp30 of Aspergillus oryzae cutinase CutL1 is involved in the ionic interaction with fungal hydrophobin RolA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terauchi, Yuki; Kim, Yoon-Kyung; Tanaka, Takumi; Nanatani, Kei; Takahashi, Toru; Abe, Keietsu

    2017-07-01

    Aspergillus oryzae hydrophobin RolA adheres to the biodegradable polyester polybutylene succinate-co-adipate (PBSA) and promotes PBSA degradation by interacting with A. oryzae polyesterase CutL1 and recruiting it to the PBSA surface. In our previous studies, we found that positively charged amino acid residues (H32, K34) of RolA and negatively charged residues (E31, D142, D171) of CutL1 are important for the cooperative ionic interaction between RolA and CutL1, but some other charged residues in the triple mutant CutL1-E31S/D142S/D171S are also involved. In the present study, on the basis of the 3D-structure of CutL1, we hypothesized that D30 is also involved in the CutL1-RolA interaction. We substituted D30 with serine and performed kinetic analysis of the interaction between wild-type RolA and the single mutant CutL1-D30S or quadruple mutant CutL1-D30S/E31S/D142S/D171S by using quartz crystal microbalance. Our results indicate that D30 is a novel residue involved in the ionic interaction between RolA and CutL1.

  19. Containment air circulation for optimal hydrogen recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spinks, N.; Krause, M.

    1997-01-01

    An accepted first-line defense for hydrogen mitigation is to design for the hydrogen to be rapidly mixed with the containment atmosphere and diluted to below flammability concentrations. Then, as hydrogen continues to be produced in the longer term, recombiners can be used to remove hydrogen: recombiners can be located in forced-air ducts or passive recombiners can be distributed within containment and the heat of recombination used to promote local air circulation. However, this principle does not eliminate the possibility of high hydrogen concentrations at locations removed from the recombiners. An improvement on this strategy is to arrange for a specific, buoyancy-driven, overall circulation of the containment atmosphere such that the recombiners can be located within the recirculation flow, immediately downstream of the hydrogen source. This would make the mixing process more predictable and solve the mass-transfer problem associated with distributed recombiners. Ideally, the recombiners would be located just above the hydrogen source so that the heat of recombination would assist the overall circulation. In this way, the hydrogen would be removed as close as possible to the source, thereby minimizing the amount of hydrogen immediately downstream of the source and reducing the hydrogen concentration to acceptable levels at other locations. Such a strategy requires the containment volume to be divided into an upflow path, past the hydrogen source and the recombiner, and a downflow path to complete the circuit. The flow could be generated actively using fans or passively using buoyancy forces arising from the difference in density of gases in the upfiow and downflow paths; the gases in the downflow path being cooled at an elevated heat sink. (author)

  20. Accelerated Recombination in Cold Dense Plasmas with Metastable Ions due to Resonant Deexcitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ralchenko, Yu.V.; Maron, M.

    2001-01-01

    In a recombining plasma the metastable states are known to accumulate population thereby slowing down the recombination process. We show that a proper account of the doubly-excited autoionizing states, populated through collisional 3-body recombination of metastable ions, results in a significant acceleration of recombination. 3-body recombination followed by collisional (de)excitations and autoionization effectively produces deexcitation via the following chain of elementary events: A fully time-dependent collisional-radiative (CR) modeling for stripped ions of carbon recombining in a cold dense plasma demonstrates an order of magnitude faster recombination of He-like ions. The CR model used in calculations is discussed in details

  1. Catalytic hydrogen recombination for nuclear containments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koroll, G.W.; Lau, D.W.P.; Dewit, W.A.; Graham, W.R.C.

    1994-01-01

    Catalytic recombiners appear to be a credible option for hydrogen mitigation in nuclear containments. The passive operation, versatility and ease of back fitting are appealing for existing stations and new designs. Recently, a generation of wet-proofed catalyst materials have been developed at AECL which are highly specific to H 2 -O 2 , are active at ambient temperatures and are being evaluated for containment applications. Two types of catalytic recombiners were evaluated for hydrogen removal in containments based on the AECL catalyst. The first is a catalytic combustor for application in existing air streams such as provided by fans or ventilation systems. The second is an autocatalytic recombiner which uses the enthalpy of reaction to produce natural convective flow over the catalyst elements. Intermediate-scale results obtained in 6 m 3 and 10 m 3 spherical and cylindrical vessels are given to demonstrate self-starting limits, operating limits, removal capacity, scaling parameters, flow resistance, mixing behaviour in the vicinity of an operating recombiner and sensitivity to poisoning, fouling and radiation. (author). 13 refs., 10 figs

  2. Efficacy of recombinant birch pollen vaccine for the treatment of birch-allergic rhinoconjunctivitis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pauli, Gabrielle; Larsen, Tina H; Rak, Sabina

    2008-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Recombinant DNA technology has the potential to produce allergen-specific immunotherapy vaccines with defined composition. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a new recombinant birch pollen allergen vaccine in patients with birch pollen allergy. METHODS: A multicenter, randomi......-treated group. CONCLUSION: The rBet v 1-based vaccine was safe and effective in treating birch pollen allergy, and induced a highly specific immune response.......BACKGROUND: Recombinant DNA technology has the potential to produce allergen-specific immunotherapy vaccines with defined composition. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a new recombinant birch pollen allergen vaccine in patients with birch pollen allergy. METHODS: A multicenter......, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was undertaken to compare the following 3 vaccines in 134 adults with birch pollen allergy: recombinant birch pollen allergen vaccine (rBet v 1a), licensed birch pollen extract, natural purified birch pollen allergen (nBet v 1), and placebo. Patients...

  3. Construction and characterization of a recombinant invertebrate iridovirus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozgen, Arzu; Muratoglu, Hacer; Demirbag, Zihni; Vlak, Just M; van Oers, Monique M; Nalcacioglu, Remziye

    2014-08-30

    Chilo iridescent virus (CIV), officially named Insect iridescent virus 6 (IIV6), is the type species of the genus Iridovirus (family Iridoviridae). In this paper we constructed a recombinant CIV, encoding the green fluorescent protein (GFP). This recombinant can be used to investigate viral replication dynamics. We showed that homologous recombination is a valid method to make CIV gene knockouts and to insert foreign genes. The CIV 157L gene, putatively encoding a non-functional inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP), was chosen as target for foreign gene insertion. The gfp open reading frame preceded by the viral mcp promoter was inserted into the 157L locus by homologous recombination in Anthonomus grandis BRL-AG-3A cells. Recombinant virus (rCIV-Δ157L-gfp) was purified by successive rounds of plaque purification. All plaques produced by the purified recombinant virus emitted green fluorescence due to the presence of GFP. One-step growth curves for recombinant and wild-type CIV were similar and the recombinant was fully infectious in vivo. Hence, CIV157L can be inactivated without altering the replication kinetics of the virus. Consequently, the CIV 157L locus can be used as a site for insertion of foreign DNA, e.g. to modify viral properties for insect biocontrol. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Origin of the CMS gene locus in rapeseed cybrid mitochondria: active and inactive recombination produces the complex CMS gene region in the mitochondrial genomes of Brassicaceae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oshima, Masao; Kikuchi, Rie; Imamura, Jun; Handa, Hirokazu

    2010-01-01

    CMS (cytoplasmic male sterile) rapeseed is produced by asymmetrical somatic cell fusion between the Brassica napus cv. Westar and the Raphanus sativus Kosena CMS line (Kosena radish). The CMS rapeseed contains a CMS gene, orf125, which is derived from Kosena radish. Our sequence analyses revealed that the orf125 region in CMS rapeseed originated from recombination between the orf125/orfB region and the nad1C/ccmFN1 region by way of a 63 bp repeat. A precise sequence comparison among the related sequences in CMS rapeseed, Kosena radish and normal rapeseed showed that the orf125 region in CMS rapeseed consisted of the Kosena orf125/orfB region and the rapeseed nad1C/ccmFN1 region, even though Kosena radish had both the orf125/orfB region and the nad1C/ccmFN1 region in its mitochondrial genome. We also identified three tandem repeat sequences in the regions surrounding orf125, including a 63 bp repeat, which were involved in several recombination events. Interestingly, differences in the recombination activity for each repeat sequence were observed, even though these sequences were located adjacent to each other in the mitochondrial genome. We report results indicating that recombination events within the mitochondrial genomes are regulated at the level of specific repeat sequences depending on the cellular environment.

  5. CFD Analysis of Passive Autocatalytic Recombiner

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Gera

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In water-cooled nuclear power reactors, significant quantities of hydrogen could be produced following a postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA along with nonavailability of emergency core cooling system (ECCS. Passive autocatalytic recombiners (PAR are implemented in the containment of water-cooled power reactors to mitigate the risk of hydrogen combustion. In the presence of hydrogen with available oxygen, a catalytic reaction occurs spontaneously at the catalyst surfaces below conventional ignition concentration limits and temperature and even in presence of steam. Heat of reaction produces natural convection flow through the enclosure and promotes mixing in the containment. For the assessment of the PAR performance in terms of maximum temperature of catalyst surface and outlet hydrogen concentration an in-house 3D CFD model has been developed. The code has been used to study the mechanism of catalytic recombination and has been tested for two literature-quoted experiments.

  6. Use of a Chimeric Hsp70 to Enhance the Quality of Recombinant Plasmodium falciparum S-Adenosylmethionine Decarboxylase Protein Produced in Escherichia coli

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makhoba, Xolani Henry; Burger, Adélle; Coertzen, Dina; Zininga, Tawanda; Birkholtz, Lyn-Marie; Shonhai, Addmore

    2016-01-01

    S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (PfAdoMetDC) from Plasmodium falciparum is a prospective antimalarial drug target. The production of recombinant PfAdoMetDC for biochemical validation as a drug target is important. The production of PfAdoMetDC in Escherichia coli has been reported to result in unsatisfactory yields and poor quality product. The co-expression of recombinant proteins with molecular chaperones has been proposed as one way to improve the production of the former in E. coli. E. coli heat shock proteins DnaK, GroEL-GroES and DnaJ have previously been used to enhance production of some recombinant proteins. However, the outcomes were inconsistent. An Hsp70 chimeric protein, KPf, which is made up of the ATPase domain of E. coli DnaK and the substrate binding domain of P. falciparum Hsp70 (PfHsp70) has been previously shown to exhibit chaperone function when it was expressed in E. coli cells whose resident Hsp70 (DnaK) function was impaired. We proposed that because of its domain constitution, KPf would most likely be recognised by E. coli Hsp70 co-chaperones. Furthermore, because it possesses a substrate binding domain of plasmodial origin, KPf would be primed to recognise recombinant PfAdoMetDC expressed in E. coli. First, using site-directed mutagenesis, followed by complementation assays, we established that KPf with a mutation in the hydrophobic residue located in its substrate binding cavity was functionally compromised. We further co-expressed PfAdoMetDC with KPf, PfHsp70 and DnaK in E. coli cells either in the absence or presence of over-expressed GroEL-GroES chaperonin. The folded and functional status of the produced PfAdoMetDC was assessed using limited proteolysis and enzyme assays. PfAdoMetDC co-expressed with KPf and PfHsp70 exhibited improved activity compared to protein co-expressed with over-expressed DnaK. Our findings suggest that chimeric KPf may be an ideal Hsp70 co-expression partner for the production of recombinant plasmodial

  7. Recombinant Programming

    OpenAIRE

    Pawlak , Renaud; Cuesta , Carlos; Younessi , Houman

    2004-01-01

    This research report presents a promising new approach to computation called Recombinant Programming. The novelty of our approach is that it separates the program into two layers of computation: the recombination and the interpretation layer. The recombination layer takes sequences as inputs and allows the programmer to recombine these sequences through the definition of cohesive code units called extensions. The output of such recombination is a mesh that can be used by the interpretation la...

  8. Glucose-free fructose production from Jerusalem artichoke using a recombinant inulinase-secreting Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Jing; Jiang, Jiaxi; Ji, Wangming; Li, Yuyang; Liu, Jianping

    2011-01-01

    Using inulin (polyfructose) obtained from Jerusalen artichokes, we have produced fructose free of residual glucose using a recombinant inulinase-secreting strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a one-step fermentation of Jerusalem artichoke tubers. For producing fructose from inulin, a recombinant inulinase-producing Saccharomyce cerevisiae strain was constructed with a deficiency in fructose uptake by disruption of two hexokinase genes hxk1 and hxk2. The inulinase gene introduced into S. cerevisiae was cloned from Kluyveromyces cicerisporus. Extracellular inulinase activity of the recombinant hxk-mutated S. cerevisiae strain reached 31 U ml(-1) after 96 h growth. When grown in a medium containing Jerusalem artichoke tubers as the sole component without any additives, the recombinant yeast accumulated fructose up to 9.2% (w/v) in the fermentation broth with only 0.1% (w/v) glucose left after 24 h.

  9. Effects of the rad52 gene on recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prakash, S.; Prakash, L.; Burke, W.; Montelone, B.A.

    1980-01-01

    Effects of the rad 52 mutation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae on meiotic, γ-ray-induced, uv-induced and spontaneous mitotic recombination were studied. The rad52/rad52 diploids undergo premeiotic DNA synthesis; sporulation occurs but inviable spores are produced. Both intra and intergenic recombination during meiosis were examined in cells transferred from sporulation medium to vegetative medium at different time intervals. No intragenic recombination was observed at the his1-1/his1-315 and trp-5-2/trp5-48 heteroalleles. Gene-centromere recombination also was not observed in rad/52/rad52 diploids. No γ-ray- or uv-induced intragenic mitotic recombination is seen in rad52/rad52 diploids. The rate of spontaneous mitotic recombination is lowered five-fold at the his1-1/his1-315 and leu1-c/leu1-12 heteroalleles. Spontaneous reversion rates of both his1-1 and his1-315 were elevated 10 to 20 fold in rad52/rad52 diploids. The RAD52 gene function is required for spontaneous mitotic recombination, uv- and γ-ray-induced mitotic recombination and mitotic recombination

  10. Recombiner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kikuchi, Nobuo.

    1983-01-01

    Purpose: To shorten the pre-heating time for a recombiner and obtain a uniform temperature distribution for the charged catalyst layer in a BWR type reactor. Constitution: A pre-heating heater is disposed to the outer periphery of a vessel for a recombiner packed with catalysts for recombining hydrogen and oxygen in gases flowing through a radioactive gaseous wastes processing system. Heat pipes for transmitting the heat applied to said container to the catalyst are disposed vertically and horizontally within the container. Different length of the heat pipes are combined. In this way, pre-heating time for the recombiner before the operation start and before the system switching can be shortened and the uniform pre-heating for the inside of the recombiner is also made possible. Further, heater control in the pre-heating can be carried out effectively and with ease. (Moriyama, K.)

  11. Viral vectors for production of recombinant proteins in plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lico, Chiara; Chen, Qiang; Santi, Luca

    2008-08-01

    Global demand for recombinant proteins has steadily accelerated for the last 20 years. These recombinant proteins have a wide range of important applications, including vaccines and therapeutics for human and animal health, industrial enzymes, new materials and components of novel nano-particles for various applications. The majority of recombinant proteins are produced by traditional biological "factories," that is, predominantly mammalian and microbial cell cultures along with yeast and insect cells. However, these traditional technologies cannot satisfy the increasing market demand due to prohibitive capital investment requirements. During the last two decades, plants have been under intensive investigation to provide an alternative system for cost-effective, highly scalable, and safe production of recombinant proteins. Although the genetic engineering of plant viral vectors for heterologous gene expression can be dated back to the early 1980s, recent understanding of plant virology and technical progress in molecular biology have allowed for significant improvements and fine tuning of these vectors. These breakthroughs enable the flourishing of a variety of new viral-based expression systems and their wide application by academic and industry groups. In this review, we describe the principal plant viral-based production strategies and the latest plant viral expression systems, with a particular focus on the variety of proteins produced and their applications. We will summarize the recent progress in the downstream processing of plant materials for efficient extraction and purification of recombinant proteins. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  12. Comparative analysis of the molecular mechanisms of recombination in hepatitis C virus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Galli, Andrea; Bukh, Jens

    2014-01-01

    Genetic recombination is an important evolutionary mechanism for RNA viruses. The significance of this phenomenon for hepatitis C virus (HCV) has recently become evident, with the identification of circulating recombinant forms in HCV-infected individuals and by novel data from studies permitted...... by advances in HCV cell culture systems and genotyping protocols. HCV is readily able to produce viable recombinants, using replicative and non-replicative molecular mechanisms. However, our knowledge of the required molecular mechanisms remains limited. Understanding how HCV recombines might be instrumental...... for a better monitoring of global epidemiology, to clarify the virus evolution, and evaluate the impact of recombinant forms on the efficacy of oncoming combination drug therapies. For the latter, frequency and location of recombination events could affect the efficacy of multidrug regimens. This review...

  13. Cloning an artificial gene encoding angiostatic anginex: From designed peptide to functional recombinant protein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brandwijk, Ricardo J.M.G.E.; Nesmelova, Irina; Dings, Ruud P.M.; Mayo, Kevin H.; Thijssen, Victor L.J.L.; Griffioen, Arjan W.

    2005-01-01

    Anginex, a designed peptide 33-mer, is a potent angiogenesis inhibitor and anti-tumor agent in vivo. Anginex functions by inhibiting endothelial cell (EC) proliferation and migration leading to detachment and apoptosis of activated EC's. To better understand tumor endothelium targeting properties of anginex and enable its use in gene therapy, we constructed an artificial gene encoding the biologically exogenous peptide and produced the protein recombinantly in Pichia pastoris. Mass spectrometry shows recombinant anginex to be a dimer and circular dichroism shows the recombinant protein folds with β-strand structure like the synthetic peptide. Moreover, like parent anginex, the recombinant protein is active at inhibiting EC growth and migration, as well as inhibiting angiogenesis in vivo in the chorioallantoic membrane of the chick embryo. This study demonstrated that it is possible to produce a functionally active protein version of a rationally designed peptide, using an artificial gene and the recombinant protein approach

  14. Theoretical simulation of soft x-rays for recombining pump

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng Huimin; Zhang Guoping; Sheng Jiatian

    1990-05-01

    The theoretical study and computational simulation of soft X-ray laser produced by the recombination of highly ionized plasma are given. An one-dimensional non LTE radiative hydrodynamic code JB-19 is used for simulating the process of soft X-ray laser produced by the recombination. The incident laser light is focused linearly onto the thin carbon fibre. In the duration of incident laser pulse a highly ionized plasma is generated. After the incident laser has been ended the plasma adiabatically expands and rapidly cools down. During the time of three-body recombination and cascading transition, the population inversion between n = 3 and n = 2 is produced and transition gain is obtained. The analysis and evolution is presented, and factors effected on the gain are also discussed. The calculated results have been compared with the experimental data of RAL. It is found that some were in good agreement with them but some are not. Under the limitation of laser energy, the gain is inversely proportional to the wave-length and pulse width of incident laser. For obtaining high gain it is necessary to have double frequency and to shorten the pulse width of Nd-glass laser. Finally the preliminary results about H-like F ion are also given

  15. Plasmodium knowlesi Sporozoite Antigen: Expression by Infectious Recombinant Vaccinia Virus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Geoffrey L.; Godson, G. Nigel; Nussenzweig, Victor; Nussenzweig, Ruth S.; Barnwell, John; Moss, Bernard

    1984-04-01

    The gene coding for the circumsporozoite antigen of the malaria parasite Plasmodium knowlesi was inserted into the vaccinia virus genome under the control of a defined vaccinia virus promoter. Cells infected with the recombinant virus synthesized polypeptides of 53,000 to 56,000 daltons that reacted with monoclonal antibody against the repeating epitope of the malaria protein. Furthermore, rabbits vaccinated with the recombinant virus produced antibodies that bound specifically to sporozoites. These data provide evidence for expression of a cloned malaria gene in mammalian cells and illustrate the potential of vaccinia virus recombinants as live malaria vaccines.

  16. Recombinant Collagenlike Proteins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fertala, Andzej

    2007-01-01

    A group of collagenlike recombinant proteins containing high densities of biologically active sites has been invented. The method used to express these proteins is similar to a method of expressing recombinant procollagens and collagens described in U. S. Patent 5,593,859, "Synthesis of human procollagens and collagens in recombinant DNA systems." Customized collagenous proteins are needed for biomedical applications. In particular, fibrillar collagens are attractive for production of matrices needed for tissue engineering and drug delivery. Prior to this invention, there was no way of producing customized collagenous proteins for these and other applications. Heretofore, collagenous proteins have been produced by use of such biological systems as yeasts, bacteria, and transgenic animals and plants. These products are normal collagens that can also be extracted from such sources as tendons, bones, and hides. These products cannot be made to consist only of biologically active, specific amino acid sequences that may be needed for specific applications. Prior to this invention, it had been established that fibrillar collagens consist of domains that are responsible for such processes as interaction with cells, binding of growth factors, and interaction with a number of structural proteins present in the extracellular matrix. A normal collagen consists of a sequence of domains that can be represented by a corresponding sequence of labels, e.g., D1D2D3D4. A collagenlike protein of the present invention contains regions of collagen II that contain multiples of a single domain (e.g., D1D1D1D1 or D4D4D4D4) chosen for its specific biological activity. By virtue of the multiplicity of the chosen domain, the density of sites having that specific biological activity is greater than it is in a normal collagen. A collagenlike protein according to this invention can thus be made to have properties that are necessary for tissue engineering.

  17. Applicability of biotechnologically produced insect silks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herold, Heike M; Scheibel, Thomas

    2017-09-26

    Silks are structural proteins produced by arthropods. Besides the well-known cocoon silk, which is produced by larvae of the silk moth Bombyx mori to undergo metamorphosis inside their silken shelter (and which is also used for textile production by men since millennia), numerous further less known silk-producing animals exist. The ability to produce silk evolved multiple independent times during evolution, and the fact that silk was subject to convergent evolution gave rise to an abundant natural diversity of silk proteins. Silks are used in air, under water, or like honey bee silk in the hydrophobic, waxen environment of the bee hive. The good mechanical properties of insect silk fibres together with their non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable nature renders these materials appealing for both technical and biomedical applications. Although nature provides a great diversity of material properties, the variation in quality inherent in materials from natural sources together with low availability (except from silkworm silk) impeded the development of applications of silks. To overcome these two drawbacks, in recent years, recombinant silks gained more and more interest, as the biotechnological production of silk proteins allows for a scalable production at constant quality. This review summarises recent developments in recombinant silk production as well as technical procedures to process recombinant silk proteins into fibres, films, and hydrogels.

  18. Production of recombinant proteins from Plasmodium falciparum in Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerra, Ángela Patricia; Calvo, Eliana Patricia; Wasserman, Moisés; Chaparro-Olaya, Jacqueline

    2016-02-23

    The production of recombinant proteins is essential for the characterization and functional study of proteins from Plasmodium falciparum. However, the proteins of P. falciparum are among the most challenging to express, and when expression is achieved, the recombinant proteins usually fold incorrectly and lead to the formation of inclusion bodies.  To obtain and purify four recombinant proteins and to use them as antigens to produce polyclonal antibodies. The production efficiency and solubility were evaluated as the proteins were expressed in two genetically modified strains of Escherichia coli to favor the production of heterologous proteins (BL21-CodonPlus (DE3)-RIL and BL21-pG-KJE8).  The four recombinant P. falciparum proteins corresponding to partial sequences of PfMyoA (Myosin A) and PfGAP50 (gliding associated protein 50), and the complete sequences of PfMTIP (myosin tail interacting protein) and PfGAP45 (gliding associated protein 45), were produced as glutathione S-transferase-fusion proteins, purified and used for immunizing mice.  The protein expression was much more efficient in BL21-CodonPlus, the strain that contains tRNAs that are rare in wild-type E. coli, compared to the expression in BL21-pG-KJE8. In spite of the fact that BL21-pG-KJE8 overexpresses chaperones, this strain did not minimize the formation of inclusion bodies.  The use of genetically modified strains of E. coli was essential to achieve high expression levels of the four evaluated P. falciparum proteins and lead to improved solubility of two of them. The approach used here allowed us to obtain and purify four P. falciparum proteins in enough quantity to produce polyclonal antibodies in mice, and a fair amount of two pure and soluble recombinant proteins for future assays.

  19. Rational development of an attenuated recombinant cyprinid herpesvirus 3 vaccine using prokaryotic mutagenesis and in vivo bioluminescent imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) is causing severe economic losses worldwide in the carp industry, and a safe and efficacious attenuated vaccine compatible with mass vaccination is needed. We produced single deleted recombinants using prokaryotic mutagenesis. When producing a recombinant lacking open...

  20. Photoionization and Recombination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nahar, Sultana N.

    2000-01-01

    Theoretically self-consistent calculations for photoionization and (e + ion) recombination are described. The same eigenfunction expansion for the ion is employed in coupled channel calculations for both processes, thus ensuring consistency between cross sections and rates. The theoretical treatment of (e + ion) recombination subsumes both the non-resonant recombination ("radiative recombination"), and the resonant recombination ("di-electronic recombination") processes in a unified scheme. In addition to the total, unified recombination rates, level-specific recombination rates and photoionization cross sections are obtained for a large number of atomic levels. Both relativistic Breit-Pauli, and non-relativistic LS coupling, calculations are carried out in the close coupling approximation using the R-matrix method. Although the calculations are computationally intensive, they yield nearly all photoionization and recombination parameters needed for astrophysical photoionization models with higher precision than hitherto possible, estimated at about 10-20% from comparison with experimentally available data (including experimentally derived DR rates). Results are electronically available for over 40 atoms and ions. Photoionization and recombination of He-, and Li-like C and Fe are described for X-ray modeling. The unified method yields total and complete (e+ion) recombination rate coefficients, that can not otherwise be obtained theoretically or experimentally.

  1. Recombinant HA1 produced in E. coli forms functional oligomers and generates strain-specific SRID potency antibodies for pandemic influenza vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khurana, Surender; Larkin, Christopher; Verma, Swati; Joshi, Manju B; Fontana, Juan; Steven, Alasdair C; King, Lisa R; Manischewitz, Jody; McCormick, William; Gupta, Rajesh K; Golding, Hana

    2011-08-05

    Vaccine production and initiation of mass vaccination is a key factor in rapid response to new influenza pandemic. During the 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic, several bottlenecks were identified, including the delayed availability of vaccine potency reagents. Currently, antisera for the single-radial immunodiffusion (SRID) potency assay are generated in sheep immunized repeatedly with HA released and purified after bromelain-treatment of influenza virus grown in eggs. This approach was a major bottleneck for pandemic H1N1 (H1N1pdm09) potency reagent development in 2009. Alternative approaches are needed to make HA immunogens for generation of SRID reagents in the shortest possible time. In this study, we found that properly folded recombinant HA1 globular domain (rHA1) from several type A viruses including H1N1pdm09 and two H5N1 viruses could be produced efficiently using a bacterial expression system and subsequent purification. The rHA1 proteins were shown to form functional oligomers of trimers, similar to virus derived HA, and elicited high titer of neutralizing antibodies in rabbits and sheep. Importantly, the immune sera formed precipitation rings with reference antigens in the SRID assay in a dose-dependent manner. The HA contents in multiple H1N1 vaccine products from different manufacturers (and in several lots) as determined with the rHA1-generated sheep sera were similar to the values obtained with a traditionally generated sheep serum from NIBSC. We conclude that bacterially expressed recombinant HA1 proteins can be produced rapidly and used to generate SRID potency reagents shortly after new influenza strains with pandemic potential are identified. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  2. Manufacturing of recombinant therapeutic proteins in microbial systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graumann, Klaus; Premstaller, Andreas

    2006-02-01

    Recombinant therapeutic proteins have gained enormous importance for clinical applications. The first recombinant products have been produced in E. coli more than 20 years ago. Although with the advent of antibody-based therapeutics mammalian expression systems have experienced a major boost, microbial expression systems continue to be widely used in industry. Their intrinsic advantages, such as rapid growth, high yields and ease of manipulation, make them the premier choice for expression of non-glycosylated peptides and proteins. Innovative product classes such as antibody fragments or alternative binding molecules will further expand the use of microbial systems. Even more, novel, engineered production hosts and integrated technology platforms hold enormous potential for future applications. This review summarizes current applications and trends for development, production and analytical characterization of recombinant therapeutic proteins in microbial systems.

  3. Electronic-state distribution of Ar* produced from Ar+(2P3/2)/2e- collisional radiative recombination in an argon flowing afterglow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsuji, Masaharu; Matsuzaki, Toshinori; Tsuji, Takeshi

    2002-01-01

    The Ar + /2e - collisional radiative recombination has been studied by observing UV and visible emissions of Ar* in an Ar flowing afterglow. In order to clarify recombination mechanism, the Ar + ( 2 P 3/2 ) spin-orbit component was selected by using a filter gas of the Ar + ( 2 P 1/2 ) component. Spectral analysis indicated that 34 Ar*(4p, 4d, 5p, 5d, 6s, 6p, 6d, 4p ' , 4d ' , 5p ' , 5d ' , 6s ' ) states in the 13.08-15.33 eV range are produced. The electronic-state distribution decreased with an increase in the excitation energy of Ar*, which was expressed by a Boltzmann electronic temperature of 0.54 eV. The formation ratios of the 4p: 4d + 5p + 5d + 6s + 6p + 6d: 4p ' : 4d ' + 5p ' + 5d ' + 6s ' states were 43%, 2.8%, 54%, and 0.31%, respectively. The high formation ratio of the 4p ' state having an Ar + ( 2 P 1/2 ) ion core in the Ar + ( 2 P 3/2 )/2e - recombination indicated that such a two-electron process as an electron transfer to an inner 3p orbital followed by excitation of a 3p electron to an outer 4p orbital occurs significantly. The higher formation ratios of 4d + 5p + 5d + 6s + 6p + 6d than those of 4d ' + 5p ' + 5d ' + 6s ' led us to conclude the formation of these upper states dominantly proceeds through one electron transfer to an outer nl orbital of Ar + ( 2 P 3/2 )

  4. Sex recombination, and reproductive fitness: an experimental study using Paramecium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nyberg, D.

    1982-08-01

    The effect of sex and recombination on reproductive fitness are measured using five wild stocks of Paramecium primaurelia. Among the wild stocks there were highly significant differences in growth rates. No hybrid had as low a fitness as the least fit parental stock. Recombination produced genotypes of higher fitness than those of either parent only in the cross between the two stocks of lowest fitness. The increase in variance of fitness as a result of recombination was almost exclusively attributable to the generation lines with low fitness. The fitness consequences of sexuality and mate choice were stock specific; some individuals leaving the most descendants by inbreeding, others by outcrossing. For most crosses the short-term advantage of sex, if any, accrue from the fusion of different gametes (hybrid vigor) and not from recombination. Since the homozygous genotype with the highest fitnes left the most progeny by inbreeding (no recombination), the persistence of conjugation in P. primaurelia is paradoxical. (JMT)

  5. Production, purification and characterization of two recombinant ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2008-06-17

    Jun 17, 2008 ... Two recombinant DNA-derived variants of ovine growth hormone were produced, purified, characterized and compared with the authentic pituitary derived GH. The variants oGH3 and oGH5 were isolated by differential centrifugation method and were purified after refolding by ion-exchange.

  6. Characterization of Recombinant Thermococcus kodakaraensis (KOD) DNA Polymerases Produced Using Silkworm-Baculovirus Expression Vector System

    KAUST Repository

    Yamashita, Mami

    2017-05-08

    The KOD DNA polymerase from Thermococcus kodakarensis (Tkod-Pol) has been preferred for PCR due to its rapid elongation rate, extreme thermostability and outstanding fidelity. Here in this study, we utilized silkworm-baculovirus expression vector system (silkworm-BEVS) to express the recombinant Tkod-Pol (rKOD) with N-terminal (rKOD-N) or C-terminal (rKOD-C) tandem fusion tags. By using BEVS, we produced functional rKODs with satisfactory yields, about 1.1 mg/larva for rKOD-N and 0.25 mg/larva for rKOD-C, respectively. Interestingly, we found that rKOD-C shows higher thermostability at 95 °C than that of rKOD-N, while that rKOD-N is significantly unstable after exposing to long period of heat-shock. We also assessed the polymerase activity as well as the fidelity of purified rKODs under various conditions. Compared with commercially available rKOD, which is expressed in E. coli expression system, rKOD-C exhibited almost the same PCR performance as the commercial rKOD did, while rKOD-N did lower performance. Taken together, our results suggested that silkworm-BEVS can be used to express and purify efficient rKOD in a commercial way.

  7. Characterization of Recombinant Thermococcus kodakaraensis (KOD) DNA Polymerases Produced Using Silkworm-Baculovirus Expression Vector System

    KAUST Repository

    Yamashita, Mami; Xu, Jian; Morokuma, Daisuke; Hirata, Kazuma; Hino, Masato; Mon, Hiroaki; Takahashi, Masateru; Hamdan, Samir; Sakashita, Kosuke; Iiyama, Kazuhiro; Banno, Yutaka; Kusakabe, Takahiro; Lee, Jae Man

    2017-01-01

    The KOD DNA polymerase from Thermococcus kodakarensis (Tkod-Pol) has been preferred for PCR due to its rapid elongation rate, extreme thermostability and outstanding fidelity. Here in this study, we utilized silkworm-baculovirus expression vector system (silkworm-BEVS) to express the recombinant Tkod-Pol (rKOD) with N-terminal (rKOD-N) or C-terminal (rKOD-C) tandem fusion tags. By using BEVS, we produced functional rKODs with satisfactory yields, about 1.1 mg/larva for rKOD-N and 0.25 mg/larva for rKOD-C, respectively. Interestingly, we found that rKOD-C shows higher thermostability at 95 °C than that of rKOD-N, while that rKOD-N is significantly unstable after exposing to long period of heat-shock. We also assessed the polymerase activity as well as the fidelity of purified rKODs under various conditions. Compared with commercially available rKOD, which is expressed in E. coli expression system, rKOD-C exhibited almost the same PCR performance as the commercial rKOD did, while rKOD-N did lower performance. Taken together, our results suggested that silkworm-BEVS can be used to express and purify efficient rKOD in a commercial way.

  8. In vitro recombination of bacteriophage T7 DNA damaged by uv radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masker, W.E.; Kuemmerle, N.B.

    1980-01-01

    A system capable of in vitro packaging of exogenous bacteriophage T7 DNA has been used to monitor the biological activity of DNA replicated in vitro. This system has been used to follow the effects of uv radiation on in vitro replication and recombination. During the in vitro replication process, a considerable exchange of genetic information occurs between T7 DNA molecules present in the reaction mixture. This in vitro recombination is reflected in the genotype of the T7 phage produced after in vitro encapsulation; depending on the genetic markers selected, recombinants can comprise nearly 20% of the total phage production. When uv-irradiated DNA is incubated in this system, the amount of in vitro synthesis is reduced and the total amount of viable phage produced after in vitro packaging is diminished. In vitro recombination rates are also lower when the participating DNA molecules have been exposed to uv. However, biochemical and genetic measurements confirmed that there is little or no transfer of pyrimidine dimers from irradiated DNA into undamaged molecules

  9. Specific Genetic Immunotherapy Induced by Recombinant Vaccine Alpha-Fetoprotein-Heat Shock Protein 70 Complex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaoping; Lin, Huanping; Wang, Qiaoxia

    Purposes: To construct a recombinant vaccine alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-heat shock protein (HSP70) complex, and study its ability to induce specific CTL response and its protective effect against AFP-producing tumor. Material/Methods: A recombinant vaccine was constructed by conjugating mouse alpha-fetoprotein to heat shock protein 70. By way of intracutaneous injection, mice were primed and boosted with recombinant vaccine mAFP/HSP70, whereas single mAFP or HSP70 injection as controls. The ELISPOT and ELISA were used to measure the frequency of cells producing the cytokine IFN-γ in splenocytes and the level of anti-AFP antibody of serum from immunized mice respectively. In vivo tumor challenge were carried out to assess the immune effect of the recombinant vaccine. Results: By recombinant mAFP/HSP70 vaccine immunization, the results of ELISPOT and ELISA showed that the number of splenic cells producing IFN-γ and the level of anti-AFP antibody of serum were significantly higher in mAFP/HSP70 group than those in mAFP and HSP70 groups (108.50±11.70 IFN-γ spots/106 cells vs 41.60±10.40 IFN-γ spots/106 cells, 7.32±3.14 IFN-γ spots/106 cells, P<0.01; 156.32±10.42 μg/mL vs 66.52±7.35 μg/mL, 5.73±2.89 μg/mL, P<0.01). The tumor volume in mAFP/HSP70 group was significantly smaller than that in mAFP and HSP70 groups (42.44±7.14 mm3 vs 392.23±12.46 mm3, 838.63±13.84 mm3, P<0.01). Conclusions: The study further confirmed the function of heat shock protein 70's immune adjuvant. Sequential immunization with recombinant mAFP/HSP70 vaccine could generate effective antitumor immunity on AFP-producing tumor. The recombined mAFP/HSP70 vaccine may be suitable for serving as an immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

  10. The contribution of polystyrene nanospheres towards the crystallization of proteins.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johanna M Kallio

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Protein crystallization is a slow process of trial and error and limits the amount of solved protein structures. Search of a universal heterogeneous nucleant is an effort to facilitate crystallizability of proteins. METHODOLOGY: The effect of polystyrene nanospheres on protein crystallization were tested with three commercial proteins: lysozyme, xylanase, xylose isomerase, and with five research target proteins: hydrophobins HFBI and HFBII, laccase, sarcosine dimethylglycine N-methyltransferase (SDMT, and anti-testosterone Fab fragment 5F2. The use of nanospheres both in screening and as an additive for known crystallization conditions was studied. In screening, the addition of an aqueous solution of nanosphere to the crystallization drop had a significant positive effect on crystallization success in comparison to the control screen. As an additive in hydrophobin crystallization, the nanospheres altered the crystal packing, most likely due to the amphiphilic nature of hydrophobins. In the case of laccase, nanospheres could be used as an alternative for streak-seeding, which insofar had remained the only technique to produce high-diffracting crystals. With methyltransferase SDMT the nanospheres, used also as an additive, produced fewer, larger crystals in less time. Nanospheres, combined with the streak-seeding method, produced single 5F2 Fab crystals in shorter equilibration times. CONCLUSIONS: All in all, the use of nanospheres in protein crystallization proved to be beneficial, both when screening new crystallization conditions to promote nucleation and when used as an additive to produce better quality crystals, faster. The polystyrene nanospheres are easy to use, commercially available and close to being inert, as even with amphiphilic proteins only the crystal packing is altered and the nanospheres do not interfere with the structure and function of the protein.

  11. Production of Xylanase by Recombinant Bacillus subtilis DB104 Cultivated in Agroindustrial Waste Medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Is Helianti

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available A recombinant Bacillus subtilis DB104 strain harbouring recombinant plasmid pSKE194 containing an Open Reading Frame (ORF of endoxylanase and its indigenous promoter from the wild-type B. subtilis AQ1 strain was constructed. This recombinant B. subtilis DB104 strain had higher endoxylanase activity than the nonrecombinant B. subtilis DB104 strain in standard media, such as Luria Bertani (LB and LB with xylan. The agroindustrial wastes corncobs and tofu liquid waste were chosen as cost-effective carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively, to test the economics of xylanase production using the recombinant B. subtilis DB104 at a larger scale. Submerged fermentation using a 4.5 L working volume fermentor with tofu liquid waste and 4% corncobs produced maximum xylanase activity of 1296 ± 1.2 U/mg (601.7 ± 0.6 U/mL after 48-hour fermentation at 37°C with 150 rpm agitation; this is more than twofold higher than the activity produced in an Erlenmeyer flask. This is the first report of high xylanase activity produced from recombinant B. subtilis using inexpensive medium. During fermentation, the xylanase degrades corncobs into xylooligosaccharides, showing its potential as an enzyme feed additive or in xylooligosaccharide production.

  12. Theoretical investigation of dielectronic recombination of Sn12+ ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fu, Y. B.; Dong, C. Z.; Su, M. G.; Koike, F.; O'Sullivan, G.; Wang, J. G.

    2011-01-01

    Theoretical calculations have been made for the dielectronic recombination (DR) rate coefficients of Sn 12+ ion using a relativistic flexible atomic code with configuration interaction. Comparison of the rate coefficients for 4s, 4p, and 4d subshell excitation shows that while the 4p subshell excitation dominates over the whole temperature region, 4d subshell excitation at low temperature and 4s subshell excitation at high temperature cannot be neglected. In order to facilitate simple applications, the calculated DR rate coefficients are fitted to an empirical formula. The total DR rate coefficient is greater than either the radiative recombination or three-body recombination coefficients for electron temperatures greater than 1 eV. Therefore, DR can strongly influence the ionization balance of laser-produced tin plasmas.

  13. Novel Feruloyl Esterase from Lactobacillus fermentum NRRL B-1932 and Analysis of the Recombinant Enzyme Produced in Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Siqing; Bischoff, Kenneth M; Anderson, Amber M; Rich, Joseph O

    2016-09-01

    A total of 33 Lactobacillus strains were screened for feruloyl esterase (FE) activity using agar plates containing ethyl ferulate as the sole carbon source, and Lactobacillus fermentum NRRL B-1932 demonstrated the strongest FE activity among a dozen species showing a clearing zone on the opaque plate containing ethyl ferulate. FE activities were monitored using high-performance liquid chromatography with an acetonitrile-trifluoroacetic acid gradient. To produce sufficient purified FE from L. fermentum strain NRRL B-1932 (LfFE), the cDNA encoding LfFE (Lffae) was amplified and cloned by using available closely related genome sequences and overexpressed in Escherichia coli A 29.6-kDa LfFE protein was detected from the protein extract of E. coli BL21(pLysS) carrying pET28bLffae upon IPTG (isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside) induction. The recombinant LfFE containing a polyhistidine tag was purified by nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid affinity resin. The purified LfFE showed strong activities against several artificial substrates, including p-nitrophenyl acetate and 4-methylumbelliferyl p-trimethylammoniocinnamate chloride. The optimum pH and temperature of the recombinant LfFE were around 6.5 and 37°C, respectively, as determined using either crude or purified recombinant LfFE. This study will be essential for the production of the LfFE in E. coli on a larger scale that could not be readily achieved by L. fermentum fermentation. The production of feruloyl esterase (FE) from Lactobacillus fermentum NRRL B-1932 reported in this study will have immense potential commercial applications not only in biofuel production but also in pharmaceutical, polymer, oleo chemical, cosmetic additive, and detergent industries, as well as human health-related applications, including food flavoring, functional foods, probiotic agents, preventive medicine, and animal feed. Given the essential role FE plays in the production of hydroxycinnamic acids and ferulic acid, plus the generally

  14. Virus-like particle of Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus produced in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells is distinctive from that produced in Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kueh, Chare Li; Yong, Chean Yeah; Masoomi Dezfooli, Seyedehsara; Bhassu, Subha; Tan, Soon Guan; Tan, Wen Siang

    2017-03-01

    Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus (MrNV) is a virus native to giant freshwater prawn. Recombinant MrNV capsid protein has been produced in Escherichia coli, which self-assembled into virus-like particles (VLPs). However, this recombinant protein is unstable, degrading and forming heterogenous VLPs. In this study, MrNV capsid protein was produced in insect Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells through a baculovirus system. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that the recombinant protein produced by the insect cells self-assembled into highly stable, homogenous VLPs each of approximately 40 nm in diameter. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that the VLPs produced in Sf9 cells were highly antigenic and comparable to those produced in E. coli. In addition, the Sf9 produced VLPs were highly stable across a wide pH range (2-12). Interestingly, the Sf9 produced VLPs contained DNA of approximately 48 kilo base pairs and RNA molecules. This study is the first report on the production and characterization of MrNV VLPs produced in a eukaryotic system. The MrNV VLPs produced in Sf9 cells were about 10 nm bigger and had a uniform morphology compared with the VLPs produced in E. coli. The insect cell production system provides a good source of MrNV VLPs for structural and immunological studies as well as for host-pathogen interaction studies. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:549-557, 2017. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  15. Producing biofuels using polyketide synthases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katz, Leonard; Fortman, Jeffrey L; Keasling, Jay D

    2013-04-16

    The present invention provides for a non-naturally occurring polyketide synthase (PKS) capable of synthesizing a carboxylic acid or a lactone, and a composition such that a carboxylic acid or lactone is included. The carboxylic acid or lactone, or derivative thereof, is useful as a biofuel. The present invention also provides for a recombinant nucleic acid or vector that encodes such a PKS, and host cells which also have such a recombinant nucleic acid or vector. The present invention also provides for a method of producing such carboxylic acids or lactones using such a PKS.

  16. Trends in recombinant protein use in animal production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gifre, Laia; Arís, Anna; Bach, Àlex; Garcia-Fruitós, Elena

    2017-03-04

    Recombinant technologies have made possible the production of a broad catalogue of proteins of interest, including those used for animal production. The most widely studied proteins for the animal sector are those with an important role in reproduction, feed efficiency, and health. Nowadays, mammalian cells and fungi are the preferred choice for recombinant production of hormones for reproductive purposes and fibrolytic enzymes to enhance animal performance, respectively. However, the development of low-cost products is a priority, particularly in livestock. The study of cell factories such as yeast and bacteria has notably increased in the last decades to make the new developed reproductive hormones and fibrolytic enzymes a real alternative to the marketed ones. Important efforts have also been invested to developing new recombinant strategies for prevention and therapy, including passive immunization and modulation of the immune system. This offers the possibility to reduce the use of antibiotics by controlling physiological processes and improve the efficacy of preventing infections. Thus, nowadays different recombinant fibrolytic enzymes, hormones, and therapeutic molecules with optimized properties have been successfully produced through cost-effective processes using microbial cell factories. However, despite the important achievements for reducing protein production expenses, alternative strategies to further reduce these costs are still required. In this context, it is necessary to make a giant leap towards the use of novel strategies, such as nanotechnology, that combined with recombinant technology would make recombinant molecules affordable for animal industry.

  17. CRISPR-Cas9, a tool to efficiently increase the development of recombinant African swine fever viruses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borca, Manuel V; Holinka, Lauren G; Berggren, Keith A; Gladue, Douglas P

    2018-02-16

    African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes a highly contagious disease called African swine fever. This disease is often lethal for domestic pigs, causing extensive losses for the swine industry. ASFV is a large and complex double stranded DNA virus. Currently there is no commercially available treatment or vaccine to prevent this devastating disease. Development of recombinant ASFV for producing live-attenuated vaccines or studying the involvement of specific genes in virus virulence has relied on the relatively rare event of homologous recombination in primary swine macrophages, causing difficulty to purify the recombinant virus from the wild-type parental ASFV. Here we present the use of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system as a more robust and efficient system to produce recombinant ASFVs. Using CRISPR-Cas9 a recombinant virus was efficiently developed by deleting the non-essential gene 8-DR from the genome of the highly virulent field strain Georgia07 using swine macrophages as cell substrate.

  18. Electron - ion recombination processes - an overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hahn, Yukap

    1997-01-01

    Extensive theoretical and experimental studies have been carried out for the past 20 years on electron - ion recombination processes, as they are applied to the analysis of astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. We review the basic understanding gained through these efforts, with emphasis on some of the more recent progress made in recombination theory as the recombining system is affected by time-dependent electric fields and plasma particles at low temperature. Together with collisional ionization and excitation processes, recombination is important in determining ionization balance and excited-state population in non-equilibrium plasmas. The radiation emitted by plasmas is usually the principal medium with which to study the plasma condition, as it is produced mainly during the recombination and decay of excited states of ions inside the plasma. This is especially true when the plasma under study is not readily accessible by direct probes, as in astrophysical plasmas. Moreover, external probes may sometimes cause undesirable disturbances of the plasma. Electron-ion recombination proceeds in several different modes. The direct modes include three-body recombination (TBR) and one-step radiative recombination (RR), all to the ground- and singly-excited states of the target ions. By contrast, the indirect resonant mode is a two-step dielectronic recombination (DR), which proceeds first with the formation of doubly-excited states by radiationless excitation/capture. The resonant states thus formed may relax by autoionization and/or radiative cascades. For more exotic modes of recombination, we consider off-shell dielectronic recombination (radiative DR = RDR), in which an electron capture is accompanied by simultaneous radiative emission and excitation of the target ion. Some discussion on attachment of electrons to neutral atoms, resulting in the formation of negative ions, is also given. When resonance states involve one or more electrons in high Rydberg states

  19. Recombiner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osumi, Morimichi.

    1979-01-01

    Purpose: To provide a recombiner which is capable of converting hydrogen gas into water by use of high-frequency heating at comparatively low temperatures and is safe and cheap in cost. Constitution: Hydrogen gas is introduced from an outer pipeline to the main structure of a recombiner, and when it passes through the vicinity of the central part of the recombiner, it is reacted with copper oxide (CuO 2 ) heated to a temperature more than 300 0 C by a high-frequency heater, and converted gently into water by reduction operation (2H 2 + CuO 2 → Cu + 2H 2 O). The thus prepared water is exhausted through the outer pipeline to a suppression pool. A part of hydrogen gas which has not been converted completely into water by the reaction and is remaining as hydrogen is recovered through exhaust nozzles and again introduced into the main structure of the recombiner. (Yoshino, Y.)

  20. Experimental study of para- and ortho-H3+ recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plasil, R; Varju, J; Hejduk, M; Dohnal, P; KotrIk, T; Glosik, J

    2011-01-01

    Recombination of H 3 + with electrons is a key process for many plasmatic environments. Recent experiments on storage ring devices used ion sources producing H 3 + with enhanced populations of H 3 + ions in the para nuclear spin configuration to shed light on the theoretically predicted faster recombination of para states. Although increased recombination rates were observed, no in situ characterization of recombining ions was performed. We present a state selective recombination study of para- and ortho-H 3 + ions with electrons at 77 K in afterglow plasma in a He/Ar/H 2 gas-mixture. Both spin configurations of H 3 + have been observed in situ with a near infrared cavity ring down spectrometer (NIR-CRDS) using the two lowest energy levels of H 3 + . Using hydrogen with an enhanced population of H 2 molecules in para states allowed us to influence the [para-H 3 + ]/[ortho-H 3 + ] ratio in the discharge and in the afterglow. We observed an increase in the measured effective recombination rate coefficients with the increase of the fraction of para-H 3 + . Measurements with different fractions of para-H 3 + at otherwise identical conditions allowed us to determine the binary recombination rate coefficients for pure para-H 3 + p α bin (77 K) = (2.0±0.4)x10 -7 cm 3 s -1 and pure ortho-H 3 + o α bin (77 K) = (4±3)x10 -8 cm 3 s -1 .

  1. Experimental study of para- and ortho-H3+ recombination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plašil, R.; Varju, J.; Hejduk, M.; Dohnal, P.; Kotrík, T.; Glosík, J.

    2011-07-01

    Recombination of H3+ with electrons is a key process for many plasmatic environments. Recent experiments on storage ring devices used ion sources producing H3+ with enhanced populations of H3+ ions in the para nuclear spin configuration to shed light on the theoretically predicted faster recombination of para states. Although increased recombination rates were observed, no in situ characterization of recombining ions was performed. We present a state selective recombination study of para- and ortho-H3+ ions with electrons at 77 K in afterglow plasma in a He/Ar/H2 gas-mixture. Both spin configurations of H3+ have been observed in situ with a near infrared cavity ring down spectrometer (NIR-CRDS) using the two lowest energy levels of H3+. Using hydrogen with an enhanced population of H2 molecules in para states allowed us to influence the [para-H3+]/[ortho-H3+] ratio in the discharge and in the afterglow. We observed an increase in the measured effective recombination rate coefficients with the increase of the fraction of para-H3+. Measurements with different fractions of para-H3+ at otherwise identical conditions allowed us to determine the binary recombination rate coefficients for pure para-H3+ pαbin(77 K) = (2.0±0.4)×10-7 cm3s-1 and pure ortho-H3+ oαbin(77 K) = (4±3)×10-8 cm3s-1.

  2. Algae-Produced Pfs25 Elicits Antibodies That Inhibit Malaria Transmission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregory, James A.; Li, Fengwu; Tomosada, Lauren M.; Cox, Chesa J.; Topol, Aaron B.; Vinetz, Joseph M.; Mayfield, Stephen

    2012-01-01

    Subunit vaccines are significantly more expensive to produce than traditional vaccines because they are based primarily on recombinant proteins that must be purified from the expression system. Despite the increased cost, subunit vaccines are being developed because they are safe, effective, and can elicit antibodies that confer protection against diseases that are not currently vaccine-preventable. Algae are an attractive platform for producing subunit vaccines because they are relatively inexpensive to grow, genetically tractable, easily scaled to large volumes, have a short generation time, and are devoid of inflammatory, viral, or prion contaminants often present in other systems. We tested whether algal chloroplasts can produce malaria transmission blocking vaccine candidates, Plasmodium falciparum surface protein 25 (Pfs25) and 28 (Pfs28). Antibodies that recognize Pfs25 and Pfs28 disrupt the sexual development of parasites within the mosquito midgut, thus preventing transmission of malaria from one human host to the next. These proteins have been difficult to produce in traditional recombinant systems because they contain tandem repeats of structurally complex epidermal growth factor-like domains, which cannot be produced in bacterial systems, and because they are not glycosylated, so they must be modified for production in eukaryotic systems. Production in algal chloroplasts avoids these issues because chloroplasts can fold complex eukaryotic proteins and do not glycosylate proteins. Here we demonstrate that algae are the first recombinant system to successfully produce an unmodified and aglycosylated version of Pfs25 or Pfs28. These antigens are structurally similar to the native proteins and antibodies raised to these recombinant proteins recognize Pfs25 and Pfs28 from P. falciparum. Furthermore, antibodies to algae-produced Pfs25 bind the surface of in-vitro cultured P. falciparum sexual stage parasites and exhibit transmission blocking activity. Thus

  3. Expression of recombinant Streptokinase from local Egyptian ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    We reported for the first time the expression of a recombinant SK from a local Streptococcus strain. When produced on industrial scale this r-SK may substantially contribute to reducing the costs of thrombolytic therapy in developing countries. In this study, a highly purified r-SK from Streptococcus sp. isolated from Egyptian ...

  4. The Kinetics of Oxygen Atom Recombination in the Presence of Carbon Dioxide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamieson, C. S.; Garcia, R. M.; Pejakovic, D.; Kalogerakis, K.

    2009-12-01

    Understanding processes involving atomic oxygen is crucial for the study and modeling of composition, energy transfer, airglow, and transport dynamics in planetary atmospheres. Significant gaps and uncertainties exist in the understanding of these processes and often the relevant input from laboratory measurements is missing or outdated. We are conducting laboratory experiments to measure the rate coefficient for O + O + CO2 recombination and investigating the O2 excited states produced following the recombination. These measurements will provide key input for a quantitative understanding and reliable modeling of the atmospheres of the CO2 planets and their airglow. An excimer laser providing pulsed output at either 193 nm or 248 nm is employed to produce O atoms by dissociating carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, or ozone. In an ambient-pressure background of CO2, O atoms recombine in a time scale of a few milliseconds. Detection of laser-induced fluorescence at 845 nm following two-photon excitation near 226 nm monitors the decay of the oxygen atom population. From the temporal evolution of the signal the recombination rate coefficient is extracted. Fluorescence spectroscopy is used to detect the products of O-atom recombination and subsequent relaxation in CO2. This work is supported by the US National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Planetary Astronomy Program. Rosanne Garcia’s participation was funded by the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program.

  5. Localization of an O-glycosylated site in the recombinant barley alpha-amylase 1 produced in yeast and correction of the amino acid sequence using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry of peptide mixtures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Jens S.; Søgaard, M; Svensson, B

    1994-01-01

    Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) of peptide mixtures was used to characterize recombinant barley alpha-amylase 1, produced in yeast. Three peptide mixtures were generated by cleavage with CNBr, digestion with endoproteinase Lys-C and Asp-N, respectively...

  6. Modelling of the operational behaviour of passive autocatalytic recombiners

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwarz, Ulrich

    2011-01-01

    Due to severe accidents in nuclear power plants, a significant amount of hydrogen can be produced. In pressurized water reactors, a possible and wide-spread measurement is the use of auto-catalytic recombiners. There are numerous numerical models describing the operational behaviour of recombiners for containment codes. The numerical model REKO-DIREKT was developed at the Forschungszentrum Juelich. This model describes the chemical reaction on the catalytic sheets by a physical model, as opposed to the usual codes based on empirical correlations. Additionally, there have been experimental studies concerning the catalytic recombination of hydrogen since the 1990s. The aim of this work is the further development of the program REKO-DIREKT to an independent recombiner model for severe accident and containment codes. Therefore, the catalyst model already existed has been submitted by a parameter optimization with an experimental database expanded during this work. In addition, a chimney model has been implemented which allows the calculation of the free convection flow through the recombiner housing due to the exothermal reaction. This model has been tested by experimental data gained by a recently built test facility. The complete recombiner model REKO-DIREKT has been validated by data from literature. Another aim of this work is the derivation of the reaction kinetics for recombiner designs regarding future reactor concepts. Therefore, experimental studies both on single catalytic coated meshes as well as on two meshes installed in a row have been performed in laboratory scale. By means of the measured data, a theoretical approach for the determination of the reaction rate has been derived.

  7. Induction of mutation and recombination following UV irradiation during meiosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kelly, S.L.; Parry, J.M. (University Coll. of Swansea (UK). Dept. of Genetics)

    1983-03-01

    Irradiation of yeast cultures with ultraviolet light at discrete stages during meiosis produces cyclic variations in sensitivity, i.e. cells are more sensitive to the lethal effects of UV light prior to entry into the meiotic DNA synthesis, and this corresponds to a peak of induction of point mutation. Cells become more resistant to both induced point mutation and lethality as they enter meiotic DNA synthesis, but become more sensitive again during spore formation. The induced level of intragenic recombination rises during the period of commitment ot recombination to a level indistinguishable from the full meiotic level of spontaneous intragenic recombination. Induced reciprocal recombination remains above the spontaneous level up to the point of commitment to sporulation.

  8. Production of extracellular traps against Aspergillus fumigatus in vitro and in infected lung tissue is dependent on invading neutrophils and influenced by hydrophobin RodA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Bruns

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus fumigatus is the most important airborne fungal pathogen causing life-threatening infections in immunocompromised patients. Macrophages and neutrophils are known to kill conidia, whereas hyphae are killed mainly by neutrophils. Since hyphae are too large to be engulfed, neutrophils possess an array of extracellular killing mechanisms including the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs consisting of nuclear DNA decorated with fungicidal proteins. However, until now NET formation in response to A. fumigatus has only been demonstrated in vitro, the importance of neutrophils for their production in vivo is unclear and the molecular mechanisms of the fungus to defend against NET formation are unknown. Here, we show that human neutrophils produce NETs in vitro when encountering A. fumigatus. In time-lapse movies NET production was a highly dynamic process which, however, was only exhibited by a sub-population of cells. NETosis was maximal against hyphae, but reduced against resting and swollen conidia. In a newly developed mouse model we could then demonstrate the existence and measure the kinetics of NET formation in vivo by 2-photon microscopy of Aspergillus-infected lungs. We also observed the enormous dynamics of neutrophils within the lung and their ability to interact with and phagocytose fungal elements in situ. Furthermore, systemic neutrophil depletion in mice almost completely inhibited NET formation in lungs, thus directly linking the immigration of neutrophils with NET formation in vivo. By using fungal mutants and purified proteins we demonstrate that hydrophobin RodA, a surface protein making conidia immunologically inert, led to reduced NET formation of neutrophils encountering Aspergillus fungal elements. NET-dependent killing of Aspergillus-hyphae could be demonstrated at later time-points, but was only moderate. Thus, these data establish that NET formation occurs in vivo during host defence against A

  9. Anti-angiogenesis and anti-tumor activity of recombinant anginex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brandwijk, Ricardo J.M.G.E.; Dings, Ruud P.M.; Linden, Edith van der; Mayo, Kevin H.; Thijssen, Victor L.J.L.; Griffioen, Arjan W.

    2006-01-01

    Anginex, a synthetic 33-mer angiostatic peptide, specifically inhibits vascular endothelial cell proliferation and migration along with induction of apoptosis in endothelial cells. Here we report on the in vivo characterization of recombinant anginex and use of the artificial anginex gene for gene therapy approaches. Tumor growth of human MA148 ovarian carcinoma in athymic mice was inhibited by 80% when treated with recombinant anginex. Histological analysis of the tumors showed an approximate 2.5-fold reduction of microvessel density, suggesting that angiogenesis inhibition is the cause of the anti-tumor effect. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between the gene expression patterns of 16 angiogenesis-related factors after treatment with both recombinant and synthetic anginex. To validate the applicability of the anginex gene for gene therapy, stable transfectants of murine B16F10 melanoma cells expressing recombinant anginex were made. Supernatants of these cells inhibited endothelial cell proliferation in vitro. Furthermore, after subcutaneous injection of these cells in C57BL/6 mice, an extensive delay in tumor growth was observed. These data show that the artificial anginex gene can be used to produce a recombinant protein with similar activity as its synthetic counterpart and that the gene can be applied in gene therapy approaches for cancer treatment

  10. Biomimetic calcium phosphate coatings on recombinant spider silk fibres

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang Liang; Habibovic, Pamela; Van Blitterswijk, Clemens A [Department of Tissue Regeneration, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede (Netherlands); Hedhammar, My; Johansson, Jan [Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, the Biomedical Centre, Box 575, 751 23 Uppsala (Sweden); Blom, Tobias; Leifer, Klaus [Department of Engineering Sciences, Uppsala University, Box 534, S-751 21 Uppsala (Sweden)

    2010-08-01

    Calcium phosphate ceramic coatings, applied on surfaces of metallic and polymeric biomaterials, can improve their performance in bone repair and regeneration. Spider silk is biocompatible, strong and elastic, and hence an attractive biomaterial for applications in connective tissue repair. Recently, artificial spider silk, with mechanical and structural characteristics similar to those of native spider silk, has been produced from recombinant minispidroins. In the present study, supersaturated simulated body fluid was used to deposit calcium phosphate coatings on recombinant spider silk fibres. The mineralization process was followed in time using scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) detector and Raman spectroscope. Focused ion beam technology was used to produce a cross section of a coated fibre, which was further analysed by EDX. Preliminary in vitro experiments using a culture of bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) on coated fibres were also performed. This study showed that recombinant spider silk fibres were successfully coated with a homogeneous and thick crystalline calcium phosphate layer. In the course of the mineralization process from modified simulated body fluid, sodium chloride crystals were first deposited on the silk surface, followed by the deposition of a calcium phosphate layer. The coated silk fibres supported the attachment and growth of hMSCs.

  11. Biomimetic calcium phosphate coatings on recombinant spider silk fibres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Liang; Habibovic, Pamela; Van Blitterswijk, Clemens A; Hedhammar, My; Johansson, Jan; Blom, Tobias; Leifer, Klaus

    2010-01-01

    Calcium phosphate ceramic coatings, applied on surfaces of metallic and polymeric biomaterials, can improve their performance in bone repair and regeneration. Spider silk is biocompatible, strong and elastic, and hence an attractive biomaterial for applications in connective tissue repair. Recently, artificial spider silk, with mechanical and structural characteristics similar to those of native spider silk, has been produced from recombinant minispidroins. In the present study, supersaturated simulated body fluid was used to deposit calcium phosphate coatings on recombinant spider silk fibres. The mineralization process was followed in time using scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) detector and Raman spectroscope. Focused ion beam technology was used to produce a cross section of a coated fibre, which was further analysed by EDX. Preliminary in vitro experiments using a culture of bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) on coated fibres were also performed. This study showed that recombinant spider silk fibres were successfully coated with a homogeneous and thick crystalline calcium phosphate layer. In the course of the mineralization process from modified simulated body fluid, sodium chloride crystals were first deposited on the silk surface, followed by the deposition of a calcium phosphate layer. The coated silk fibres supported the attachment and growth of hMSCs.

  12. Purification and crystallization of human Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase recombinantly produced in the protozoan Leishmania tarentolae

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Gazdag, E. M.; Cirstea, I.; Breitling, R.; Lukeš, Julius; Blankenfeldt, W.; Alexandrov, K.

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 66, č. 8 (2010), s. 871-877 ISSN 1744-3091 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60220518 Keywords : recombinant proteins * eukaryotic expression systems * Leishmania Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 0.563, year: 2010

  13. Radiative and interfacial recombination in CdTe heterostructures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Swartz, C. H., E-mail: craig.swartz@txstate.edu; Edirisooriya, M.; LeBlanc, E. G.; Noriega, O. C.; Jayathilaka, P. A. R. D.; Ogedengbe, O. S.; Hancock, B. L.; Holtz, M.; Myers, T. H. [Materials Science, Engineering, and Commercialization Program, Texas State University, 601 University Dr., San Marcos, Texas 78666 (United States); Zaunbrecher, K. N. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Mississippi RSF200, Golden, Colorado 80401 (United States)

    2014-12-01

    Double heterostructures (DH) were produced consisting of a CdTe film between two wide band gap barriers of CdMgTe alloy. A combined method was developed to quantify radiative and non-radiative recombination rates by examining the dependence of photoluminescence (PL) on both excitation intensity and time. The measured PL characteristics, and the interface state density extracted by modeling, indicate that the radiative efficiency of CdMgTe/CdTe DHs is comparable to that of AlGaAs/GaAs DHs, with interface state densities in the low 10{sup 10 }cm{sup −2} and carrier lifetimes as long as 240 ns. The radiative recombination coefficient of CdTe is found to be near 10{sup −10} cm{sup 3}s{sup −1}. CdTe film growth on bulk CdTe substrates resulted in a homoepitaxial interface layer with a high non-radiative recombination rate.

  14. Adsorption of hydrophobin on different self-assembled monolayers: the role of the hydrophobic dipole and the electric dipole.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Chunwang; Liu, Jie; Zhao, Daohui; Zhou, Jian

    2014-09-30

    In this work, the adsorptions of hydrophobin (HFBI) on four different self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) (i.e., CH3-SAM, OH-SAM, COOH-SAM, and NH2-SAM) were investigated by parallel tempering Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations. Simulation results indicate that the orientation of HFBI adsorbed on neutral surfaces is dominated by a hydrophobic dipole. HFBI adsorbs on the hydrophobic CH3-SAM through its hydrophobic patch and adopts a nearly vertical hydrophobic dipole relative to the surface, while it is nearly horizontal when adsorbed on the hydrophilic OH-SAM. For charged SAM surfaces, HFBI adopts a nearly vertical electric dipole relative to the surface. HFBI has the narrowest orientation distribution on the CH3-SAM, and thus can form an ordered monolayer and reverse the wettability of the surface. For HFBI adsorption on charged SAMs, the adsorption strength weakens as the surface charge density increases. Compared with those on other SAMs, a larger area of the hydrophobic patch is exposed to the solution when HFBI adsorbs on the NH2-SAM. This leads to an increase of the hydrophobicity of the surface, which is consistent with the experimental results. The binding of HFBI to the CH3-SAM is mainly through hydrophobic interactions, while it is mediated through a hydration water layer near the surface for the OH-SAM. For the charged SAM surfaces, the adsorption is mainly induced by electrostatic interactions between the charged surfaces and the oppositely charged residues. The effect of a hydrophobic dipole on protein adsorption onto hydrophobic surfaces is similar to that of an electric dipole for charged surfaces. Therefore, the hydrophobic dipole may be applied to predict the probable orientations of protein adsorbed on hydrophobic surfaces.

  15. Production, purification and immunogenicity of recombinant Ebola virus proteins - A comparison of Freund's adjuvant and adjuvant system 03.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melén, Krister; Kakkola, Laura; He, Felix; Airenne, Kari; Vapalahti, Olli; Karlberg, Helen; Mirazimi, Ali; Julkunen, Ilkka

    2017-04-01

    There is an urgent need for Ebola virus (EBOV) proteins, EBOV-specific antibodies and recombinant antigens to be used in diagnostics and as potential vaccine candidates. Our objective was to produce and purify recombinant proteins for immunological assays and for the production of polyclonal EBOV specific antibodies. In addition, a limited comparison of the adjuvant effects of Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) and adjuvant system 03 (AS03) was carried out. Recombinant EBOV GST-VP24, -VP30, -VP35, -VP40 and -NP were produced in E. coli and purified with affinity chromatography followed by preparative gel electrophoresis. Recombinant EBOV GP-His was produced in Sf9 insect cells and purified by preparative gel electrophoresis. To compare the adjuvant effect of FCA and AS03, 12 rabbits were immunized four times with one of the six recombinant EBOV proteins using FCA or AS03. In addition, three guinea pigs were immunized with EBOV VP24 using FCA. With the exception of sera from two rabbits immunized with GST-VP24, the antisera against all other EBOV proteins showed very high and specific antibody responses after three to four immunizations. The adjuvant effect of AS03 was comparable to that of FCA. The produced antibodies recognized the corresponding EBOV proteins in wild type EBOV-infected cells. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Genome-wide recombination rate variation in a recombination map of cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Chao; Li, Ximei; Zhang, Ruiting; Lin, Zhongxu

    2017-01-01

    Recombination is crucial for genetic evolution, which not only provides new allele combinations but also influences the biological evolution and efficacy of natural selection. However, recombination variation is not well understood outside of the complex species' genomes, and it is particularly unclear in Gossypium. Cotton is the most important natural fibre crop and the second largest oil-seed crop. Here, we found that the genetic and physical maps distances did not have a simple linear relationship. Recombination rates were unevenly distributed throughout the cotton genome, which showed marked changes along the chromosome lengths and recombination was completely suppressed in the centromeric regions. Recombination rates significantly varied between A-subgenome (At) (range = 1.60 to 3.26 centimorgan/megabase [cM/Mb]) and D-subgenome (Dt) (range = 2.17 to 4.97 cM/Mb), which explained why the genetic maps of At and Dt are similar but the physical map of Dt is only half that of At. The translocation regions between A02 and A03 and between A04 and A05, and the inversion regions on A10, D10, A07 and D07 indicated relatively high recombination rates in the distal regions of the chromosomes. Recombination rates were positively correlated with the densities of genes, markers and the distance from the centromere, and negatively correlated with transposable elements (TEs). The gene ontology (GO) categories showed that genes in high recombination regions may tend to response to environmental stimuli, and genes in low recombination regions are related to mitosis and meiosis, which suggested that they may provide the primary driving force in adaptive evolution and assure the stability of basic cell cycle in a rapidly changing environment. Global knowledge of recombination rates will facilitate genetics and breeding in cotton.

  17. Fine-Scale Recombination Maps of Fungal Plant Pathogens Reveal Dynamic Recombination Landscapes and Intragenic Hotspots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stukenbrock, Eva H; Dutheil, Julien Y

    2018-03-01

    Meiotic recombination is an important driver of evolution. Variability in the intensity of recombination across chromosomes can affect sequence composition, nucleotide variation, and rates of adaptation. In many organisms, recombination events are concentrated within short segments termed recombination hotspots. The variation in recombination rate and positions of recombination hotspot can be studied using population genomics data and statistical methods. In this study, we conducted population genomics analyses to address the evolution of recombination in two closely related fungal plant pathogens: the prominent wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici and a sister species infecting wild grasses Z. ardabiliae We specifically addressed whether recombination landscapes, including hotspot positions, are conserved in the two recently diverged species and if recombination contributes to rapid evolution of pathogenicity traits. We conducted a detailed simulation analysis to assess the performance of methods of recombination rate estimation based on patterns of linkage disequilibrium, in particular in the context of high nucleotide diversity. Our analyses reveal overall high recombination rates, a lack of suppressed recombination in centromeres, and significantly lower recombination rates on chromosomes that are known to be accessory. The comparison of the recombination landscapes of the two species reveals a strong correlation of recombination rate at the megabase scale, but little correlation at smaller scales. The recombination landscapes in both pathogen species are dominated by frequent recombination hotspots across the genome including coding regions, suggesting a strong impact of recombination on gene evolution. A significant but small fraction of these hotspots colocalize between the two species, suggesting that hotspot dynamics contribute to the overall pattern of fast evolving recombination in these species. Copyright © 2018 Stukenbrock and Dutheil.

  18. Production of Brugia malayi BmSXP Recombinant Protein Expressed in Escherichia coli

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khoo, T. K.

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available A rapid antibody detection test is very useful for detection of lymphatic filariasis, especially for certification and surveillance of post-mass drug administration. One such kit, panLF RapidTM (commercialized by Malaysian BioDiagnostic Research Sdn. Bhd. had been developed in our laboratory for the detection of all species of filarial infections. It is based on the detection of anti-filarial IgG4 antibodies that react with recombinant Brugia malayi antigens, BmR1 and BmSXP. In this study, the growth of recombinant bacteria that produce BmSXP was optimized under shake flask fermentation for high yield of the recombinant antigen. The optimizations involved selection of suitable growth medium, IPTG concentration and induction time. The medium that yielded the highest biomass as well as total protein was Terrific Broth (TB medium, which is an undefined medium. Initiation of induction of protein expression was found to be best at mid-log phase (OD600 = 1.5, with IPTG concentration of 1.0 mM, and harvest time at 9 h post-induction. This study showed that under the optimized conditions, the shake flask culture produced 4 g/L biomass (dry cell weight of recombinant Escherichia coli BmSXP/pPROEXHTa/TOP10F’, which yielded 2.42 mg/L of purified BmSXP recombinant antigen. The purified antigen was analyzed by SDS-PAGE and the antigenicity of protein was confirmed by Western blot.

  19. Effect of recombinant bovine somatotropin application intervals on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    productivity gains in dairy herds is recombinant bovine somatotropin ... intervals of 14 days can increase milk production from 3 to 5 kg/day, on ... blood flow and improving the efficiency in the use of .... The total increase in liters of milk produced within 30 days .... maintenance on production throughout the experimental.

  20. Cellulase producing microorganism ATCC 55702

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dees, H. Craig

    1997-01-01

    Bacteria which produce large amounts of cellulase--containing cell-free fermentate have been identified. The original bacterium (ATCC 55703) was genetically altered using nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) treatment to produce the enhanced cellulase producing bacterium (ATCC 55702), which was identified through replicate plating. ATCC 55702 has improved characteristics and qualifies for the degradation of cellulosic waste materials for fuel production, food processing, textile processing, and other industrial applications. ATCC 55702 is an improved bacterial host for genetic manipulations using recombinant DNA techniques, and is less likely to destroy genetic manipulations using standard mutagenesis techniques.

  1. Biochemical and immunological characterization of recombinant allergen Lol p 1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamborini, E; Faccini, S; Lidholm, J; Svensson, M; Brandazza, A; Longhi, R; Groenlund, H; Sidoli, A; Arosio, P

    1997-11-01

    Pollen from perennial rye grass (Lolium perenne), a major cause of type-I allergy worldwide, contains a complex mixture of allergenic proteins among which Lol p 1 is one of the most important. We describe the expression, purification and characterization of a recombinant Lol p 1 overproduced in Escherichia coli. The recombinant allergen, expressed in high yields and purified in milligram amounts, bound to specific IgE antibodies from human sera, induced histamine release from sensitized human basophils, and elicited rabbit antisera that recognize specifically recombinant Lol p 1 and natural Lol p 1 of pollen extract. Recombinant Lol p 1 was used to develop ImmunoCAP assays for analysis of 150 sera that were Radioallergosorbent test positive to L. perenne pollen. In 130 of them (87%) the assay detected a significant level of IgE antibodies to Lol p 1, reaching on average 37% of the level obtained with a test for IgE to the whole grass pollen extract. To map epitopes on Lol p 1, we produced three deletion mutants [des-(116-240)-Lol p 1, des-(1-88)-Lol p 1 and des-(133-189)-Lol p 1], which were efficiently expressed in bacteria. These all showed a strong reactivity with the specific rabbit IgG antibodies, but lacked most or all the allergenic properties of recombinant Lol p 1. A study of the antigenic structure of Lol p 1 was performed using the three deletion mutants and a set of 17-18-residue overlapping synthetic peptides covering the whole allergen sequence. The results indicate that human IgE and rabbit IgG antibodies bind to distinct regions of Lol p 1, and that at least some important IgE epitopes are mainly conformational. The findings suggest that recombinant allergens constitute useful reagents for further development of serological diagnosis of allergy, and that it should be possible to produce immunogenic fragments of allergenic proteins without allergenic properties.

  2. The effect of gamma radiation on recombination frequency in Caenorhabditis elegans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, J.S.; Rose, A.M.

    1987-01-01

    We have studied the effect of gamma radiation on recombination frequency for intervals across the cluster of linkage group I in Caenorhabditis elegans. Recombination frequency increased approximately twofold across the dpy-5-unc-13 interval after treatment with 2000 rads (1 rad = 10 mGy) of cobalt 60 gamma radiation. Several factors affecting the magnitude of the increase have been characterized. Recombination frequency increased more with higher doses of radiation. However, the increase in recombination frequency with increasing dose was accompanied by a reduced average number of progeny from radiation-treated individuals. The amount of the increase was affected by meiotic stage, age at the time of treatment (premeiotic), and radiation dose. The increase in recombination was detectable in the B brood and remained elevated for the remainder of egg production. X-chromosome nondisjunction was also increased by radiation treatment. A high frequency of the recombinant progeny produced with radiation treatment were sterile unlike their nonrecombinant siblings. When parameters affecting recombination frequency are held constant during treatment, chromosomal regions of high gene density on the meiotic map increased more (fourfold) than an adjacent region of low gene density (no increase). The greatest was across the dpy-14-unc-13 interval near the center of the gene cluster. These results may suggest that the physical length of DNA per map unit is greater within the cluster than outside

  3. Simultaneous lactic acidification and coagulation by using recombinant Lactococcus lactis strain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raftari, M; Ghafourian, S; Abu Bakar, F

    2017-04-01

    This study was an attempt to create a novel milk clotting procedure using a recombinant bacterium capable of milk coagulation. The Rhizomucor pusillus proteinase (RPP) gene was sub-cloned into a pALF expression vector. The recombinant pALF-RPP vector was then electro-transferred into Lactococcus lactis. Finally, the milk coagulation ability of recombinant L. lactis carrying a RPP gene was evaluated. Nucleotide sequencing of DNA insertion from the clone revealed that the RPP activity corresponded to an open reading frame consisting of 1218 bp coding for a 43·45 kDa RPP protein. The RPP protein assay results indicated that the highest RPP enzyme expression with 870 Soxhlet units (SU) per ml and 7914 SU/OD were obtained for cultures which were incubated at pH 5·5 and 30°C. Interestingly, milk coagulation was observed after 205 min of inoculating milk with recombinant L. lactis carrying the RPP gene. The recombinant L. lactis carrying RPP gene has the ability to function as a starter culture for acidifying and subsequently coagulating milk by producing RPP as a milk coagulant agent. Creating a recombinant starter culture bacterium that is able to coagulate milk. It is significant because the recombinant L. lactis has the ability to work as a starter culture and milk coagulation agent. © 2016 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  4. Low-energy rate enhancement in recombination processes of electrons into bare uranium ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Yong; Zeng Siliang; Duan Bin; Yan Jun; Wang Jianguo; Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou; Dong Chenzhong; Ma Xinwen

    2007-01-01

    Based on the Dirac-Fork-Slater method combined with the multichannel quantum defect theory, the recombination processes of electrons into bare uranium ions (U 92+ ) are investigated in the relative energy range close to zero, and the x-ray spectrum emitted in the direct radiative recombination and cascades processes are simulated. Compared with the recent measurement, it is found that the rate enhancement comes from the additional populations on high Rydberg states. These additional populations may be produced by other recombination mechanisms, such as the external electric-magnetic effects and the many-body correlation effects, which still remains an open problem. (authors)

  5. Characterization of canine herpesvirus glycoprotein C expressed by a recombinant baculovirus in insect cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xuan, X; Maeda, K; Mikami, T; Otsuka, H

    1996-12-01

    The gene encoding the canine herpesvirus (CHV) glycoprotein C (gC) homologue has been identified by sequence homology analyses with other well studied herpesviruses. Previously, we have identified three CHV glycoproteins, gp145/112, gp80 and gp47 using a panel of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). To determine which CHV glycoprotein corresponds to gC, a recombinant baculovirus which contains the putative CHV gC structural gene under the baculovirus polyhedrin promoter was constructed. The recombinant baculovirus expressed gC-related polypeptides (44-62 kDa), which reacted only with MAbs against CHV gp80, indicating that the previously identified CHV gp80 is the translation product of the gC gene. The baculovirus expressed gC was glycosylated and transported to the surface of infected cells. At least seven neutralizing epitopes were conserved on the gC produced in insect cells. It was found that the recombinant baculovirus infected cells adsorbed murine erythrocytes as is the case for CHV-infected cells. The hemadsorption activity was inhibited by heparin, indicating that the CHV gC binds to heparan sulfate on the surface of murine erythrocytes. Mice immunized with the recombinant gC produced strong neutralizing antibodies. Our results suggest that CHV gC produced in insect cells may be useful as a subunit vaccine to control CHV infections.

  6. Genetic Recombination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitehouse, H. L. K.

    1973-01-01

    Discusses the mechanisms of genetic recombination with particular emphasis on the study of the fungus Sordaria brevicollis. The study of recombination is facilitated by the use of mutants of this fungus in which the color of the ascospores is affected. (JR)

  7. The induction of mutation and recombination following UV irradiation during meiosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kelly, S.L.; Parry, J.M.

    1983-01-01

    Irradiation of yeast cultures with ultraviolet light at discrete stages during meiosis produces cyclic variations in sensitivity, i.e. cells are more sensitive to the lethal effects of UV light prior to entry into the meiotic DNA synthesis, and this corresponds to a peak of induction of point mutation. Cells become more resistant to both induced point mutation and lethality as they enter meiotic DNA synthesis, but become more sensitive again during spore formation. The induced level of intragenic recombination rises during the period of commitment ot recombination to a level indistinguishable from the full meiotic level of spontaneous intragenic recombination. Induced reciprocal recombination remains above the spontaneous level up to the point of commitment to sporulation. (orig.)

  8. The induction of mutation and recombination following UV irradiation during meiosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, S L; Parry, J M

    1983-03-01

    Irradiation of yeast cultures with ultraviolet light at discrete stages during meiosis produces cyclic variations in sensitivity, i.e. cells are more sensitive to the lethal effects of UV light prior to entry into the meiotic DNA synthesis, and this corresponds to a peak of induction of point mutation. Cells become more resistant to both induced point mutation and lethality as they enter meiotic DNA synthesis, but become more sensitive again during spore formation. The induced level of intragenic recombination rises during the period of commitment to recombination to a level indistinguishable from the full meiotic level of spontaneous intragenic recombination. Induced reciprocal recombination remains above the spontaneous level up to the point of commitment to sporulation.

  9. Charge exchange as a recombination mechanism in high-temperature plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hulse, R.A.; Post, D.E.; Mikkelsen, D.R.

    1980-03-01

    Charge exchange with neutral hydrogen is examined as a recombination mechanism for multi-charged impurity ions present in high-temperature fusion plasmas. At sufficiently low electron densities, fluxes of atomic hydrogen produced by either the injection of neutral heating beams or the background of thermal neutrals can yield an important or even dominant recombination process for such ions. Equilibrium results are given for selected impurity elements showing the altered ionization balance and radiative cooling rate produced by the presence of various neutral populations. A notable result is that the stripping of impurities to relatively non-radiative ionization states with increasing electron temperature can be postponed or entirely prevented by the application of intense neutral beam heating power. A time dependent calculation modelling the behavior of iron in recent PLT tokamak high power neutral beam heating experiments is also presented

  10. Respiratory syncytial virus subunit vaccine based on a recombinant fusion protein expressed transiently in mammalian cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nallet, Sophie; Amacker, Mario; Westerfeld, Nicole; Baldi, Lucia; König, Iwo; Hacker, David L; Zaborosch, Christiane; Zurbriggen, Rinaldo; Wurm, Florian M

    2009-10-30

    Although respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes severe lower respiratory tract infection in infants and adults at risk, no RSV vaccine is currently available. In this report, efforts toward the generation of an RSV subunit vaccine using recombinant RSV fusion protein (rRSV-F) are described. The recombinant protein was produced by transient gene expression (TGE) in suspension-adapted human embryonic kidney cells (HEK-293E) in 4 L orbitally shaken bioreactors. It was then purified and formulated in immunostimulating reconstituted influenza virosomes (IRIVs). The candidate vaccine induced anti-RSV-F neutralizing antibodies in mice, and challenge studies in cotton rats are ongoing. If successful in preclinical and clinical trials, this will be the first recombinant subunit vaccine produced by large-scale TGE in mammalian cells.

  11. A highly efficient targeted recombination system for engineering linear chromosomes of industrial bacteria Streptomyces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Hung-Yin; Chen, Carton W; Huang, Chih-Hung

    2018-04-17

    Soil bacteria Streptomyces are the most important producers of secondary metabolites, including most known antibiotics. These bacteria and their close relatives are unique in possessing linear chromosomes, which typically harbor 20 to 30 biosynthetic gene clusters of tens to hundreds of kb in length. Many Streptomyces chromosomes are accompanied by linear plasmids with sizes ranging from several to several hundred kb. The large linear plasmids also often contain biosynthetic gene clusters. We have developed a targeted recombination procedure for arm exchanges between a linear plasmid and a linear chromosome. A chromosomal segment inserted in an artificially constructed plasmid allows homologous recombination between the two replicons at the homology. Depending on the design, the recombination may result in two recombinant replicons or a single recombinant chromosome with the loss of the recombinant plasmid that lacks a replication origin. The efficiency of such targeted recombination ranges from 9 to 83% depending on the locations of the homology (and thus the size of the chromosomal arm exchanged), essentially eliminating the necessity of selection. The targeted recombination is useful for the efficient engineering of the Streptomyces genome for large-scale deletion, addition, and shuffling.

  12. Nerve growth factor, clinical applications and production of the recombinant protei

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Zangi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The mammalian neurotrophin family proteins, nerve growth factor (NGF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF, neurotrophin-3 (NT-3 and neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5 are known as neuronal survival factors. NGF, one of the most important cytokines, is composed of 118 amino acids. NGF is involved in the growth and differentiation of neural cells of the vertebrate peripheral sympathetic nerve as well as basal forebrain cholinergic neurons which degenerate in Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, it is implicated in the regulation of synaptic transmission and synaptogenesis in the central nervous system. NGF is produced by a variety of immune cells, including B cells, T cells, monocytes and mast cells as well as nervous system and binds through two distinct receptors, TrkA and p75NTR which signaling through them leads to the neuronal differentiation and cell death respectively. Considering the importance of this protein as a drug, NGF has been proposed for the treatment of neuron degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis. To produce enough protein for research and clinical applications, genetic engineering techniques are used to produce recombinant forms. To date, there are no reports about the systems for production of the recombinant human NGF in an effective, low cost, with industrial production. Plants as a safe host generally offer major advantages such as free of animal pathogens, low costs, the ability to produce a protein similar to natural protein, and industrial production in large scale. Then they are suitable for the production of recombinant human NGF.

  13. Yeast synthetic biology for the production of recombinant therapeutic proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyunah; Yoo, Su Jin; Kang, Hyun Ah

    2015-02-01

    The production of recombinant therapeutic proteins is one of the fast-growing areas of molecular medicine and currently plays an important role in treatment of several diseases. Yeasts are unicellular eukaryotic microbial host cells that offer unique advantages in producing biopharmaceutical proteins. Yeasts are capable of robust growth on simple media, readily accommodate genetic modifications, and incorporate typical eukaryotic post-translational modifications. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a traditional baker's yeast that has been used as a major host for the production of biopharmaceuticals; however, several nonconventional yeast species including Hansenula polymorpha, Pichia pastoris, and Yarrowia lipolytica have gained increasing attention as alternative hosts for the industrial production of recombinant proteins. In this review, we address the established and emerging genetic tools and host strains suitable for recombinant protein production in various yeast expression systems, particularly focusing on current efforts toward synthetic biology approaches in developing yeast cell factories for the production of therapeutic recombinant proteins. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.

  14. Polymyxin B as inhibitor of LPS contamination of Schistosoma mansoni recombinant proteins in human cytokine analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pacífico Lucila G

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recombinant proteins expressed in Escherichia coli vectors are generally contaminated with endotoxin. In this study, we evaluated the ability of Polymyxin B to neutralize the effect of LPS present as contaminant on Schistosoma mansoni recombinant proteins produced in E. coli in inducing TNF-α and IL-10. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from individuals chronically infected with S. mansoni were stimulated in vitro with recombinant Sm22.6, Sm14 and P24 antigens (10 μg/mL in the presence of Polymyxin B (10 μg/mL. Results The levels of cytokines were measured using ELISA. There was greater than 90 % reduction (p S. mansoni recombinant proteins in the presence of Polymyxin B, a reduction in the levels of TNF-α and IL-10 was also observed. However, the percentage of reduction was lower when compared to the cultures stimulated with LPS, probably because these proteins are able to induce the production of these cytokines by themselves. Conclusion This study showed that Polymyxin B was able to neutralize the effect of endotoxin, as contaminant in S. mansoni recombinant antigens produced in E. coli, in inducing TNF-α and IL-10 production.

  15. Heterologous expression of a truncated form of human recombinant vascular endothelial growth factor-A and its biological activity in wound healing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khaki, Mohsen; Salmanian, Ali Hatef; Mosayebi, Ghasem; Baazm, Maryam; Babaei, Saeed; Molaee, Neda; Abtahi, Hamid

    2017-07-01

    Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the most effective proteins in angiogenesis, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) differentiation and wound healing. These abilities are therapeutic potential of VEGF in diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy and other tissue damage circumstances. In this study, recombinant VEGF was produced in Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) system and then biological activity of this protein was evaluated in animal wound healing. E. coli BL21 (DE3) competent cells were transformed with pET32a-VEGF clone and induced by isopropyl-β-D-thio-galactoside (IPTG). The recombinant protein was purified by affinity chromatography. Recombinant VEGF-A-based ointment (VEGF/Vaseline 0.8 mg/100 w/w) was used for external wound (25×15mm thickness) healing in animal model. In vivo activity of ointment was evaluated by clinical evidences and cytological microscopic assessment. The recombinant protein with molecular weight of 45 kilodaltons (kDa) and concentration of 0.8 mg/ml was produced. Immunoblotting data showed that the antigenic region of VEGF can be expressed in E. coli and the recombinant protein has similar epitopes with close antigenic properties to the natural form. Macroscopic findings and microscopic data showed that the recombinant VEGF-A ointment was effective on excisional wound healing. Recombinant VEGF-A produced by pET32a in E. coli , possesses acceptable structure and has wound healing capability.

  16. Termini of human chromosomes display elevated rates of mitotic recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornforth, M N; Eberle, R L

    2001-01-01

    The strand-specific in situ hybridization technique of CO-FISH was used to probe telomeres of human mitotic cells in order to determine the spontaneous frequency of crossover. This approach allowed the detection of recombinational crossovers occurring anywhere along the length of individual chromosomes, including reciprocal events taking place between sister chromatids. Although the process of sister chromatid exchange (SCE) is the most prominent type of recombination in somatic mammalian cells, our results show that SCEs accounted for less than a third of the recombinational events revealed by CO-FISH. It is concluded that chromosomal regions near the termini of chromosome arms undergo extraordinarily high rates of spontaneous recombination, producing terminal crossovers whose small size precludes detection by standard cytogenetic methods. That similar results were observed for transformed epithelial cells, as well as primary fibroblasts, suggests that the phenomenon is a common characteristic of human cells. These findings are noteworthy because, although telomeric and subtelomeric DNA is known to be preferentially involved in certain types of recombination, the tips of somatic mammalian chromosomes have not previously been identified as preferred sites for crossover. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of limitations imposed on CO-FISH for its proposed use in directional hybridization mapping.

  17. Identification of new genes required for meiotic recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ajimura, M.; Lee, S.H.; Ogawa, H.

    1993-01-01

    Mutants defective in meiotic recombination were isolated from a disomic haploid strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by examining recombination within the leu2 and his4 heteroalleles located on chromosome III. The mutants were classified into two new complementation groups (MRE2 and MRE11) and eight previously identified groups, which include SPO11, HOP1, REC114, MRE4/MEK1 and genes in the RAD52 epistasis group. All of the mutants, in which the mutations in the new complementation groups are homozygous and diploid, can undergo premeiotic DNA synthesis and produce spores. The spores are, however, not viable. The mre2 and mre11 mutants produce viable spores in a spo13 background, in which meiosis I is bypassed, suggesting that these mutants are blocked at an early step in meiotic recombination. The mre2 mutant does not exhibit any unusual phenotype during mitosis and it is, thus, considered to have a mutation in a meiosis-specific gene. By contrast, the mre11 mutant is sensitive to damage to DNA by methyl methanesulfonate and exhibits a hyperrecombination phenotype in mitosis. Among six alleles of HOP1 that were isolated, an unusual pattern of intragenic complementation was observed

  18. Effect of dielectronic recombination on the charge-state distribution ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Abstract. The effect of dielectronic recombination in determining charge-state distribu- tion and radiative emission from a laser-produced carbon plasma has been investigated in the collisional radiative ionization equilibrium. It is observed that the relative abundances of different ions in the plasma, and soft X-ray emission ...

  19. Recombinant spider silk genetically functionalized with affinity domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jansson, Ronnie; Thatikonda, Naresh; Lindberg, Diana; Rising, Anna; Johansson, Jan; Nygren, Per-Åke; Hedhammar, My

    2014-05-12

    Functionalization of biocompatible materials for presentation of active protein domains is an area of growing interest. Herein, we describe a strategy for functionalization of recombinant spider silk via gene fusion to affinity domains of broad biotechnological use. Four affinity domains of different origin and structure; the IgG-binding domains Z and C2, the albumin-binding domain ABD, and the biotin-binding domain M4, were all successfully produced as soluble silk fusion proteins under nondenaturing purification conditions. Silk films and fibers produced from the fusion proteins were demonstrated to be chemically and thermally stable. Still, the bioactive domains are concluded to be folded and accessible, since their respective targets could be selectively captured from complex samples, including rabbit serum and human plasma. Interestingly, materials produced from mixtures of two different silk fusion proteins displayed combined binding properties, suggesting that tailor-made materials with desired stoichiometry and surface distributions of several binding domains can be produced. Further, use of the IgG binding ability as a general mean for presentation of desired biomolecules could be demonstrated for a human vascular endothelial growth factor (hVEGF) model system, via a first capture of anti-VEGF IgG to silk containing the Z-domain, followed by incubation with hVEGF. Taken together, this study demonstrates the potential of recombinant silk, genetically functionalized with affinity domains, for construction of biomaterials capable of presentation of almost any desired biomolecule.

  20. Immunodiagnostic Value of Echinococcus Granulosus Recombinant B8/1 Subunit of Antigen B.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savardashtaki, Amir; Sarkari, Bahador; Arianfar, Farzane; Mostafavi-Pour, Zohreh

    2017-06-01

    Cystic echinococcosis (CE), as a chronic parasitic disease, is a major health problem in many countries. The performance of the currently available serodiagnostic tests for the diagnosis of CE is unsatisfactory. The current study aimed at sub-cloning a gene, encoding the B8/1 subunit of antigen B (AgB) from Echinococcus granulosus, using gene optimization for the immunodiagnosis of human CE. The coding sequence for AgB8/1 subunit of Echinococcus granulosus was selected from GenBank and was gene-optimized. The sequence was synthesized and inserted into pGEX-4T-1 vector. Purification was performed with GST tag affinity column. Diagnostic performance of the produced recombinant antigen, native antigen B and a commercial ELISA kit were further evaluated in an ELISA system, using a panel of sera from CE patients and controls. SDS-PAGE demonstrated that the protein of interest had a high expression level and purity after GST tag affinity purification. Western blotting verified the immunoreactivity of the produced recombinant antigen with the sera of CE patients. In an ELISA system, the sensitivity and specificity (for human CE diagnosis) of the recombinant antigen, native antigen B and commercial kit were respectively 93% and 92%, 87% and 90% and 97% and 95%. The produced recombinant antigen showed a high diagnostic value which can be recommended for serodiagnosis of CE in Iran and other CE-endemic areas. Utilizing the combination of other subunits of AgB8 would improve the performance value of the introduced ELISA system.

  1. Fundamental Studies of Recombinant Hydrogenases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adams, Michael W. [Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)

    2014-01-25

    This research addressed the long term goals of understanding the assembly and organization of hydrogenase enzymes, of reducing them in size and complexity, of determining structure/function relationships, including energy conservation via charge separation across membranes, and in screening for novel H2 catalysts. A key overall goal of the proposed research was to define and characterize minimal hydrogenases that are produced in high yields and are oxygen-resistant. Remarkably, in spite of decades of research carried out on hydrogenases, it is not possible to readily manipulate or design the enzyme using molecular biology approaches since a recombinant form produced in a suitable host is not available. Such resources are essential if we are to understand what constitutes a “minimal” hydrogenase and design such catalysts with certain properties, such as resistance to oxygen, extreme stability and specificity for a given electron donor. The model system for our studies is Pyrococcus furiosus, a hyperthermophile that grows optimally at 100°C, which contains three different nickel-iron [NiFe-] containing hydrogenases. Hydrogenases I and II are cytoplasmic while the other, MBH, is an integral membrane protein that functions to both evolve H2 and pump protons. Three important breakthroughs were made during the funding period with P. furiosus soluble hydrogenase I (SHI). First, we produced an active recombinant form of SHI in E. coli by the co-expression of sixteen genes using anaerobically-induced promoters. Second, we genetically-engineered P. furiosus to overexpress SHI by an order of magnitude compared to the wild type strain. Third, we generated the first ‘minimal’ form of SHI, one that contained two rather than four subunits. This dimeric form was stable and active, and directly interacted with a pyruvate-oxidizing enzyme with any intermediate electron carrier. The research resulted in five peer-reviewed publications.

  2. Expression and evaluation of IgE-binding capacity of recombinant Pacific mackerel parvalbumin

    OpenAIRE

    Hamada, Yuki; Tanaka, Hiroyuki; Sato, Ayako; Ishizaki, Shoichiro; Nagashima, Yuji; Shiomi, Kazuo

    2004-01-01

    Background: Parvalbumin is the major and cross-reactive allergen in fish. Sufficient amounts of IgE-reactive recombinant fish parvalbumin are needed for diagnosis and immunotherapy of fish allergy. Methods: A DNA fragment corresponding to parvalbumin of the Pacific mackerel Scomber japonicus was synthesized and cloned into the expression vector pGEX-6p-3 to produce glutathione S-transferase (GST)-fusion parvalbumin in Escherichia coli. The GST-free recombinant parvalbumin was purified usin...

  3. Optimizing Production of Antigens and Fabs in the Context of Generating Recombinant Antibodies to Human Proteins.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nan Zhong

    Full Text Available We developed and optimized a high-throughput project workflow to generate renewable recombinant antibodies to human proteins involved in epigenetic signalling. Three different strategies to produce phage display compatible protein antigens in bacterial systems were compared, and we found that in vivo biotinylation through the use of an Avi tag was the most productive method. Phage display selections were performed on 265 in vivo biotinylated antigen domains. High-affinity Fabs (<20nM were obtained for 196. We constructed and optimized a new expression vector to produce in vivo biotinylated Fabs in E. coli. This increased average yields up to 10-fold, with an average yield of 4 mg/L. For 118 antigens, we identified Fabs that could immunoprecipitate their full-length endogenous targets from mammalian cell lysates. One Fab for each antigen was converted to a recombinant IgG and produced in mammalian cells, with an average yield of 15 mg/L. In summary, we have optimized each step of the pipeline to produce recombinant antibodies, significantly increasing both efficiency and yield, and also showed that these Fabs and IgGs can be generally useful for chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP protocols.

  4. Genetic recombination in Venturia effusa, causal agent of pecan scab

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venturia effusa causes pecan scab, the most prevalent disease of pecan in the southeastern USA. Mating type idiomorphs were recently characterized and the sexual stage was subsequently produced in vitro. To investigate sexual reproduction and recombination of traits in V. effusa, select isolates wer...

  5. Recombinant Amphiphilic Protein Micelles for Drug Delivery

    OpenAIRE

    Kim, Wookhyun; Xiao, Jiantao; Chaikof, Elliot L.

    2011-01-01

    Amphiphilic block polypeptides can self-assemble into a range of nanostructures in solution, including micelles and vesicles. Our group has recently described the capacity of recombinant amphiphilic diblock copolypeptides to form highly stable micelles. In this report, we demonstrate the utility of protein nanoparticles to serve as a vehicle for controlled drug delivery. Drug-loaded micelles were produced by encapsulating dipyridamole as a model hydrophobic drug with anti-inflammatory activit...

  6. Transient Expression and Cellular Localization of Recombinant Proteins in Cultured Insect Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fabrick, Jeffrey A; Hull, J Joe

    2017-04-20

    Heterologous protein expression systems are used for the production of recombinant proteins, the interpretation of cellular trafficking/localization, and the determination of the biochemical function of proteins at the sub-organismal level. Although baculovirus expression systems are increasingly used for protein production in numerous biotechnological, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications, nonlytic systems that do not involve viral infection have clear benefits but are often overlooked and underutilized. Here, we describe a method for generating nonlytic expression vectors and transient recombinant protein expression. This protocol allows for the efficient cellular localization of recombinant proteins and can be used to rapidly discern protein trafficking within the cell. We show the expression of four recombinant proteins in a commercially available insect cell line, including two aquaporin proteins from the insect Bemisia tabaci, as well as subcellular marker proteins specific for the cell plasma membrane and for intracellular lysosomes. All recombinant proteins were produced as chimeras with fluorescent protein markers at their carboxyl termini, which allows for the direct detection of the recombinant proteins. The double transfection of cells with plasmids harboring constructs for the genes of interest and a known subcellular marker allows for live cell imaging and improved validation of cellular protein localization.

  7. Within-host dynamics of the emergence of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus recombinants.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cica Urbino

    Full Text Available Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV is a highly damaging begomovirus native to the Middle East. TYLCV has recently spread worldwide, recombining with other begomoviruses. Recent analysis of mixed infections between TYLCV and Tomato leaf curl Comoros begomovirus (ToLCKMV has shown that, although natural selection preserves certain co-evolved intra-genomic interactions, numerous and diverse recombinants are produced at 120 days post-inoculation (dpi, and recombinant populations from different tomato plants are very divergent. Here, we investigate the population dynamics that lead to such patterns in tomato plants co-infected with TYLCV and ToLCKMV either by agro-inoculation or using the natural whitefly vector Bemisia tabaci. We monitored the frequency of parental and recombinant genotypes independently in 35 plants between 18 and 330 dpi and identified 177 recombinants isolated at different times. Recombinants were detected from 18 dpi and their frequency increased over time to reach about 50% at 150 dpi regardless of the inoculation method. The distribution of breakpoints detected on 96 fully sequenced recombinants was consistent with a continuous generation of new recombinants as well as random and deterministic effects in their maintenance. A severe population bottleneck of around 10 genomes was estimated during early systemic infection-a phenomenon that could account partially for the heterogeneity in recombinant patterns observed among plants. The detection of the same recombinant genome in six of the thirteen plants analysed beyond 30 dpi supported the influence of selection on observed recombination patterns. Moreover, a highly virulent recombinant genotype dominating virus populations within one plant has, apparently, the potential to be maintained in the natural population according to its infectivity, within-host accumulation, and transmission efficiency - all of which were similar or intermediate to those of the parent genotypes. Our

  8. Heterologous expression of a truncated form of human recombinant vascular endothelial growth factor-A and its biological activity in wound healing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohsen Khaki

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Objective(s: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF is one of the most effective proteins in angiogenesis, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs differentiation and wound healing. These abilities are therapeutic potential of VEGF in diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy and other tissue damage circumstances. In this study, recombinant VEGF was produced in Escherichia coli (E. coli system and then biological activity of this protein was evaluated in animal wound healing. Materials and Methods: E. coli BL21 (DE3 competent cells were transformed with pET32a-VEGF clone and induced by isopropyl-β-D-thio-galactoside (IPTG. The recombinant protein was purified byaffinity chromatography. Recombinant VEGF-A-based ointment (VEGF/Vaseline 0.8 mg/100 w/w was used for external wound (25×15mm thickness healing in animal model. In vivo activity of ointment was evaluated by clinical evidences and cytological microscopic assessment. Results: The recombinant protein with molecular weight of 45 kilodaltons (kDa and concentration of 0.8 mg/ml was produced.Immunoblotting data showed that the antigenic region of VEGF can be expressed in E. coli and the recombinant protein has similar epitopes with close antigenic properties to the natural form. Macroscopic findings and microscopic data showed that the recombinant VEGF-A ointment was effective on excisional wound healing. Conclusion: Recombinant VEGF-A produced by pET32a in E. coli, possesses acceptable structure and has wound healing capability.

  9. Recombinant Nox4 cytosolic domain produced by a cell or cell-free base systems exhibits constitutive diaphorase activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nguyen, Minh Vu Chuong, E-mail: mvchuong@yahoo.fr [GREPI AGIM FRE 3405 CNRS-UJF, Universite Joseph Fourier, Grenoble (France); Zhang, Leilei [GREPI AGIM FRE 3405 CNRS-UJF, Universite Joseph Fourier, Grenoble (France); Lhomme, Stanislas; Mouz, Nicolas [PX' Therapeutics, MINATEC/Batiment de Haute Technologie, Grenoble (France); Lenormand, Jean-Luc [HumProTher Laboratory, TheReX/TIMC-IMAG UMR 5525 CNRS UJF, Universite Joseph Fourier, UFR de Medecine, Domaine de la Merci, 38706 La Tronche (France); Lardy, Bernard; Morel, Francoise [GREPI AGIM FRE 3405 CNRS-UJF, Universite Joseph Fourier, Grenoble (France)

    2012-03-16

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A comparison of two bacterial cell and cell-free protein expression systems is presented. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Soluble and active truncated Nox4 proteins are produced. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Nox4 has a constitutive diaphorase activity which is independent of cytosolic factors. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Isoform Nox4B is unable to initiate the first electronic transfer step. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Findings contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of Nox4 oxidase activity. -- Abstract: The membrane protein NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) oxidase Nox4 constitutively generates reactive oxygen species differing from other NADPH oxidases activity, particularly in Nox2 which needs a stimulus to be active. Although the precise mechanism of production of reactive oxygen species by Nox2 is well characterized, the electronic transfer throughout Nox4 remains unclear. Our study aims to investigate the initial electronic transfer step (diaphorase activity) of the cytosolic tail of Nox4. For this purpose, we developed two different approaches to produce soluble and active truncated Nox4 proteins. We synthesized soluble recombinant proteins either by in vitro translation or by bacteria induction. While proteins obtained by bacteria induction demonstrate an activity of 4.4 {+-} 1.7 nmol/min/nmol when measured against iodonitro tetrazolium chloride and 20.5 {+-} 2.8 nmol/min/nmol with cytochrome c, the soluble proteins produced by cell-free expression system exhibit a diaphorase activity with a turn-over of 26 {+-} 2.6 nmol/min/nmol when measured against iodonitro tetrazolium chloride and 48 {+-} 20.2 nmol/min/nmol with cytochrome c. Furthermore, the activity of the soluble proteins is constitutive and does not need any stimulus. We also show that the cytosolic tail of the isoform Nox4B lacking the first NADPH binding site is unable to demonstrate any diaphorase activity pointing out the

  10. Recombination: An important effect in multigap resistive plate chambers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doroud, K.; Afarideh, H.; Hatzifotiadou, D.; Rahighi, J.; Williams, M.C.S.; Zichichi, A.

    2009-01-01

    We have simulated the gas avalanche in a multigap resistive plate chamber (MRPC). The results were then compared with our data from the MRPC . Up to now, the total amount of charge produced in a gas gap is considered to be given by the total number of positive ions generated by the gas avalanches. However, the total charge generated by the simulation program is much too large and is in conflict with our data. Our data indicate that nearly 100% of the negative ions recombine with the positive ions. The recombination effect dramatically reduces the amount of charge in the gas gap: a very important feature for MRPC technology especially for the rate capability.

  11. Dielectronic recombination of Xe8+ ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Guoding; Fu Yanbiao; Dong Chenzhong; Zhang Yizhao

    2012-01-01

    Based on the fully relativistic configuration interaction method, theoretical calculations are carried out for the dielectronic recombination (DR) rate coefficients of Xe 8+ ions in the temperature region from 0.1 to 1 650 eV. The comparison of the DR rate coefficients from 4s, 4p and 4d subshell excitations shows that 4d subshell excitation dominates in the whole temperature region. The contribution from 4p subshell excitation is very important at temperature above 10 eV and the contributions from 4s subshell ex- citation is lower than 7.5% in the whole temperature region. Similarly, the comparison of the DR rate coefficients through △n= 0, I and 2 core excitation shows that the contribution from △n= 2 core excitation can not be neglected, the contributions from n'>15 can also not be neglected. The DR rate coefficients of △n=0, 1 and 2 core excitation and the total DR rate coefficients are fitted with some parameters, which are in good agreement with theoretical calculations values (within 1 % difference)The total DR rate coefficients are greater than radiative recombination (RR) and three-body recombination (TBR) rate coefficients at temperature above 1 eV. Therefore, the DR process can strongly influence the ionization balance of laser produced xenon plasmas. (authors)

  12. Optimizing the feeding operation of recombinant Escherichia coli ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Recombinant Escherichia coli BL21 was used to produce human-like collagen in fed-batch culture. After building and analyzing the kinetic models of fed-batch cultures, the maximum specific growth rate, Yx/s and Yp/s were 0.411 h-1 , 0.428 g·g-1 and 0.0716 g/g, respectively. The square error of cell growth models, glucose ...

  13. Recombining without Hotspots: A Comprehensive Evolutionary Portrait of Recombination in Two Closely Related Species of Drosophila

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smukowski Heil, Caiti S.; Ellison, Chris; Dubin, Matthew; Noor, Mohamed A.F.

    2015-01-01

    Meiotic recombination rate varies across the genome within and between individuals, populations, and species in virtually all taxa studied. In almost every species, this variation takes the form of discrete recombination hotspots, determined in some mammals by a protein called PRDM9. Hotspots and their determinants have a profound effect on the genomic landscape, and share certain features that extend across the tree of life. Drosophila, in contrast, are anomalous in their absence of hotspots, PRDM9, and other species-specific differences in the determination of recombination. To better understand the evolution of meiosis and general patterns of recombination across diverse taxa, we present a truly comprehensive portrait of recombination across time, combining recently published cross-based contemporary recombination estimates from each of two sister species with newly obtained linkage-disequilibrium-based historic estimates of recombination from both of these species. Using Drosophila pseudoobscura and Drosophila miranda as a model system, we compare recombination rate between species at multiple scales, and we suggest that Drosophila replicate the pattern seen in human–chimpanzee in which recombination rate is conserved at broad scales. We also find evidence of a species-wide recombination modifier(s), resulting in both a present and historic genome-wide elevation of recombination rates in D. miranda, and identify broad scale effects on recombination from the presence of an inversion. Finally, we reveal an unprecedented view of the distribution of recombination in D. pseudoobscura, illustrating patterns of linked selection and where recombination is taking place. Overall, by combining these estimation approaches, we highlight key similarities and differences in recombination between Drosophila and other organisms. PMID:26430062

  14. Laser-induced electron--ion recombination used to study enhanced spontaneous recombination during electron cooling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schramm, U.; Wolf, A.; Schuess ler, T.; Habs, D.; Schwalm, D.; Uwira, O.; Linkemann, J.; Mueller, A.

    1997-01-01

    Spontaneous recombination of highly charged ions with free electrons in merged velocity matched electron and ion beams has been observed in earlier experiments to occur at rates significantly higher than predicted by theoretical estimates. To study this enhanced spontaneous recombination, laser induced recombination spectra were measured both in velocity matched beams and in beams with well defined relative velocities, corresponding to relative electron-ion detuning energies ranging from 1 meV up to 6.5 meV where the spontaneous recombination enhancement was found to be strongly reduced. Based on a comparison with simplified calculations, the development of the recombination spectra for decreasing detuning energies indicates additional contributions at matched velocities which could be related to the energy distribution of electrons causing the spontaneous recombination rate enhancement

  15. Effects of nuclear mutations for recombination and repair functions and of caffeine on mitochondrial recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fraenkel, A.H.M.

    1974-01-01

    Studies of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms indicate that pathways governing repair of damage to nuclear DNA caused by x-ray or ultraviolet irradiation overlap with those controlling recombination. Fourteen nuclear mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were tested in order to determine whether these mutant genes affected mitochondrial recombination. None of the mutations studied significantly affected mitochondrial recombination. The nuclear recombination and repair pathways studied do not overlap with the nuclear pathway which controls recombination of mitochondrial DNA. A second set of experiments was designed to test the effect of caffeine on both nuclear and mitochondrial recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. (U.S.)

  16. Recombination in deuterium plasma at cryogenic temperatures (down to 130 K)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Novotny, O.; Glosik, J.; Pysanenko, A.; Zakouril, P.; Plasil, R.; Tichy, M. [Prague Charles Univ., Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (Czech Republic)

    2004-07-01

    The ions H{sub 3}{sup +} and D{sub 3}{sup +} play an important role in the kinetics of media of astrophysical interest but also in laboratory produced plasmas (discharges, fusion plasmas). In the presented study variable temperature flowing afterglow with Langmuir probe (VT-FALP) was used to study plasma decay in D{sub 2}/He mixture at temperatures down to 130 K and total pressure up to 10 Torr. Large extend of partial number densities of D{sub 2} (10{sup 12} - 3 x 10{sup 15} cm{sup -3}) were used in the experiments. Langmuir probes and mass spectrometers were applied to monitor decay of the plasma during the afterglow. The study is a continuation of our previous measurements of recombination rate coefficients of D{sub 3}{sup +} and D{sub 5}{sup +} ions. In these studies we observed dependence of the recombination rate coefficient on partial pressure of deuterium indicating that third-body assisted recombination is efficient and significantly contributes to recombination in decaying deuterium-containing plasma. (authors)

  17. Purification of inclusion bodies using PEG precipitation under denaturing conditions to produce recombinant therapeutic proteins from Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Huanhuan; Li, Ninghuan; Xie, Yueqing; Jiang, Hua; Yang, Xiaoyi; Cagliero, Cedric; Shi, Siwei; Zhu, Chencen; Luo, Han; Chen, Junsheng; Zhang, Lei; Zhao, Menglin; Feng, Lei; Lu, Huili; Zhu, Jianwei

    2017-07-01

    It has been documented that the purification of inclusion bodies from Escherichia coli by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) may benefit subsequent refolding and recovery of recombinant proteins. However, loading volume and the high cost of the column limits its application in large-scale manufacturing of biopharmaceutical proteins. We report a novel process using polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation under denaturing conditions to replace SEC for rapid purification of inclusion bodies containing recombinant therapeutic proteins. Using recombinant human interleukin 15 (rhIL-15) as an example, inclusion bodies of rhIL-15 were solubilized in 7 M guanidine hydrochloride, and rhIL-15 was precipitated by the addition of PEG 6000. A final concentration of 5% (w/v) PEG 6000 was found to be optimal to precipitate target proteins and enhance recovery and purity. Compared to the previously reported S-200 size exclusion purification method, PEG precipitation was easier to scale up and achieved the same protein yields and quality of the product. PEG precipitation also reduced manufacturing time by about 50 and 95% of material costs. After refolding and further purification, the rhIL-15 product was highly pure and demonstrated a comparable bioactivity with a rhIL-15 reference standard. Our studies demonstrated that PEG precipitation of inclusion bodies under denaturing conditions holds significant potential as a manufacturing process for biopharmaceuticals from E. coli protein expression systems.

  18. [Improvement of thermal adaptability and fermentation of industrial ethanologenic yeast by genomic DNA mutagenesis-based genetic recombination].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiuying; He, Xiuping; Lu, Ying; Zhang, Borun

    2011-07-01

    Ethanol is an attractive alternative to fossil fuels. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the most important ethanol producer. However, in the process of industrial production of ethanol, both cell growth and fermentation of ethanologenic S. cerevisiae are dramatically affected by environmental stresses, such as thermal stress. In this study, we improved both the thermotolerance and fermentation performance of industrial ethanologenic S. cerevisiae by combined usage of chemical mutagenesis and genomic DNA mutagenesis-based genetic recombination method. The recombinant S. cerevisiae strain T44-2 could grow at 44 degrees C, 3 degrees C higher than that of the original strain CE6. The survival rate of T44-2 was 1.84 and 1.87-fold of that of CE6 when heat shock at 48 degrees C and 52 degrees C for 1 h respectively. At temperature higher than 37 degrees C, recombinant strain T44-2 always gave higher cell growth and ethanol production than those of strain CE6. Meanwhile, from 30 degrees C to 40 degrees C, recombinant strain T44-2 produces 91.2-83.8 g/L of ethanol from 200 g/L of glucose, which indicated that the recombinant strain T44-2 had both thermotolerance and broad thermal adaptability. The work offers a novel method, called genomic DNA mutagenesis-based genetic recombination, to improve the physiological functions of S. cerevisiae.

  19. Recombining without Hotspots: A Comprehensive Evolutionary Portrait of Recombination in Two Closely Related Species of Drosophila.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smukowski Heil, Caiti S; Ellison, Chris; Dubin, Matthew; Noor, Mohamed A F

    2015-10-01

    Meiotic recombination rate varies across the genome within and between individuals, populations, and species in virtually all taxa studied. In almost every species, this variation takes the form of discrete recombination hotspots, determined in some mammals by a protein called PRDM9. Hotspots and their determinants have a profound effect on the genomic landscape, and share certain features that extend across the tree of life. Drosophila, in contrast, are anomalous in their absence of hotspots, PRDM9, and other species-specific differences in the determination of recombination. To better understand the evolution of meiosis and general patterns of recombination across diverse taxa, we present a truly comprehensive portrait of recombination across time, combining recently published cross-based contemporary recombination estimates from each of two sister species with newly obtained linkage-disequilibrium-based historic estimates of recombination from both of these species. Using Drosophila pseudoobscura and Drosophila miranda as a model system, we compare recombination rate between species at multiple scales, and we suggest that Drosophila replicate the pattern seen in human-chimpanzee in which recombination rate is conserved at broad scales. We also find evidence of a species-wide recombination modifier(s), resulting in both a present and historic genome-wide elevation of recombination rates in D. miranda, and identify broad scale effects on recombination from the presence of an inversion. Finally, we reveal an unprecedented view of the distribution of recombination in D. pseudoobscura, illustrating patterns of linked selection and where recombination is taking place. Overall, by combining these estimation approaches, we highlight key similarities and differences in recombination between Drosophila and other organisms. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

  20. Therapeutic Recombinant Monoclonal Antibodies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakhtiar, Ray

    2012-01-01

    During the last two decades, the rapid growth of biotechnology-derived techniques has led to a myriad of therapeutic recombinant monoclonal antibodies with significant clinical benefits. Recombinant monoclonal antibodies can be obtained from a number of natural sources such as animal cell cultures using recombinant DNA engineering. In contrast to…

  1. Effects of mutagen-sensitive mus mutations on spontaneous mitotic recombination in Aspergillus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, P; Kafer, E

    1992-04-01

    Methyl methane-sulfonate (MMS)-sensitive, radiation-induced mutants of Aspergillus were shown to define nine new DNA repair genes, musK to musS. To test mus mutations for effects on mitotic recombination, intergenic crossing over was assayed between color markers and their centromeres, and intragenic recombination between two distinguishable adE alleles. Of eight mutants analyzed, four showed significant deviations from mus+ controls in both tests. Two mutations, musK and musL, reduced recombination, while musN and musQ caused increases. In contrast, musO diploids produced significantly higher levels only for intragenic recombination. Effects were relatively small, but averages between hypo- and hyperrec mus differed 15-20-fold. In musL diploids, most of the rare color segregants resulted from mitotic malsegregation rather than intergenic crossing over. This indicates that the musL gene product is required for recombination and that DNA lesions lead to chromosome loss when it is deficient. In addition, analysis of the genotypes of intragenic (ad+) recombinants showed that the musL mutation specifically reduced single allele conversion but increased complex conversion types (especially recombinants homozygous for ad+). Similar analysis revealed differences between the effects of two hyperrec mutations; musN apparently caused high levels solely of mitotic crossing over, while musQ increased various conversion types but not reciprocal crossovers. These results suggest that mitotic gene conversion and crossing over, while generally associated, are affected differentially in some of the mus strains of Aspergillus nidulans.

  2. High-resolution structure of the recombinant sweet-tasting protein thaumatin I

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masuda, Tetsuya; Ohta, Keisuke; Mikami, Bunzo; Kitabatake, Naofumi

    2011-01-01

    The structure of a recombinant form of the sweet-tasting protein thaumatin I was determined at 1.1 Å resolution and refined to an R work of 9.1% and an R free of 11.7%. Comparisons with plant thaumatin revealed the electron density of recombinant thaumatin I to be significantly improved, especially around Asn46 and Ser63. Thaumatin, an intensely sweet-tasting plant protein, elicits a sweet taste at a concentration of 50 nM. The crystal structure of a recombinant form of thaumatin I produced in the yeast Pichia pastoris has been determined to a resolution of 1.1 Å. The model was refined with anisotropic B parameters and riding H atoms. A comparison of the diffraction data and refinement statistics for recombinant thaumatin I with those for plant thaumatin I revealed no significant differences in the diffraction data. The R values for recombinant thaumatin I and plant thaumatin I (F o > 4σ) were 9.11% and 9.91%, respectively, indicating the final model to be of good quality. Notably, the electron-density maps around Asn46 and Ser63, which differ between thaumatin variants, were significantly improved. Furthermore, a number of H atoms became visible in an OMIT map and could be assigned. The high-quality structure of recombinant thaumatin with H atoms should provide details about sweetness determinants in thaumatin and provide valuable insights into the mechanism of its interaction with taste receptors

  3. Development and characterization of recombinant ovine coagulation factor VIII.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philip M Zakas

    Full Text Available Animal models of the bleeding disorder, hemophilia A, have been an integral component of the biopharmaceutical development process and have facilitated the development of recombinant coagulation factor VIII (fVIII products capable of restoring median survival of persons with hemophilia A to that of the general population. However, there remain several limitations to recombinant fVIII as a biotherapeutic, including invasiveness of intravenous infusion, short half-life, immunogenicity, and lack of availability to the majority of the world's population. The recently described ovine model of hemophilia A is the largest and most accurate phenocopy. Affected sheep die prematurely due to bleeding-related pathogenesis and display robust adaptive humoral immunity to non-ovine fVIII. Herein, we describe the development and characterization of recombinant ovine fVIII (ofVIII to support further the utility of the ovine hemophilia A model. Full-length and B-domain deleted (BDD ofVIII cDNAs were generated and demonstrated to facilitate greater biosynthetic rates than their human fVIII counterparts while both BDD constructs showed greater expression rates than the same-species full-length versions. A top recombinant BDD ofVIII producing baby hamster kidney clone was identified and used to biosynthesize raw material for purification and biochemical characterization. Highly purified recombinant BDD ofVIII preparations possess a specific activity nearly 2-fold higher than recombinant BDD human fVIII and display a differential glycosylation pattern. However, binding to the carrier protein, von Willebrand factor, which is critical for stability of fVIII in circulation, is indistinguishable. Decay of thrombin-activated ofVIIIa is 2-fold slower than human fVIII indicating greater intrinsic stability. Furthermore, intravenous administration of ofVIII effectively reverses the bleeding phenotype in the murine model of hemophilia A. Recombinant ofVIII should facilitate

  4. Expression and characterization of recombinant single-chain salmon class I MHC fused with beta2-microglobulin with biological activity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhao, Heng; Stet, René J M; Skjødt, Karsten

    2008-01-01

    Heterodimeric class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules consist of a putative 45-kDa heavy chain and a 12-kDa beta2-microglobulin (beta2m) light chain. The knowledge about MHC genes in Atlantic salmon accumulated during the last decade has allowed us to generate soluble and stable ...... MHC class I molecules with biological activity. We report here the use of a bacterial expression system to produce the recombinant single-chain MHC molecules based on a specific allele Sasa-UBA*0301. This particular allele was selected because previous work has shown its association...... antibodies were successfully produced against both the MHC class I heavy chain and beta(2)m, and showed binding to the recombinant molecule. The recombinant complex Sasabeta2mUBA*0301 was expressed and isolated; the production was scaled up by adjusting to its optimal conditions. Subsequently......, the recombinant proteins were purified by affinity chromatography using mAb against beta2m and alpha3. Eluates were analyzed by Western blot and refolded by the removal of denaturant. The correct folding was confirmed by measuring its binding capacity against mAb produced to recognize the native form of MHC...

  5. An inducible expression system for high-level expression of recombinant proteins in slow growing mycobacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leotta, Lisa; Spratt, Joanne M; Kong, Carlyn U; Triccas, James A

    2015-09-01

    A novel protein expression vector utilising the inducible hspX promoter of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was constructed and evaluated in this study. High-level induction of three mycobacterial antigens, comprising up to 9% of bacterial sonicate, was demonstrated in recombinant Mycobacterium bovis BCG when grown under low-oxygen tension, which serves to enhance hspX promoter activity. Recombinant proteins were efficiently purified from bacterial lysates in a soluble form by virtue of a C-terminal 6-histidine tag. Purification of the immunodominant M. tuberculosis Ag85B antigen using this system resulted in a recombinant protein that stimulated significant IFN-γ release from Ag85B-reactive T cells generated after vaccination of mice with an Ag85B-expressing vaccine. Further, the M. tuberculosis L-alanine dehydrogenase (Ald) protein purified from recombinant BCG displayed strong enzymatic activity in recombinant form. This study demonstrated that high levels of native-like recombinant mycobacterial proteins can be produced in mycobacterial hosts, and this may aid the analysis of mycobacterial protein function and the development of new treatments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Recombination every day: abundant recombination in a virus during a single multi-cellular host infection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Remy Froissart

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Viral recombination can dramatically impact evolution and epidemiology. In viruses, the recombination rate depends on the frequency of genetic exchange between different viral genomes within an infected host cell and on the frequency at which such co-infections occur. While the recombination rate has been recently evaluated in experimentally co-infected cell cultures for several viruses, direct quantification at the most biologically significant level, that of a host infection, is still lacking. This study fills this gap using the cauliflower mosaic virus as a model. We distributed four neutral markers along the viral genome, and co-inoculated host plants with marker-containing and wild-type viruses. The frequency of recombinant genomes was evaluated 21 d post-inoculation. On average, over 50% of viral genomes recovered after a single host infection were recombinants, clearly indicating that recombination is very frequent in this virus. Estimates of the recombination rate show that all regions of the genome are equally affected by this process. Assuming that ten viral replication cycles occurred during our experiment-based on data on the timing of coat protein detection-the per base and replication cycle recombination rate was on the order of 2 x 10(-5 to 4 x 10(-5. This first determination of a virus recombination rate during a single multi-cellular host infection indicates that recombination is very frequent in the everyday life of this virus.

  7. High-titer recombinant adeno-associated virus production utilizing a recombinant herpes simplex virus type I vector expressing AAV-2 Rep and Cap.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conway, J E; Rhys, C M; Zolotukhin, I; Zolotukhin, S; Muzyczka, N; Hayward, G S; Byrne, B J

    1999-06-01

    Recombinant adeno-associated virus type 2 (rAAV) vectors have recently been used to achieve long-term, high level transduction in vivo. Further development of rAAV vectors for clinical use requires significant technological improvements in large-scale vector production. In order to facilitate the production of rAAV vectors, a recombinant herpes simplex virus type I vector (rHSV-1) which does not produce ICP27, has been engineered to express the AAV-2 rep and cap genes. The optimal dose of this vector, d27.1-rc, for AAV production has been determined and results in a yield of 380 expression units (EU) of AAV-GFP produced from 293 cells following transfection with AAV-GFP plasmid DNA. In addition, d27.1-rc was also efficient at producing rAAV from cell lines that have an integrated AAV-GFP provirus. Up to 480 EU/cell of AAV-GFP could be produced from the cell line GFP-92, a proviral, 293 derived cell line. Effective amplification of rAAV vectors introduced into 293 cells by infection was also demonstrated. Passage of rAAV with d27. 1-rc results in up to 200-fold amplification of AAV-GFP with each passage after coinfection of the vectors. Efficient, large-scale production (>109 cells) of AAV-GFP from a proviral cell line was also achieved and these stocks were free of replication-competent AAV. The described rHSV-1 vector provides a novel, simple and flexible way to introduce the AAV-2 rep and cap genes and helper virus functions required to produce high-titer rAAV preparations from any rAAV proviral construct. The efficiency and potential for scalable delivery of d27.1-rc to producer cell cultures should facilitate the production of sufficient quantities of rAAV vectors for clinical application.

  8. Chapter 15. transforming lepidopteran insect cells for continuous recombinant protein expression

    Science.gov (United States)

    The baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) is widely used to produce large quantities of recombinant proteins. However, yields of extracellular and membrane-bound proteins obtained with this system often are very low, possibly due to the adverse effects of baculovirus infection on the host ins...

  9. Production of Recombinant Trichoderma reesei Cellobiohydrolase II in a New Expression System Based on Wickerhamomyces anomalus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dennis J. Díaz-Rincón

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Cellulase is a family of at least three groups of enzymes that participate in the sequential hydrolysis of cellulose. Recombinant expression of cellulases might allow reducing their production times and increasing the low proteins concentrations obtained with filamentous fungi. In this study, we describe the production of Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase II (CBHII in a native strain of Wickerhamomyces anomalus. Recombinant CBHII was expressed in W. anomalus 54-A reaching enzyme activity values of up to 14.5 U L−1. The enzyme extract showed optimum pH and temperature of 5.0–6.0 and 40°C, respectively. Enzyme kinetic parameters (KM of 2.73 mM and Vmax of 23.1 µM min−1 were between the ranges of values reported for other CBHII enzymes. Finally, the results showed that an enzymatic extract of W. anomalus 54-A carrying the recombinant T. reesei CBHII allows production of reducing sugars similar to that of a crude extract from cellulolytic fungi. These results show the first report on the use of W. anomalus as a host to produce recombinant proteins. In addition, recombinant T. reesei CBHII enzyme could potentially be used in the degradation of lignocellulosic residues to produce bioethanol, based on its pH and temperature activity profile.

  10. Production of Recombinant Trichoderma reesei Cellobiohydrolase II in a New Expression System Based on Wickerhamomyces anomalus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díaz-Rincón, Dennis J.; Duque, Ivonne; Osorio, Erika; Rodríguez-López, Alexander; Espejo-Mojica, Angela; Parra-Giraldo, Claudia M.

    2017-01-01

    Cellulase is a family of at least three groups of enzymes that participate in the sequential hydrolysis of cellulose. Recombinant expression of cellulases might allow reducing their production times and increasing the low proteins concentrations obtained with filamentous fungi. In this study, we describe the production of Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase II (CBHII) in a native strain of Wickerhamomyces anomalus. Recombinant CBHII was expressed in W. anomalus 54-A reaching enzyme activity values of up to 14.5 U L−1. The enzyme extract showed optimum pH and temperature of 5.0–6.0 and 40°C, respectively. Enzyme kinetic parameters (KM of 2.73 mM and Vmax of 23.1 µM min−1) were between the ranges of values reported for other CBHII enzymes. Finally, the results showed that an enzymatic extract of W. anomalus 54-A carrying the recombinant T. reesei CBHII allows production of reducing sugars similar to that of a crude extract from cellulolytic fungi. These results show the first report on the use of W. anomalus as a host to produce recombinant proteins. In addition, recombinant T. reesei CBHII enzyme could potentially be used in the degradation of lignocellulosic residues to produce bioethanol, based on its pH and temperature activity profile. PMID:28951785

  11. Preparative SDS PAGE as an Alternative to His-Tag Purification of Recombinant Amelogenin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claire M. Gabe

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Recombinant protein technology provides an invaluable source of proteins for use in structure-function studies, as immunogens, and in the development of therapeutics. Recombinant proteins are typically engineered with “tags” that allow the protein to be purified from crude host cell extracts using affinity based chromatography techniques. Amelogenin is the principal component of the developing enamel matrix and a frequent focus for biomineralization researchers. Several groups have reported the successful production of recombinant amelogenins but the production of recombinant amelogenin free of any tags, and at single band purity on silver stained SDS PAGE is technically challenging. This is important, as rigorous structure-function research frequently demands a high degree of protein purity and fidelity of protein sequence. Our aim was to generate His-tagged recombinant amelogenin at single band purity on silver stained SDS PAGE for use in functionality studies after His-tag cleavage. An acetic acid extraction technique (previously reported to produce recombinant amelogenin at 95% purity directly from E. coli followed by repeated rounds of nickel column affinity chromatography, failed to generate recombinant amelogenin at single band purity. This was because following an initial round of nickel column affinity chromatography, subsequent cleavage of the His-tag was not 100% efficient. A second round of nickel column affinity chromatography, used in attempts to separate the cleaved His-tag free recombinant from uncleaved His-tagged contaminants, was still unsatisfactory as cleaved recombinant amelogenin exhibited significant affinity for the nickel column. To solve this problem, we used preparative SDS PAGE to successfully purify cleaved recombinant amelogenins to single band purity on silver stained SDS PAGE. The resolving power of preparative SDS PAGE was such that His-tag based purification of recombinant amelogenin becomes redundant. We

  12. Recombinant production of plant lectins in microbial systems for biomedical application – the frutalin case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carla eOliveira

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Frutalin is a homotetrameric partly-glycosylated alpha-D-galactose-binding lectin of biomedical interest from Artocarpus incisa (breadfruit seeds, belonging to the jacalin-related lectins family. As other plant lectins, frutalin is a heterogeneous mixture of several isoforms possibly with distinct biological activities. The main problem of using such lectins as biomedical tools is that batch-to-batch variation in isoforms content may lead to inconstant results. The production of lectins by recombinant means has the advantage of obtaining high amounts of proteins with defined amino-acid sequences and more precise properties. In this mini review, we provide the strategies followed to produce two different forms of frutalin in two different microbial systems: Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris. The processing and functional properties of the recombinant frutalin obtained from these hosts are compared to those of frutalin extracted from breadfruit. Emphasis is given particularly to recombinant frutalin produced in P. pastoris, which showed a remarkable capacity as biomarker of human prostate cancer and as apoptosis-inducer of cancer cells. Recombinant frutalin production opens perspectives for its development as a new tool in human medicine.

  13. Recombinant production of plant lectins in microbial systems for biomedical application – the frutalin case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Carla; Teixeira, José A.; Domingues, Lucília

    2014-01-01

    Frutalin is a homotetrameric partly glycosylated α-D-galactose-binding lectin of biomedical interest from Artocarpus incisa (breadfruit) seeds, belonging to the jacalin-related lectins family. As other plant lectins, frutalin is a heterogeneous mixture of several isoforms possibly with distinct biological activities. The main problem of using such lectins as biomedical tools is that “batch-to-batch” variation in isoforms content may lead to inconstant results. The production of lectins by recombinant means has the advantage of obtaining high amounts of proteins with defined amino-acid sequences and more precise properties. In this mini review, we provide the strategies followed to produce two different forms of frutalin in two different microbial systems: Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris. The processing and functional properties of the recombinant frutalin obtained from these hosts are compared to those of frutalin extracted from breadfruit. Emphasis is given particularly to recombinant frutalin produced in P. pastoris, which showed a remarkable capacity as biomarker of human prostate cancer and as apoptosis-inducer of cancer cells. Recombinant frutalin production opens perspectives for its development as a new tool in human medicine. PMID:25152749

  14. A Network Approach to Analyzing Highly Recombinant Malaria Parasite Genes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larremore, Daniel B.; Clauset, Aaron; Buckee, Caroline O.

    2013-01-01

    The var genes of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum present a challenge to population geneticists due to their extreme diversity, which is generated by high rates of recombination. These genes encode a primary antigen protein called PfEMP1, which is expressed on the surface of infected red blood cells and elicits protective immune responses. Var gene sequences are characterized by pronounced mosaicism, precluding the use of traditional phylogenetic tools that require bifurcating tree-like evolutionary relationships. We present a new method that identifies highly variable regions (HVRs), and then maps each HVR to a complex network in which each sequence is a node and two nodes are linked if they share an exact match of significant length. Here, networks of var genes that recombine freely are expected to have a uniformly random structure, but constraints on recombination will produce network communities that we identify using a stochastic block model. We validate this method on synthetic data, showing that it correctly recovers populations of constrained recombination, before applying it to the Duffy Binding Like-α (DBLα) domain of var genes. We find nine HVRs whose network communities map in distinctive ways to known DBLα classifications and clinical phenotypes. We show that the recombinational constraints of some HVRs are correlated, while others are independent. These findings suggest that this micromodular structuring facilitates independent evolutionary trajectories of neighboring mosaic regions, allowing the parasite to retain protein function while generating enormous sequence diversity. Our approach therefore offers a rigorous method for analyzing evolutionary constraints in var genes, and is also flexible enough to be easily applied more generally to any highly recombinant sequences. PMID:24130474

  15. A network approach to analyzing highly recombinant malaria parasite genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larremore, Daniel B; Clauset, Aaron; Buckee, Caroline O

    2013-01-01

    The var genes of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum present a challenge to population geneticists due to their extreme diversity, which is generated by high rates of recombination. These genes encode a primary antigen protein called PfEMP1, which is expressed on the surface of infected red blood cells and elicits protective immune responses. Var gene sequences are characterized by pronounced mosaicism, precluding the use of traditional phylogenetic tools that require bifurcating tree-like evolutionary relationships. We present a new method that identifies highly variable regions (HVRs), and then maps each HVR to a complex network in which each sequence is a node and two nodes are linked if they share an exact match of significant length. Here, networks of var genes that recombine freely are expected to have a uniformly random structure, but constraints on recombination will produce network communities that we identify using a stochastic block model. We validate this method on synthetic data, showing that it correctly recovers populations of constrained recombination, before applying it to the Duffy Binding Like-α (DBLα) domain of var genes. We find nine HVRs whose network communities map in distinctive ways to known DBLα classifications and clinical phenotypes. We show that the recombinational constraints of some HVRs are correlated, while others are independent. These findings suggest that this micromodular structuring facilitates independent evolutionary trajectories of neighboring mosaic regions, allowing the parasite to retain protein function while generating enormous sequence diversity. Our approach therefore offers a rigorous method for analyzing evolutionary constraints in var genes, and is also flexible enough to be easily applied more generally to any highly recombinant sequences.

  16. A network approach to analyzing highly recombinant malaria parasite genes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel B Larremore

    Full Text Available The var genes of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum present a challenge to population geneticists due to their extreme diversity, which is generated by high rates of recombination. These genes encode a primary antigen protein called PfEMP1, which is expressed on the surface of infected red blood cells and elicits protective immune responses. Var gene sequences are characterized by pronounced mosaicism, precluding the use of traditional phylogenetic tools that require bifurcating tree-like evolutionary relationships. We present a new method that identifies highly variable regions (HVRs, and then maps each HVR to a complex network in which each sequence is a node and two nodes are linked if they share an exact match of significant length. Here, networks of var genes that recombine freely are expected to have a uniformly random structure, but constraints on recombination will produce network communities that we identify using a stochastic block model. We validate this method on synthetic data, showing that it correctly recovers populations of constrained recombination, before applying it to the Duffy Binding Like-α (DBLα domain of var genes. We find nine HVRs whose network communities map in distinctive ways to known DBLα classifications and clinical phenotypes. We show that the recombinational constraints of some HVRs are correlated, while others are independent. These findings suggest that this micromodular structuring facilitates independent evolutionary trajectories of neighboring mosaic regions, allowing the parasite to retain protein function while generating enormous sequence diversity. Our approach therefore offers a rigorous method for analyzing evolutionary constraints in var genes, and is also flexible enough to be easily applied more generally to any highly recombinant sequences.

  17. Regulation of Meiotic Recombination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gregory p. Copenhaver

    2011-11-09

    Meiotic recombination results in the heritable rearrangement of DNA, primarily through reciprocal exchange between homologous chromosome or gene conversion. In plants these events are critical for ensuring proper chromosome segregation, facilitating DNA repair and providing a basis for genetic diversity. Understanding this fundamental biological mechanism will directly facilitate trait mapping, conventional plant breeding, and development of genetic engineering techniques that will help support the responsible production and conversion of renewable resources for fuels, chemicals, and the conservation of energy (1-3). Substantial progress has been made in understanding the basal recombination machinery, much of which is conserved in organisms as diverse as yeast, plants and mammals (4, 5). Significantly less is known about the factors that regulate how often and where that basal machinery acts on higher eukaryotic chromosomes. One important mechanism for regulating the frequency and distribution of meiotic recombination is crossover interference - or the ability of one recombination event to influence nearby events. The MUS81 gene is thought to play an important role in regulating the influence of interference on crossing over. The immediate goals of this project are to use reverse genetics to identify mutants in two putative MUS81 homologs in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, characterize those mutants and initiate a novel forward genetic screen for additional regulators of meiotic recombination. The long-term goal of the project is to understand how meiotic recombination is regulated in higher eukaryotes with an emphasis on the molecular basis of crossover interference. The ability to monitor recombination in all four meiotic products (tetrad analysis) has been a powerful tool in the arsenal of yeast geneticists. Previously, the qrt mutant of Arabidopsis, which causes the four pollen products of male meiosis to remain attached, was developed as a facile system

  18. Cross-system excision of chaperone-mediated proteolysis in chaperone-assisted recombinant protein production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Alonso, Mónica; Villaverde, Antonio

    2010-01-01

    Main Escherichia coli cytosolic chaperones such as DnaK are key components of the control quality network designed to minimize the prevalence of polypeptides with aberrant conformations. This is achieved by both favoring refolding activities but also stimulating proteolytic degradation of folding reluctant species. This last activity is responsible for the decrease of the proteolytic stability of recombinant proteins when co-produced along with DnaK, where an increase in solubility might be associated to a decrease in protein yield. However, when DnaK and its co-chaperone DnaJ are co-produced in cultured insect cells or whole insect larvae (and expectedly, in other heterologous hosts), only positive, folding-related effects of these chaperones are observed, in absence of proteolysis-mediated reduction of recombinant protein yield. PMID:21326941

  19. Experimental studies on catalytic hydrogen recombiners for light water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drinovac, P.

    2006-01-01

    In the course of core melt accidents in nuclear power plants a large amount of hydrogen can be produced and form an explosive or even detonative gas mixture with aerial oxygen in the reactor building. In the containment atmosphere of pressurized water reactors hydrogen combines a phlogistically with the oxygen present to form water vapor even at room temperature. In the past, experimental work conducted at various facilities has contributed little or nothing to an understanding of the operating principles of catalytic recombiners. Hence, the purpose of the present study was to conduct detailed investigations on a section of a recombiner essentially in order to deepen the understanding of reaction kinetics and heat transport processes. The results of the experiments presented in this dissertation form a large data base of measurements which provides an insight into the processes taking place in recombiners. The reaction-kinetic interpretation of the measured data confirms and deepens the diffusion theory - proposed in an earlier study. Thus it is now possible to validate detailed numeric models representing the processes in recombiners. Consequently the present study serves to broaden and corroborate competence in this significant area of reactor technology. In addition, the empirical knowledge thus gained may be used for a critical reassessment of previous numeric model calculations. (orig.)

  20. Generation of truncated recombinant form of tumor necrosis factor ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Purpose: To produce truncated recombinant form of tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1), cysteine-rich domain 2 (CRD2) and CRD3 regions of the receptor were generated using pET28a and E. coli/BL21. Methods: DNA coding sequence of CRD2 and CRD3 was cloned into pET28a vector and the corresponding ...

  1. Relationship among the repair and genetic recombination mechanisms. II. Effect of gamma radiation on the lambda recombination in E. coli AB1157 and AB1886

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alcantara D, D.

    1988-08-01

    The objective of the present work is to determine if the radiation gamma that is a good inductor of the answer SOS of Escherichia Coli but that it produces alterations in the DNA very different to those taken place by the light UV, it is able to stimulate the viral recombination. (Author)

  2. Analysis of Recombinant Proteins in Transgenic Rice Seeds: Identity, Localization, Tolerance to Digestion, and Plant Stress Response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wakasa, Yuhya; Takaiwa, Fumio

    2016-01-01

    Rice seeds are an ideal production platform for high-value recombinant proteins in terms of economy, scalability, safety, and stability. Strategies for the expression of large amounts of recombinant proteins in rice seeds have been established in the past decade and transgenic rice seeds that accumulate recombinant products such as bioactive peptides and proteins, which promote the health and quality of life of humans, have been generated in many laboratories worldwide. One of the most important advantages is the potential for direct oral delivery of transgenic rice seeds without the need for recombinant protein purification (downstream processing), which has been attributed to the high expression levels of recombinant products. Transgenic rice will be beneficial as a delivery system for pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals in the future. This chapter introduces the strategy for producing recombinant protein in the edible part (endosperm) of the rice grain and describes methods for the analysis of transgenic rice seeds in detail.

  3. Recombination of cluster ions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnsen, Rainer

    1993-01-01

    Some of our recent work on molecular band emissions from recombination of molecular dimer ions (N4(+) and CO(+) CO) is discussed. Much of the experimental work was done by Y. S. Cao; the results on N4(+) recombination have been published. A brief progress report is given on our ongoing measurements of neutral products of recombination using the flowing-afterglow Langmuir-probe technique in conjunction with laser-induced fluorescence.

  4. Replicative age induces mitotic recombination in the ribosomal RNA gene cluster of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Derek L Lindstrom

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Somatic mutations contribute to the development of age-associated disease. In earlier work, we found that, at high frequency, aging Saccharomyces cerevisiae diploid cells produce daughters without mitochondrial DNA, leading to loss of respiration competence and increased loss of heterozygosity (LOH in the nuclear genome. Here we used the recently developed Mother Enrichment Program to ask whether aging cells that maintain the ability to produce respiration-competent daughters also experience increased genomic instability. We discovered that this population exhibits a distinct genomic instability phenotype that primarily affects the repeated ribosomal RNA gene array (rDNA array. As diploid cells passed their median replicative life span, recombination rates between rDNA arrays on homologous chromosomes progressively increased, resulting in mutational events that generated LOH at >300 contiguous open reading frames on the right arm of chromosome XII. We show that, while these recombination events were dependent on the replication fork block protein Fob1, the aging process that underlies this phenotype is Fob1-independent. Furthermore, we provide evidence that this aging process is not driven by mechanisms that modulate rDNA recombination in young cells, including loss of cohesion within the rDNA array or loss of Sir2 function. Instead, we suggest that the age-associated increase in rDNA recombination is a response to increasing DNA replication stress generated in aging cells.

  5. Sequence requirement of the ade6-4095 meiotic recombination hotspot in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foulis, Steven J; Fowler, Kyle R; Steiner, Walter W

    2018-02-01

    Homologous recombination occurs at a greatly elevated frequency in meiosis compared to mitosis and is initiated by programmed double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs). DSBs do not occur at uniform frequency throughout the genome in most organisms, but occur preferentially at a limited number of sites referred to as hotspots. The location of hotspots have been determined at nucleotide-level resolution in both the budding and fission yeasts, and while several patterns have emerged regarding preferred locations for DSB hotspots, it remains unclear why particular sites experience DSBs at much higher frequency than other sites with seemingly similar properties. Short sequence motifs, which are often sites for binding of transcription factors, are known to be responsible for a number of hotspots. In this study we identified the minimum sequence required for activity of one of such motif identified in a screen of random sequences capable of producing recombination hotspots. The experimentally determined sequence, GGTCTRGACC, closely matches the previously inferred sequence. Full hotspot activity requires an effective sequence length of 9.5 bp, whereas moderate activity requires an effective sequence length of approximately 8.2 bp and shows significant association with DSB hotspots. In combination with our previous work, this result is consistent with a large number of different sequence motifs capable of producing recombination hotspots, and supports a model in which hotspots can be rapidly regenerated by mutation as they are lost through recombination.

  6. Rational development of an attenuated recombinant cyprinid herpesvirus 3 vaccine using prokaryotic mutagenesis and in vivo bioluminescent imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boutier, Maxime; Ronsmans, Maygane; Ouyang, Ping; Fournier, Guillaume; Reschner, Anca; Rakus, Krzysztof; Wilkie, Gavin S; Farnir, Frédéric; Bayrou, Calixte; Lieffrig, François; Li, Hong; Desmecht, Daniel; Davison, Andrew J; Vanderplasschen, Alain

    2015-02-01

    Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV 3) is causing severe economic losses worldwide in common and koi carp industries, and a safe and efficacious attenuated vaccine compatible with mass vaccination is needed. We produced single deleted recombinants using prokaryotic mutagenesis. When producing a recombinant lacking open reading frame 134 (ORF134), we unexpectedly obtained a clone with additional deletion of ORF56 and ORF57. This triple deleted recombinant replicated efficiently in vitro and expressed an in vivo safety/efficacy profile compatible with use as an attenuated vaccine. To determine the role of the double ORF56-57 deletion in the phenotype and to improve further the quality of the vaccine candidate, a series of deleted recombinants was produced and tested in vivo. These experiments led to the selection of a double deleted recombinant lacking ORF56 and ORF57 as a vaccine candidate. The safety and efficacy of this strain were studied using an in vivo bioluminescent imaging system (IVIS), qPCR, and histopathological examination, which demonstrated that it enters fish via skin infection similar to the wild type strain. However, compared to the parental wild type strain, the vaccine candidate replicated at lower levels and spread less efficiently to secondary sites of infection. Transmission experiments allowing water contamination with or without additional physical contact between fish demonstrated that the vaccine candidate has a reduced ability to spread from vaccinated fish to naïve sentinel cohabitants. Finally, IVIS analyses demonstrated that the vaccine candidate induces a protective mucosal immune response at the portal of entry. Thus, the present study is the first to report the rational development of a recombinant attenuated vaccine against CyHV 3 for mass vaccination of carp. We also demonstrated the relevance of the CyHV 3 carp model for studying alloherpesvirus transmission and mucosal immunity in teleost skin.

  7. Biopharmaceutical characterisation of insulin and recombinant human growth hormone loaded lipid submicron particles produced by supercritical gas micro-atomisation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmaso, Stefano; Bersani, Sara; Elvassore, Nicola; Bertucco, Alberto; Caliceti, Paolo

    2009-09-08

    Homogeneous dispersions of insulin and recombinant human growth hormone (rh-GH) in tristearin/phosphatidylcholine/PEG mixtures (1.3:1.3:0.25:0.15 w/w ratio) were processed by supercritical carbon dioxide gas micro-atomisation to produce protein-loaded lipid particles. The process yielded spherical particles, with a 197+/-94 nm mean diameter, and the insulin and rh-GH recovery in the final product was 57+/-8% and 48+/-5%, respectively. In vitro, the proteins were slowly released for about 70-80 h according to a diffusive mechanism. In vivo, the insulin and glucose profiles in plasma obtained by subcutaneous administration of a dose of particles containing 2 microg insulin to diabetic mice overlapped that obtained with 2 microg of insulin in solution. Administration of a dose of particles containing 5 microg insulin resulted in faster and longer glycaemia reduction. Oral administration of 20 and 50 microg insulin equivalent particles produced a significant hypoglycaemic effect. The glucose levels decreased since 2h after administration, reaching about 50% and 70% glucose reduction in 1-2h with the lower and higher dose, respectively. As compared to subcutaneous administration, the relative pharmacological bioavailability obtained with 20 and 50 microg equivalent insulin particles was 7.7% and 6.7%, respectively. Daily subcutaneous administration of 40 microg of rh-GH-loaded particles to hypophysectomised rats induced similar body weight increase as 40 microg rh-GH in solution. The daily oral administration of 400 microg rh-GH equivalent particles elicited a slight body weight increase, which corresponded to a relative pharmacological bioavailability of 3.4% compared to subcutaneous administration.

  8. Expression and purification of recombinant polyomavirus VP2 protein and its interactions with polyomavirus proteins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, X.; Chang, D.; Rottinghaus, S.; Consigli, R. A.; Spooner, B. S. (Principal Investigator)

    1994-01-01

    Recombinant polyomavirus VP2 protein was expressed in Escherichia coli (RK1448), using the recombinant expression system pFPYV2. Recombinant VP2 was purified to near homogeneity by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, electroelution, and Extracti-Gel chromatography. Polyclonal serum to this protein which reacted specifically with recombinant VP2 as well as polyomavirus virion VP2 and VP3 on Western blots (immunoblots) was produced. Purified VP2 was used to establish an in vitro protein-protein interaction assay with polyomavirus structural proteins and purified recombinant VP1. Recombinant VP2 interacted with recombinant VP1, virion VP1, and the four virion histones. Recombinant VP1 coimmunoprecipitated with recombinant VP2 or truncated VP2 (delta C12VP2), which lacked the carboxy-terminal 12 amino acids. These experiments confirmed the interaction between VP1 and VP2 and revealed that the carboxyterminal 12 amino acids of VP2 and VP3 were not necessary for formation of this interaction. In vivo VP1-VP2 interaction study accomplished by cotransfection of COS-7 cells with VP2 and truncated VP1 (delta N11VP1) lacking the nuclear localization signal demonstrated that VP2 was capable of translocating delta N11VP1 into the nucleus. These studies suggest that complexes of VP1 and VP2 may be formed in the cytoplasm and cotransported to the nucleus for virion assembly to occur.

  9. Conversion of crude Jatropha curcas seed oil into biodiesel using liquid recombinant Candida rugosa lipase isozymes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, Ting-Chun; Shaw, Jei-Fu; Lee, Guan-Chiun

    2015-09-01

    The versatile Candida rugosa lipase (CRL) has been widely used in biotechnological applications. However, there have not been feasibility reports on the transesterification of non-edible oils to produce biodiesel using the commercial CRL preparations, mixtures of isozymes. In the present study, four liquid recombinant CRL isozymes (CRL1-CRL4) were investigated to convert various non-edible oils into biodiesel. The results showed that recombinant CRL2 and CRL4 exhibited superior catalytic efficiencies for producing fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from Jatropha curcas seed oil. A maximum 95.3% FAME yield was achieved using CRL2 under the optimal conditions (50 wt% water, an initial 1 equivalent of methanol feeding, and an additional 0.5 equivalents of methanol feeding at 24h for a total reaction time of 48 h at 37 °C). We concluded that specific recombinant CRL isozymes could be excellent biocatalysts for the biodiesel production from low-cost crude Jatropha oil. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Electron-ion recombination in merged beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolf, A.; Habs, D.; Lampert, A.; Neumann, R.; Schramm, U.; Schuessler, T.; Schwalm, D.

    1993-01-01

    Detailed studies of recombination processes between electrons and highly charged ions have become possible by recent improvements of merged-beams experiments. We discuss in particular measurements with stored cooled ion beams at the Test Storage Ring (TSR) in Heidelberg. The cross section of dielectronic recombination was measured with high energy resolution for few-electron systems up to the nuclear charge of Cu at a relative energy up to 2.6 keV. At low energy (∼0.1 eV) total recombination rates of several ions were measured and compared with calculated radiative recombination rates. Laser-stimulated recombination of protons and of C 6+ ions was investigated as a function of the photon energy using visible radiation. Both the total recombination rates and the stimulated recombination spectra indicate that in spite of the short interaction time in merged beams, also collisional capture of electrons into weakly bound levels (related to three-body recombination) could be important

  11. Recombinant proteins in therapeutics: haemophilia treatment as an example

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liras Antonio

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract One of the most spectacular advances in the history of scientific knowledge was the discovery of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA by Watson and Crick in 1953. This enabled certain proteins to be prepared in this way for their therapeutic use in clinical practice. Today, in the first decade of the 21st century, hundreds of therapeutic proteins have been produced recombinantly and about 50 of them have been approved for clinical use. Because of the specific procedure used for obtaining these products, which is based on expressing a atherapeutica gene from a fragment of DNA in a cell to produce a functional protein that is free from any human or animal component, they are especially acleana and thus the therapy of choice for many current diseases. The immediate question is: why are recombinant products not used more extensively given their high efficacy and maximum safety? In short, we are faced with an interesting but also unfortunate paradox of pharmacology that greater progress in therapeutic procedures is not always associated with greater introduction of those resources that are safest, for the simple reason that they are more costly.

  12. High-level transient expression of recombinant protein in lettuce.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joh, Lawrence D; Wroblewski, Tadeusz; Ewing, Nicholas N; VanderGheynst, Jean S

    2005-09-30

    Transient expression following agroinfiltration of plant tissue was investigated as a system for producing recombinant protein. As a model system, Agrobacterium tumefaciens containing the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene was vacuum infiltrated into lettuce leaf disks. Infiltration with a suspension of 10(9) colony forming units/mL followed by incubation for 72 h at 22 degrees C in continuous darkness produced a maximum of 0.16% GUS protein based on dry tissue or 1.1% GUS protein based on total soluble protein. This compares favorably to expression levels for commercially manufactured GUS protein from transgenic corn seeds. A. tumefaciens culture medium pH between 5.6 and 7.0 and surfactant concentrations lettuce to produce GUS protein more rapidly, but final levels did not exceed the GUS production in leaves incubated in continuous darkness after 72 h at 22 degrees C. The kinetics of GUS expression during incubation in continuous light and dark were represented well using a logistic model, with rate constants of 0.30 and 0.29/h, respectively. To semi-quantitatively measure the GUS expression in large numbers of leaf disks, a photometric enhancement of the standard histochemical staining method was developed. A linear relationship with an R2 value of 0.90 was determined between log10 (% leaf darkness) versus log10 (GUS activity). Although variability in expression level was observed, agroinfiltration appears to be a promising technology that could potentially be scaled up to produce high-value recombinant proteins in planta. Copyright 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

  13. Frequency and genetic characterization of V(DD)J recombinants in the human peripheral blood antibody repertoire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briney, Bryan S; Willis, Jordan R; Hicar, Mark D; Thomas, James W; Crowe, James E

    2012-09-01

    Antibody heavy-chain recombination that results in the incorporation of multiple diversity (D) genes, although uncommon, contributes substantially to the diversity of the human antibody repertoire. Such recombination allows the generation of heavy chain complementarity determining region 3 (HCDR3) regions of extreme length and enables junctional regions that, because of the nucleotide bias of N-addition regions, are difficult to produce through normal V(D)J recombination. Although this non-classical recombination process has been observed infrequently, comprehensive analysis of the frequency and genetic characteristics of such events in the human peripheral blood antibody repertoire has not been possible because of the rarity of such recombinants and the limitations of traditional sequencing technologies. Here, through the use of high-throughput sequencing of the normal human peripheral blood antibody repertoire, we analysed the frequency and genetic characteristics of V(DD)J recombinants. We found that these recombinations were present in approximately 1 in 800 circulating B cells, and that the frequency was severely reduced in memory cell subsets. We also found that V(DD)J recombination can occur across the spectrum of diversity genes, indicating that virtually all recombination signal sequences that flank diversity genes are amenable to V(DD)J recombination. Finally, we observed a repertoire bias in the diversity gene repertoire at the upstream (5') position, and discovered that this bias was primarily attributable to the order of diversity genes in the genomic locus. © 2012 The Authors. Immunology © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  14. Hyperproduction of poly(4-hydroxybutyrate) from glucose by recombinant Escherichia coli

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhou, Xiao-Yun; Yuan, Xiao-Xi; Shi, Zhen-Yu

    2012-01-01

    inactivated to enhance the carbon flux to poly(4HB) biosynthesis. Four PHA binding proteins (PhaP or phasins) including PhaP1, PhaP2, PhaP3 and PhaP4 from R. eutropha were heterologously expressed in the recombinant E. coli, respectively, leading to different levels of improvement in poly(4HB) production......-hydroxybutyrate or 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD) are provided as precursor which are much more expensive than glucose. At present, high production cost is a big obstacle for large scale production of poly(4HB). RESULTS: Recombinant Escherichia coli strain was constructed to achieve hyperproduction of poly(4....... Among them PhaP1 exhibited the highest capability for enhanced polymer synthesis. The recombinant E. coli produced 5.5 g L(-1) cell dry weight containing 35.4% poly(4HB) using glucose as a sole carbon source in a 48 h shake flask growth. In a 6-L fermentor study, 11.5 g L(-1) cell dry weight containing...

  15. Main Strategies of Plant Expression System Glycoengineering for Producing Humanized Recombinant Pharmaceutical Proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rozov, S M; Permyakova, N V; Deineko, E V

    2018-03-01

    Most the pharmaceutical proteins are derived not from their natural sources, rather their recombinant analogs are synthesized in various expression systems. Plant expression systems, unlike mammalian cell cultures, combine simplicity and low cost of procaryotic systems and the ability for posttranslational modifications inherent in eucaryotes. More than 50% of all human proteins and more than 40% of the currently used pharmaceutical proteins are glycosylated, that is, they are glycoproteins, and their biological activity, pharmacodynamics, and immunogenicity depend on the correct glycosylation pattern. This review examines in detail the similarities and differences between N- and O-glycosylation in plant and mammalian cells, as well as the effect of plant glycans on the activity, pharmacokinetics, immunity, and intensity of biosynthesis of pharmaceutical proteins. The main current strategies of glycoengineering of plant expression systems aimed at obtaining fully humanized proteins for pharmaceutical application are summarized.

  16. Immunoregulatory activities of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) proteins: Effect of HIV recombinant and synthetic peptides on immunoglobulin synthesis and proliferative responses by normal lymphocytes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nair, M.P.N.; Pottathil, R.; Heimer, E.P.; Schwartz, S.A.

    1988-01-01

    Recombinant and synthetic peptides corresponding to envelope proteins of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were examined for their effects on the activities of lymphocytes from normal donors in vitro. Although lymphocytes cultured with env-gag peptides produced significant amounts of IgG, addition of env-gag peptides to a pokeweed mitogen-induced B-cell activation system resulted in suppression of immunoglobulin synthesis by normal lymphocytes. Recombinant antigens, env-gag and env-80 dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), produced a substantial proliferative response by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) as determined by [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation. PBMC precultured with HIV synthetic peptide env 578-608 also manifested significant proliferative responses as compared to control cultures. CD3 + lymphocytes precultured with recombinant HIV antigens, env-gag and env-80 DHFR, and synthetic HIV peptide, env 487-511, showed moderate but significant proliferative responses. Both recombinant antigens and synthetic peptides also produced a dose-dependent stimulatory effect on proliferation by CD3 - lymphocytes. These studies demonstrate that recombinant and synthetic peptides of the HIV genome express immunoregulatory T- and B-cell epitopes. Identification of unique HIV epitopes with immunogenic and immunoregulatory activities is necessary for the development of an effective vaccine against HIV infection

  17. Oxygen-hydrogen recombination system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Shuichiro; Takejima, Masaki.

    1981-01-01

    Purpose: To avoid reduction in the performance of catalyst used for an oxygen-hydrogen recombiner in the off gas processing system of a nuclear reactor. Constitution: A thermometer is provided for the detection of temperature in an oxygen-hydrogen recombiner. A cooling pipe is provided in the recombiner and cooling medium is introduced externally. The cooling medium may be water or air. In accordance with the detection value from the thermometer, ON-OFF control is carried out for a valve to control the flow rate of the cooling medium thereby rendering the temperature in the recombiner to a predetermined value. This can prevent the catalyst from being exposed to high temperature and avoid the reduction in the performance of the catalyst. (Ikeda, J.)

  18. Bicarbonate-dependent secretion and proteolytic processing of recombinant myocilin.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José-Daniel Aroca-Aguilar

    Full Text Available Myocilin is an extracellular glycoprotein of poorly understood function. Mutations of this protein are involved in glaucoma, an optic neuropathy characterized by a progressive and irreversible visual loss and frequently associated with elevated intraocular pressure. We previously showed that recombinant myocilin undergoes an intracellular proteolytic processing by calpain II which cleaves the central region of the protein, releasing one N- and one C-terminal fragment. Myocilin cleavage is reduced by glaucoma mutations and it has been proposed to participate in intraocular pressure modulation. To identify possible factors regulating the proteolytic processing of recombinant myocilin, we used a cellular model in which we analyzed how different culture medium parameters (i.e., culture time, cell density, pH, bicarbonate concentration, etc. affect the presence of the extracellular C-terminal fragment. Extracellular bicarbonate depletion associated with culture medium acidification produced a reversible intracellular accumulation of full-length recombinant myocilin and incremented its intracellular proteolytic processing, raising the extracellular C-terminal fragment percentage. It was also determined that myocilin intracellular accumulation depends on its N-terminal region. These data suggest that aqueous humor bicarbonate variations could also modulate the secretion and cleavage of myocilin present in ocular tissues.

  19. Use of octaketide synthases to produce kermesic acid and flavokermesic acid

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2017-01-01

    A method for producing an octaketide derived aromatic compound of interest (e.g. carminic acid), wherein the method comprises (I): heterologous expression of a recombinantly introduced Type III polyketide synthase (PKS) gene encoding an octaketide synthase (OKS) to obtain non-reduced octaketide...... in vivo within the recombinant host cell and (II): converting in vivo the non-reduced octaketide of step (I) into a C14-C34 aromatic compound of interest (e.g. carminic acid)....

  20. Use of octaketide synthases to produce kermesic acid and flavokermesic acid

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2016-01-01

    A method for producing an octaketide derived aromatic compound of interest (e.g. carminic acid), wherein the method comprises (I): heterologous expression of a recombinantly introduced Type III polyketide synthase (PKS) gene encoding an octaketide synthase (OKS) to obtain non-reduced octaketide...... in vivo within the recombinant host cell and (II): converting in vivo the non-reduced octaketide of step (I) into a C14-C34 aromatic compound of interest (e.g. carminic acid)....

  1. Methods for Using Small Non-Coding RNAs to Improve Recombinant Protein Expression in Mammalian Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah Inwood

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The ability to produce recombinant proteins by utilizing different “cell factories” revolutionized the biotherapeutic and pharmaceutical industry. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO cells are the dominant industrial producer, especially for antibodies. Human embryonic kidney cells (HEK, while not being as widely used as CHO cells, are used where CHO cells are unable to meet the needs for expression, such as growth factors. Therefore, improving recombinant protein expression from mammalian cells is a priority, and continuing effort is being devoted to this topic. Non-coding RNAs are RNA segments that are not translated into a protein and often have a regulatory role. Since their discovery, major progress has been made towards understanding their functions. Non-coding RNA has been investigated extensively in relation to disease, especially cancer, and recently they have also been used as a method for engineering cells to improve their protein expression capability. In this review, we provide information about methods used to identify non-coding RNAs with the potential of improving recombinant protein expression in mammalian cell lines.

  2. Development, evaluation, and laboratory validation of immunoassays for the diagnosis of equine infectious anemia (EIA) using recombinant protein produced from a synthetic p26 gene of EIA virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singha, Harisankar; Goyal, Sachin K; Malik, Praveen; Khurana, Sandip K; Singh, Raj K

    2013-12-01

    Equine infectious anemia (EIA)-a retroviral disease caused by equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV)-is a chronic, debilitating disease of horses, mules, and donkeys. EIAV infection has been reported worldwide and is recognized as pathogen of significant economic importance to the horse industry. This disease falls under regulatory control program in many countries including India. Control of EIA is based on identification of inapparent carriers by detection of antibodies to EIAV in serologic tests and "Stamping Out" policy. The current internationally accepted test for diagnosis of EIA is the agar gel immune-diffusion test (AGID), which detects antibodies to the major gag gene (p26) product. The objective of this study was to develop recombinant p26 based in-house immunoassays [enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), and AGID] for EIA diagnosis. The synthetic p26 gene of EIAV was expressed in Escherichia coli and diagnostic potential of recombinant p26 protein were evaluated in ELISA and AGID on 7,150 and 1,200 equine serum samples, respectively, and compared with commercial standard AGID kit. The relative sensitivity and specificity of the newly developed ELISA were 100 and 98.6 %, respectively. Whereas, relative sensitivity and specificity of the newly developed AGID were in complete agreement in respect to commercial AGID kit. Here, we have reported the validation of an ELISA and AGID on large number of equine serum samples using recombinant p26 protein produced from synthetic gene which does not require handling of pathogenic EIAV. Since the indigenously developed reagents would be economical than commercial diagnostic kit, the rp26 based-immunoassays could be adopted for the sero-diagnosis and control of EIA in India.

  3. Ethanol fermentation from lignocellulosic hydrolysate by a recombinant xylose- and cellooligosaccharide-assimilating yeast strain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Katahira, Satoshi; Fukuda, Hideki [Kobe Univ. (Japan). Div. of Molecular Science; Mizuike, Atsuko; Kondo, Akihiko [Kobe Univ. (Japan). Dept. of Chemical Science and Engineering

    2006-10-15

    The sulfuric acid hydrolysate of lignocellulosic biomass, such as wood chips, from the forest industry is an important material for fuel bioethanol production. In this study, we constructed a recombinant yeast strain that can ferment xylose and cellooligosaccharides by integrating genes for the intercellular expressions of xylose reductase and xylitol dehydrogenase from Pichia stipitis, and xylulokinase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and a gene for displaying ss-glucosidase from Aspergillus acleatus on the cell surface. In the fermentation of the sulfuric acid hydrolysate of wood chips, xylose and cellooligosaccharides were completely fermented after 36 h by the recombinant strain, and then about 30 g/l ethanol was produced from 73 g/l total sugar added at the beginning. In this case, the ethanol yield of this recombinant yeast was much higher than that of the control yeast. These results demonstrate that the fermentation of the lignocellulose hydrolysate is performed efficiently by the recombinant Saccharomyces strain with abilities for xylose assimilation and cellooligosaccharide degradation. (orig.)

  4. Hydrogen recombiner development at AECL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dewit, W.A.; Koroll, G.W.; Loesel Sitar, J.; Graham, W.R.C.

    1997-01-01

    Catalytic recombiners have been developed at AECL for the purpose of hydrogen removal in post-accident nuclear containment buildings. The recombiners are based on a particular catalyst designed by AECL which has extraordinary resistance to fouling from water and water vapour and a large thermodynamic range of operation. The catalysts were developed, originally, for the purpose of heavy water manufacturing by way of a catalytic exchange process. Application of these catalyst materials in recombiners for containment applications began in the late 1980's. The first application was a passive recombiner, qualified for use in control of radiolytic hydrogen in the headspace of a pool-type experimental reactor of AECL design in 1988. The passive, or natural convection recombiner concept has continued development to commercial stage for application in power reactor containments. This paper reviews the AECL recombiner development, describes the current model and shows results from tests of full-scale recombiners in the Large Scale Vented Combustion Test Facility at AECL-WL. The AECL recombiner is designed for compactness and ease of engineering into containment. The design is a simple, open-ended rectangular enclosure with catalyst elements arranged inside to promote optimum convective flow driven by heat of recombination at the catalyst surface. Self start, as evidenced by catalyst heating and initiation of flow, is achieved in less than 1% hydrogen, with available oxygen, at room temperature and 100% relative humidity. This low temperature start-up in condensing atmospheres is viewed as the most challenging condition for wet-proofing effectiveness. Cold start-up is a vital performance requirement in containments, such as CANDU, where engineered air-cooling systems are operating and where long-term hydrogen control is required, after containment atmospheres have cooled. Once started, the removal capacity scales linearly with the inlet cross-section area and the partial

  5. On the relict recombination lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bershtejn, I.N.; Bernshtejn, D.N.; Dubrovich, V.K.

    1977-01-01

    Accurate numerical calculation of intensities and profiles of hydrogen recombination lines of cosmological origin is made. Relie radiation distortions stipulated by recombination quantum release at the irrevocable recombination are investigated. Mean number calculation is given for guantums educing for one irrevocably-lost electron. The account is taken of the educed quantums interraction with matter. The main quantum-matter interrraction mechanisms are considered: electronic blow broadening; free-free, free-bound, bound-bound absorptions Recombination dynamics is investigated depending on hydrogen density and total density of all the matter kinds in the Universe

  6. Identification, Characterization and Down-Regulation of Cysteine Protease Genes in Tobacco for Use in Recombinant Protein Production.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kishor Duwadi

    Full Text Available Plants are an attractive host system for pharmaceutical protein production. Many therapeutic proteins have been produced and scaled up in plants at a low cost compared to the conventional microbial and animal-based systems. The main technical challenge during this process is to produce sufficient levels of recombinant proteins in plants. Low yield is generally caused by proteolytic degradation during expression and downstream processing of recombinant proteins. The yield of human therapeutic interleukin (IL-10 produced in transgenic tobacco leaves was found to be below the critical level, and may be due to degradation by tobacco proteases. Here, we identified a total of 60 putative cysteine protease genes (CysP in tobacco. Based on their predicted expression in leaf tissue, 10 candidate CysPs (CysP1-CysP10 were selected for further characterization. The effect of CysP gene silencing on IL-10 accumulation was examined in tobacco. It was found that the recombinant protein yield in tobacco could be increased by silencing CysP6. Transient expression of CysP6 silencing construct also showed an increase in IL-10 accumulation in comparison to the control. Moreover, CysP6 localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER, suggesting that ER may be the site of IL-10 degradation. Overall results suggest that CysP6 is important in determining the yield of recombinant IL-10 in tobacco leaves.

  7. Late replicating domains are highly recombining in females but have low male recombination rates: implications for isochore evolution.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine J Pink

    Full Text Available In mammals sequences that are either late replicating or highly recombining have high rates of evolution at putatively neutral sites. As early replicating domains and highly recombining domains both tend to be GC rich we a priori expect these two variables to covary. If so, the relative contribution of either of these variables to the local neutral substitution rate might have been wrongly estimated owing to covariance with the other. Against our expectations, we find that sex-averaged recombination rates show little or no correlation with replication timing, suggesting that they are independent determinants of substitution rates. However, this result masks significant sex-specific complexity: late replicating domains tend to have high recombination rates in females but low recombination rates in males. That these trends are antagonistic explains why sex-averaged recombination is not correlated with replication timing. This unexpected result has several important implications. First, although both male and female recombination rates covary significantly with intronic substitution rates, the magnitude of this correlation is moderately underestimated for male recombination and slightly overestimated for female recombination, owing to covariance with replicating timing. Second, the result could explain why male recombination is strongly correlated with GC content but female recombination is not. If to explain the correlation between GC content and replication timing we suppose that late replication forces reduced GC content, then GC promotion by biased gene conversion during female recombination is partly countered by the antagonistic effect of later replicating sequence tending increase AT content. Indeed, the strength of the correlation between female recombination rate and local GC content is more than doubled by control for replication timing. Our results underpin the need to consider sex-specific recombination rates and potential covariates in

  8. Activation of human T cells by a tumor vaccine infected with recombinant Newcastle disease virus producing IL-2

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janke, M.; Peeters, B.; Zhao, H.; Leeuw, O.; Moormann, R.J.M.; Arnold, A.; Ziouta, Y.; Fournier, P.; Schirrmacher, V.

    2008-01-01

    A new recombinant (rec) Newcastle disease virus (NDV) with incorporated human interleukin 2 (IL-2) as foreign therapeutic gene [rec(IL-2)] will be described. The foreign gene in rec(IL-2) did not affect the main features of NDV replication nor its tumor selectivity. Biologically active IL-2 was

  9. Optimization of soft x-ray line emission from laser-produced carbon ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Intense XUV soft x-ray emission from laser-produced plasma sources is currently ... absorption edges of oxygen and carbon respectively) is particularly attractive as it permits ... ability of the target element producing intense discrete lines in the water .... ficient due to Pert [17] and dielectronic recombination coefficient due to ...

  10. Production of recombinant dengue non-structural 1 (NS1) proteins from clinical virus isolates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yohan, Benediktus; Wardhani, Puspa; Aryati; Trimarsanto, Hidayat; Sasmono, R Tedjo

    2017-01-01

    Dengue is a febrile disease caused by infection of dengue virus (DENV). Early diagnosis of dengue infection is important for better management of the disease. The DENV Non-Structural Protein 1 (NS1) antigen has been routinely used for the early dengue detection. In dengue epidemic countries such as Indonesia, clinicians are increasingly relying on the NS1 detection for confirmation of dengue infection. Various NS1 diagnostic tests are commercially available, however different sensitivities and specificities were observed in various settings. This study was aimed to generate dengue NS1 recombinant protein for the development of dengue diagnostic tests. Four Indonesian DENV isolates were used as the source of the NS1 gene cloning, expression, and purification in bacterial expression system. Recombinant NS1 proteins were successfully purified and their antigenicities were assessed. Immunization of mice with recombinant proteins observed the immunogenicity of the NS1 protein. The generated recombinant proteins can be potentially used in the development of NS1 diagnostic test. With minimal modifications, this method can be used for producing NS1 recombinant proteins from isolates obtained from other geographical regions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Correlation Between Expression of Recombinant Proteins and Abundance of H3K4Me3 on the Enhancer of Human Cytomegalovirus Major Immediate-Early Promoter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soo, Benjamin P C; Tay, Julian; Ng, Shirelle; Ho, Steven C L; Yang, Yuansheng; Chao, Sheng-Hao

    2017-08-01

    Role of epigenetic regulation in the control of gene expression is well established. The impact of several epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation and histone acetylation, on recombinant protein production in mammalian cells has been investigated recently. Here we investigate the correlation between the selected epigenetic markers and five trastuzumab biosimilar-producing Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines in which the expression of trastuzumab is driven by human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) major immediate-early (MIE) promoter. We chose the producing clones in which transcription was the determinative step for the production of recombinant trastuzumab. We found that the abundance of trimethylation of histone 3 at lysine 4 (H3K4Me3) on the enhancer of HCMV MIE promoter correlated well with the relative titers of recombinant trastuzumab among the clones. Such close correlation was not observed between the recombinant protein and other epigenetic markers examined in our study. Our results demonstrate that the HCMV MIE enhancer-bound H3K4Me3 epigenetic marker may be used as the epigenetic indicator to predict the relative production of recombinant proteins between the producing CHO cell lines.

  12. Expression of recombinant Clostridium difficile toxin A and B in Bacillus megaterium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nie Weijia

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Major Clostridium difficile virulence factors are the exotoxins TcdA and TcdB. Due to the large size and poor stability of the proteins, the active recombinant TcdA and TcdB have been difficult to produce. Results The toxin genes tcdA and tcdB were amplified by PCR using chromosomal DNA from a toxigenic strain as a template, and cloned into a shuttle vector pHis1522. The sequences of both tcdA and tcdB genes in the vector have been verified by DNA sequencing. The constructs were transformed into B. megaterium protoplasts and the protein expression was controlled under a xylose promoter. The recombinant toxins (rTcdA and rTcdB were purified from bacterial crude extracts. Approximately 5 – 10 mg of highly purified recombinant toxins were obtained from one liter of bacterial culture. The resulting rTcdA and rTcdB had similar molecular masses to the native toxins, and their biological activities were found to be similar to their native counterparts after an extensive examination. Conclusion We have generated the full length and active recombinant TcdA and TcdB in Bacillus megaterium.

  13. Utilizing protein-lean coproducts from corn containing recombinant pharmaceutical proteins for ethanol production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paraman, Ilankovan; Moeller, Lorena; Scott, M Paul; Wang, Kan; Glatz, Charles E; Johnson, Lawrence A

    2010-10-13

    Protein-lean fractions of corn (maize) containing recombinant (r) pharmaceutical proteins were evaluated as a potential feedstock to produce fuel ethanol. The levels of residual r-proteins in the coproduct, distillers dry grains with solubles (DDGS), were determined. Transgenic corn lines containing recombinant green fluorescence protein (r-GFP) and a recombinant subunit vaccine of Escherichia coli enterotoxin (r-LTB), primarily expressed in endosperm, and another two corn lines containing recombinant human collagen (r-CIα1) and r-GFP, primarily expressed in germ, were used as model systems. The kernels were either ground and used for fermentation or dry fractionated to recover germ-rich fractions prior to grinding for fermentation. The finished beers of whole ground kernels and r-protein-spent endosperm solids contained 127-139 and 138-155 g/L ethanol concentrations, respectively. The ethanol levels did not differ among transgenic and normal corn feedstocks, indicating the residual r-proteins did not negatively affect ethanol production. r-Protein extraction and germ removal also did not negatively affect fermentation of the remaining mass. Most r-proteins were inactivated during the mashing process used to prepare corn for fermentation. No functionally active r-GFP or r-LTB proteins were found after fermentation of the r-protein-spent solids; however, a small quantity of residual r-CIα1 was detected in DDGS, indicating that the safety of DDGS produced from transgenic grain for r-protein production needs to be evaluated for each event. Protease treatment during fermentation completely hydrolyzed the residual r-CIα1, and no residual r-proteins were detectable in DDGS.

  14. Reduced genetic distance and high replication levels increase the RNA recombination rate of hepatitis delta virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chia-Chi; Yang, Zhi-Wei; Iang, Shan-Bei; Chao, Mei

    2015-01-02

    Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) replication is carried out by host RNA polymerases. Since homologous inter-genotypic RNA recombination is known to occur in HDV, possibly via a replication-dependent process, we hypothesized that the degree of sequence homology and the replication level should be related to the recombination frequency in cells co-expressing two HDV sequences. To confirm this, we separately co-transfected cells with three different pairs of HDV genomic RNAs and analyzed the obtained recombinants by RT-PCR followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequencing analyses. The sequence divergence between the clones ranged from 24% to less than 0.1%, and the difference in replication levels was as high as 100-fold. As expected, significant differences were observed in the recombination frequencies, which ranged from 0.5% to 47.5%. Furthermore, varying the relative amounts of parental RNA altered the dominant recombinant species produced, suggesting that template switching occurs frequently during the synthesis of genomic HDV RNA. Taken together, these data suggest that during the host RNA polymerase-driven RNA recombination of HDV, both inter- and intra-genotypic recombination events are important in shaping the genetic diversity of HDV. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Recombinant Mycobacterium bovis BCG producing IL-18 reduces IL-5 production and bronchoalveolar eosinophilia induced by an allergic reaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biet, F; Duez, C; Kremer, L; Marquillies, P; Amniai, L; Tonnel, A-B; Locht, C; Pestel, J

    2005-08-01

    Allergic reactions occur through the exacerbated induction of a Th2 cell type expression profile and can be prevented by agents favoring a Th1 profile. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is able to induce high IFN-gamma levels and has been shown to decrease experimentally induced allergy. The induction of IFN-gamma is mediated by interleukin (IL)-12 known to be secreted upon mycobacterial infections and can be enhanced by IL-18 acting in synergy with IL-12. We evaluated the ability of a recombinant BCG strain producing IL-18 (rBCG) to modify the Th2 type responses in a murine model of ovalbumin (OVA)-dependent allergic reaction. Mice were injected intraperitoneally or intranasally with OVA at days 0 and 15 and exposed to an OVA aerosol challenge at days 29, 30, 31 and 34. At days 0 and 15, two additional groups of mice received OVA together with 5 x 10(6) colony forming units of either rBCG or nonrecombinant BCG. A time-course analysis of OVA-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)E, IgG1 and IgG2a levels indicated no significant difference between the three groups of mice. However, following in vitro stimulation with OVA, lymph node cells from rBCG-treated mice produced less IL-5 and more IFN-gamma than those of mice injected with nonrecombinant BCG. In addition, 48 h after the last OVA challenge, a strong reduction of bronchoalveolar eosinophilia was found in the rBCG-injected mice compared to the nontreated or nonrecombinant BCG-treated groups. These results indicate that the production of IL-18 by rBCG may enhance the immunomodulatory properties of BCG that suppress pulmonary Th2 responses and, in particular, decrease airway eosinophilia.

  16. A systematic investigation of production of synthetic prions from recombinant prion protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Christian; Fizet, Jeremie; Properzi, Francesca; Batchelor, Mark; Sandberg, Malin K; Edgeworth, Julie A; Afran, Louise; Ho, Sammy; Badhan, Anjna; Klier, Steffi; Linehan, Jacqueline M; Brandner, Sebastian; Hosszu, Laszlo L P; Tattum, M Howard; Jat, Parmjit; Clarke, Anthony R; Klöhn, Peter C; Wadsworth, Jonathan D F; Jackson, Graham S; Collinge, John

    2015-12-01

    According to the protein-only hypothesis, infectious mammalian prions, which exist as distinct strains with discrete biological properties, consist of multichain assemblies of misfolded cellular prion protein (PrP). A critical test would be to produce prion strains synthetically from defined components. Crucially, high-titre 'synthetic' prions could then be used to determine the structural basis of infectivity and strain diversity at the atomic level. While there have been multiple reports of production of prions from bacterially expressed recombinant PrP using various methods, systematic production of high-titre material in a form suitable for structural analysis remains a key goal. Here, we report a novel high-throughput strategy for exploring a matrix of conditions, additives and potential cofactors that might generate high-titre prions from recombinant mouse PrP, with screening for infectivity using a sensitive automated cell-based bioassay. Overall, approximately 20,000 unique conditions were examined. While some resulted in apparently infected cell cultures, this was transient and not reproducible. We also adapted published methods that reported production of synthetic prions from recombinant hamster PrP, but again did not find evidence of significant infectious titre when using recombinant mouse PrP as substrate. Collectively, our findings are consistent with the formation of prion infectivity from recombinant mouse PrP being a rare stochastic event and we conclude that systematic generation of prions from recombinant PrP may only become possible once the detailed structure of authentic ex vivo prions is solved. © 2015 The Authors.

  17. Study of XUV lasers produced by a CO/sub 2/ laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Daido, H.; Miura, E.; Kitagawa, Y.; Kato, Y.; Nishihara, K.; Sawai, K.; Nakai, S.S.; Yamanaka, C.

    1988-01-01

    The authors present recent progress at ILE, Osaka University in plasma recombination-pumped XUV lasers produced by a CO/sub 2/ laser. One way to produce large-population inversion with this scheme is rapid cooling of the gain medium keeping a high electron density, because the three-body recombination probability is proportional to the square of the electron density. The authors used a cylinder-type target made of 30-μm thick parylene (C/sub 8/H/sub 8/) whose diameter and length are 3 and 4 mm. The laser irradiated the 2500-A thick parylene foil attached to the center of the cylinder. The fully ablated plasma expands isotropically, producing an almost uniform plasma on the cylinder wall. Then the almost fully ionized carbon plasma is cooled by heat transport from the hot plasma to the wall. The estimated cooling time is a few nanoseconds assuming classical heat transport

  18. Auger recombination in sodium iodide

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAllister, Andrew; Kioupakis, Emmanouil; Åberg, Daniel; Schleife, André

    2014-03-01

    Scintillators are an important tool used to detect high energy radiation - both in the interest of national security and in medicine. However, scintillator detectors currently suffer from lower energy resolutions than expected from basic counting statistics. This has been attributed to non-proportional light yield compared to incoming radiation, but the specific mechanism for this non-proportionality has not been identified. Auger recombination is a non-radiative process that could be contributing to the non-proportionality of scintillating materials. Auger recombination comes in two types - direct and phonon-assisted. We have used first-principles calculations to study Auger recombination in sodium iodide, a well characterized scintillating material. Our findings indicate that phonon-assisted Auger recombination is stronger in sodium iodide than direct Auger recombination. Computational resources provided by LLNL and NERSC. Funding provided by NA-22.

  19. Regulation of homologous recombination in eukaryotes

    OpenAIRE

    Heyer, Wolf-Dietrich; Ehmsen, Kirk T.; Liu, Jie

    2010-01-01

    Homologous recombination is required for accurate chromosome segregation during the first meiotic division and constitutes a key repair and tolerance pathway for complex DNA damage including DNA double-stranded breaks, interstrand crosslinks, and DNA gaps. In addition, recombination and replication are inextricably linked, as recombination recovers stalled and broken replication forks enabling the evolution of larger genomes/replicons. Defects in recombination lead to genomic instability and ...

  20. Designer genes. Recombinant antibody fragments for biological imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, A.M.; Yazaki, P.J. [Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, Duarte, CA (United States). Dept. of Molecular Biology

    2000-09-01

    Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), with high specificity and high affinity for their target antigens, can be utilized for delivery of agents such as radionuclides, enzymes, drugs or toxins in vivo. However, the implementation of radiolabeled antibodies as magic bullets for detection and treatment of diseases such as cancer has required addressing several shortcomings of murine MAbs. These include their immunogenicity, sub-optimal targeting and pharmacokinetic properties, and practical issues of production and radiolabeling. Genetic engineering provides a powerful approach for redesigning antibodies for use in oncologic applications in vivo. Recombinant fragments have been produced that retain high affinity for target antigens, and display a combination of rapid, high-level tumor targeting with concomitant clearance from normal tissues and the circulation in animal models. An important first step was cloning and engineering of antibody heavy and light chain variable domains into single-chain Fvs (molecular weight, 25-17 kDa), in which the variable regions are joined via a synthetic linker peptide sequence. Although scFvs themselves showed limited tumor uptake in preclinical and clinical studies, they provide a useful building block for intermediate sized recombinant fragments. Covalently linked dimers or non-covalent dimers of scFvs (also known as diabodies) show improved targeting and clearance properties due to their higher molecular weight (55kDa) and increased avidity. Further gains can be made by generation of larger recombinant fragments, such as the minibody, an scFv-C{sub H}3 fusion protein that self-assembles into a bivalent dimer of 80 kDa. A systematic evaluation of scFv, diabody, minibody, and intact antibody (based on comparison of tumor uptakes, tumor: blood activity ratios, and calculation of an Imaging Figure of Merit) can form the basis for selection of combinations of recombinant fragments and radionuclides for imaging applications. Ease of engineering

  1. Designer genes. Recombinant antibody fragments for biological imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, A.M.; Yazaki, P.J.

    2000-01-01

    Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), with high specificy and high affinity for their target antigens, can be utilized for delivery of agents such as radionuclides, enzymes, drugs or toxins in vivo. However, the implementation of radiolabeled antibodies as magic bullets for detection and treatment of diseases such as cancer has required addressing several shortcomings of murine MAbs. These include their immunogenicity, sub-optimal targeting and pharmacokinetic properties, and practical issues of production and radiolabeling. Genetic engineering provides a powerful approach for redesigning antibodies for use in oncologic applications in vivo. Recombinant fragments have been produced that retain high affinity for target antigens, and display a combination of rapid, high-level tumor targeting with concomitant clearance from normal tissues and the circulation in animal models. An important first step was cloning and engineering of antibody heavy and light chain variable domains into single-chain Fvs (molecular weight, 25-17 kDa), in which the variable regions are joined via a synthetic linker peptide sequence. Although scFvs themselves showed limited tumor uptake in preclinical and clinical studies, they provide a useful building block for intermediate sized recombinant fragments. Covalently linked dimers or non-covalent dimers of scFvs (also known as diabodies) show improved targeting and clearance properties due to their higher molecular weight (55kDa) and increased avidity. Further gains can be made by generation of larger recombinant fragments, such as the minibody, an scFv-C H 3 fusion protein that self-assembles into a bivalent dimer of 80 kDa. A systematic evaluation of scFv, diabody, minibody, and intact antibody (based on comparison of tumor uptakes, tumor: blood activity ratios, and calculation of an Imaging Figure of Merit) can form the basis for selection of combinations of recombinant fragments and radionuclides for imaging applications. Ease of engineering and

  2. Recombination coefficients in extrinsic n-InSb

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schneider, W.; Groh, H.; Huebner, K.

    1976-01-01

    The bulk recombination coefficients for linear recombination via recombination centers as well as for direct recombination have been determined measuring the conductivity decay after two-photon absorption with a CO 2 laser. The Suhl effect was applied to measure the surface recombination velocity. The corresponding literature is discussed and compared with our results. We conclude that two different kinds of recombination centers are possible in n-InSb, with energy levels (0.1-0.12)eV above the valence band, or (0.14-0.2)eV respectively. (orig.) [de

  3. Production of recombinant flagellin to develop ELISA-based detection of Salmonella Enteritidis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Ali Mirhosseini

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Food-borne diseases, caused by the pathogenic bacteria, are highly prevalent in the world. Salmonella is one of the most important bacterial genera responsible for this. Salmonella Enteritidis (SE is one of the non-typhoid Salmonellae that can be transmitted to human from poultry products, water, and contaminated food. In recent years, new and rapid detection methods such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA and polymerase chain reaction (PCR have been developed. In this study, recombinant FliC (rFliC was produced to be used as an antigen. The immunization was conducted in mice with the purified recombinant FliC (rFliC. The mice were subcutaneously immunized with rFliC and elicited significant rFliC specific serum IgG antibodies. An indirect ELISA system was established for the detection of Salmonella Enteritidis. Our results confirmed that the recombinant flagellin can be one of the excellent indicators for the detection of Salmonella Enteritidis.

  4. Nuclear and hadronic reaction mechanisms producing spin asymmetry

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    We briefly review concept of the quark recombination (QRC) model and a general success of the model. To solve the existing problem, so called anomalous spin observables, in the high energy hyperon spin phenomena, we propose a mechanism; the primarily produced quarks, which are predominantly and quarks, ...

  5. Electron-ion recombination rates for merged-beams experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pajek, M.

    1994-01-01

    Energy dependence of the electron-ion recombination rates are studied for different recombination processes (radiative recombination, three-body recombination, dissociative recombination) for Maxwellian relative velocity distribution of arbitrary asymmetry. The results are discussed in context of the electron-ion merged beams experiments in cooling ion storage rings. The question of indication of a possible contribution of the three-body recombination to the measured recombination rates versus relative energy is particularly addressed. Its influence on the electron beam temperature derived from the energy dependence of recombination rate is discussed

  6. Pharmaceutical proteins produced in plant bioreactor in recent years ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Plant bioreactor, also called molecular farming, has enormous potential to produce recombinant proteins infinitely. Products expressed in plants have natural physico-chemical properties and bioactivities. Plant bioreactor could be a safe, economic and convenient production system, and can been widely applied in ...

  7. Galactose-extended glycans of antibodies produced by transgenic plants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bakker, H.; Bardor, M.; Molthoff, J.W.; Gomord, V.; Elbers, I.; Stevens, L.H.; Jordi, W.; Lommen, A.; Faye, L.; Lerouge, P.; Bosch, D.

    2001-01-01

    Plant-specific N-glycosylation can represent an important limitation for the use of recombinant glycoproteins of mammalian origin produced by transgenic plants. Comparison of plant and mammalian N-glycan biosynthesis indicates that β1,4-galactosyltransferase is the most important enzyme that is

  8. Electron-ion recombination at low energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersen, L.H.

    1993-01-01

    The work is based on results obtained with a merged-beams experiment. A beam of electronics with a well characterized density and energy distribution was merged with a fast, monoenergetic ion beam. Results have been obtained for radiative recombination and dielectronic recombination at low relative energies (0 to ∼70eV). The obtained energy resolution was improved by about a factor of 30. High vacuum technology was used to suppress interactions with electrons from the environments. The velocity distribution of the electron beam was determined. State-selective dielectronic-recombination measurements were performable. Recombination processes were studied. The theoretical background for radiative recombination and Kramers' theory are reviewed. The quantum mechanical result and its relation to the semiclassical theory is discussed. Radiative recombination was also measured with several different non-bare ions, and the applicability of the semiclassical theory to non-bare ions was investigated. The use of an effective charge is discussed. For dielectronic recombination, the standard theoretical approach in the isolated resonance and independent-processes approximation is debated. The applicability of this method was tested. The theory was able to reproduce most of the experimental data except when the recombination process was sensitive to couplings between different electronic configurations. The influence of external perturbing electrostatic fields is discussed. (AB) (31 refs.)

  9. UV-dependent production of 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 in the recombinant yeast cells expressing human CYP2R1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yasuda, Kaori; Endo, Mariko; Ikushiro, Shinichi; Kamakura, Masaki; Ohta, Miho; Sakaki, Toshiyuki

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •We produce 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the recombinant yeast expressing human CYP2R1. •Vitamin D2 is produced in yeast from endogenous ergosterol with UV irradiation. •We produce 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 in the recombinant yeast without added substrate. -- Abstract: CYP2R1 is known to be a physiologically important vitamin D 25-hydroxylase. We have successfully expressed human CYP2R1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to reveal its enzymatic properties. In this study, we examined production of 25-hydroxylated vitamin D using whole recombinant yeast cells that expressed CYP2R1. When vitamin D 3 or vitamin D 2 was added to the cell suspension of CYP2R1-expressing yeast cells in a buffer containing glucose and β-cyclodextrin, the vitamins were converted into their 25-hydroxylated products. Next, we irradiated the cell suspension with UVB and incubated at 37 °C. Surprisingly, the 25-hydroxy vitamin D 2 was produced without additional vitamin D 2 . Endogenous ergosterol was likely converted into vitamin D 2 by UV irradiation and thermal isomerization, and then the resulting vitamin D 2 was converted to 25-hydroxyvitamin D 2 by CYP2R1. This novel method for producing 25-hydroxyvitamin D 2 without a substrate could be useful for practical purposes

  10. Recombinant Innovation and Endogenous Transitions

    OpenAIRE

    Koen Frenken; Luis R. Izquierdo; Paolo Zeppini

    2012-01-01

    We propose a model of technological transitions based on two different types of innovations. Branching innovations refer to technological improvements along a particular path, while recombinant innovations represent fusions of multiple paths. Recombinant innovations create “short-cuts” which reduce switching costs allowing agents to escape a technological lock-in. As a result, recombinant innovations speed up technological progress allowing transitions that are impossible with only branching ...

  11. Identification of effector-like proteins in Trichoderma spp. and role of a hydrophobin in the plant-fungus interaction and mycoparasitism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guzmán-Guzmán, Paulina; Alemán-Duarte, Mario Iván; Delaye, Luis; Herrera-Estrella, Alfredo; Olmedo-Monfil, Vianey

    2017-02-15

    Trichoderma spp. can establish beneficial interactions with plants by promoting plant growth and defense systems, as well as, antagonizing fungal phytopathogens in mycoparasitic interactions. Such interactions depend on signal exchange between both participants and can be mediated by effector proteins that alter the host cell structure and function, allowing the establishment of the relationship. The main purpose of this work was to identify, using computational methods, candidates of effector proteins from T. virens, T. atroviride and T. reesei, validate the expression of some of the genes during a beneficial interaction and mycoparasitism and to define the biological function for one of them. We defined a catalogue of putative effector proteins from T. virens, T. atroviride and T. reesei. We further validated the expression of 16 genes encoding putative effector proteins from T. virens and T. atroviride during the interaction with the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, and with two anastomosis groups of the phytopathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia solani. We found genes which transcript levels are modified in response to the presence of both plant fungi, as well as genes that respond only to either a plant or a fungal host. Further, we show that overexpression of the gene tvhydii1, a Class II hydrophobin family member, enhances the antagonistic activity of T. virens against R. solani AG2. Further, deletion of tvhydii1 results in reduced colonization of plant roots, while its overexpression increases it. Our results show that Trichoderma is able to respond in different ways to the presence of a plant or a fungal host, and it can even distinguish between different strains of fungi of a given species. The putative effector proteins identified here may play roles in preventing perception of the fungus by its hosts, favoring host colonization or protecting it from the host's defense response. Finally, the novel effector protein TVHYDII1 plays a role in plant root colonization by T

  12. Interface recombination influence on carrier transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Konin, A

    2013-01-01

    A theory of interface recombination in the semiconductor–semiconductor junction is developed. The interface recombination rate dependence on the nonequilibrium carrier densities is derived on the basis of a model in which the interface recombination occurs through the mechanism of trapping. The general relation between the interface recombination parameters at small carrier density deviation from the equilibrium ones is obtained. The validity of this relation is proved considering the generation of the Hall electric field in the extrinsic semiconductor sample. The anomalous Hall electromotive force in a weak magnetic field was investigated and interpreted by means of a new interface recombination model. The experimental data corroborate the developed theory. (paper)

  13. Investigations into, and development of, a lyophilized and formulated recombinant human factor IX produced from CHO cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almeida, Aline G; Pinto, Rodrigo C V; Smales, C Mark; Castilho, Leda R

    2017-08-01

    To develop a recombinant human factor IX (rFIX) formulation equivalent to commercially available products in terms of cake appearance, residual moisture, proportion of soluble aggregates and activity maintenance for 3 months at 4-8 °C. NaCl and low bulking agent/cryoprotectant mass ratio had a negative impact on cake quality upon lyophilisation for a wide range of formulations tested. Particular devised formulations maintained rFIX activity after lyophilization with a similar performance when compared with the rFIX formulated using the excipients reported for a commercially available FIX formulation (Benefix). rFIX remained active after 3 months when stored at 4 °C, though this was not the case with samples stored at 40 °C. Interestingly, particular formulations had an increase in residual moisture after 3 months storage, but not above a 3% threshold. All four formulations tested were equivalent to the Benefix formulation in terms of particle size distribution and cake appearance. Three specific formulations, consisting of surfactant polysorbate-80, sucrose or trehalose as cryoprotectant, mannitol or glycine as bulking agent, L-histidine as buffering agent, and NaCl added in the reconstitution liquid at 0.234% (w/v) were suitable for use with a CHO cell-derived recombinant FIX.

  14. Testing the effect of paraquat exposure on genomic recombination rates in queens of the western honey bee, Apis mellifera.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langberg, Kurt; Phillips, Matthew; Rueppell, Olav

    2018-04-01

    The rate of genomic recombination displays evolutionary plasticity and can even vary in response to environmental factors. The western honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) has an extremely high genomic recombination rate but the mechanistic basis for this genome-wide upregulation is not understood. Based on the hypothesis that meiotic recombination and DNA damage repair share common mechanisms in honey bees as in other organisms, we predicted that oxidative stress leads to an increase in recombination rate in honey bees. To test this prediction, we subjected honey bee queens to oxidative stress by paraquat injection and measured the rates of genomic recombination in select genome intervals of offspring produced before and after injection. The evaluation of 26 genome intervals in a total of over 1750 offspring of 11 queens by microsatellite genotyping revealed several significant effects but no overall evidence for a mechanistic link between oxidative stress and increased recombination was found. The results weaken the notion that DNA repair enzymes have a regulatory function in the high rate of meiotic recombination of honey bees, but they do not provide evidence against functional overlap between meiotic recombination and DNA damage repair in honey bees and more mechanistic studies are needed.

  15. Dielectronic and radiative recombination of Si- to N-like tungsten ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Biedermann, C; Radtke, R; Seidel, R; Behar, E

    2009-01-01

    We have performed x-ray spectroscopic measurements of the dielectronic recombination resonance strength for the LMn (n = 3, ..., 10) series of Si-like W 60+ to N-like W 67+ tungsten ions. Highly charged tungsten ions were produced, stored and excited with the Berlin electron beam ion trap and the emitted radiation was analyzed with a solid state detector. Information on the charge state abundance in the trap was extracted from a fit of the theoretical radiative recombination intensity to measured values. The fit procedure was only feasible when the fine structure, angular momentum of the recombination channels is taken into account. Our measurement of x-rays from n = 2-3, 2-4 and higher DR resonance transitions was compared to relativistic calculations of the DR cross sections and rate coefficients calculated with the Hebrew University Lawrence Livermore Atomic Code (HULLAC). The previous theoretical predictions for Ne-like tungsten (W 64+ ) were extended with calculations for ions in adjacent charge states and compare well with the observed DR resonance structure.

  16. Recombinant snakebite antivenoms: A cost-competitive solution to a neglected tropical disease?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laustsen, Andreas Hougaard; Johansen, Kristoffer H.; Engmark, Mikael

    2017-01-01

    of treatment for a snakebite envenoming with a recombinant antivenom is estimated to be in the range USD 60-250 for the Final Drug Product. One of the effective antivenoms (SAIMR Snake Polyvalent Antivenom from the South African Vaccine Producers) currently on the market has been reported to have a wholesale...

  17. Molecular requirements for radiation-activated recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stevens, Craig W.; Zeng Ming; Stamato, Thomas; Cerniglia, George

    1997-01-01

    Purpose/Objective: The major stumbling block to successful gene therapy today is poor gene transfer. We hypothesized that ionizing radiation might activate cellular recombination, and so improve stable gene transfer. We further hypothesized that known DNA-damage-repair proteins might also be important in radiation-activated recombination. Materials and Methods: The effect of irradiation on stable gene transfer efficiency was determined in human (A549 and 39F) and rodent (NIH/3T3) cell lines. Continuous low dose rate and multiple radiation fractions were also tested. Nuclear extracts were made and the effect of irradiation on inter-plasmid recombination/ligation determined. Multiple DNA damage-repair deficient cell lines were tested for radiation-activated recombination. Results: A significant radiation dose-dependent improvement in stable plasmid transfection (by as much as 1300 fold) is demonstrated in neoplastic and primary cells. An improvement in transient plasmid transfection is also seen, with as much as 85% of cells transiently expressing b-galactosidase (20-50 fold improvement). Stable transfection is only improved for linearized or nicked plasmids. Cells have improved gene transfer for at least 96 hours after irradiation. Both fractionated and continuous low dose rate irradiation are effective at improving stable gene transfer in mammalian cells, thus making relatively high radiation dose delivery clinically feasible. Inter-plasmid recombination is radiation dose dependent in nuclear extract assays, and the type of overhang (3', 5' or blunt end) significantly affects recombination efficiency and the type of product. The most common end-joining activity involves filling-in of the overhang followed by blunt end ligation. Adenovirus is a linear, double stranded DNA virus. We demonstrate that adenoviral infection efficiency is increased by irradiation. The duration of transgene expression is lengthened because the virus integrates with high efficiency (∼10

  18. Recombinant pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductase, recombinant dirigent protein, and methods of use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Norman G.; Davin, Laurence B.; Dinkova-Kostova, Albena T.; Fujita, Masayuki; Gang, David R.; Sarkanen, Simo; Ford, Joshua D.

    2001-04-03

    Dirigent proteins and pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases have been isolated, together with cDNAs encoding dirigent proteins and pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases. Accordingly, isolated DNA sequences are provided which code for the expression of dirigent proteins and pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases. In other aspects, replicable recombinant cloning vehicles are provided which code for dirigent proteins or pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases or for a base sequence sufficiently complementary to at least a portion of dirigent protein or pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductase DNA or RNA to enable hybridization therewith. In yet other aspects, modified host cells are provided that have been transformed, transfected, infected and/or injected with a recombinant cloning vehicle and/or DNA sequence encoding dirigent protein or pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductase. Thus, systems and methods are provided for the recombinant expression of dirigent proteins and/or pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases.

  19. Partial radiative-recombination cross sections for excited states of hydrogen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fazio, P.M.; Copeland, G.E.

    1985-01-01

    The squares of the dipole and quadrupole matrix elements for the free-to-bound transitions of hydrogen up to bound states Vertical Barn = 20,l = 19> are derived in closed analytic form as a function of the kinetic energy of the free electron. Coulomb wave functions are used for the free as well as the bound states and, thus, the results are good for any electron energy. Several interesting effects are found. First, the transition probabilities are maximum for recombination into specific intermediate-angular-momentum states at low energies (w<1 eV) and where the free-state angular momentum is greater than that of the bound state. Further, that specific intermediate-angular-momentum state depends on the kinetic energy of the free electron. This behavior is in contrast to the ''normal'' behavior of the transition strengths where recombination into s states is greatest and decreases with increasing angular momentum. Second, the quadrupole matrix elements vanish for certain velocities of the free electron. These ''zeros'' produce minima in the corresponding quadrupole cross sections. Finally, the calculated partial cross sections for recombination into high-angular-momentum states are greater when quadrupole transitions are included

  20. High-Level Expression of Recombinant Bovine Lactoferrin in Pichia pastoris with Antimicrobial Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Blanca Iglesias-Figueroa

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In this study, bovine lactoferrin (bLf, an iron-binding glycoprotein considered an important nutraceutical protein because of its several properties, was expressed in Pichia pastoris KM71-H under AOX1 promoter control, using pJ902 as the recombinant plasmid. Dot blotting analysis revealed the expression of recombinant bovine lactoferrin (rbLf in Pichia pastoris. After Bach fermentation and purification by molecular exclusion, we obtained an expression yield of 3.5 g/L of rbLf. rbLf and predominantly pepsin-digested rbLf (rbLfcin demonstrated antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli BL21DE3, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus FRI137, and, in a smaller percentage, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Ps. Aeruginosa ATCC 27833. The successful expression and characterization of functional rbLf expressed in Pichia pastoris opens a prospect for the development of natural antimicrobial agents produced recombinantly.

  1. Screening of Pesticides with the Potential of Inducing DSB and Successive Recombinational Repair

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen Suárez-Larios

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available A study was realized to ascertain whether eight selected pesticides would induce double strand breaks (DSB in lymphocyte cultures and whether this damage would induce greater levels of proteins Rad51 participating in homologous recombination or of p-Ku80 participating in nonhomologous end joining. Only five pesticides were found to induce DSB of which only glyphosate and paraoxon induced a significant increase of p-Ku80 protein, indicating that nonhomologous end joining recombinational DNA repair system would be activated. The type of gamma-H2AX foci observed was comparable to that induced by etoposide at similar concentrations. These results are of importance since these effects occurred at low concentrations in the micromolar range, in acute treatments to the cells. Effects over longer exposures in actual environmental settings are expected to produce cumulative damage if repeated events of recombination take place over time.

  2. Population inversion in recombining hydrogen plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Furukane, Utaro; Yokota, Toshiaki; Oda, Toshiatsu.

    1978-11-01

    The collisional-radiative model is applied to a recombining hydrogen plasma in order to investigate the plasma condition in which the population inversion between the energy levels of hydrogen can be generated. The population inversion is expected in a plasma where the three body recombination has a large contribution to the recombining processes and the effective recombination rate is beyond a certain value for a given electron density and temperature. Calculated results are presented in figures and tables. (author)

  3. Consequences of recombination on traditional phylogenetic analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schierup, M H; Hein, J

    2000-01-01

    We investigate the shape of a phylogenetic tree reconstructed from sequences evolving under the coalescent with recombination. The motivation is that evolutionary inferences are often made from phylogenetic trees reconstructed from population data even though recombination may well occur (mt......DNA or viral sequences) or does occur (nuclear sequences). We investigate the size and direction of biases when a single tree is reconstructed ignoring recombination. Standard software (PHYLIP) was used to construct the best phylogenetic tree from sequences simulated under the coalescent with recombination....... With recombination present, the length of terminal branches and the total branch length are larger, and the time to the most recent common ancestor smaller, than for a tree reconstructed from sequences evolving with no recombination. The effects are pronounced even for small levels of recombination that may...

  4. Recombinant production of human Aquaporin-1 to an exceptional high membrane density in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julie Bomholt

    Full Text Available In the present paper we explored the capacity of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as host for heterologous expression of human Aquaporin-1. Aquaporin-1 cDNA was expressed from a galactose inducible promoter situated on a plasmid with an adjustable copy number. Human Aquaporin-1 was C-terminally tagged with yeast enhanced GFP for quantification of functional expression, determination of sub-cellular localization, estimation of in vivo folding efficiency and establishment of a purification protocol. Aquaporin-1 was found to constitute 8.5 percent of total membrane protein content after expression at 15°C in a yeast host over-producing the Gal4p transcriptional activator and growth in amino acid supplemented minimal medium. In-gel fluorescence combined with western blotting showed that low accumulation of correctly folded recombinant Aquaporin-1 at 30°C was due to in vivo mal-folding. Reduction of the expression temperature to 15°C almost completely prevented Aquaporin-1 mal-folding. Bioimaging of live yeast cells revealed that recombinant Aquaporin-1 accumulated in the yeast plasma membrane. A detergent screen for solubilization revealed that CYMAL-5 was superior in solubilizing recombinant Aquaporin-1 and generated a monodisperse protein preparation. A single Ni-affinity chromatography step was used to obtain almost pure Aquaporin-1. Recombinant Aquaporin-1 produced in S. cerevisiae was not N-glycosylated in contrast to the protein found in human erythrocytes.

  5. Alkane-grown Beauveria bassiana produce mycelial pellets displaying peroxisome proliferation, oxidative stress, and cell surface alterations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huarte-Bonnet, Carla; Paixão, Flávia R S; Ponce, Juan C; Santana, Marianela; Prieto, Eduardo D; Pedrini, Nicolás

    2018-06-01

    The entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana is able to grow on insect cuticle hydrocarbons, inducing alkane assimilation pathways and concomitantly increasing virulence against insect hosts. In this study, we describe some physiological and molecular processes implicated in growth, nutritional stress response, and cellular alterations found in alkane-grown fungi. The fungal cytology was investigated using light and transmission electron microscopy while the surface topography was examined using atomic force microscopy. Additionally, the expression pattern of several genes associated with oxidative stress, peroxisome biogenesis, and hydrophobicity were analysed by qPCR. We found a novel type of growth in alkane-cultured B. bassiana similar to mycelial pellets described in other alkane-free fungi, which were able to produce viable conidia and to be pathogenic against larvae of the beetles Tenebrio molitor and Tribolium castaneum. Mycelial pellets were formed by hyphae cumulates with high peroxidase activity, exhibiting peroxisome proliferation and an apparent surface thickening. Alkane-grown conidia appeared to be more hydrophobic and cell surfaces displayed different topography than glucose-grown cells. We also found a significant induction in several genes encoding for peroxins, catalases, superoxide dismutases, and hydrophobins. These results show that both morphological and metabolic changes are triggered in mycelial pellets derived from alkane-grown B. bassiana. Copyright © 2017 British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Production, purification and characterization of recombinant human antithrombin III by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maheswara Reddy Mallu

    2016-07-01

    Conclusions: The simple, cost-effective and economically viable nature of the process used in the present study for the production of rhAT will be highly beneficial for the healthcare sector. This may also be used to produce other value-added therapeutic recombinant proteins expressed in S. cerevisiae, with greater effectiveness and ease.

  7. Construction of heterologous gene expression cassettes for the development of recombinant Clostridium beijerinckii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Young Hoon; Eom, Gyeong Tae; Kang, Kyoung Hee; Joo, Jeong Chan; Jang, Young-Ah; Choi, Jae Woo; Song, Bong Keun; Lee, Seung Hwan; Park, Si Jae

    2016-04-01

    Gene-expression cassettes for the construction of recombinant Clostridium beijerinckii were developed as potential tools for metabolic engineering of C. beijerinckii. Gene expression cassettes containing ColE1 origin and pAMB origin along with the erythromycin resistance gene were constructed, in which promoters from Escherichia coli, Lactococcus lactis, Ralstonia eutropha, C. acetobutylicum, and C. beijerinckii are examined as potential promoters in C. beijerinckii. Zymogram analysis of the cell extracts and comparison of lipase activities of the recombinant C. beijerinckii strains expressing Pseudomonas fluorescens tliA gene suggested that the tliA gene was functionally expressed by all the examined promoters with different expression level. Also, recombinant C. beijerinckii expressing C. beijerinckii secondary alcohol dehydrogenase by the constructed expression cassettes successfully produced 2-propanol from glucose. The best promoter for TliA expression was the R. eutropha phaP promoter while that for 2-propanol production was the putative C. beijerinckii pta promoter. Gene expression cassettes developed in this study may be useful tools for the construction of recombinant C. beijerinckii strains as host strains for the valuable chemicals and fuels from renewable resources.

  8. Production of biologically active recombinant human factor H in Physcomitrella.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Büttner-Mainik, Annette; Parsons, Juliana; Jérôme, Hanna; Hartmann, Andrea; Lamer, Stephanie; Schaaf, Andreas; Schlosser, Andreas; Zipfel, Peter F; Reski, Ralf; Decker, Eva L

    2011-04-01

    The human complement regulatory serum protein factor H (FH) is a promising future biopharmaceutical. Defects in the gene encoding FH are associated with human diseases like severe kidney and retinal disorders in the form of atypical haemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis II (MPGN II) or age-related macular degeneration (AMD). There is a current need to apply intact full-length FH for the therapy of patients with congenital or acquired defects of this protein. Application of purified or recombinant FH (rFH) to these patients is an important and promising approach for the treatment of these diseases. However, neither protein purified from plasma of healthy individuals nor recombinant protein is currently available on the market. Here, we report the first stable expression of the full-length human FH cDNA and the subsequent production of this glycoprotein in a plant system. The moss Physcomitrella patens perfectly suits the requirements for the production of complex biopharmaceuticals as this eukaryotic system not only offers an outstanding genetical accessibility, but moreover, proteins can be produced safely in scalable photobioreactors without the need for animal-derived medium compounds. Transgenic moss lines were created, which express the human FH cDNA and target the recombinant protein to the culture supernatant via a moss-derived secretion signal. Correct processing of the signal peptide and integrity of the moss-produced rFH were verified via peptide mapping by mass spectrometry. Ultimately, we show that the rFH displays complement regulatory activity comparable to FH purified from plasma. © 2010 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal © 2010 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  9. Density dependence of dielectronic recombination in selenium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hagelstein, P.L.; Rosen, M.D.; Jacobs, V.L.

    1986-01-01

    Dielectronic recombination has been found to be the dominant recombination process in the determination of the ionization balance of selenium near the Ne-like sequence under conditions relevant to the exploding-foil EUV laser plasmas. The dielectronic recombination process tends to populate excited levels, and these levels in turn are more susceptible to subsequent excitation and ionization than are the ground-state ions. If one defines an effective recombination rate which includes, in addition to the primary recombination, the subsequent excitation and ionization of the additional excited-state population due to the primary recombination, then this effective recombination rate can be density-sensitive at relatively low electron density. We present results for this effective dielectronic recombination rate at an electron density of 3 x 10/sup 20/ electrons/cm 3 for recombination from Ne-like to Na-like selenium and from F-like to Ne-like selenium. In the former case, the effective recombination rate coefficient is found to be 1.8 x 10/sup -11/ cm 3 /sec at 1.0 keV, which is to be compared with the zero-density value of 2.8 x 10/sup -11/ cm 3 /sec. In the latter case (F-like to Ne-like), the effective recombination rate coefficient is found to be 1.3 x 10/sup -11/ cm 3 /sec, which is substantially reduced from the zero-density result of 3.3 x 10/sup -11/ cm 3 /sec. We have examined the effects of dielectronic recombination on the laser gain of the dominant Ne-like 3p-3s transitions and have compared our results with those presented by Whitten et al. [Phys. Rev. A 33, 2171 (1986)

  10. Generation of Recombinant Schmallenberg Virus Nucleocapsid Protein in Yeast and Development of Virus-Specific Monoclonal Antibodies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Justas Lazutka

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Schmallenberg virus (SBV, discovered in continental Europe in late 2011, causes mild clinical signs in adult ruminants, including diarrhoea and reduced milk yield. However, fetal infection can lead to severe malformation in newborn offspring. To develop improved reagents for SBV serology, a high-level yeast expression system was employed to produce recombinant SBV nucleocapsid (N protein. Recombinant SBV N protein was investigated as an antigen in SBV-specific IgG enzyme immunoassay and used for generation of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs. Yeast-expressed SBV N protein was reactive with anti-SBV IgG-positive cow serum specimens collected from different farms of Lithuania. After immunization of mice with recombinant SBV N protein, four MAbs were generated. The MAbs raised against recombinant SBV N protein reacted with native viral nucleocapsids in SBV-infected BHK cells by immunofluorescence assay. The reactivity of recombinant N protein with SBV-positive cow serum specimens and the ability of the MAbs to recognize virus-infected cells confirm the antigenic similarity between yeast-expressed SBV N protein and native viral nucleocapsids. Our study demonstrates that yeast expression system is suitable for high-level production of recombinant SBV N protein and provides the first evidence on the presence of SBV-specific antibodies in cow serum specimens collected in Lithuania.

  11. UV-dependent production of 25-hydroxyvitamin D{sub 2} in the recombinant yeast cells expressing human CYP2R1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yasuda, Kaori; Endo, Mariko; Ikushiro, Shinichi; Kamakura, Masaki [Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Toyama Prefectural University, 5180 Kurokawa, Imizu, Toyama 939-0398 (Japan); Ohta, Miho [Department of Food and Nutrition Management Studies, Faculty of Human Development, Soai University, 4-4-1 Nanko-naka, Suminoe-ku, Osaka 559-0033 (Japan); Sakaki, Toshiyuki, E-mail: tsakaki@pu-toyama.ac.jp [Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Toyama Prefectural University, 5180 Kurokawa, Imizu, Toyama 939-0398 (Japan)

    2013-05-03

    Highlights: •We produce 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the recombinant yeast expressing human CYP2R1. •Vitamin D2 is produced in yeast from endogenous ergosterol with UV irradiation. •We produce 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 in the recombinant yeast without added substrate. -- Abstract: CYP2R1 is known to be a physiologically important vitamin D 25-hydroxylase. We have successfully expressed human CYP2R1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to reveal its enzymatic properties. In this study, we examined production of 25-hydroxylated vitamin D using whole recombinant yeast cells that expressed CYP2R1. When vitamin D{sub 3} or vitamin D{sub 2} was added to the cell suspension of CYP2R1-expressing yeast cells in a buffer containing glucose and β-cyclodextrin, the vitamins were converted into their 25-hydroxylated products. Next, we irradiated the cell suspension with UVB and incubated at 37 °C. Surprisingly, the 25-hydroxy vitamin D{sub 2} was produced without additional vitamin D{sub 2}. Endogenous ergosterol was likely converted into vitamin D{sub 2} by UV irradiation and thermal isomerization, and then the resulting vitamin D{sub 2} was converted to 25-hydroxyvitamin D{sub 2} by CYP2R1. This novel method for producing 25-hydroxyvitamin D{sub 2} without a substrate could be useful for practical purposes.

  12. Production and recombination of radiation defects in argon and krypton crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giersberg, E.J.

    1981-01-01

    Relative changes in the lattice constants of argon and krypton crystals have been measured by X-ray diffraction. As a result X-ray irradiation is found to produce stable defects. The recombination behaviour of these defects can be determined by isochronous and isothermal annealing. The creation of primary defects can be explained by exciton excitation and double-ionisation. (orig.) [de

  13. Systems and methods for the secretion of recombinant proteins in gram negative bacteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Withers, III, Sydnor T.; Dominguez, Miguel A; DeLisa, Matthew P.; Haitjema, Charles H.

    2016-08-09

    Disclosed herein are systems and methods for producing recombinant proteins utilizing mutant E. coli strains containing expression vectors carrying nucleic acids encoding the proteins, and secretory signal sequences to direct the secretion of the proteins to the culture medium. Host cells transformed with the expression vectors are also provided.

  14. Systems and methods for the secretion of recombinant proteins in gram negative bacteria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Withers, III, Sydnor T.; Dominguez, Miguel A.; DeLisa, Matthew P.; Haitjema, Charles H.

    2017-02-21

    Disclosed herein are systems and methods for producing recombinant proteins utilizing mutant E. coli strains containing expression vectors carrying nucleic acids encoding the proteins, and secretory signal sequences to direct the secretion of the proteins to the culture medium. Host cells transformed with the expression vectors are also provided.

  15. SequenceLDhot: detecting recombination hotspots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fearnhead, Paul

    2006-12-15

    There is much local variation in recombination rates across the human genome--with the majority of recombination occurring in recombination hotspots--short regions of around approximately 2 kb in length that have much higher recombination rates than neighbouring regions. Knowledge of this local variation is important, e.g. in the design and analysis of association studies for disease genes. Population genetic data, such as that generated by the HapMap project, can be used to infer the location of these hotspots. We present a new, efficient and powerful method for detecting recombination hotspots from population data. We compare our method with four current methods for detecting hotspots. It is orders of magnitude quicker, and has greater power, than two related approaches. It appears to be more powerful than HotspotFisher, though less accurate at inferring the precise positions of the hotspot. It was also more powerful than LDhot in some situations: particularly for weaker hotspots (10-40 times the background rate) when SNP density is lower (maths.lancs.ac.uk/~fearnhea/Hotspot.

  16. Molecular design for recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vector production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aponte-Ubillus, Juan Jose; Barajas, Daniel; Peltier, Joseph; Bardliving, Cameron; Shamlou, Parviz; Gold, Daniel

    2018-02-01

    Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors are increasingly popular tools for gene therapy applications. Their non-pathogenic status, low inflammatory potential, availability of viral serotypes with different tissue tropisms, and prospective long-lasting gene expression are important attributes that make rAAVs safe and efficient therapeutic options. Over the last three decades, several groups have engineered recombinant AAV-producing platforms, yielding high titers of transducing vector particles. Current specific productivity yields from different platforms range from 10 3 to 10 5 vector genomes (vg) per cell, and there is an ongoing effort to improve vector yields in order to satisfy high product demands required for clinical trials and future commercialization.Crucial aspects of vector production include the molecular design of the rAAV-producing host cell line along with the design of AAV genes, promoters, and regulatory elements. Appropriately, configuring and balancing the expression of these elements not only contributes toward high productivity, it also improves process robustness and product quality. In this mini-review, the rational design of rAAV-producing expression systems is discussed, with special attention to molecular strategies that contribute to high-yielding, biomanufacturing-amenable rAAV production processes. Details on molecular optimization from four rAAV expression systems are covered: adenovirus, herpesvirus, and baculovirus complementation systems, as well as a recently explored yeast expression system.

  17. Expression of Recombinant Human Coagulation Factor VII by the Lizard Leishmania Expression System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sina Mirzaahmadi

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The variety of recombinant protein expression systems have been developed as a resource of FVII gene expression. In the current study, the authors used a novel protein expression system based on the Iranian Lizard Leishmania, a trypanosomatid protozoan as a host for expression of FVII. Plasmid containing cDNA encoding full-length human FVII was introduced into Lizard Leishmania and positive transfectants were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. Furthermore, biological activity of purified protein was detected by PT assay. The recombinant strain harboring a construct was analyzed for expression of FVII at the mRNA and protein level. Purified rFVII was obtained and in order to confirm the purified compound was in fact rFVII. Western blot analysis was carried out. Clotting time in PT assay was reduced about 30 seconds with the purified rFVII. In Conclusion, this study has demonstrated, for the first time, that Leishmania cells can be used as an expression system for producing recombinant FVII.

  18. Experimental evolution across different thermal regimes yields genetic divergence in recombination fraction but no divergence in temperature associated plastic recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohl, Kathryn P; Singh, Nadia D

    2018-04-01

    Phenotypic plasticity is pervasive in nature. One mechanism underlying the evolution and maintenance of such plasticity is environmental heterogeneity. Indeed, theory indicates that both spatial and temporal variation in the environment should favor the evolution of phenotypic plasticity under a variety of conditions. Cyclical environmental conditions have also been shown to yield evolved increases in recombination frequency. Here, we use a panel of replicated experimental evolution populations of D. melanogaster to test whether variable environments favor enhanced plasticity in recombination rate and/or increased recombination rate in response to temperature. In contrast to expectation, we find no evidence for either enhanced plasticity in recombination or increased rates of recombination in the variable environment lines. Our data confirm a role of temperature in mediating recombination fraction in D. melanogaster, and indicate that recombination is genetically and plastically depressed under lower temperatures. Our data further suggest that the genetic architectures underlying plastic recombination and population-level variation in recombination rate are likely to be distinct. © 2018 The Author(s). Evolution © 2018 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  19. [Immune Response of Recombinant Pseudorabies Virus rPRV-VP2 Expressing VP2 Gene of Porcine Parvovirus in Mice].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Pengfei; Pan, Xinlong; Han, Qiao; Yang, Xingwu; Zhu, Qianlei; Guo, Xiaoqing; Zhang, Yu; Chen, Hongying

    2016-03-01

    In order to develop a combined live vaccine that will be used to prevent against porcine parvovirus (PPV) and Pseudorabies virus (PRV) infection, the VP2 gene of PPV was inserted into the transfer vector plasmid pG to produce the recombinant plasmid pGVP2. The plasmid pGVP2 and the genome of PRV HB98 attenuated vaccine were transfected by using lipofectamine into swine testis cells for the homologous recombination. The recombinant virus rPRV-VP2 was purified by selection of green fluorescence plaques for five cycles. 6-week-old female Kunming mice were immunized intramuscularly with attenuated PRV parent HB98 strain, commercial inactivated vaccine against PPV, recombinant virus, DMEM culture solution. The injections were repeated with an equivalent dose after 2 weeks in all of the groups, and then challenged with the virulent PRV NY strain at 7 weeks after the first immunization. The recombinant virus rPRV-VP2 was successfully generated, and the recombinant virus could effectively elicite anti-PPV and PRV antibody and significant cellular immune response as indicated by anti-PPV ELISA and HI, PRV-neutralizing assay and flow cytometry. The challenge assay indicated that recombinant virus could protect the mice against the virulent PRV challenge. These results demonstrated that the recombinant virus can be a candidate recombinant vaccine strain for the prevention of PRV and PPV.

  20. High level of expression of recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor in transgenic rice cell suspension culture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shin, Yun-Ji; Hong, Shin-Young; Kwon, Tae-Ho

    2003-01-01

    Recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (hGM-CSF) has been previously produced in tobacco cell suspension cultures. However, the amount of hGM-CSF accumulated in the culture medium dropped quickly from its maximum of 150 microg/L at 5 d after incubation. To overcome...... of recombinant hGM-CSF in transgenic rice cell suspension culture and protease activity of this culture medium was low compared to that of tobacco culture system....

  1. Recombinant Plasmodium falciparum glutamate rich protein; purification and use in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dziegiel, Morten Hanefeld; Borre, M B; Jepsen, S

    1991-01-01

    New Guinea (MAD20) and Honduras (HB3) completely absorbed specific antibodies, indicating the presence of conserved epitopes produced by all isolates of P. falciparum. Recombinant GLURP489-1271 ELISA is sensitive and rapid, and therefore well-suited for sero-epidemiological studies, and for control...

  2. Expression and purification of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli tagged with the metal-binding protein CusF.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantu-Bustos, J Enrique; Vargas-Cortez, Teresa; Morones-Ramirez, Jose Ruben; Balderas-Renteria, Isaias; Galbraith, David W; McEvoy, Megan M; Zarate, Xristo

    2016-05-01

    Production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli has been improved considerably through the use of fusion proteins, because they increase protein solubility and facilitate purification via affinity chromatography. In this article, we propose the use of CusF as a new fusion partner for expression and purification of recombinant proteins in E. coli. Using a cell-free protein expression system, based on the E. coli S30 extract, Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) was expressed with a series of different N-terminal tags, immobilized on self-assembled protein microarrays, and its fluorescence quantified. GFP tagged with CusF showed the highest fluorescence intensity, and this was greater than the intensities from corresponding GFP constructs that contained MBP or GST tags. Analysis of protein production in vivo showed that CusF produces large amounts of soluble protein with low levels of inclusion bodies. Furthermore, fusion proteins can be exported to the cellular periplasm, if CusF contains the signal sequence. Taking advantage of its ability to bind copper ions, recombinant proteins can be purified with readily available IMAC resins charged with this metal ion, producing pure proteins after purification and tag removal. We therefore recommend the use of CusF as a viable alternative to MBP or GST as a fusion protein/affinity tag for the production of soluble recombinant proteins in E. coli. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. The role of engineered materials in superconducting tunnel junction X-ray detectors - Suppression of quasiparticle recombination losses via a phononic band gap

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rippert, Edward D.; Ketterson, John B.; Chen, Jun; Song, Shenian; Lomatch, Susanne; Maglic, Stevan R.; Thomas, Christopher; Cheida, M. A.; Ulmer, Melville P.

    1992-01-01

    An engineered structure is proposed that can alleviate quasi-particle recombination losses via the existence of a phononic band gap that overlaps the 2-Delta energy of phonons produced during recombination of quasi-particles. Attention is given to a 1D Kronig-Penny model for phonons normally incident to the layers of a multilayered superconducting tunnel junction as an idealized example. A device with a high density of Bragg resonances is identified as desirable; both Nb/Si and NbN/SiN superlattices have been produced, with the latter having generally superior performance.

  4. The extent and importance of intragenic recombination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    de Silva Eric

    2004-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract We have studied the recombination rate behaviour of a set of 140 genes which were investigated for their potential importance in inflammatory disease. Each gene was extensively sequenced in 24 individuals of African descent and 23 individuals of European descent, and the recombination process was studied separately in the two population samples. The results obtained from the two populations were highly correlated, suggesting that demographic bias does not affect our population genetic estimation procedure. We found evidence that levels of recombination correlate with levels of nucleotide diversity. High marker density allowed us to study recombination rate variation on a very fine spatial scale. We found that about 40 per cent of genes showed evidence of uniform recombination, while approximately 12 per cent of genes carried distinct signatures of recombination hotspots. On studying the locations of these hotspots, we found that they are not always confined to introns but can also stretch across exons. An investigation of the protein products of these genes suggested that recombination hotspots can sometimes separate exons belonging to different protein domains; however, this occurs much less frequently than might be expected based on evolutionary studies into the origins of recombination. This suggests that evolutionary analysis of the recombination process is greatly aided by considering nucleotide sequences and protein products jointly.

  5. Recombination of Globally Circulating Varicella-Zoster Virus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Depledge, Daniel P.; Kundu, Samit; Atkinson, Claire; Brown, Julianne; Haque, Tanzina; Hussaini, Yusuf; MacMahon, Eithne; Molyneaux, Pamela; Papaevangelou, Vassiliki; Sengupta, Nitu; Koay, Evelyn S. C.; Tang, Julian W.; Underhill, Gillian S.; Grahn, Anna; Studahl, Marie; Breuer, Judith; Bergström, Tomas

    2015-01-01

    ABSTRACT Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a human herpesvirus, which during primary infection typically causes varicella (chicken pox) and establishes lifelong latency in sensory and autonomic ganglia. Later in life, the virus may reactivate to cause herpes zoster (HZ; also known as shingles). To prevent these diseases, a live-attenuated heterogeneous vaccine preparation, vOka, is used routinely in many countries worldwide. Recent studies of another alphaherpesvirus, infectious laryngotracheitis virus, demonstrate that live-attenuated vaccine strains can recombine in vivo, creating virulent progeny. These findings raised concerns about using attenuated herpesvirus vaccines under conditions that favor recombination. To investigate whether VZV may undergo recombination, which is a prerequisite for VZV vaccination to create such conditions, we here analyzed 115 complete VZV genomes. Our results demonstrate that recombination occurs frequently for VZV. It thus seems that VZV is fully capable of recombination if given the opportunity, which may have important implications for continued VZV vaccination. Although no interclade vaccine-wild-type recombinant strains were found, intraclade recombinants were frequently detected in clade 2, which harbors the vaccine strains, suggesting that the vaccine strains have already been involved in recombination events, either in vivo or in vitro during passages in cell culture. Finally, previous partial and complete genomic studies have described strains that do not cluster phylogenetically to any of the five established clades. The additional VZV strains sequenced here, in combination with those previously published, have enabled us to formally define a novel sixth VZV clade. IMPORTANCE Although genetic recombination has been demonstrated to frequently occur for other human alphaherpesviruses, herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2, only a few ancient and isolated recent recombination events have hitherto been demonstrated for VZV. In the

  6. Biological insights into the expression of translation initiation factors from recombinant CHOK1SV cell lines and their relationship to enhanced productivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mead, Emma J; Masterton, Rosalyn J; Feary, Marc; Obrezanova, Olga; Zhang, Lin; Young, Robert; Smales, C Mark

    2015-12-15

    Translation initiation is on the critical pathway for the production of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) by mammalian cells. Formation of a closed loop structure comprised of mRNA, a number of eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) and ribosomal proteins has been proposed to aid re-initiation of translation and therefore increase global translational efficiency. We have determined mRNA and protein levels of the key components of the closed loop, eIFs (eIF3a, eIF3b, eIF3c, eIF3h, eIF3i and eIF4G1), poly(A)-binding protein (PABP) 1 and PABP-interacting protein 1 (PAIP1), across a panel of 30 recombinant mAb-producing GS-CHOK1SV cell lines with a broad range of growth characteristics and production levels of a model recombinant mAb. We have used a multi-level statistical approach to investigate the relationship between key performance indicators (cell growth and recombinant antibody productivity) and the intracellular amounts of target translation initiation factor proteins and the mRNAs encoding them. We show that high-producing cell lines maintain amounts of the translation initiation factors involved in the formation of the closed loop mRNA, maintaining these proteins at appropriate levels to deliver enhanced recombinant protein production. We then utilize knowledge of the amounts of these factors to build predictive models for and use cluster analysis to identify, high-producing cell lines. The present study therefore defines the translation initiation factor amounts that are associated with highly productive recombinant GS-CHOK1SV cell lines that may be targets for screening highly productive cell lines or to engineer new host cell lines with the potential for enhanced recombinant antibody productivity. © 2015 Authors; published by Portland Press Limited.

  7. A novel recombinantly produced banana lectin isoform is a valuable tool for glycoproteomics and a potent modulator of the proliferation response in CD3(+), CD4(+), and CD8(+) populations of human PBMCs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gavrovic-Jankulovic, M; Poulsen, Knud; Brckalo, T

    2008-01-01

    Lectins as carbohydrate-binding proteins have been employed in various biological assays for the detection and characterization of glycan structures on glycoproteins, including clinical biomarkers in disease states. A mannose-specific banana lectin (BanLec) is unique in its specificity for internal......, the gene of banana lectin was cloned, sequenced and a recombinant protein was produced in Escherichia coli. The obtained cDNA revealed a novel banana lectin isoform, with an open reading frame of 426 nucleotides, encoding a cytoplasmatic protein of 141 amino acids. The molecular mass of rBanLec determined...

  8. Delayed recombination and cosmic parameters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galli, Silvia; Melchiorri, Alessandro; Bean, Rachel; Silk, Joseph

    2008-01-01

    Current cosmological constraints from cosmic microwave background anisotropies are typically derived assuming a standard recombination scheme, however additional resonance and ionizing radiation sources can delay recombination, altering the cosmic ionization history and the cosmological inferences drawn from the cosmic microwave background data. We show that for recent observations of the cosmic microwave background anisotropy, from the Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe satellite mission (WMAP) 5-year survey and from the arcminute cosmology bolometer array receiver experiment, additional resonance radiation is nearly degenerate with variations in the spectral index, n s , and has a marked effect on uncertainties in constraints on the Hubble constant, age of the universe, curvature and the upper bound on the neutrino mass. When a modified recombination scheme is considered, the redshift of recombination is constrained to z * =1078±11, with uncertainties in the measurement weaker by 1 order of magnitude than those obtained under the assumption of standard recombination while constraints on the shift parameter are shifted by 1σ to R=1.734±0.028. From the WMAP5 data we obtain the following constraints on the resonance and ionization sources parameters: ε α i <0.058 at 95% c.l.. Although delayed recombination limits the precision of parameter estimation from the WMAP satellite, we demonstrate that this should not be the case for future, smaller angular scales measurements, such as those by the Planck satellite mission.

  9. Meiotic recombination in human oocytes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edith Y Cheng

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Studies of human trisomies indicate a remarkable relationship between abnormal meiotic recombination and subsequent nondisjunction at maternal meiosis I or II. Specifically, failure to recombine or recombination events located either too near to or too far from the centromere have been linked to the origin of human trisomies. It should be possible to identify these abnormal crossover configurations by using immunofluorescence methodology to directly examine the meiotic recombination process in the human female. Accordingly, we initiated studies of crossover-associated proteins (e.g., MLH1 in human fetal oocytes to analyze their number and distribution on nondisjunction-prone human chromosomes and, more generally, to characterize genome-wide levels of recombination in the human female. Our analyses indicate that the number of MLH1 foci is lower than predicted from genetic linkage analysis, but its localization pattern conforms to that expected for a crossover-associated protein. In studies of individual chromosomes, our observations provide evidence for the presence of "vulnerable" crossover configurations in the fetal oocyte, consistent with the idea that these are subsequently translated into nondisjunctional events in the adult oocyte.

  10. Controlled Release from Recombinant Polymers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Robert; Poursaid, Azadeh; Ghandehari, Hamidreza

    2014-01-01

    Recombinant polymers provide a high degree of molecular definition for correlating structure with function in controlled release. The wide array of amino acids available as building blocks for these materials lend many advantages including biorecognition, biodegradability, potential biocompatibility, and control over mechanical properties among other attributes. Genetic engineering and DNA manipulation techniques enable the optimization of structure for precise control over spatial and temporal release. Unlike the majority of chemical synthetic strategies used, recombinant DNA technology has allowed for the production of monodisperse polymers with specifically defined sequences. Several classes of recombinant polymers have been used for controlled drug delivery. These include, but are not limited to, elastin-like, silk-like, and silk-elastinlike proteins, as well as emerging cationic polymers for gene delivery. In this article, progress and prospects of recombinant polymers used in controlled release will be reviewed. PMID:24956486

  11. A recombinant multi-antigen vaccine formulation containing Babesia bovis merozoite surface antigens MSA-2a1, MSA-2b and MSA-2c elicits invasion-inhibitory antibodies and IFN-γ producing cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alba Marina Gimenez

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Babesia bovis is a tick-transmitted protozoan hemoparasite and the causative agent of bovine babesiosis, a potential risk to more than 500 million cattle worldwide. The vaccines currently available are based on attenuated parasites, which are difficult to produce, and are only recommended for use in bovines under one year of age. When used in older animals, these vaccines may cause life-threatening clinical symptoms and eventually death. The development of a multi-subunit recombinant vaccine against B. bovis would be attractive from an economic standpoint and, most importantly, could be recommended for animals of any age. In the present study, recombinant ectodomains of MSA-2a1, MSA-2b and MSA-2c antigens were expressed in Pichia pastoris yeast as secreted soluble peptides. Results The antigens were purified to homogeneity, and biochemically and immunologically characterized. A vaccine formulation was obtained by emulsifying a mixture of the three peptides with the adjuvant Montanide ISA 720, which elicited high IgG antibody titers against each of the above antigens. IgG antibodies generated against each MSA-antigen recognized merozoites and significantly inhibited the invasion of bovine erythrocytes. Cellular immune responses were also detected, which were characterized by splenic and lymph node CD4+ T cells producing IFN-γ and TNF-α upon stimulation with the antigens MSA-2a1 or MSA-2c. Conclusions These data strongly suggest the high protective potential of the presented formulation, and we propose that it could be tested in vaccination trials of bovines challenged with B. bovis.

  12. Live recombinant BHV/BRSV vaccine

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Keil, G.M.; Rijsewijk, F.A.M.

    1998-01-01

    The present invention refers to synthetic Bovine Respiratory Syncytium virus genes. Also the invention relates to live attenuated Bovine Herpesvirus recombinants carrying such synthetic genes. Furthermore, the invention relates to vaccines based on these live attenuated recombinants, for the

  13. Antibody responses to two new Lactococcus lactis-produced recombinant Pfs48/45 and Pfs230 proteins increase with age in malaria patients living in the Central Region of Ghana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acquah, Festus K; Obboh, Evans K; Asare, Kwame; Boampong, Johnson N; Nuvor, Samuel Victor; Singh, Susheel K; Theisen, Michael; Williamson, Kim C; Amoah, Linda Eva

    2017-08-01

    Recent advances in malaria control efforts have led to an increased number of national malaria control programmes implementing pre-elimination measures and demonstrated the need to develop new tools to track and control malaria transmission. Key to understanding transmission is monitoring the prevalence and immune response against the sexual stages of the parasite, known as gametocytes, which are responsible for transmission. Sexual-stage specific antigens, Pfs230 and Pfs48/45, have been identified and shown to be targets for transmission blocking antibodies, but they have been difficult to produce recombinantly in the absence of a fusion partner. Regions of Pfs48/45 and Pfs230 known to contain transmission blocking epitopes, 6C and C0, respectively, were produced in a Lactococcus lactis expression system and used in enzyme linked immunosorbent assays to determine the seroreactivity of 95 malaria patients living in the Central Region of Ghana. Pfs48/45.6C and Pfs230.C0 were successfully produced in L. lactis in the absence of a fusion partner using a simplified purification scheme. Seroprevalence for L. lactis-produced Pfs48/45.6C and Pfs230.C0 in the study population was 74.7 and 72.8%, respectively. A significant age-dependent increase in antibody titers was observed, which suggests a vaccine targeting these antigens could be boosted during a natural infection in the field.

  14. First-principles study of Frenkel pair recombination in tungsten

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qin, Shi-Yao; Jin, Shuo; Li, Yu-Hao; Zhou, Hong-Bo; Zhang, Ying; Lu, Guang-Hong

    2017-01-01

    The recombination of one Frenkel pair in tungsten has been investigated through first-principles simulation. Two different recombination types have been identified: instantaneous and thermally activated. The small recombination barriers for thermally activated recombination cases indicate that recombination can occur easily with a slightly increased temperature. For both of the two recombination types, recombination occurs through the self-interstitial atom moving towards the vacancy. The recombination process can be direct or through replacement sequences, depending on the vertical distance between the vacancy and the 〈1 1 1〉 line of self-interstitial atom pair.

  15. Recombination properties of dislocations in GaN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yakimov, Eugene B.; Polyakov, Alexander Y.; Lee, In-Hwan; Pearton, Stephen J.

    2018-04-01

    The recombination activity of threading dislocations in n-GaN with different dislocation densities and different doping levels was studied using electron beam induced current (EBIC). The recombination velocity on a dislocation, also known as the dislocation recombination strength, was calculated. The results suggest that dislocations in n-GaN giving contrast in EBIC are charged and surrounded by a space charge region, as evidenced by the observed dependence of dislocation recombination strength on dopant concentration. For moderate (below ˜108 cm-2) dislocation densities, these defects do not primarily determine the average diffusion length of nonequilibrium charge carriers, although locally, dislocations are efficient recombination sites. In general, it is observed that the effect of the growth method [standard metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), epitaxial lateral overgrowth versions of MOCVD, and hydride vapor phase epitaxy] on the recombination activity of dislocations is not very pronounced, although the average diffusion lengths can widely differ for various samples. The glide of basal plane dislocations at room temperature promoted by low energy electron irradiation does not significantly change the recombination properties of dislocations.

  16. Trap and recombination sites of biotite mineral estimated by thermoluminescence analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalita, J.M.; Wary, G.

    2016-01-01

    With the help of thermoluminescence (TL) analysis possible trap and recombination levels of natural biotite mineral have been estimated. Differential Scanning Calorimetric (DSC) analysis reveals that within 300–773 K there is no phase change of this mineral. However within this temperature range, some significant changes in trapping sites have been observed. For un-annealed sample one trap and one recombination center has been observed at depth around 1.01 and 3.57 eV respectively. However due to annealing at 473 and 573 K, initially present trap level has been found to shift towards the conduction band and produced a new shallow trap at depth around 0.78 eV. Further annealing at 673 K (or above) a new trap level is found to generate at the previously present site (at depth ~1.01 eV). But during the annealing treatments no significant change in recombination center is observed. Based on the analysis, a schematic band structure of biotite crystal has been proposed showing all possible trap and recombination centers. With reference to the band diagram the whole TL process in biotite have been discussed. - Highlights: • TL of biotite mineral annealed at four different temperatures was studied. • DSC result showed no change in phase of the sample within 300–773 K. • A significant change in trap state with annealing treatment was observed. • Schematic band structure of biotite crystal has been proposed.

  17. Biochemical Characterization of Human Anti-Hepatitis B Monoclonal Antibody Produced in the Microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gaëtan Vanier

    Full Text Available Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs represent actually the major class of biopharmaceuticals. They are produced recombinantly using living cells as biofactories. Among the different expression systems currently available, microalgae represent an emerging alternative which displays several biotechnological advantages. Indeed, microalgae are classified as generally recognized as safe organisms and can be grown easily in bioreactors with high growth rates similarly to CHO cells. Moreover, microalgae exhibit a phototrophic lifestyle involving low production costs as protein expression is fueled by photosynthesis. However, questions remain to be solved before any industrial production of algae-made biopharmaceuticals. Among them, protein heterogeneity as well as protein post-translational modifications need to be evaluated. Especially, N-glycosylation acquired by the secreted recombinant proteins is of major concern since most of the biopharmaceuticals including mAbs are N-glycosylated and it is well recognized that glycosylation represent one of their critical quality attribute. In this paper, we assess the quality of the first recombinant algae-made mAbs produced in the diatom, Phaeodactylum tricornutum. We are focusing on the characterization of their C- and N-terminal extremities, their signal peptide cleavage and their post-translational modifications including N-glycosylation macro- and microheterogeneity. This study brings understanding on diatom cellular biology, especially secretion and intracellular trafficking of proteins. Overall, it reinforces the positioning of P. tricornutum as an emerging host for the production of biopharmaceuticals and prove that P. tricornutum is suitable for producing recombinant proteins bearing high mannose-type N-glycans.

  18. Treatment of rat gliomas with recombinant retrovirus harboring Herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase suicide gene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hlavaty, J.; Hlubinova, K.; Altanerova, V.; Liska, J.; Altaner, C.

    1997-01-01

    The retrovirus vector containing Herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (HSVtk) gene was constructed. The vector was transfected into the packaging cell line PG13. It was shown that individual transfected cells differ in the production of recombinant retrovirus and in their susceptibility to be killed by ganciclovir. Recombinant retrovirus with a gibbon envelope was able to transduced the HSVtk gene into rat glioma cells. In vivo studies confirmed the ability of intraperitoneal ganciclovir administration to influence subcutaneous and intracerebral tumors developed after injection of C 6 rat glioma cells with subsequent injection of HSVtk retrovirus producing cells. (author)

  19. Characterization of recombinant dihydrodipicolinate synthase from the bread wheat Triticum aestivum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Ruchi; Hogan, Campbell J; Perugini, Matthew A; Soares da Costa, Tatiana P

    2018-05-09

    Recombinant wheat DHDPS was produced for the first time in milligram quantities and shown to be an enzymatically active tetramer in solution using analytical ultracentrifugation and small angle X-ray scattering. Wheat is an important cereal crop with an extensive role in global food supply. Given our rapidly growing population, strategies to increase the nutritional value and production of bread wheat are of major significance in agricultural science to satisfy our dietary requirements. Lysine is one of the most limiting essential amino acids in wheat, thus, a thorough understanding of lysine biosynthesis is of upmost importance to improve its nutritional value. Dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS; EC 4.3.3.7) catalyzes the first committed step in the lysine biosynthesis pathway of plants. Here, we report for the first time the expression and purification of recombinant DHDPS from the bread wheat Triticum aestivum (Ta-DHDPS). The optimized protocol yielded 36 mg of > 98% pure recombinant Ta-DHDPS per liter of culture. Enzyme kinetic studies demonstrate that the recombinant Ta-DHDPS has a K M (pyruvate) of 0.45 mM, K M (l-aspartate-4-semialdehyde) of 0.07 mM, k cat of 56 s -1 , and is inhibited by lysine (IC 50 LYS of 0.033 mM), which agree well with previous studies using labor-intensive purification from wheat suspension cultures. We subsequently employed circular dichroism spectroscopy, analytical ultracentrifugation and small angle X-ray scattering to show that the recombinant enzyme is folded with 60% α/β structure and exists as a 7.5 S tetrameric species with a R g of 33 Å and D max of 118 Å. This study is the first to report the biophysical properties of the recombinant Ta-DHDPS in aqueous solution and offers an excellent platform for future studies aimed at improving nutritional value and primary production of bread wheat.

  20. Oligonucleotide recombination enabled site-specific mutagenesis in bacteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Recombineering refers to a strategy for engineering DNA sequences using a specialized mode of homologous recombination. This technology can be used for rapidly constructing precise changes in bacterial genome sequences in vivo. Oligo recombination is one type of recombineering that uses ssDNA olig...

  1. A novel recombinant virus-like particle vaccine for prevention of porcine parvovirus-induced reproductive failure

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Antonis, A.F.G.; Bruschke, C.J.M.; Rueda, P.; Maranga, L.; Casal, J.; Vela, C.; Hilgers, L.A.T.; Belt, P.B.G.M.; Weerdmeester, K.; Carrondo, M.J.; Langeveld, J.P.M.

    2006-01-01

    A novel vaccine against porcine parvovirus (PPV), composed of recombinant virus-like particles (PPV-VLPs) produced with the baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) at industrial scale, was tested for its immunogenicity and protective potency. A formulation of submicrogram amounts of PPV-VLPs in

  2. Optimization of the recombinant production and purification of a self-assembling peptide in Escherichia coli

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rad-Malekshahi, Mazda; Flement, Matthias; Hennink, Wim E.; Mastrobattista, Enrico

    2014-01-01

    Background: Amphiphilic peptides are important building blocks to generate nanostructured biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. We have shown that the self-assembling peptide SA2 (Ac-AAVVLLLWEE) can be recombinantly produced in E. coli when fused to the small

  3. Genetic recombination of the hepatitis C virus: clinical implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morel, V; Fournier, C; François, C; Brochot, E; Helle, F; Duverlie, G; Castelain, S

    2011-02-01

    Genetic recombination is a well-known feature of RNA viruses that plays a significant role in their evolution. Although recombination is well documented for Flaviviridae family viruses, the first natural recombinant strain of hepatitis C virus (HCV) was identified as recently as 2002. Since then, a few other natural inter-genotypic, intra-genotypic and intra-subtype recombinant HCV strains have been described. However, the frequency of recombination may have been underestimated because not all known HCV recombinants are screened for in routine practice. Furthermore, the choice of treatment regimen and its predictive outcome remain problematic as the therapeutic strategy for HCV infection is genotype dependent. HCV recombination also raises many questions concerning its mechanisms and effects on the epidemiological and physiopathological features of the virus. This review provides an update on recombinant HCV strains, the process that gives rise to recombinants and clinical implications of recombination. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  4. High-yield production of hydrophobins RodA and RodB from Aspergillus fumigatus in Pichia pastoris

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Mona Højgaard; Borodina, Irina; Moresco, Jacob Lange

    2011-01-01

    A as well as rRodB were able to convert a glass surface from hydrophilic to hydrophobic similar to native RodA, but only rRodB was able to decrease the hydrophobicity of a Teflon-like surface to the same extent as native RodA, while rRodA showed this ability to a lesser extent. Recombinant RodA and native...

  5. Cell biology of mitotic recombination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lisby, Michael; Rothstein, Rodney

    2015-01-01

    Homologous recombination provides high-fidelity DNA repair throughout all domains of life. Live cell fluorescence microscopy offers the opportunity to image individual recombination events in real time providing insight into the in vivo biochemistry of the involved proteins and DNA molecules as w...

  6. Increasing the production yield of recombinant protein in transgenic seeds by expanding the deposition space within the intracellular compartment

    OpenAIRE

    Takaiwa, Fumio

    2013-01-01

    Seeds must maintain a constant level of nitrogen in order to germinate. When recombinant proteins are produced while endogenous seed protein expression is suppressed, the production levels of the foreign proteins increase to compensate for the decreased synthesis of endogenous proteins. Thus, exchanging the production of endogenous seed proteins for that of foreign proteins is a promising approach to increase the yield of foreign recombinant proteins. Providing a space for the deposition of r...

  7. Recombinant human proinsulin from transgenic corn endosperm: solvent screening and extraction studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. S. Farinas

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Recombinant pharmaceutical proteins are being produced in different systems such as bacteria and mammalian cell cultures. The use of transgenic plants as bioreactors has recently arisen as an alternative system offering many practical and economic advantages. However, finding an optimum strategy for the downstream processing (DSP of recombinant proteins from plants still remains a challenge. In this work, we studied the extraction of recombinant human proinsulin (rhProinsulin produced in the endosperm of transgenic corn seeds. An efficient extraction solvent was selected and the effects of temperature, solvent-to-solid ratio, time, and impeller rotational speed on the extraction were evaluated using an experimental design. After an extraction kinetics study, temperature was further evaluated to maximize rhProinsulin concentration in the extracts and to minimize the native corn components carbohydrates, phenolic compounds, and proteins. A high efficiency condition for extracting rhProinsulin with the selected solvent - 50 mM sodium bicarbonate buffer pH 10.0 and 5 mM DTT - was an extraction time of 2 h at a solvent-to-solid ratio of 10:1 and 25º C. The maximum rhProinsulin concentration in the extracts at that condition was 18.87 mg l-1 or 0.42% of the total soluble protein. These values are within the range in which the production of pharmaceutical proteins in plants can be competitive with other expression systems. The results presented provide information for the development of an additional production platform for the hormone insulin.

  8. Test tube systems with cutting/recombination operations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Freund, R. [Technische Universitaet Wien (Austria); Csuhaj-Varju, E. [Computer and Automation Institute, Budapest (Hungary); Wachtler, F. [Universitaet Wien (Austria)

    1996-12-31

    We introduce test tube systems based on operations that are closely related to the splicing operations, i.e. we consider the operations of cutting a string at a specific site into two pieces with marking them at the cut ends and of recombining two strings with specifically marked endings. Whereas in the splicing of two strings these strings are cut at specific sites and the cut pieces are recombined immediately in a crosswise way, in CR(cutting/recombination)-schemes cutting can happen independently from recombining the cut pieces. Test tube systems based on these operations of cutting and recombination turn out to have maximal generative power even if only very restricted types of input filters for the test tubes are used for the redistribution of the contents of the test tubes after a period of cuttings and recombinations in the test tubes. 10 refs.

  9. Atomic excitation and recombination in external fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nayfeh, M.H.; Clark, C.W.

    1985-01-01

    This volume offers a timely look at Rydberg states of atoms in external fields and dielectronic recombination. Each topic provides authoritative coverage, presents a fresh account of a flourishing field of current atomic physics and introduces new opportunities for discovery and development. Topics considered include electron-atom scattering in external fields; observations of regular and irregular motion as exemplified by the quadratic zeeman effect and other systems; Rydberg atoms in external fields and the Coulomb geometry; crossed-field effects in the absorption spectrum of lithium in a magnetic field; precise studies of static electric field ionization; widths and shapes of stark resonances in sodium above the saddle point; studies of electric field effects and barium autoionizing resonances; autoionization and dielectronic recombination in plasma electric microfields; dielectronic recombination measurements on multicharged ions; merged beam studies of dielectronic recombination; Rydberg atoms and dielectronic recombination in astrophysics; and observations on dielectronic recombination

  10. HIV-specific humoral and cellular immunity in rabbits vaccinated with recombinant human immunodeficiency virus-like gag-env particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haffar, O.K.; Smithgall, M.D.; Moran, P.A.; Travis, B.M.; Zarling, J.M.; Hu, S.L.

    1991-01-01

    Recombinant human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1)-like gag-env particles produced in mammalian cells were inoculated into two New Zealand white rabbits. In parallel, two control rabbits were inoculated with the homologous HIV-1 virions inactivated by ultraviolet light (uv) and psoralen treatments. The humoral and cellular immune responses to HIV-1 were evaluated for both groups of animals. Recombinant particles elicited humoral immunity that was specific for all the viral structural proteins. The antibodies recognized both denatured and nondenatured proteins. Moreover, the sera neutralized the in vitro infectivity of the homologous virus in CEM cells. Importantly, the recombinant particles also generated a T helper response by priming with the HIV proteins. Similar results were observed with inactivated virus immunization. Therefore, the authors results suggest that the recombinant HIV-like particles elicit functional humoral immunity as well as cellular immunity and represent a novel vaccine candidate for AIDS

  11. Recombinant drugs-on-a-chip: The usage of capillary electrophoresis and trends in miniaturized systems – A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morbioli, Giorgio Gianini; Mazzu-Nascimento, Thiago; Aquino, Adriano [Instituto de Química de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São-carlense, 400, 13566-590 São Carlos, SP (Brazil); Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Bioanalítica, Campinas, SP (Brazil); Cervantes, Cesar [Instituto de Química de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São-carlense, 400, 13566-590 São Carlos, SP (Brazil); Carrilho, Emanuel, E-mail: emanuel@iqsc.usp.br [Instituto de Química de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São-carlense, 400, 13566-590 São Carlos, SP (Brazil); Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Bioanalítica, Campinas, SP (Brazil)

    2016-09-07

    We present here a critical review covering conventional analytical tools of recombinant drug analysis and discuss their evolution towards miniaturized systems foreseeing a possible unique recombinant drug-on-a-chip device. Recombinant protein drugs and/or pro-drug analysis require sensitive and reproducible analytical techniques for quality control to ensure safety and efficacy of drugs according to regulatory agencies. The versatility of miniaturized systems combined with their low-cost could become a major trend in recombinant drugs and bioprocess analysis. Miniaturized systems are capable of performing conventional analytical and proteomic tasks, allowing for interfaces with other powerful techniques, such as mass spectrometry. Microdevices can be applied during the different stages of recombinant drug processing, such as gene isolation, DNA amplification, cell culture, protein expression, protein separation, and analysis. In addition, organs-on-chips have appeared as a viable alternative to testing biodrug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, demonstrating the capabilities of the miniaturized systems. The integration of individual established microfluidic operations and analytical tools in a single device is a challenge to be overcome to achieve a unique recombinant drug-on-a-chip device. - Highlights: • Principal analytical tools for analysis of recombinant drugs are presented. • A critical comparison among different substrates for fabrication of miniaturized systems is made. • Applications of miniaturized systems to produce recombinant drugs are shown. • Future trends of miniaturized systems capable of integrating analytical and proteomic tools in a single device are envisioned.

  12. Recombinant drugs-on-a-chip: The usage of capillary electrophoresis and trends in miniaturized systems – A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morbioli, Giorgio Gianini; Mazzu-Nascimento, Thiago; Aquino, Adriano; Cervantes, Cesar; Carrilho, Emanuel

    2016-01-01

    We present here a critical review covering conventional analytical tools of recombinant drug analysis and discuss their evolution towards miniaturized systems foreseeing a possible unique recombinant drug-on-a-chip device. Recombinant protein drugs and/or pro-drug analysis require sensitive and reproducible analytical techniques for quality control to ensure safety and efficacy of drugs according to regulatory agencies. The versatility of miniaturized systems combined with their low-cost could become a major trend in recombinant drugs and bioprocess analysis. Miniaturized systems are capable of performing conventional analytical and proteomic tasks, allowing for interfaces with other powerful techniques, such as mass spectrometry. Microdevices can be applied during the different stages of recombinant drug processing, such as gene isolation, DNA amplification, cell culture, protein expression, protein separation, and analysis. In addition, organs-on-chips have appeared as a viable alternative to testing biodrug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, demonstrating the capabilities of the miniaturized systems. The integration of individual established microfluidic operations and analytical tools in a single device is a challenge to be overcome to achieve a unique recombinant drug-on-a-chip device. - Highlights: • Principal analytical tools for analysis of recombinant drugs are presented. • A critical comparison among different substrates for fabrication of miniaturized systems is made. • Applications of miniaturized systems to produce recombinant drugs are shown. • Future trends of miniaturized systems capable of integrating analytical and proteomic tools in a single device are envisioned.

  13. Three-body recombination of cold fermionic atoms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suno, H; Esry, B D; Greene, Chris H

    2003-01-01

    Recombination of identical, spin-polarized fermions in cold three-body collisions is investigated. We parametrize the mechanisms for recombination in terms of the 'scattering volume' V p and another length scale r 0 . Model two-body interactions were used within the framework of the adiabatic hyperspherical representation. We examine the recombination rate K 3 as a function of the collision energy E for various values of V p . Not only do we consider the dominant J Π = 1 + case, but also the next-leading order contributions from J Π = 1 - and 3 - . We discuss the behaviour near a two-body resonance and the expected universality of fermionic recombination. Comparisons with boson recombination are considered in detail

  14. Recombination Modulates How Selection Affects Linked Sites in Drosophila

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGaugh, Suzanne E.; Heil, Caiti S. S.; Manzano-Winkler, Brenda; Loewe, Laurence; Goldstein, Steve; Himmel, Tiffany L.; Noor, Mohamed A. F.

    2012-01-01

    One of the most influential observations in molecular evolution has been a strong association between local recombination rate and nucleotide polymorphisms across the genome. This is interpreted as evidence for ubiquitous natural selection. The alternative explanation, that recombination is mutagenic, has been rejected by the absence of a similar association between local recombination rate and nucleotide divergence between species. However, many recent studies show that recombination rates are often very different even in closely related species, questioning whether an association between recombination rate and divergence between species has been tested satisfactorily. To circumvent this problem, we directly surveyed recombination across approximately 43% of the D. pseudoobscura physical genome in two separate recombination maps and 31% of the D. miranda physical genome, and we identified both global and local differences in recombination rate between these two closely related species. Using only regions with conserved recombination rates between and within species and accounting for multiple covariates, our data support the conclusion that recombination is positively related to diversity because recombination modulates Hill–Robertson effects in the genome and not because recombination is predominately mutagenic. Finally, we find evidence for dips in diversity around nonsynonymous substitutions. We infer that at least some of this reduction in diversity resulted from selective sweeps and examine these dips in the context of recombination rate. PMID:23152720

  15. Recombinational repair: workshop summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howard-Flanders, P.

    1983-01-01

    Recombinational repair may or may not be synonymous with postreplication repair. Considerable progress has been made in the study of the relevant enzymes, particularly those from bacteria. In this workshop we focus on the recombination enzyme RecA protein. What structural changes take place in the protein and in DNA during repair. How does homologous pairing take place. How is ATP hydrolysis coupled to the stand exchange reaction and the formation of heteroduplx DNA. Turning to another enzyme needed for certain kinds of bacterial recombination, we will ask whether the purified recB protein and recC protein complement each other and are sufficient for exonuclease V activity. In higher cells, we would like to know whether sister exchanges, which occur in bacteria after uv irradiation, are also seen in animal cells

  16. Construction of occluded recombinant baculoviruses containing the full-length cry1Ab and cry1Ac genes from Bacillus thuringiensis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B.M. Ribeiro

    1998-06-01

    Full Text Available The administration of baculoviruses to insects for bioassay purposes is carried out, in most cases, by contamination of food surfaces with a known amount of occlusion bodies (OBs. Since per os infection is the natural route of infection, occluded recombinant viruses containing crystal protein genes (cry1Ab and cry1Ac from Bacillus thuringiensis were constructed for comparison with the baculovirus prototype Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcNPV. The transfer vector pAcUW2B was used for construction of occluded recombinant viruses. The transfer vector containing the crystal protein genes was cotransfected with linearized DNA from a non-occluded recombinant virus. The isolation of recombinant viruses was greatly facilitated by the reduction of background "wild type" virus and the increased proportion of recombinant viruses. Since the recombinant viruses containing full-length and truncated forms of the crystal protein genes did not seem to improve the pathogenicity of the recombinant viruses when compared with the wild type AcNPV, and in order to compare expression levels of the full-length crystal proteins produced by non-occluded and occluded recombinant viruses the full-length cry1Ab and cry1Ac genes were chosen for construction of occluded recombinant viruses. The recombinant viruses containing full-length and truncated forms of the crystal protein genes did not seem to improve its pathogenicity but the size of the larvae infected with the recombinant viruses was significantly smaller than that of larvae infected with the wild type virus.

  17. Enhanced safety margins during wet transport of irradiated fuel by catalytic recombination of radiolysis hydrogen and oxygen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spencer, J.T.; Bankhead, M.; Hodge, N.A.

    2004-01-01

    BNFL has developed and tested a new method for use in wet transport of irradiated fuel. The method uses a catalyst to recombine the hydrogen and oxygen produced from radiolysis. The catalyst is installed in the nitrogen ullage gas region. It has twin benefits as it eliminates a gas mixture that could, in principle, exceed the safe target levels set to ensure safety during Transport, and it also reduces overall gas pressure. Pure water radiolysis predictions, from experiment and theory, indicate very low levels of hydrogen and oxygen generation. BNFL's historic experience is that in some transport packages it is possible to produce higher levels of hydrogen and oxygen. This drives the need to improve on our existing ullage gas remediation technology. Our studies of the radiolysis science and our flask data suggest it is the interaction of the liquors and material surfaces that is giving rise to the enhanced levels of hydrogen and/or oxygen. This technical paper demonstrates the performance of the recombiner catalyst under normal and extreme conditions of transport. The paper will present experimental data that shows the recombiner catalyst working to manage the hydrogen and oxygen levels

  18. Induced mutation and somatic recombination as tools for genetic analysis and breeding of imperfect fungi

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bos, C.J.

    1986-01-01

    Many fungi which are important in Agriculture as plant pathogens or in Biotechnology as producers of organic acids, antibiotics or enzymes, are imperfect fungi. These fungi do not have a sexual stage, which implies that they lack a meiotic recombination mechanism.

    However, many

  19. Recombinant vaccines: experimental and applied aspects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lorenzen, Niels

    1999-01-01

    Development of vaccines for aquaculture fish represent an important applied functional aspect of fish immunology research. Particularly in the case of recombinant vaccines, where a single antigen is usually expected to induce immunity to a specific pathogen, knowledge of mechanisms involved...... in induction of a protective immune response may become vital. The few recombinant vaccines licensd so far, despite much research during the last decade, illustrate that this is not a straightforward matter. However, as vaccine technology as well as our knowledge of the fish immune system is steadily improved......, these fields will open up a number of interesting research objectives of mutual benefit. Recent aspects of recombinant protein vaccines, live recombinant vaccines and DNA vaccines are discussed....

  20. Recombinant Alpha, Beta, and Epsilon Toxins of Clostridium perfringens: Production Strategies and Applications as Veterinary Vaccines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Roberto A. Ferreira

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Clostridium perfringens is a spore-forming, commensal, ubiquitous bacterium that is present in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy humans and animals. This bacterium produces up to 18 toxins. The species is classified into five toxinotypes (A–E according to the toxins that the bacterium produces: alpha, beta, epsilon, or iota. Each of these toxinotypes is associated with myriad different, frequently fatal, illnesses that affect a range of farm animals and humans. Alpha, beta, and epsilon toxins are the main causes of disease. Vaccinations that generate neutralizing antibodies are the most common prophylactic measures that are currently in use. These vaccines consist of toxoids that are obtained from C. perfringens cultures. Recombinant vaccines offer several advantages over conventional toxoids, especially in terms of the production process. As such, they are steadily gaining ground as a promising vaccination solution. This review discusses the main strategies that are currently used to produce recombinant vaccines containing alpha, beta, and epsilon toxins of C. perfringens, as well as the potential application of these molecules as vaccines for mammalian livestock animals.

  1. Multiple recombinants in two dengue virus, serotype-2 isolates from patients from Oaxaca, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez-Ramirez, Gerardo; Diaz-Badillo, Alvaro; Camacho-Nuez, Minerva; Cisneros, Alejandro; Munoz, Maria de Lourdes

    2009-12-15

    Dengue (DEN) is a serious cause of mortality and morbidity in the world including Mexico, where the infection is endemic. One of the states with the highest rate of dengue cases is Oaxaca. The cause of DEN is a positive-sense RNA virus, the dengue virus (DENV) that evolves rapidly increasing its variability due to the absence of a repair mechanism that leads to approximately one mutational event per genome replication; which results in enhancement of viral adaptation, including the escape from host immune responses. Additionally, recombination may play a role in driving the evolution of DENV, which may potentially affect virulence and cause host tropism changes. Recombination in DENV has not been described in Mexican strains, neither has been described the relevance in virus evolution in an endemic state such as Oaxaca where the four serotypes of DENV are circulating. To study whether there are isolates from Oaxaca having recombination, we obtained the sequence of 6 different isolates of DENV-2 Asian/American genotype from the outbreak 2005-6, one clone of the C(91)-prM-E-NS1(2400) structural genes, and 10 clones of the E gene from the isolate MEX_OAX_1656_05. Evidence of recombination was found by using different methods along with two softwares: RDP3 and GARD. The Oaxaca MEX_OAX_1656_05 and MEX_OAX_1038_05 isolates sequenced in this study were recombinant viruses that incorporate the genome sequence from the Cosmopolitan genotype. Furthermore, the clone of the E gene namely MEX_OAX_165607_05 from this study was also recombinant, incorporating genome sequence from the American genotype. This is the first report of recombination in DENV-2 in Mexico. Given such a recombinant activity new genomic combinations were produced, this could play a significant role in the DENV evolution and must be considered as a potentially important mechanism generating genetic variation in this virus with serious implications for the vaccines and drugs formulation as occurs for other

  2. Multiple recombinants in two dengue virus, serotype-2 isolates from patients from Oaxaca, Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cisneros Alejandro

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Dengue (DEN is a serious cause of mortality and morbidity in the world including Mexico, where the infection is endemic. One of the states with the highest rate of dengue cases is Oaxaca. The cause of DEN is a positive-sense RNA virus, the dengue virus (DENV that evolves rapidly increasing its variability due to the absence of a repair mechanism that leads to approximately one mutational event per genome replication; which results in enhancement of viral adaptation, including the escape from host immune responses. Additionally, recombination may play a role in driving the evolution of DENV, which may potentially affect virulence and cause host tropism changes. Recombination in DENV has not been described in Mexican strains, neither has been described the relevance in virus evolution in an endemic state such as Oaxaca where the four serotypes of DENV are circulating. Results To study whether there are isolates from Oaxaca having recombination, we obtained the sequence of 6 different isolates of DENV-2 Asian/American genotype from the outbreak 2005-6, one clone of the C(91-prM-E-NS1(2400 structural genes, and 10 clones of the E gene from the isolate MEX_OAX_1656_05. Evidence of recombination was found by using different methods along with two softwares: RDP3 and GARD. The Oaxaca MEX_OAX_1656_05 and MEX_OAX_1038_05 isolates sequenced in this study were recombinant viruses that incorporate the genome sequence from the Cosmopolitan genotype. Furthermore, the clone of the E gene namely MEX_OAX_165607_05 from this study was also recombinant, incorporating genome sequence from the American genotype. Conclusions This is the first report of recombination in DENV-2 in Mexico. Given such a recombinant activity new genomic combinations were produced, this could play a significant role in the DENV evolution and must be considered as a potentially important mechanism generating genetic variation in this virus with serious implications for

  3. Insect cells are superior to Escherichia coli in producing malaria proteins inducing IgG targeting PfEMP1 on infected erythrocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joergensen Louise

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The PFD1235w Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1 antigen is associated with severe malaria in children and can be expressed on the surface of infected erythrocytes (IE adhering to ICAM1. However, the exact three-dimensional structure of this PfEMP1 and its surface-exposed epitopes are unknown. An insect cell and Escherichia coli based system was used to express single and double domains encoded by the pfd1235w var gene. The resulting recombinant proteins have been evaluated for yield and purity and their ability to induce rat antibodies, which react with the native PFD1235w PfEMP1 antigen expressed on 3D7PFD1235w-IE. Their recognition by human anti-malaria antibodies from previously infected Tanzanian donors was also analysed. Methods The recombinant proteins were run on SDS-PAGE and Western blots for quantification and size estimation. Insect cell and E. coli-produced recombinant proteins were coupled to a bead-based Luminex assay to measure the plasma antibody reactivity of 180 samples collected from Tanzanian individuals. The recombinant proteins used for immunization of rats and antisera were also tested by flow cytometry for their ability to surface label 3D7PFD1235w-IE. Results All seven pAcGP67A constructs were successfully expressed as recombinant protein in baculovirus-infected insect cells and subsequently produced to a purity of 60-97% and a yield of 2-15 mg/L. By comparison, only three of seven pET101/D-TOPO constructs expressed in the E. coli system could be produced at all with purity and yield ranging from 3-95% and 6-11 mg/L. All seven insect cell, but only two of the E. coli produced proteins induced antibodies reactive with native PFD1235w expressed on 3D7PFD1235w-IE. The recombinant proteins were recognized in an age- and transmission intensity-dependent manner by antibodies from 180 Tanzanian individuals in a bead-based Luminex assay. Conclusions The baculovirus based insect cell

  4. Evaluating Recombinant Antigen ROP1 Efficacy in Diagnosis of Toxoplasma Gondii Infection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F Keshavarzi

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction:Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous obligate intracellular parasite with a relatively broad host range infecting both mammals and birds. Toxoplasma proteins are strong antigens that can begin strong immune reactions, among which Rhoptry protein 1 (ROP1 can be named discharging from rhoptry cell-organ. ROP1 is regarded as a competitor for recombinant vaccines against toxoplasmosis. Therefore, the main objective of the current study was to evaluate the cloning and expression of ROP1 Toxoplasma gondii in a cloning vector as well as to create this recombinant antigen in order to be applied for later uses. Methods:Genomic DNA of Toxoplasma gondii was removed and reproduced by PCR, then the PCR product was cloned into the EcoR1 and BamH1 sites of cloning vector, pUET1, and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 plysS strain. Moreover, pcROP1 was sub-cloned into the HindIII and EcoRI sites of the pcDNA3 in order to produce recombining eukaryotic declaration vector. The cloned ROP1 was verified by PCR, limitation enzymes (HindIII and BglΙ digestion and nucleotide sequencing. Then, this recombinant antigen was covered applying IgM and ELISAIgG. Results:The study results demonstrated that a fragment of 757 bp was separated. In addition, nucleotide sequence analysis of the ROP1 cloned in pUET1vector revealed high homology (96% with RH strain Gene Bank Accession (No. M71274. Conclusion:The recombinant ROP1 antigen in an IgM Rec-ELISA test can be replaced with the tachyzoite antigen in IgG and IgM serologic tests.

  5. Trafficking of endoplasmic reticulum-retained recombinant proteins is unpredictable in Arabidopsis thaliana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas eDe Meyer

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available A wide variety of recombinant proteins has been produced in the dicot model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. Many of these proteins are targeted for secretion by means of an N terminal endoplasmic reticulum (ER signal peptide. In addition, they can also be designed for ER retention by adding a C terminal H/KDEL-tag. Despite extensive knowledge of the protein trafficking pathways, the final protein destination, especially of such H/KDEL-tagged recombinant proteins, is unpredictable. In this respect, glycoproteins are ideal study objects. Microscopy experiments reveal their deposition pattern and characterization of their N-glycans aids in elucidating the trafficking. Here, we combine microscopy and N glycosylation data generated in Arabidopsis leaves and seeds, and highlight the lack of a decent understanding of heterologous protein trafficking.

  6. The effect of a single recombination event

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schierup, Mikkel Heide; Jensen, Thomas Mailund; Wiuf, Carsten

    We investigate the variance in how visible a single recombination event is in a SNP data set as a function of the type of recombination event and its age. Data is simulated under the coalescent with recombination and inference is by the popular composite likelihood methods. The major determinant...

  7. Unisexual reproduction drives meiotic recombination and phenotypic and karyotypic plasticity in Cryptococcus neoformans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheng Sun

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available In fungi, unisexual reproduction, where sexual development is initiated without the presence of two compatible mating type alleles, has been observed in several species that can also undergo traditional bisexual reproduction, including the important human fungal pathogens Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans. While unisexual reproduction has been well characterized qualitatively, detailed quantifications are still lacking for aspects of this process, such as the frequency of recombination during unisexual reproduction, and how this compares with bisexual reproduction. Here, we analyzed meiotic recombination during α-α unisexual and a-α bisexual reproduction of C. neoformans. We found that meiotic recombination operates in a similar fashion during both modes of sexual reproduction. Specifically, we observed that in α-α unisexual reproduction, the numbers of crossovers along the chromosomes during meiosis, recombination frequencies at specific chromosomal regions, as well as meiotic recombination hot and cold spots, are all similar to those observed during a-α bisexual reproduction. The similarity in meiosis is also reflected by the fact that phenotypic segregation among progeny collected from the two modes of sexual reproduction is also similar, with transgressive segregation being observed in both. Additionally, we found diploid meiotic progeny were also produced at similar frequencies in the two modes of sexual reproduction, and transient chromosomal loss and duplication likely occurs frequently and results in aneuploidy and loss of heterozygosity that can span entire chromosomes. Furthermore, in both α-α unisexual and a-α bisexual reproduction, we observed biased allele inheritance in regions on chromosome 4, suggesting the presence of fragile chromosomal regions that might be vulnerable to mitotic recombination. Interestingly, we also observed a crossover event that occurred within the MAT locus during α-α unisexual

  8. Unisexual Reproduction Drives Meiotic Recombination and Phenotypic and Karyotypic Plasticity in Cryptococcus neoformans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Sheng; Billmyre, R. Blake; Mieczkowski, Piotr A.; Heitman, Joseph

    2014-01-01

    In fungi, unisexual reproduction, where sexual development is initiated without the presence of two compatible mating type alleles, has been observed in several species that can also undergo traditional bisexual reproduction, including the important human fungal pathogens Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans. While unisexual reproduction has been well characterized qualitatively, detailed quantifications are still lacking for aspects of this process, such as the frequency of recombination during unisexual reproduction, and how this compares with bisexual reproduction. Here, we analyzed meiotic recombination during α-α unisexual and a-α bisexual reproduction of C. neoformans. We found that meiotic recombination operates in a similar fashion during both modes of sexual reproduction. Specifically, we observed that in α-α unisexual reproduction, the numbers of crossovers along the chromosomes during meiosis, recombination frequencies at specific chromosomal regions, as well as meiotic recombination hot and cold spots, are all similar to those observed during a-α bisexual reproduction. The similarity in meiosis is also reflected by the fact that phenotypic segregation among progeny collected from the two modes of sexual reproduction is also similar, with transgressive segregation being observed in both. Additionally, we found diploid meiotic progeny were also produced at similar frequencies in the two modes of sexual reproduction, and transient chromosomal loss and duplication likely occurs frequently and results in aneuploidy and loss of heterozygosity that can span entire chromosomes. Furthermore, in both α-α unisexual and a-α bisexual reproduction, we observed biased allele inheritance in regions on chromosome 4, suggesting the presence of fragile chromosomal regions that might be vulnerable to mitotic recombination. Interestingly, we also observed a crossover event that occurred within the MAT locus during α-α unisexual reproduction. Our results

  9. The spatial regulation of meiotic recombination hotspots: are all DSB hotspots crossover hotspots?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serrentino, Maria-Elisabetta; Borde, Valérie

    2012-07-15

    A key step for the success of meiosis is programmed homologous recombination, during which crossovers, or exchange of chromosome arms, take place. Crossovers increase genetic diversity but their main function is to ensure accurate chromosome segregation. Defects in crossover number and position produce aneuploidies that represent the main cause of miscarriages and chromosomal abnormalities such as Down's syndrome. Recombination is initiated by the formation of programmed double strand breaks (DSBs), which occur preferentially at places called DSB hotspots. Among all DSBs generated, only a small fraction is repaired by crossover, the other being repaired by other homologous recombination pathways. Crossover maps have been generated in a number of organisms, defining crossover hotspots. With the availability of genome-wide maps of DSBs as well as the ability to measure genetically the repair outcome at several hotspots, it is becoming more and more clear that not all DSB hotspots behave the same for crossover formation, suggesting that chromosomal features distinguish different types of hotspots. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  10. Scaled-up manufacturing of recombinant antibodies produced by plant cells in a 200-L orbitally-shaken disposable bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raven, Nicole; Rasche, Stefan; Kuehn, Christoph; Anderlei, Tibor; Klöckner, Wolf; Schuster, Flora; Henquet, Maurice; Bosch, Dirk; Büchs, Jochen; Fischer, Rainer; Schillberg, Stefan

    2015-02-01

    Tobacco BY-2 cells have emerged as a promising platform for the manufacture of biopharmaceutical proteins, offering efficient protein secretion, favourable growth characteristics and cultivation in containment under a controlled environment. The cultivation of BY-2 cells in disposable bioreactors is a useful alternative to conventional stainless steel stirred-tank reactors, and orbitally-shaken bioreactors could provide further advantages such as simple bag geometry, scalability and predictable process settings. We carried out a scale-up study, using a 200-L orbitally-shaken bioreactor holding disposable bags, and BY-2 cells producing the human monoclonal antibody M12. We found that cell growth and recombinant protein accumulation were comparable to standard shake flask cultivation, despite a 200-fold difference in cultivation volume. Final cell fresh weights of 300-387 g/L and M12 yields of ∼20 mg/L were achieved with both cultivation methods. Furthermore, we established an efficient downstream process for the recovery of M12 from the culture broth. The viscous spent medium prevented clarification using filtration devices, but we used expanded bed adsorption (EBA) chromatography with SP Sepharose as an alternative for the efficient capture of the M12 antibody. EBA was introduced as an initial purification step prior to protein A affinity chromatography, resulting in an overall M12 recovery of 75-85% and a purity of >95%. Our results demonstrate the suitability of orbitally-shaken bioreactors for the scaled-up cultivation of plant cell suspension cultures and provide a strategy for the efficient purification of antibodies from the BY-2 culture medium. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Production and characterization of PHA from recombinant E. coli harbouring phaC1 gene of indigenous Pseudomonas sp. LDC-5 using molasses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V Saranya

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA are biodegradable and biocompatible green thermoplastics, synthesized by wide variety of bacteria as an intracellular carbon and energy storage intermediate. They are used as an alternative to nonrenewable petroleum derived plastics. The current interest in these biopolyesters is stimulated by the search for cost-effective capitalized production. This paper attempts to achieve maximized production rate from recombinant system using inexpensive substrate. Molasses from agro-industrial waste was used to produce PHA from recombinant E.coli in batch culture. PHA yield in molasses (3.06g/L ± 0.05-75.5% was higher than that of sucrose (2.5g/L ± 0.05 - 65.1%. Properties of the polymer produced from molasses and sucrose were analyzed by DSC, TGA, DTA, GC/MS, TLC and optical rotation studies. The findings suggested that molasses enhanced PHA production in recombinant E.coli.

  12. Recombination rate plasticity: revealing mechanisms by design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sefick, Stephen; Rushton, Chase

    2017-01-01

    For over a century, scientists have known that meiotic recombination rates can vary considerably among individuals, and that environmental conditions can modify recombination rates relative to the background. A variety of external and intrinsic factors such as temperature, age, sex and starvation can elicit ‘plastic’ responses in recombination rate. The influence of recombination rate plasticity on genetic diversity of the next generation has interesting and important implications for how populations evolve. Further, many questions remain regarding the mechanisms and molecular processes that contribute to recombination rate plasticity. Here, we review 100 years of experimental work on recombination rate plasticity conducted in Drosophila melanogaster. We categorize this work into four major classes of experimental designs, which we describe via classic studies in D. melanogaster. Based on these studies, we highlight molecular mechanisms that are supported by experimental results and relate these findings to studies in other systems. We synthesize lessons learned from this model system into experimental guidelines for using recent advances in genotyping technologies, to study recombination rate plasticity in non-model organisms. Specifically, we recommend (1) using fine-scale genome-wide markers, (2) collecting time-course data, (3) including crossover distribution measurements, and (4) using mixed effects models to analyse results. To illustrate this approach, we present an application adhering to these guidelines from empirical work we conducted in Drosophila pseudoobscura. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Evolutionary causes and consequences of recombination rate variation in sexual organisms’. PMID:29109222

  13. Impacts of dark matter particle annihilation on recombination and the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Le; Chen Xuelei; Lei Yian; Si Zongguo

    2006-01-01

    The recombination history of the Universe provides a useful tool for constraining the annihilation of dark matter particles. Even a small fraction of dark matter particles annihilated during the cosmic dark age can provide sufficient energy to affect the ionization state of the baryonic gas. Although this effect is too small for neutralinos, lighter dark matter particle candidates, e.g. with mass of 1-100 MeV, which was proposed recently to explain the observed excess of positrons in the galactic center, may generate observable differences in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization anisotropies. The annihilations at the era of recombination affects mainly the CMB anisotropy at small angular scales (large l), and is distinctively different from the effect of early reionization. We perform a multiparameter analysis of the CMB data, including both the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) first year and three year data, and the ACBAR, Boomerang, CBI, and VSA data. Assuming that the observed excess of e + e - pairs in the galactic center region is produced by dark matter annihilation, and that a sizable fraction of the energy produced in the annihilation is deposited in the baryonic gas during recombination, we obtain a 95% dark matter mass limit of M<8 MeV with the current data set

  14. Monitoring milk for antobodies against recombinant bovine somatotropin using a microsphere immunoassay-based biomarker approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ludwig, S.K.J.; Smits, N.G.E.; Bremer, M.G.E.G.; Nielen, M.W.F.

    2012-01-01

    Recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) can be used to enhance milk production in dairy cattle. This is permitted in several countries but unauthorized in the European Union. Antibodies, which are produced endogenously in response to rbST administration, can be detected as a biomarker for indicating

  15. Mini review: Recombinant production of tailored bio-pharmaceuticals in different Bacillus strains and future perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lakowitz, Antonia; Godard, Thibault; Biedendieck, Rebekka; Krull, Rainer

    2018-05-01

    Bio-pharmaceuticals like antibodies, hormones and growth factors represent about one-fifth of commercial pharmaceuticals. Host candidates of growing interest for recombinant production of these proteins are strains of the genus Bacillus, long being established for biotechnological production of homologous and heterologous proteins. Bacillus strains benefit from development of efficient expression systems in the last decades and emerge as major industrial workhorses for recombinant proteins due to easy cultivation, non-pathogenicity and their ability to secrete recombinant proteins directly into extracellular medium allowing cost-effective downstream processing. Their broad product portfolio of pharmaceutically relevant recombinant proteins described in research include antibody fragments, growth factors, interferons and interleukins, insulin, penicillin G acylase, streptavidin and different kinases produced in various cultivation systems like microtiter plates, shake flasks and bioreactor systems in batch, fed-batch and continuous mode. To further improve production and secretion performance of Bacillus, bottlenecks and limiting factors concerning proteases, chaperones, secretion machinery or feedback mechanisms can be identified on different cell levels from genomics and transcriptomics via proteomics to metabolomics and fluxomics. For systematical identification of recurring patterns characteristic of given regulatory systems and key genetic targets, systems biology and omics-technology provide suitable and promising approaches, pushing Bacillus further towards industrial application for recombinant pharmaceutical protein production. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  16. Recombination analysis based on the complete genome of bocavirus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Shengxia

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Bocavirus include bovine parvovirus, minute virus of canine, porcine bocavirus, gorilla bocavirus, and Human bocaviruses 1-4 (HBoVs. Although recent reports showed that recombination happened in bocavirus, no systematical study investigated the recombination of bocavirus. The present study performed the phylogenetic and recombination analysis of bocavirus over the complete genomes available in GenBank. Results confirmed that recombination existed among bocavirus, including the likely inter-genotype recombination between HBoV1 and HBoV4, and intra-genotype recombination among HBoV2 variants. Moreover, it is the first report revealing the recombination that occurred between minute viruses of canine.

  17. Pharmacology of Recombinant Adeno-associated Virus Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magalie Penaud-Budloo

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV vectors have been used in more than 150 clinical trials with a good safety profile and significant clinical benefit in many genetic diseases. In addition, due to their ability to infect non-dividing and dividing cells and to serve as efficient substrate for homologous recombination, rAAVs are being used as a tool for gene-editing approaches. However, manufacturing of these vectors at high quantities and fulfilling current good manufacturing practices (GMP is still a challenge, and several technological platforms are competing for this niche. Herein, we will describe the most commonly used upstream methods to produce rAAVs, paying particular attention to the starting materials (input used in each platform and which related impurities can be expected in final products (output. The most commonly found impurities in rAAV stocks include defective particles (i.e., AAV capsids that do contain the therapeutic gene or are not infectious, residual proteins from host cells and helper viruses (adenovirus, herpes simplex virus, or baculoviruses, and illegitimate DNA from plasmids, cells, or helper viruses that may be encapsidated into rAAV particles. Given the role that impurities may play in immunotoxicity, this article reviews the impurities inherently associated with each manufacturing platform.

  18. Outlook in the application of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplast as a platform for recombinant protein production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shamriz, Shabnam; Ofoghi, Hamideh

    Microalgae, also called microphytes, are a vast group of microscopic photosynthetic organisms living in aquatic ecosystems. Microalgae have attracted the attention of biotechnology industry as a platform for extracting natural products with high commercial value. During last decades, microalgae have been also used as cost-effective and easily scalable platform for the production of recombinant proteins with medical and industrial applications. Most progress in this field has been made with Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a model organism mainly because of its simple life cycle, well-established genetics and ease of cultivation. However, due to the scarcity of existing infrastructure for commercial production and processing together with relatively low product yields, no recombinant products from C. reinhardtii have gained approval for commercial production and most of them are still in research and development. In this review, we focus on the chloroplast of C. reinhardtii as an algal recombinant expression platform and compare its advantages and disadvantages to other currently used expression systems. We then discuss the strategies for engineering the chloroplast of C. reinhardtii to produce recombinant cells and present a comprehensive overview of works that have used this platform for the expression of high-value products.

  19. FASEB Summer Research Conference. Genetic Recombination and Chromosome Rearrangements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jinks-Robertson, Sue

    2002-02-01

    The 2001 meeting entitled ''Genetic Recombination and Genome Rearrangements'' was held July 21-26 in Snowmass, Colorado. The goal of the meeting was to bring together scientists using diverse approaches to study all aspects of genetic recombination. This goal was achieved by integrating talks covering the genetics, biochemistry and structural biology of homologous recombination, site-specific recombination, and nonhomologous recombination. The format of the meeting consisted of a keynote address on the opening evening, two formal plenary sessions on each of the four full meeting days, a single afternoon workshop consisting of short talks chosen from among submitted abstracts, and afternoon poster sessions on each of the four full meeting days. The eight plenary session were entitled: (1) Recombination Mechanisms, (2) Prokaryotic Recombination, (3) Repair and Recombination, (4) Site-specific Recombination and Transposition, (5) Eukaryotic Recombination I, (6) Genome Rearrangements, (7) Meiosis, and (8) Eukaryotic Recombination II. Each session included a mix of genetic, biochemical and structural talks; talks were limited to 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of very lively, general discussion. Much of the data presented in the plenary sessions was unpublished, thus providing attendees with the most up-to-date knowledge of this rapidly-moving field.

  20. Construction and growth properties of bovine herpesvirus type 5 recombinants defective in the glycoprotein E or thymidine kinase gene or both

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.C.S. Brum

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Bovine herpesvirus type 5 (BoHV-5 is an important pathogen of cattle in South America. We describe here the construction and characterization of deletion mutants defective in the glycoprotein E (gE or thymidine kinase (TK gene or both (gE/TK from a highly neurovirulent and well-characterized Brazilian BoHV-5 strain (SV507/99. A gE-deleted recombinant virus (BoHV-5 gE∆ was first generated in which the entire gE open reading frame was replaced with a chimeric green fluorescent protein gene. A TK-deleted recombinant virus (BoHV-5 TK∆ was then generated in which most of the TK open reading frame sequences were deleted and replaced with a chimeric β-galactosidase gene. Subsequently, using the BoHV-5 gE∆ virus as backbone, a double gene-deleted (TK plus gE BoHV-5 recombinant (BoHV-5 gE/TK∆ was generated. The deletion of the gE and TK genes was confirmed by immunoblotting and PCR, respectively. In Madin Darby bovine kidney (MDBK cells, the mutants lacking gE (BoHV-5 gE∆ and TK + gE (BoHV-5 gE/TK∆ produced small plaques while the TK-deleted BoHV-5 produced wild-type-sized plaques. The growth kinetics and virus yields in MDBK cells for all three recombinants (BoHV-5 gE∆, BoHV-5 TK∆ and BoHV-5 gE/TK∆ were similar to those of the parental virus. It is our belief that the dual gene-deleted recombinant (BoHV-5 gE/TK∆ produced on the background of a highly neurovirulent Brazilian BoHV-5 strain may have potential application in a vaccine against BoHV-5.

  1. Hadron Correlations and Parton Recombination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fries, R.J. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)]. E-mail: rjfries@comp.tamu.edu

    2007-02-15

    Parton recombination has been found to be an extremely useful model to understand hadron production at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. It is particularly important to explore its connections with hard processes. This article reviews some of the aspects of the quark recombination model and places particular emphasis on hadron correlations.

  2. A Time- and Cost-Saving Method of Producing Rat Polyclonal Antibodies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wakayama, Tomohiko; Kato, Yukio; Utsumi, Rie; Tsuji, Akira; Iseki, Shoichi

    2006-01-01

    Producing antibodies usually takes more than three months. In the present study, we introduce a faster way of producing polyclonal antibodies based on preparation of the recombinant oligopeptide as antigen followed by immunization of rats. Using this method, we produced antisera against two mouse proteins: ERGIC-53 and c-Kit. An expression vector ligated with a pair of complementary synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides encoding the protein was introduced into bacteria, and the recombinant oligopeptide fused with the carrier protein glutathione-S-transferase was purified. Wistar rats were immunized by injecting the emulsified antigen subcutaneously into the hind footpads, followed by a booster injection after 2 weeks. One week after the booster, the sera were collected and examined for the antibody titer by immunohistochemistry. Antisera with 1600-fold titer at the maximum were obtained for both antigens and confirmed for their specificity by Western blotting. Anti-ERGIC-53 antisera recognized acinar cells in the sublingual gland, and anti-c-Kit antisera recognized spermatogenic and Leydig cells in the testis. These antisera were applicable to fluorescent double immunostaining with mouse monoclonal or rabbit polyclonal antibodies. Consequently, this method enabled us to produce specific rat polyclonal antisera available for immunohistochemistry in less than one month at a relatively low cost

  3. Recombinant enzyme therapy for Fabry disease: Absence of editing of human alpha-galactosidase A mRNA

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Blom, Daniël; Speijer, Dave; Linthorst, Gabor E.; Donker-Koopman, Wilma G.; Strijland, Anneke; Aerts, Johannes M. F. G.

    2003-01-01

    For more than a decade, protein-replacement therapy has been employed successfully for the treatment of Gaucher disease. Recently, a comparable therapy has become available for the related lipid-storage disorder Fabry disease. Two differently produced recombinant alpha-galactosidase A (alpha-gal A)

  4. Characterization of recombinant terrelysin, a hemolysin of Aspergillus terreus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nayak, Ajay P; Blachere, Françoise M; Hettick, Justin M; Lukomski, Slawomir; Schmechel, Detlef; Beezhold, Donald H

    2011-01-01

    Fungal hemolysins are potential virulence factors. Some fungal hemolysins belong to the aegerolysin protein family that includes cytolysins capable of lysing erythrocytes and other cells. Here, we describe a hemolysin from Aspergillus terreus called terrelysin. We used the genome sequence database to identify the terrelysin sequence based on homology with other known aegerolysins. Aspergillus terreus mRNA was isolated, transcribed to cDNA and the open reading frame for terrelysin amplified by PCR using specific primers. Using the pASK-IBA6 cloning vector, we produced recombinant terrelysin (rTerrelysin) as a fusion product in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein was purified and using MALDI-TOF MS determined to have a mass of 16,428 Da. Circular dichroism analysis suggests the secondary structure of the protein to be predominantly β-sheet. Results from thermal denaturation of rTerrelysin show that the protein maintained the β-sheet confirmation up to 65°C. Polyclonal antibody to rTerrelysin recognized a protein of approximately 16.5 kDa in mycelial extracts from A. terreus.

  5. Exceptionally high levels of recombination across the honey bee genome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beye, Martin; Gattermeier, Irene; Hasselmann, Martin; Gempe, Tanja; Schioett, Morten; Baines, John F; Schlipalius, David; Mougel, Florence; Emore, Christine; Rueppell, Olav; Sirviö, Anu; Guzmán-Novoa, Ernesto; Hunt, Greg; Solignac, Michel; Page, Robert E

    2006-11-01

    The first draft of the honey bee genome sequence and improved genetic maps are utilized to analyze a genome displaying 10 times higher levels of recombination (19 cM/Mb) than previously analyzed genomes of higher eukaryotes. The exceptionally high recombination rate is distributed genome-wide, but varies by two orders of magnitude. Analysis of chromosome, sequence, and gene parameters with respect to recombination showed that local recombination rate is associated with distance to the telomere, GC content, and the number of simple repeats as described for low-recombining genomes. Recombination rate does not decrease with chromosome size. On average 5.7 recombination events per chromosome pair per meiosis are found in the honey bee genome. This contrasts with a wide range of taxa that have a uniform recombination frequency of about 1.6 per chromosome pair. The excess of recombination activity does not support a mechanistic role of recombination in stabilizing pairs of homologous chromosome during chromosome pairing. Recombination rate is associated with gene size, suggesting that introns are larger in regions of low recombination and may improve the efficacy of selection in these regions. Very few transposons and no retrotransposons are present in the high-recombining genome. We propose evolutionary explanations for the exceptionally high genome-wide recombination rate.

  6. Three-particle recombination at low temperature: QED approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhattacharyya, S.; Roy, A.

    2001-01-01

    A theoretical study of three-body recombination of proton in presence of a spectator electron with electronic beam at near-zero temperature is presented using field theory and invariant Lorentz gauge. Contributions from the Feynman diagrams of different orders give an insight into the physics of the phenomena. Recombination rate coefficient is obtained for low lying principal quantum number n = 1 to 10. At a fixed ion beam temperature (300 K) recombination rate coefficient is found to increase in general with n, having a flat and a sharp peak at quantum states 3 to 5, respectively. In absence of any theoretical and experimental results for low temperature formation of H-atom by three-body recombination at low lying quantum states, we have presented the theoretical results of Stevefelt and group for three-body recombination of deuteron with electron along with the present results. Three-body recombination of antihydrogen in antiproton-positron plasma is expected to yield similar result as that for three-body recombination of hydrogen formation in proton-electron plasma. The necessity for experimental investigation of low temperature three-body recombination at low quantum states is stressed. (author)

  7. Effects of DNA double-strand and single-strand breaks on intrachromosomal recombination events in cell-cycle-arrested yeast cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galli, A.; Schiestl, R.H.

    1998-01-01

    Intrachromosomal recombination between repeated elements can result in deletion (DEL recombination) events. We investigated the inducibility of such intrachromosomal recombination events at different stages of the cell cycle and the nature of the primary DNA lesions capable of initiating these events. Two genetic systems were constructed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that select for DEL recombination events between duplicated alleles of CDC28 and TUB2. We determined effects of double-strand breaks (DSBs) and single-strand breaks (SSBs) between the duplicated alleles on DEL recombination when induced in dividing cells or cells arrested in G1 or G2. Site-specific DSBs and SSBs were produced by overexpression of the I-Sce I endonuclease and the gene II protein (gIIp), respectively. I-Sce I-induced DSBs caused an increase in DEL recombination frequencies in both dividing and cell-cycle-arrested cells, indicating that G1- and G2-arrested cells are capable of completing DSB repair. In contrast, gIIp-induced SSBs caused an increase in DEL recombination frequency only in dividing cells. To further examine these phenomena we used both γ-irradiation, inducing DSBs as its most relevant lesion, and UV, inducing other forms of DNA damage. UV irradiation did not increase DEL recombination frequencies in G1 or G2, whereas γ-rays increased DEL recombination frequencies in both phases. Both forms of radiation, however, induced DEL recombination in dividing cells. The results suggest that DSBsbut not SSBs induce DEL recombination, probably via the single-strand annealing pathway. Further, DSBs in dividing cells may result from the replication of a UV or SSB-damaged template. Alternatively, UV induced events may occur by replication slippage after DNA polymerase pausing in front of the damage. (author)

  8. Recombinant Plants Provide a New Approach to the Production of Bacterial Polysaccharide for Vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Claire M.; Fry, Stephen C.; Gough, Kevin C.; Patel, Alexandra J. F.; Glenn, Sarah; Goldrick, Marie; Roberts, Ian S.; Andrew, Peter W.

    2014-01-01

    Bacterial polysaccharides have numerous clinical or industrial uses. Recombinant plants could offer the possibility of producing bacterial polysaccharides on a large scale and free of contaminating bacterial toxins and antigens. We investigated the feasibility of this proposal by cloning and expressing the gene for the type 3 synthase (cps3S) of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Nicotinia tabacum, using the pCambia2301 vector and Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer. In planta the recombinant synthase polymerised plant-derived UDP-glucose and UDP-glucuronic acid to form type 3 polysaccharide. Expression of the cps3S gene was detected by RT-PCR and production of the pneumococcal polysaccharide was detected in tobacco leaf extracts by double immunodiffusion, Western blotting and high-voltage paper electrophoresis. Because it is used a component of anti-pneumococcal vaccines, the immunogenicity of the plant-derived type 3 polysaccharide was tested. Mice immunised with extracts from recombinant plants were protected from challenge with a lethal dose of pneumococci in a model of pneumonia and the immunised mice had significantly elevated levels of serum anti-pneumococcal polysaccharide antibodies. This study provides the proof of the principle that bacterial polysaccharide can be successfully synthesised in plants and that these recombinant polysaccharides could be used as vaccines to protect against life-threatening infections. PMID:24498433

  9. Hadron correlations from recombination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fries, Rainer J [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)

    2005-01-01

    Quark recombination is a successful model to describe the hadronization of a deconfined quark gluon plasma. Jet-like dihadron correlations measured at RHIC provide a challenge for this picture. We discuss how correlations between hadrons can arise from correlations between partons before hadronization. An enhancement of correlations through the recombination process, similar to the enhancement of elliptic flow is found. Hot spots from completely or partially quenched jets are a likely source of such parton correlations.

  10. X-ray- and TEM-induced mitotic recombination in Drosophila melanogaster: Unequal and sister-strand recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becker, H.J.

    1975-01-01

    Twin mosaic spots of dark-apricot and light-apricot ommatidia were found in the eyes of wsup(a)/wsup(a) females, of wsup(a) males, of females homozygous for In(1)sc 4 , wsup(a) and of attached-X females homozygous for wsup(a). The flies were raised from larvae which had been treated with 1,630 R of X-rays at the age of 48-52 hours. An additional group of wsup(a)/wsup(a) females and wsup(a) males came from larvae that had been fed with triethylene melamine (TEM) at the age of 22-24 hours. The twin spots apparently were the result of induced unequal mitotic recombination, i.e. from unequal sister-strand recombination in the males and from unequal sister-strand recombination as well as, possibly, unequal recombination between homologous strands in the females. That is, a duplication resulted in wsup(a)Dpwsup(a)/wsup(a) dark-apricto ommatidia and the corresponding deficiency in an adjacent area of wsup(a)/Dfwsup(a) light-apricot ommatidia. In an additional experiment sister-strand mitotic recombination in the ring-X chromosome of ring-X/rod-X females heterozygous for w and wsup(co) is believed to be the cause for X-ray induced single mosaic spots that show the phenotype of the rod-X marker. (orig.) [de

  11. Two novel porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) recombinants from a natural recombinant and distinct subtypes of PEDV variants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Nanhua; Li, Shuangjie; Zhou, Rongyun; Zhu, Meiqin; He, Shan; Ye, Mengxue; Huang, Yucheng; Li, Shuai; Zhu, Cong; Xia, Pengpeng; Zhu, Jianzhong

    2017-10-15

    Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) causes devastating impact on global pig-breeding industry and current vaccines have become not effective against the circulating PEDV variants since 2011. During the up-to-date investigation of PEDV prevalence in Fujian China 2016, PEDV was identified in vaccinated pig farms suffering severe diarrhea while other common diarrhea-associated pathogens were not detected. Complete genomes of two PEDV representatives (XM1-2 and XM2-4) were determined. Genomic comparison showed that these two viruses share the highest nucleotide identities (99.10% and 98.79%) with the 2011 ZMDZY strain, but only 96.65% and 96.50% nucleotide identities with the attenuated CV777 strain. Amino acid alignment of spike (S) proteins indicated that they have the similar mutation, insertion and deletion pattern as other Chinese PEDV variants but also contain several unique substitutions. Phylogenetic analysis showed that 2016 PEDV variants belong to the cluster of recombination strains but form a new branch. Recombination detection suggested that both XM1-2 and XM2-4 are inter-subgroup recombinants with breakpoints within ORF1b. Remarkably, the natural recombinant HNQX-3 isolate serves as a parental virus for both natural recombinants identified in this study. This up-to-date investigation provides the direct evidence that natural recombinants may serve as parental viruses to generate recombined PEDV progenies that are probably associated with the vaccination failure. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  12. Rapid generation of markerless recombinant MVA vaccines by en passant recombineering of a self-excising bacterial artificial chromosome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cottingham, Matthew G; Gilbert, Sarah C

    2010-09-01

    The non-replicating poxviral vector modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) is currently a leading candidate for development of novel recombinant vaccines against globally important diseases. The 1980s technology for making recombinant MVA (and other poxviruses) is powerful and robust, but relies on rare recombination events in poxviral-infected cells. In the 21st century, it has become possible to apply bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) technology to poxviruses, as first demonstrated by B. Moss' lab in 2002 for vaccinia virus. A similar BAC clone of MVA was subsequently derived, but while recombination-mediated genetic engineering for rapid production was used of deletion mutants, an alternative method was required for efficient insertion of transgenes. Furthermore "markerless" viruses, which carry no trace of the selectable marker used for their isolation, are increasingly required for clinical trials, and the viruses derived via the new method contained the BAC sequence in their genomic DNA. Two methods are adapted to MVA-BAC to provide more rapid generation of markerless recombinants in weeks rather than months. "En passant" recombineering is applied to the insertion of a transgene expression cassette and the removal of the selectable marker in bacteria; and a self-excising variant of MVA-BAC is constructed, in which the BAC cassette region is rapidly and efficiently lost from the viral genome following rescue of the BAC into infectious virus. These methods greatly facilitate and accelerate production of recombinant MVA, including markerless constructs. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Repair by genetic recombination in bacteria: overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howard-Flanders, P.

    1975-01-01

    DNA molecules that have been damaged in both strands at the same level are not subject to repair by excision but instead can be repaired through recombination with homologous molecules. Examples of two-strand damage include postreplication gaps opposite pyrimidine dimers, two-strand breaks produced by x-rays, and chemically induced interstrand cross-links. In ultraviolet-irradiated bacteria, and newly synthesized DNA is of length equal to the interdimer spacing. With continued incubation, this low-molecular-weight DNA is joined into high-molecular-weight chains (postreplication repair), a process associated with sister exchanges in bacteria. Recombination is initiated by pyrimidine dimers opposite postreplication gaps and by interstrand cross-links that have been cut by excision enzymes. The free ends at the resulting gaps presumably initiate the exchanges. Postreplication repair in Escherichia coli occurs in recB - and recC - but is greatly slowed in recF - mutants. RecB and recC are the structural genes for exonuclease V, which digests two-stranded DNA by releasing oligonucleotides first from one strand and then from the other. The postreplication sister exchanges in ultraviolet-irradiated bacteria result in the distribution of pyrimidine dimers between parental and daughter strands, indicating that long exchanges involving both strands of each duplex occur. The R1 restriction endonuclease from E. coli has been used to cut the DNA of a bacterial drug-resistance transfer factor with one nuclease-sensitive site, and also DNA from the frog Xenopus enriched for ribosomal 18S and 28S genes. The fragments were annealed with the cut plasmid DNA and ligated, producing a new larger plasmid carrying the eukaryotic rDNA and able to infect and replicate in E. coli

  14. Production of recombinant cholesterol oxidase containing covalently bound FAD in Escherichia coli

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Molla Gianluca

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cholesterol oxidase is an alcohol dehydrogenase/oxidase flavoprotein that catalyzes the dehydrogenation of C(3-OH of cholesterol. It has two major biotechnological applications, i.e. in the determination of serum (and food cholesterol levels and as biocatalyst providing valuable intermediates for industrial steroid drug production. Cholesterol oxidases of type I are those containing the FAD cofactor tightly but not covalently bound to the protein moiety, whereas type II members contain covalently bound FAD. This is the first report on the over-expression in Escherichia coli of type II cholesterol oxidase from Brevibacterium sterolicum (BCO. Results Design of the plasmid construct encoding the mature BCO, optimization of medium composition and identification of the best cultivation/induction conditions for growing and expressing the active protein in recombinant E. coli cells, concurred to achieve a valuable improvement: BCO volumetric productivity was increased from ~500 up to ~25000 U/L and its crude extract specific activity from 0.5 up to 7.0 U/mg protein. Interestingly, under optimal expression conditions, nearly 55% of the soluble recombinant BCO is produced as covalently FAD bound form, whereas the protein containing non-covalently bound FAD is preferentially accumulated in insoluble inclusion bodies. Conclusions Comparison of our results with those published on non-covalent (type I COs expressed in recombinant form (either in E. coli or Streptomyces spp., shows that the fully active type II BCO can be produced in E. coli at valuable expression levels. The improved over-production of the FAD-bound cholesterol oxidase will support its development as a novel biotool to be exploited in biotechnological applications.

  15. Production and characterization of guinea pig recombinant gamma interferon and its effect on macrophage activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeevan, A; McFarland, C T; Yoshimura, T; Skwor, T; Cho, H; Lasco, T; McMurray, D N

    2006-01-01

    Gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) plays a critical role in the protective immune responses against mycobacteria. We previously cloned a cDNA coding for guinea pig IFN-gamma (gpIFN-gamma) and reported that BCG vaccination induced a significant increase in the IFN-gamma mRNA expression in guinea pig cells in response to living mycobacteria and that the virulent H37Rv strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis stimulated less IFN-gamma mRNA than did the attenuated H37Ra strain. In this study, we successfully expressed and characterized recombinant gpIFN-gamma with a histidine tag at the N terminus (His-tagged rgpIFN-gamma) in Escherichia coli. rgpIFN-gamma was identified as an 18-kDa band in the insoluble fraction; therefore, the protein was purified under denaturing conditions and renatured. N-terminal amino acid sequencing of the recombinant protein yielded the sequence corresponding to the N terminus of His-tagged gpIFN-gamma. The recombinant protein upregulated major histocompatibility complex class II expression in peritoneal macrophages. The antiviral activity of rgpIFN-gamma was demonstrated with a guinea pig fibroblast cell line (104C1) infected with encephalomyocarditis virus. Interestingly, peritoneal macrophages treated with rgpIFN-gamma did not produce any nitric oxide but did produce hydrogen peroxide and suppressed the intracellular growth of mycobacteria. Furthermore, rgpIFN-gamma induced morphological alterations in cultured macrophages. Thus, biologically active rgpIFN-gamma has been successfully produced and characterized in our laboratory. The study of rgpIFN-gamma will further increase our understanding of the cellular and molecular responses induced by BCG vaccination in the guinea pig model of pulmonary tuberculosis.

  16. Comparison of the Structural Stability and Dynamic Properties of Recombinant Anthrax Protective Antigen and its 2-Fluorohistidine Labeled Analogue

    OpenAIRE

    Hu, Lei; Joshi, Sangeeta B.; Andra, Kiran K.; Thakkar, Santosh V.; Volkin, David B.; Bann, James G.; Middaugh, C. Russell

    2012-01-01

    Protective antigen (PA) is the primary protein antigenic component of both the currently used anthrax vaccine and related recombinant vaccines under development. An analogue of recombinant PA (2-FHis rPA) has been recently shown to block the key steps of pore formation in the process of inducing cytotoxicity in cells, and thus can potentially be used as an antitoxin or a vaccine. This rPA analogue was produced by fermentation to incorporate the unnatural amino acid 2-fluorohistidine (2-FHis)....

  17. Cloning, expression, and immunological characterization of recombinant Lolium perenne allergen Lol p II.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sidoli, A; Tamborini, E; Giuntini, I; Levi, S; Volonté, G; Paini, C; De Lalla, C; Siccardi, A G; Baralle, F E; Galliani, S

    1993-10-15

    The molecular cloning of the cDNA encoding for an isoallergenic form of Lol p II, a major rye grass (Lolium perenne) pollen allergen, was performed by polymerase chain reaction amplification on mRNA extracted from pollen. The amino acid sequence derived from the cDNA was truncated by 4 and 5 residues at the NH2- and COOH-terminal ends, respectively, and differed only in one position from that previously reported. This cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli by fusion to the carboxyl terminus of the human ferritin H-chain. The molecule was produced in high yields as a soluble protein and was easily purified. The protein retains the multimeric quaternary structure of ferritin, and it exposes on the surface the allergenic moiety, which can be recognized in Western blotting and in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay experiments by specific IgE from allergic patients. The recombinant allergen was used to analyze the sera of 26 patients allergic to L. perenne compared with control sera. The results were in good agreement with the values obtained with the radioallergosorbent test assay. In addition, histamine release experiments in whole blood from an allergic patient and skin prick tests showed that the recombinant allergen retains some of the biological properties of the natural compound. These findings indicate that the availability of homogeneous recombinant allergens may be useful for the development of more specific diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Moreover, this expression system may be of more general interest for producing large amounts of soluble protein domains in E. coli.

  18. The investigation of electron-ion radiative and dielectronic recombination in high-temperature plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacobs, V.L.

    1991-01-01

    (1) The unified description of radiative and dielectronic recombination, which the authors have developed to provide corrections to the conventional independent-processes approximation, has been generalized to self-consistently incorporate the effects of charged-particle collisions and plasma electric fields. (2) The K α model for the dielectronic satellite spectra of highly-charged Fe ions, which the authors have developed based on the conventional theory of dielectronic satellite line intensities, has been incorporated into the multi-ion-species transport code MIST. Excellent agreement has been obtained between the simulated spectra and the observed Fe K α spectra from PLT and TFTR. (3) A detailed investigation has been completed on the dielectronic recombination satellite spectra in the presence of a distribution of plasma electric microfields. The calculations have been carried out for the lowest-lying n=2 satellites, which are affected by the electric fields only in high-density laser-produced plasma. For application to the lower-density conditions in tokamak plasmas, in which the electron density is about ten orders of magnitude smaller, a number of alternatives are under consideration for evaluating the recombination rates associated with the Rydberg autoionizing sates corresponding to large values of n. (3) A manuscript entitled ''Observation of Density-Enhanced Dielectronic Satellite Spectra Produced During Subpicosecond Laser-Matter Interactions'' has been submitted for publication in the Physical Review A. This work provides a convincing experimental verification of the theoretical predictions on the density sensitivity of diagnostically-important dielectronic satellite spectra in dense plasmas

  19. Expression of Recombinant Streptokinase from Streptococcus Pyogenes and its Reaction with Infected Human and Murine Sera

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molaee, Neda; Abtahi, Hamid; Mosayebi, Ghasem

    2013-01-01

    Objective(s): Streptokinase (SKa) is an antigenic protein which is secreted by Streptococcus pyogenes. Streptokinase induces inflammation by complement activation, which may play a role in post infectious diseases. In the present study, recombinant streptokinase from S. pyogenes was produced and showed that recombinant SKa protein was recognized by infected human sera using Western blot analysis. Materials and Methods: In this study, the ska gene from S. pyogenes was amplified and cloned into pET32a which is a prokaryotic expression vector. pET32a-ska was transformed to Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) pLysS and gene expression was induced by IPTG. Protein production was improved by modification of composition of the bacterial culture media and altering the induction time by IPTG. The expressed protein was purified by affinity chromatography using the Ni-NTA resin. The integrity of the product was confirmed by Westernblot analysis using infected mice. Serum reactivity of five infected individuals was further analyzed against the recombinant SKa protein. Results: Data indicated that recombinant SKa protein from S. pyogenes can be recognized by patient and mice sera. The concentration of the purified recombinant protein was 3.2 mg/L of initial culture. The highest amount of the expressed protein after addition of IPTG was obtained in a bacterial culture without glucose with the culture optical density of 0.8 (OD600 = 0.8). Conclusion : Present data shows, recombinant SKa protein has same epitopes with natural form of this antigen. Recombinant SKa also seemed to be a promising antigen for the serologic diagnosis of S. pyogenes infections. PMID:24171077

  20. Expression of Recombinant Streptokinase from Streptococcus Pyogenes and Its Reaction with Infected Human and Murine Sera

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neda Molaee

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available   Objective(s: Streptokinase (SKa is an antigenic protein which is secreted by Streptococcus pyogenes. Streptokinase induces inflammation by complement activation, which may play a role in post infectious diseases. In the present study, recombinant streptokinase from S. pyogenes was produced and showed that recombinant SKa protein was recognized by infected human sera using Western blot analysis.   Materials and Methods: In this study, the ska gene from S. pyogenes was amplified and cloned into pET32a which is a prokaryotic expression vector. pET32a-ska was transformed to Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3 pLysS and gene expression was induced by IPTG. Protein production was improved by modification of composition of the bacterial culture media and altering the induction time by IPTG. The expressed protein was purified by affinity chromatography using the Ni-NTA resin. The integrity of the product was confirmed by Westernblot analysis using infected mice. Serum reactivity of five infected individuals was further analyzed against the recombinant SKa protein. Results: Data indicated that recombinant SKa protein from S. pyogenes can be recognized by patient and mice sera. The concentration of the purified recombinant protein was 3.2 mg/L of initial culture. The highest amount of the expressed protein after addition of IPTG was obtained in a bacterial culture without glucose with the culture optical density of 0.8 (OD600 = 0.8. Conclusion : Present data shows, recombinant SKa protein has same epitopes with natural form of this antigen. Recombinant SKa also seemed to be a promising antigen for the serologic diagnosis of S. pyogenes infections.

  1. Characterization of recombinant Mal d 4 and its application for component-resolved diagnosis of apple allergy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ma, Y.; Zuidmeer, L.; Bohle, B.; Bolhaar, S. T. H.; Gadermaier, G.; Gonzalez-Mancebo, E.; Fernandez-Rivas, M.; Knulst, A. C.; Himly, M.; Asero, R.; Ebner, C.; van Ree, R.; Ferreira, F.; Breiteneder, H.; Hoffmann-Sommergruber, K.

    2006-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Profilins are ubiquitous panallergens that have been extensively characterized; yet, their clinical relevance is still unclear. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to produce recombinant apple profilin (rMal d 4) and to evaluate its allergenic activity and its potency for

  2. Mechanisms and factors that influence high frequency retroviral recombination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Delviks-Frankenberry, Krista; Galli, Andrea; Nikolaitchik, Olga

    2011-01-01

    With constantly changing environmental selection pressures, retroviruses rely upon recombination to reassort polymorphisms in their genomes and increase genetic diversity, which improves the chances for the survival of their population. Recombination occurs during DNA synthesis, whereby reverse...... transcriptase undergoes template switching events between the two copackaged RNAs, resulting in a viral recombinant with portions of the genetic information from each parental RNA. This review summarizes our current understanding of the factors and mechanisms influencing retroviral recombination, fidelity...... of the recombination process, and evaluates the subsequent viral diversity and fitness of the progeny recombinant. Specifically, the high mutation rates and high recombination frequencies of HIV-1 will be analyzed for their roles in influencing HIV-1 global diversity, as well as HIV-1 diagnosis, drug treatment...

  3. Genetic recombination induced by DNA double-strand break in bacteriophage T4: nature of the left/right bias.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shcherbakov, Victor P; Shcherbakova, Tamara; Plugina, Lidiya; Sizova, Svetlana; Kudryashova, Elena; Granovsky, Igor

    2008-06-01

    The experimental system combining double-strand breaks (DSBs), produced site-specifically by SegC endonuclease, with the famous advantages of the bacteriophage T4 rII mutant recombination analysis was used here to elucidate the origin of the recombination bias on two sides of the DSB, especially pronounced in gene 39 (topoisomerase II) and gene 59 (41-helicase loader) mutants. Three sources were found to contribute to the bias: (1) the SegC endonuclease may remain bound to the end of the broken DNA and thus protect it from exonuclease degradation; (2) in heteroduplex heterozygotes (HHs), arising as the recombinant products in the left-hand crosses, the transcribed strands are of rII mutant phenotype, so they, in contrast to the right-hand HHs, do not produce plaques on the lawn of the lambda-lysogenic host; and (3) the intrinsic polarity of T4 chromosome, reflected in transcription, may be a cause for discrimination of promoter-proximal and promoter-distal DNA sequences. It is shown that the apparent recombination bias does not imply one-sidedness of the DSB repair but just reflects a different depth of the end processing. It is inferred that the cause, underlying the "intrinsic" bias, might be interference between strand exchange and transcription. Topoisomerase and helicase functions are necessary to turn the process in favor of strand exchange. The idea is substantiated that the double-stranded to single-stranded DNA transition edge (not ss-DNA tip) serves as an actual recombinogenic element.

  4. Induction of homologous recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, J R; Moore, P D

    1988-09-01

    We have investigated the effects of UV irradiation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in order to distinguish whether UV-induced recombination results from the induction of enzymes required for homologous recombination, or the production of substrate sites for recombination containing regions of DNA damage. We utilized split-dose experiments to investigate the induction of proteins required for survival, gene conversion, and mutation in a diploid strain of S. cerevisiae. We demonstrate that inducing doses of UV irradiation followed by a 6 h period of incubation render the cells resistant to challenge doses of UV irradiation. The effects of inducing and challenge doses of UV irradiation upon interchromosomal gene conversion and mutation are strictly additive. Using the yeast URA3 gene cloned in non-replicating single- and double-stranded plasmid vectors that integrate into chromosomal genes upon transformation, we show that UV irradiation of haploid yeast cells and homologous plasmid DNA sequences each stimulate homologous recombination approximately two-fold, and that these effects are additive. Non-specific DNA damage has little effect on the stimulation of homologous recombination, as shown by studies in which UV-irradiated heterologous DNA was included in transformation/recombination experiments. We further demonstrate that the effect of competing single- and double-stranded heterologous DNA sequences differs in UV-irradiated and unirradiated cells, suggesting an induction of recombinational machinery in UV-irradiated S. cerevisiae cells.

  5. A BioDesign Approach to Obtain High Yields of Biosimilars by Anti-apoptotic Cell Engineering: a Case Study to Increase the Production Yield of Anti-TNF Alpha Producing Recombinant CHO Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulce Iz, Sultan; Inevi, Muge Anil; Metiner, Pelin Saglam; Tamis, Duygu Ayyildiz; Kisbet, Nazli

    2018-01-01

    Recent developments in medical biotechnology have facilitated to enhance the production of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and recombinant proteins in mammalian cells. Human mAbs for clinical applications have focused on three areas, particularly cancer, immunological disorders, and infectious diseases. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), which has both proinflammatory and immunoregulatory functions, is an important target in biopharmaceutical industry. In this study, a humanized anti-TNF-α mAb producing stable CHO cell line which produces a biosimilar of Humira (adalimumab) was used. Adalimumab is a fully human anti-TNF mAb among the top-selling mAb products in recent years as a biosimilar. Products from mammalian cell bioprocesses are a derivative of cell viability and metabolism, which is mainly disrupted by cell death in bioreactors. Thus, different strategies are used to increase the product yield. Suppression of apoptosis, also called anti-apoptotic cell engineering, is the most remarkable strategy to enhance lifetime of cells for a longer production period. In fact, using anti-apoptotic cell engineering as a BioDesign approach was inspired by nature; nature gives prolonged life span to some cells like stem cells, tumor cells, and memory B and T cells, and researchers have been using this strategy for different purposes. In this study, as a biomimicry approach, anti-apoptotic cell engineering was used to increase the anti-TNF-α mAb production from the humanized anti-TNF-α mAb producing stable CHO cell line by Bcl-xL anti-apoptotic protein. It was shown that transient transfection of CHO cells by the Bcl-xL anti-apoptotic protein expressing plasmid prolonged the cell survival rate and protected cells from apoptosis. The transient expression of Bcl-xL using CHO cells enhanced the anti-TNF-α production. The production of anti-TNF-α in CHO cells was increased up to 215 mg/L with an increase of 160% after cells were transfected with Bcl-xL expressing plasmid

  6. Spectrum Recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenslade, Thomas B., Jr.

    1984-01-01

    Describes several methods of executing lecture demonstrations involving the recombination of the spectrum. Groups the techniques into two general classes: bringing selected portions of the spectrum together using lenses or mirrors and blurring the colors by rapid movement or foreshortening. (JM)

  7. Genetic analysis of variation in human meiotic recombination.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reshmi Chowdhury

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available The number of recombination events per meiosis varies extensively among individuals. This recombination phenotype differs between female and male, and also among individuals of each gender. In this study, we used high-density SNP genotypes of over 2,300 individuals and their offspring in two datasets to characterize recombination landscape and to map the genetic variants that contribute to variation in recombination phenotypes. We found six genetic loci that are associated with recombination phenotypes. Two of these (RNF212 and an inversion on chromosome 17q21.31 were previously reported in the Icelandic population, and this is the first replication in any other population. Of the four newly identified loci (KIAA1462, PDZK1, UGCG, NUB1, results from expression studies provide support for their roles in meiosis. Each of the variants that we identified explains only a small fraction of the individual variation in recombination. Notably, we found different sequence variants associated with female and male recombination phenotypes, suggesting that they are regulated by different genes. Characterization of genetic variants that influence natural variation in meiotic recombination will lead to a better understanding of normal meiotic events as well as of non-disjunction, the primary cause of pregnancy loss.

  8. Recombination in Avian Gamma-Coronavirus Infectious Bronchitis Virus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark W. Jackwood

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Recombination in the family Coronaviridae has been well documented and is thought to be a contributing factor in the emergence and evolution of different coronaviral genotypes as well as different species of coronavirus. However, there are limited data available on the frequency and extent of recombination in coronaviruses in nature and particularly for the avian gamma-coronaviruses where only recently the emergence of a turkey coronavirus has been attributed solely to recombination. In this study, the full-length genomes of eight avian gamma-coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV isolates were sequenced and along with other full-length IBV genomes available from GenBank were analyzed for recombination. Evidence of recombination was found in every sequence analyzed and was distributed throughout the entire genome. Areas that have the highest occurrence of recombination are located in regions of the genome that code for nonstructural proteins 2, 3 and 16, and the structural spike glycoprotein. The extent of the recombination observed, suggests that this may be one of the principal mechanisms for generating genetic and antigenic diversity within IBV. These data indicate that reticulate evolutionary change due to recombination in IBV, likely plays a major role in the origin and adaptation of the virus leading to new genetic types and strains of the virus.

  9. Immunoradiometric assay for the determination of E. coli proteins in recombinant dna derived human growth hormone produced at IPEN-CNEN/SP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soares, Carlos R.J.

    1995-01-01

    An immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) for the determination of multiple antigens was set up in order to quantify E. coli (ECP) in lots of purified recombinant human growth hormone (rec-hGH). SDS-PAGE and Western Blotting techniques were carried out, in parallel, to confirm the results obtained by IRMA and to provide more information about the contaminants. Anti-ECP antibodies were obtained by rabbit immunization with ECP, which were submitted to the same purification process utilized for rec-hGH with the exception of the last step. A strain-process-specific assay was thus set up. The antiserum obtained was purified through an affinity column prepared with the same ECP used for immunization, this provided an highly sensitive assay (0,03 ng ECP/mL). This IRMA was shown to be specific, not presenting any cross reaction with hGH and studies carried out on precision, accuracy and linearity of response with dilution confirmed its validity as one of the fundamental purity tests for rec-hGH produced at IPEN-CNEN/SP, whose principles can be easily extended to the analysis of other similar products. These studies have also shown that the utilization of an affinity column, prepared with the described anti-ECP antiserum was very effective, providing rec-hGH lots with less then 10 parts per million (0,001%) of contaminating proteins. (author). 45 refs., 15 figs., 11 tabs

  10. Evaluation of wheat stillage for ethanol production by recombinant Zymomonas mobilis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davis, L.; Peiris, P. [University of Western Sydney, Penrith (Australia). School of Science, Food and Horticulture; Young-Jae Jeon; Svenson, C.; Rogers, P. [University of New South Wales, Sydney (Australia). School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences; Pearce, J. [Manildra Group, Bomaderry (Australia)

    2005-07-01

    Stillage is the main residue from the starch-to-ethanol fermentation process.Carbohydrates (hemicellulose and cellulose) comprise approximately 50% (w/w)of the total components of stillage. Conversion of the hemicellulose and cellulose to fermentable sugars and then to ethanol has the potential to significantly increase the efficiency of the process. The hydrolysis of stillage to fermentable sugars was optimised using 2% (v/v) H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} at 100{sup o}C for 5.5 h and produced 18 g/L xylose, 11.5 g/L arabinose and 6.5 g/L glucose from 120 g/L stillage. Further hydrolysis using enzymes increased the release of glucose by 61%. Furfural, acetate and lactate were the main inhibitors present in the acid hydrolysate of stillage. The lignin-derived inhibitors hydroxymethylfuraldehyde, hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillin and syringaldehyde were not detected. Neutralisation of the hydrolysate with lime to pH 5 decreased the concentration of furfural by 50%. Fermentation of hydrolysate supplemented with glucose 10 g/L, by recombinant Zymomonas mobilis ZM4(pZB5), produced 11 g/L of ethanol after 70 h, with residual xylose 12 g/L. Supplementation of the hydrolysate with 5 g/L yeast extract and 40 g/L glucose produced 28 g/L ethanol with 2.6 g/L residual xylose after 18 h. Arabinose was not utilised by this particular recombinant strain. From the results, Z. mobilis ZM4(pZB5) may be a suitable candidate for the fermentation of both glucose and xylose in stillage acid hydrolysates. (author)

  11. The unconventional xer recombination machinery of Streptococci/Lactococci

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Le Bourgeois, Pascal; Bugarel, Marie; Campo, Nathalie; Daveran-Mingot, Marie-Line; Labonte, Jessica; Lanfranchi, Daniel; Lautier, Thomas; Pages, Carine; Ritzenthaler, Paul

    Homologous recombination between circular sister chromosomes during DNA replication in bacteria can generate chromosome dimers that must be resolved into monomers prior to cell division. In Escherichia coli, dimer resolution is achieved by site-specific recombination, Xer recombination, involving

  12. Enhanced functional recombinant factor VII production by HEK 293 cells stably transfected with VKORC1 where the gamma-carboxylase inhibitor calumenin is stably suppressed by shRNA transfection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wajih, Nadeem; Owen, John; Wallin, Reidar

    2008-01-01

    Recombinant members of the vitamin K-dependent protein family (factors IX and VII and protein C) have become important pharmaceuticals in treatment of bleeding disorders and sepsis. However, because the in vivo gamma-carboxylation system in stable cell lines used for transfection has a limited capacity of post translational gamma-carboxylation, the recovery of fully gamma-carboxylated and functional proteins is low. In this work we have engineered recombinant factor VII producing HEK 293 cells to stably overexpress VKORC1, the reduced vitamin K gamma-carboxylase cofactor and in addition stably silenced the gamma-carboxylase inhibitory protein calumenin. Stable cell lines transfected with only a factor VII cDNA had a 9% production of functional recombinant factor VII. On the other hand, these recombinant factor VII producing cells when engineered to overexpress VKORC1 and having calumenin stably suppressed more than 80% by shRNA expression, produced 68% functional factor VII. The technology presented should be applicable to all vertebrae members of the vitamin K-dependent protein family and should lower the production cost of the clinically used factors VII, IX and protein C.

  13. Bioethanol production from the dry powder of Jerusalem artichoke tubers by recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yi-Zhou; Zou, Shan-Mei; He, Mei-Lin; Wang, Chang-Hai

    2015-04-01

    It has been found that recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae 6525 can produce high concentration of ethanol in one-step fermentation from the extract of Jerusalem artichoke tubers or inulin. However, the utilization rate of raw materials was low and the fermentation process was costly and complicated. Therefore, in this study, after the optimum processing conditions for ethanol production in fed-batch fermentation were determined in flask, the recombinant S. cerevisiae 6525 was first used to produce ethanol from the dry powder of Jerusalem artichoke tubers in 5-L agitating fermentor. After 72 h of fermentation, around 84.3 g/L ethanol was produced in the fermentation liquids, and the conversion efficiency of inulin-type sugars to ethanol was 0.453, or 88.6 % of the theoretical value of 0.511. This study showed high feasibility of bioethanol industrial production from the Jerusalem artichoke tubers and provided a basis for it in the future.

  14. Graded Recombination Layers for Multijunction Photovoltaics

    KAUST Repository

    Koleilat, Ghada I.; Wang, Xihua; Sargent, Edward H.

    2012-01-01

    it to achieve multicolor and spectrally tunable behavior. In series-connected current-matched multijunction devices, the recombination layers must allow the hole current from one cell to recombine, with high efficiency and low voltage loss, with the electron

  15. V(D)J recombination frequency is affected by the sequence interposed between a pair of recombination signals: sequence comparison reveals a putative recombinational enhancer element

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roch, F A; Hobi, R; Berchtold, M W

    1997-01-01

    respectively, can markedly affect the frequency of V(D)J recombination. We report that the entire Emu, the Emu core as well as its flanking 5' and 3' matrix associated regions (5' and 3' MARs) upregulate V(D)J recombination while the downstream section of the 3' MAR of Emu does not. Also, prokaryotic sequences...

  16. Bio-equivalent doses of recombinent HCG and recombinent LH during ovarian stimulation result in similar oestradiol output

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alsbjerg, Birgit; Elbaek, Helle Olesen; Laursen, Rita Jakubcionyte

    2017-01-01

    In nature, HCG is secreted by the implanting embryo from peri-implantation and onwards. In contrast, LH is mandatory for steroidogenesis and follicular development during the follicular phase, working in synergy with FSH. Moreover, LH is mandatory for the function of the corpus luteum. Although LH...... and HCG bind to the same receptor, significant molecular, structural and functional differences exist, inducing differences in bioactivity. This randomized controlled study compared the effect of recombinant FSH stimulation combined with daily either micro-dose recombinant HCG or recombinant LH...

  17. Mechanisms and Factors that Influence High Frequency Retroviral Recombination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delviks-Frankenberry, Krista; Galli, Andrea; Nikolaitchik, Olga; Mens, Helene; Pathak, Vinay K.; Hu, Wei-Shau

    2011-01-01

    With constantly changing environmental selection pressures, retroviruses rely upon recombination to reassort polymorphisms in their genomes and increase genetic diversity, which improves the chances for the survival of their population. Recombination occurs during DNA synthesis, whereby reverse transcriptase undergoes template switching events between the two copackaged RNAs, resulting in a viral recombinant with portions of the genetic information from each parental RNA. This review summarizes our current understanding of the factors and mechanisms influencing retroviral recombination, fidelity of the recombination process, and evaluates the subsequent viral diversity and fitness of the progeny recombinant. Specifically, the high mutation rates and high recombination frequencies of HIV-1 will be analyzed for their roles in influencing HIV-1 global diversity, as well as HIV-1 diagnosis, drug treatment, and vaccine development. PMID:21994801

  18. Recombinant innovation and endogenous technological transitions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Frenken, K.; Izquierdo, L.R.; Zeppini, P.

    2012-01-01

    We propose a model of technological transitions based on two different types of innovations. Branching innovations refer to technological improvements along a particular path, while recombinant innovations represent fusions of multiple paths. Recombinant innovations create "short-cuts" which reduce

  19. Potency assay design for adjuvanted recombinant proteins as malaria vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giersing, Birgitte K; Dubovsky, Filip; Saul, Allan; Denamur, Francoise; Minor, Philip; Meade, Bruce

    2006-05-15

    Many licensed vaccines are composed of live, attenuated or inactivated whole-cell microorganisms, or they comprise purified components from whole-cell extracts or culture supernatants. For some diseases, pathology is fairly well understood, and there may be known correlates of protection that provide obvious parameters for assessment of vaccine potency. However, this is not always the case, and some effective vaccines are routinely used even though the mechanisms or correlates of protection are unknown. Some more modern vaccine approaches employ purified recombinant proteins, based on molecules that appear on the surface of the pathogen. This is one of the strategies that has been adopted in the quest to develop a malaria vaccine. Use of these parasite antigens as vaccine candidates is supported by substantial epidemiological data, and some have demonstrated the ability to elicit protective responses in animal models of malaria infection. However, there is as yet no immunological correlate of protection and no functional assays or animal models that have demonstrated the ability to predict efficacy in humans. There is little precedence for the most appropriate and practical method for assessing potency of vaccines based on these recombinant molecules for malaria vaccines. This is likely because the majority of malaria vaccine candidates have only recently entered clinical evaluation. The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) convened a panel with expertise in potency assay design from industry, governmental institutions, and regulatory bodies to discuss and review the rationale, available methods, and best approaches for assessing the potency of recombinant proteins, specifically for their use as malarial vaccines. The aim of this meeting was to produce a discussion document on the practical potency assessment of recombinant protein malaria vaccines, focusing on early phase potency assay development.

  20. Analysis of canine herpesvirus gB, gC and gD expressed by a recombinant vaccinia virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xuan, X; Kojima, A; Murata, T; Mikami, T; Otsuka, H

    1997-01-01

    The genes encoding the canine herpesvirus (CHV) glycoprotein B (gB), gC and gD homologues have been reported already. However, products of these genes have not been identified yet. Previously, we have identified three CHV glycoproteins, gp 145/112, gp80 and gp47 using a panel of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). To determine which CHV glycoprotein corresponds to gB, gC or gD, the putative genes of gB, gC, and gD of CHV were inserted into the thymidine kinase gene of vaccinia virus LC16mO strain under the control of the early-late promoter for the vaccinia virus 7.5-kilodalton polypeptide. We demonstrated here that gp145/112, gp80 and gp47 were the translation products of the CHV gB, gC and gD genes, respectively. The antigenic authenticity of recombinant gB, gC and gD were confirmed by a panel of MAbs specific for each glycoprotein produced in CHV-infected cells. Immunization of mice with these recombinants produced high titers of neutralizing antibodies against CHV. These results suggest that recombinant vaccinia viruses expressing CHV gB, gC and gD may be useful to develop a vaccine to control CHV infection.

  1. Ovine recombinant PrP as an inhibitor of ruminant prion propagation in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Workman, Rob G; Maddison, Ben C; Gough, Kevin C

    2017-07-04

    Prion diseases are fatal and incurable neurodegenerative diseases of humans and animals. Despite years of research, no therapeutic agents have been developed that can effectively manage or reverse disease progression. Recently it has been identified that recombinant prion proteins (rPrP) expressed in bacteria can act as inhibitors of prion replication within the in vitro prion replication system protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA). Here, within PMCA reactions amplifying a range of ruminant prions including distinct Prnp genotypes/host species and distinct prion strains, recombinant ovine VRQ PrP displayed consistent inhibition of prion replication and produced IC50 values of 122 and 171 nM for ovine scrapie and bovine BSE replication, respectively. These findings illustrate the therapeutic potential of rPrPs with distinct TSE diseases.

  2. Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography Co-Purifies TGF-β1 with Histidine-Tagged Recombinant Extracellular Proteins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaur, Jasvir; Reinhardt, Dieter P.

    2012-01-01

    Extracellular recombinant proteins are commonly produced using HEK293 cells as histidine-tagged proteins facilitating purification by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). Based on gel analyses, this one-step purification typically produces proteins of high purity. Here, we analyzed the presence of TGF-β1 in such IMAC purifications using recombinant extracellular fibrillin-1 fragments as examples. Analysis of various purified recombinant fibrillin-1 fragments by ELISA consistently revealed the presence of picomolar concentrations of active and latent TGF-β1, but not of BMP-2. These quantities of TGF-β1 were not detectable by Western blotting and mass spectrometry. However, the amounts of TGF-β1 were sufficient to consistently trigger Smad2 phosphorylation in fibroblasts. The purification mechanism was analyzed to determine whether the presence of TGF-β1 in these protein preparations represents a specific or non-specific co-purification of TGF-β1 with fibrillin-1 fragments. Control purifications using conditioned medium from non-transfected 293 cells yielded similar amounts of TGF-β1 after IMAC. IMAC of purified TGF-β1 and the latency associated peptide showed that these proteins bound to the immobilized nickel ions. These data clearly demonstrate that TGF-β1 was co-purified by specific interactions with nickel, and not by specific interactions with fibrillin-1 fragments. Among various chromatographic methods tested for their ability to eliminate TGF-β1 from fibrillin-1 preparations, gel filtration under high salt conditions was highly effective. As various recombinant extracellular proteins purified in this fashion are frequently used for experiments that can be influenced by the presence of TGF-β1, these findings have far-reaching implications for the required chromatographic schemes and quality controls. PMID:23119075

  3. Bimolecular recombination in ambipolar organic field effect transistors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Charrier, D. S. H.; de Vries, T.; Mathijssen, S. G. J.; Geluk, E. -J.; Smits, E. C. P.; Kemerink, M.; Janssen, R. A. J.

    In ambipolar organic field effect transistors (OFET) the shape of the channel potential is intimately related to the recombination zone width W, and hence to the electron-hole recombination strength. Experimentally, the recombination profile can be assessed by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy

  4. Bimolecular recombination in ambipolar organic field effect transistors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Charrier, D.S.H.; Vries, T. de; Mathijssen, S.G.J.; Geluk, E.-J.; Smits, E.C.P.; Kemerink, M.; Janssen, R.A.J.

    2009-01-01

    In ambipolar organic field effect transistors (OFET) the shape of the channel potential is intimately related to the recombination zone width W, and hence to the electron–hole recombination strength. Experimentally, the recombination profile can be assessed by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy

  5. Genome-wide variation in recombination rate in Eucalyptus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gion, Jean-Marc; Hudson, Corey J; Lesur, Isabelle; Vaillancourt, René E; Potts, Brad M; Freeman, Jules S

    2016-08-09

    Meiotic recombination is a fundamental evolutionary process. It not only generates diversity, but influences the efficacy of natural selection and genome evolution. There can be significant heterogeneity in recombination rates within and between species, however this variation is not well understood outside of a few model taxa, particularly in forest trees. Eucalypts are forest trees of global economic importance, and dominate many Australian ecosystems. We studied recombination rate in Eucalyptus globulus using genetic linkage maps constructed in 10 unrelated individuals, and markers anchored to the Eucalyptus reference genome. This experimental design provided the replication to study whether recombination rate varied between individuals and chromosomes, and allowed us to study the genomic attributes and population genetic parameters correlated with this variation. Recombination rate varied significantly between individuals (range = 2.71 to 3.51 centimorgans/megabase [cM/Mb]), but was not significantly influenced by sex or cross type (F1 vs. F2). Significant differences in recombination rate between chromosomes were also evident (range = 1.98 to 3.81 cM/Mb), beyond those which were due to variation in chromosome size. Variation in chromosomal recombination rate was significantly correlated with gene density (r = 0.94), GC content (r = 0.90), and the number of tandem duplicated genes (r = -0.72) per chromosome. Notably, chromosome level recombination rate was also negatively correlated with the average genetic diversity across six species from an independent set of samples (r = -0.75). The correlations with genomic attributes are consistent with findings in other taxa, however, the direction of the correlation between diversity and recombination rate is opposite to that commonly observed. We argue this is likely to reflect the interaction of selection and specific genome architecture of Eucalyptus. Interestingly, the differences amongst

  6. Induction of intrachromosomal homologous recombination in whole plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Puchta, H.; Swoboda, P.; Hohn, B.

    1995-01-01

    The influence of different factors on frequencies of intrachromosomal homologous recombination in whole Arabidopsis thaliana and tobacco plants was analyzed using a disrupted β-glucuronidase marker gene. Recombination frequencies were enhanced several fold by DNA damaging agents like UV-light or MMS (methyl methanesulfonate). Applying 3-methoxybenzamide (3-MB), an inhibitor of poly(ADP)ribose polymerase (PARP), an enzyme that is postulated to be involved in DNA repair, enhanced homologous recombination frequencies strongly. These findings indicate that homologous recombination is involved in DNA repair and can (at least partially) compensate for other DNA repair pathways. Indications that recombination in plants can be induced by environmental stress factors that are not likely to be involved in DNA metabolism were also found; Arabidopsis plants growing in a medium containing 0.1 M NaCl exhibited elevated recombination frequencies. The possible general effects of ‘environmental’ challenges on genome flexibility are discussed. (author)

  7. Metal binding proteins, recombinant host cells and methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Summers, Anne O.; Caguiat, Jonathan J.

    2004-06-15

    The present disclosure provides artificial heavy metal binding proteins termed chelons by the inventors. These chelons bind cadmium and/or mercuric ions with relatively high affinity. Also disclosed are coding sequences, recombinant DNA molecules and recombinant host cells comprising those recombinant DNA molecules for expression of the chelon proteins. In the recombinant host cells or transgenic plants, the chelons can be used to bind heavy metals taken up from contaminated soil, groundwater or irrigation water and to concentrate and sequester those ions. Recombinant enteric bacteria can be used within the gastrointestinal tracts of animals or humans exposed to toxic metal ions such as mercury and/or cadmium, where the chelon recombinantly expressed in chosen in accordance with the ion to be rededicated. Alternatively, the chelons can be immobilized to solid supports to bind and concentrate heavy metals from a contaminated aqueous medium including biological fluids.

  8. Recombinant human IGF-1 produced by transgenic plant cell suspension culture enhances new bone formation in calvarial defects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poudel, Sher Bahadur; Bhattarai, Govinda; Kook, Sung-Ho; Shin, Yun-Ji; Kwon, Tae-Ho; Lee, Seung-Youp; Lee, Jeong-Chae

    2017-10-01

    Transgenic plant cell suspension culture systems have been utilized extensively as convenient and efficient expression systems for the production of recombinant human growth factors. We produced insulin-like growth factor-1 using a plant suspension culture system (p-IGF-1) and explored its effect on new bone formation in calvarial defects. We also compared the bone regenerating potential of p-IGF-1 with commercial IGF-1 derived from Escherichia coli (e-IGF-1). Male C57BL/6 mice underwent calvarial defect surgery, and the defects were loaded with absorbable collagen sponge (ACS) only (ACS group) or ACS impregnated with 13μg of p-IGF-1 (p-IGF-1 group) or e-IGF-1 (e-IGF-1 group). The sham group did not receive any treatment with ACS or IGFs after surgery. Live μCT and histological analyses showed critical-sized bone defects in the sham group, whereas greater bone formation was observed in the p-IGF-1 and e-IGF-1 groups than the ACS group both 5 and 10weeks after surgery. Bone mineral density, bone volume, and bone surface values were also higher in the IGF groups than in the ACS group. Local delivery of p-IGF-1 or e-IGF-1 more greatly enhanced the expression of osteoblast-specific markers, but inhibited osteoclast formation, in newly formed bone compared with ACS control group. Specifically, p-IGF-1 treatment induced higher expression of alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and osteopontin in the defect site than did e-IGF-1. Furthermore, treatment with p-IGF-1, but not e-IGF-1, increased mineralization of MC3T3-E1 cells, with the attendant upregulation of osteogenic marker genes. Collectively, our findings suggest the potential of p-IGF-1 in promoting the processes required for bone regeneration. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  9. Gene and process level modulation to overcome the bottlenecks of recombinant proteins expression in Pichia pastoris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prabhu, Ashish A; Boro, Bibari; Bharali, Biju; Chakraborty, Shuchishloka; Dasu, V Venkata

    2018-03-28

    Process development involving system metabolic engineering and bioprocess engineering has become one of the major thrust for the development of therapeutic proteins or enzymes. Pichia pastoris has emerged as a prominent host for the production of therapeutic protein or enzymes. Despite of producing high protein titers, various cellular and process level bottlenecks hinders the expression of recombinant proteins in P. pastoris. In the present review, we have summarized the recent developments in the expression of foreign proteins in P. pastoris. Further, we have discussed various cellular engineering strategies which include codon optimization, pathway engineering, signal peptide processing, development of protease deficient strain and glyco-engineered strains for the high yield protein secretion of recombinant protein. Bioprocess development of recombinant proteins in large scale bioreactor including medium optimization, optimum feeding strategy and co-substrate feeding in fed batch as well as continuous cultivation have been described. The recent advances in system and synthetic biology studies including metabolic flux analysis in understanding the phenotypic characteristics of recombinant Pichia and genome editing with CRISPR-CAS system have also been summarized. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  10. Biotransformation of rutin to isoquercitrin using recombinant α-L-rhamnosidase from Bifidobacterium breve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ru; Zhang, Bian-Ling; Xie, Tao; Li, Gu-Cai; Tuo, Yi; Xiang, Yu-Ting

    2015-06-01

    To biotransform rutin into isoquercitrin. A α-L-rhamnosidase from Bifidobacterium breve was produced by using Escherichia coli BL21 for biotransformation of rutin to isoquercitrin. The enzyme was purified by Ni(2+)-NTA chromatography to yield a soluble protein with a specific activity of 56 U protein mg(-1). The maximum enzyme activities were at pH 6.5, 55 °C, 20 mM rutin, and 1.2 U enzyme ml(-1). Under optimal conditions, the half-life of the enzyme was 96 h. The K m and V max values were 2.2 mM, 56.4 μmol mg(-1) min(-1) and 2.1 mM, 57.5 μmol mg(-1) min(-1) using pNP-Rha and rutin as substrates, respectively. The kinetic behavior indicated that the recombinant α-L-rhamnosidase has good catalytic performance for producing isoquercitrin. 20 mM rutin was biotransformed into 18.25 and 19.87 mM isoquercitrin after 60 and 240 min. The specific biotransformation of rutin to isoquercitrin using recombinant α-L-rhamnosidase from B. breve is a feasible method for use in industrial processes.

  11. Fast and easy protocol for the purification of recombinant S-layer protein for synthetic biology applications

    KAUST Repository

    Norville, Julie E.

    2011-06-17

    A goal of synthetic biology is to make biological systems easier to engineer. One of the aims is to design, with nanometer-scale precision, biomaterials with well-defined properties. The surface-layer protein SbpA forms 2D arrays naturally on the cell surface of Lysinibacillus sphaericus, but also as the purified protein in solution upon the addition of divalent cations. The high propensity of SbpA to form crystalline arrays, which can be simply controlled by divalent cations, and the possibility to genetically alter the protein, make SbpA an attractive molecule for synthetic biology. To be a useful tool, however, it is important that a simple protocol can be used to produce recombinant wild-type and modified SbpA in large quantities and in a biologically active form. The present study addresses this requirement by introducing a mild and non-denaturing purification protocol to produce milligram quantities of recombinant, active SbpA.

  12. Evidence for repair of ultraviolet light-damaged herpes virus in human fibroblasts by a recombination mechanism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hall, J.D.; Featherston, J.D.; Almy, R.E.

    1980-01-01

    Human cells were either singly or multiply infected with herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) damaged by ultraviolet (uv) light, and the fraction of cells able to produce infectious virus was measured. The fraction of virus-producing cells was considerably greater for multiply infected cells than for singly infected cells at each uv dose examined. These high survival levels of uv-irradiated virus in multiply infected cells demonstrated that multiplicity-dependent repair, possibly due to genetic exchanges between damaged HSV-1 genomes, was occurring in these cells. To test whether uv light is recombinogenic for HSV-1, the effect of uv irradiation on the yield of temperature-resistant viral recombinants in cells infected with pairs of temperature-sensitive mutants was also investigated. The results of these experiments showed that the defective functions in these mutant host cells are not required for multiplicity-dependent repair or uv-stimulated viral recombination in herpes-infected cells

  13. Frequent intra-subtype recombination among HIV-1 circulating in Tanzania.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ireen E Kiwelu

    Full Text Available The study estimated the prevalence of HIV-1 intra-subtype recombinant variants among female bar and hotel workers in Tanzania. While intra-subtype recombination occurs in HIV-1, it is generally underestimated. HIV-1 env gp120 V1-C5 quasispecies from 45 subjects were generated by single-genome amplification and sequencing (median (IQR of 38 (28-50 sequences per subject. Recombination analysis was performed using seven methods implemented within the recombination detection program version 3, RDP3. HIV-1 sequences were considered recombinant if recombination signals were detected by at least three methods with p-values of ≤0.05 after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. HIV-1 in 38 (84% subjects showed evidence for intra-subtype recombination including 22 with HIV-1 subtype A1, 13 with HIV-1 subtype C, and 3 with HIV-1 subtype D. The distribution of intra-patient recombination breakpoints suggested ongoing recombination and showed selective enrichment of recombinant variants in 23 (60% subjects. The number of subjects with evidence of intra-subtype recombination increased from 29 (69% to 36 (82% over one year of follow-up, although the increase did not reach statistical significance. Adjustment for intra-subtype recombination is important for the analysis of multiplicity of HIV infection. This is the first report of high prevalence of intra-subtype recombination in the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Tanzania, a region where multiple HIV-1 subtypes co-circulate. HIV-1 intra-subtype recombination increases viral diversity and presents additional challenges for HIV-1 vaccine design.

  14. Poliovirus Polymerase Leu420 Facilitates RNA Recombination and Ribavirin Resistance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kempf, Brian J.; Peersen, Olve B.

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT RNA recombination is important in the formation of picornavirus species groups and the ongoing evolution of viruses within species groups. In this study, we examined the structure and function of poliovirus polymerase, 3Dpol, as it relates to RNA recombination. Recombination occurs when nascent RNA products exchange one viral RNA template for another during RNA replication. Because recombination is a natural aspect of picornavirus replication, we hypothesized that some features of 3Dpol may exist, in part, to facilitate RNA recombination. Furthermore, we reasoned that alanine substitution mutations that disrupt 3Dpol-RNA interactions within the polymerase elongation complex might increase and/or decrease the magnitudes of recombination. We found that an L420A mutation in 3Dpol decreased the frequency of RNA recombination, whereas alanine substitutions at other sites in 3Dpol increased the frequency of recombination. The 3Dpol Leu420 side chain interacts with a ribose in the nascent RNA product 3 nucleotides from the active site of the polymerase. Notably, the L420A mutation that reduced recombination also rendered the virus more susceptible to inhibition by ribavirin, coincident with the accumulation of ribavirin-induced G→A and C→U mutations in viral RNA. We conclude that 3Dpol Leu420 is critically important for RNA recombination and that RNA recombination contributes to ribavirin resistance. IMPORTANCE Recombination contributes to the formation of picornavirus species groups and the emergence of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs). The recombinant viruses that arise in nature are occasionally more fit than either parental strain, especially when the two partners in recombination are closely related, i.e., members of characteristic species groups, such as enterovirus species groups A to H or rhinovirus species groups A to C. Our study shows that RNA recombination requires conserved features of the viral polymerase. Furthermore, a

  15. Genome-wide recombination dynamics are associated with phenotypic variation in maize.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Qingchun; Li, Lin; Yang, Xiaohong; Tong, Hao; Xu, Shutu; Li, Zhigang; Li, Weiya; Muehlbauer, Gary J; Li, Jiansheng; Yan, Jianbing

    2016-05-01

    Meiotic recombination is a major driver of genetic diversity, species evolution, and agricultural improvement. Thus, an understanding of the genetic recombination landscape across the maize (Zea mays) genome will provide insight and tools for further study of maize evolution and improvement. Here, we used c. 50 000 single nucleotide polymorphisms to precisely map recombination events in 12 artificial maize segregating populations. We observed substantial variation in the recombination frequency and distribution along the ten maize chromosomes among the 12 populations and identified 143 recombination hot regions. Recombination breakpoints were partitioned into intragenic and intergenic events. Interestingly, an increase in the number of genes containing recombination events was accompanied by a decrease in the number of recombination events per gene. This kept the overall number of intragenic recombination events nearly invariable in a given population, suggesting that the recombination variation observed among populations was largely attributed to intergenic recombination. However, significant associations between intragenic recombination events and variation in gene expression and agronomic traits were observed, suggesting potential roles for intragenic recombination in plant phenotypic diversity. Our results provide a comprehensive view of the maize recombination landscape, and show an association between recombination, gene expression and phenotypic variation, which may enhance crop genetic improvement. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

  16. Effects of UV radiation on genetic recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vlahovic, K.; Zahradka, D.; Petranovic, M.; Petranovic, D.

    1996-01-01

    We have used the model consisting of Escherichia coli cells and l phage to study the effects of UV radiation on genetic recombination. We found two radiation induced processes that reduce or inhibit genetic recombination. One such process leads to the inability of prophage to excise itself from the irradiated bacterial chromosome by the site-specific recombination. The other process was shown to inhibit a type of general recombination by which the prophage transfers one of its genetic markers to the infecting homologous phage. Loss of the prophage ability to take part in both site-specific and general recombination was shown to develop in recB + but not in recB cells. From this we infer that the loss of prophage recombinogenicity in irradiated cells is a consequence of one process in which RecBCD enzyme (the product of recB, recC and recD genes) plays an essential role. (author)

  17. Temporally-controlled site-specific recombination in zebrafish.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Hans

    Full Text Available Conventional use of the site-specific recombinase Cre is a powerful technology in mouse, but almost absent in other vertebrate model organisms. In zebrafish, Cre-mediated recombination efficiency was previously very low. Here we show that using transposon-mediated transgenesis, Cre is in fact highly efficient in this organism. Furthermore, temporal control of recombination can be achieved by using the ligand-inducible CreER(T2. Site-specific recombination only occurs upon administration of the drug tamoxifen (TAM or its active metabolite, 4-hydroxy-tamoxifen (4-OHT. Cre-mediated recombination is detectable already 4 or 2 hours after administration of TAM or 4-OHT, demonstrating fast recombination kinetics. In addition, low doses of TAM allow mosaic labeling of single cells. Combined, our results show that conditional Cre/lox will be a valuable tool for both, embryonic and adult zebrafish studies. Furthermore, single copy insertion transgenesis of Cre/lox constructs suggest a strategy suitable also for other organisms.

  18. Algae-based oral recombinant vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Specht, Elizabeth A.; Mayfield, Stephen P.

    2014-01-01

    Recombinant subunit vaccines are some of the safest and most effective vaccines available, but their high cost and the requirement of advanced medical infrastructure for administration make them impractical for many developing world diseases. Plant-based vaccines have shifted that paradigm by paving the way for recombinant vaccine production at agricultural scale using an edible host. However, enthusiasm for “molecular pharming” in food crops has waned in the last decade due to difficulty in developing transgenic crop plants and concerns of contaminating the food supply. Microalgae could be poised to become the next candidate in recombinant subunit vaccine production, as they present several advantages over terrestrial crop plant-based platforms including scalable and contained growth, rapid transformation, easily obtained stable cell lines, and consistent transgene expression levels. Algae have been shown to accumulate and properly fold several vaccine antigens, and efforts are underway to create recombinant algal fusion proteins that can enhance antigenicity for effective orally delivered vaccines. These approaches have the potential to revolutionize the way subunit vaccines are made and delivered – from costly parenteral administration of purified protein, to an inexpensive oral algae tablet with effective mucosal and systemic immune reactivity. PMID:24596570

  19. Recombination in hepatitis C virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Candelas, Fernando; López-Labrador, F Xavier; Bracho, María Alma

    2011-10-01

    Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a Flavivirus with a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA genome of about 9,600 nucleotides. It is a major cause of liver disease, infecting almost 200 million people all over the world. Similarly to most RNA viruses, HCV displays very high levels of genetic diversity which have been used to differentiate six major genotypes and about 80 subtypes. Although the different genotypes and subtypes share basic biological and pathogenic features they differ in clinical outcomes, response to treatment and epidemiology. The first HCV recombinant strain, in which different genome segments derived from parentals of different genotypes, was described in St. Petersburg (Russia) in 2002. Since then, there have been only a few more than a dozen reports including descriptions of HCV recombinants at all levels: between genotypes, between subtypes of the same genotype and even between strains of the same subtype. Here, we review the literature considering the reasons underlying the difficulties for unequivocally establishing recombination in this virus along with the analytical methods necessary to do it. Finally, we analyze the potential consequences, especially in clinical practice, of HCV recombination in light of the coming new therapeutic approaches against this virus.

  20. Algae-based oral recombinant vaccines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth A Specht

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Recombinant subunit vaccines are some of the safest and most effective vaccines available, but their high cost and the requirement of advanced medical infrastructure for administration make them impractical for many developing world diseases. Plant-based vaccines have shifted that paradigm by paving the way for recombinant vaccine production at agricultural scale using an edible host. However, enthusiasm for molecular pharming in food crops has waned in the last decade due to difficulty in developing transgenic crop plants and concerns of contaminating the food supply. Microalgae are poised to become the next candidate in recombinant subunit vaccine production, and they present several advantages over terrestrial crop plant-based platforms including scalable and contained growth, rapid transformation, easily obtained stable cell lines, and consistent transgene expression levels. Algae have been shown to accumulate and properly fold several vaccine antigens, and efforts are underway to create recombinant algal fusion proteins that can enhance antigenicity for effective orally-delivered vaccines. These approaches have the potential to revolutionize the way subunit vaccines are made and delivered – from costly parenteral administration of purified protein, to an inexpensive oral algae tablet with effective mucosal and system immune reactivity.

  1. Identification of Glomerella cingulata f. sp phaseoli recombinants by RAPD markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camargo, O A; Souza, E A; Mendes-Costa, M C; Santos, J B; Soares, M A

    2007-09-30

    We examined the capacity of strains of Glomerella cingulata f. sp phaseoli fungus (Colletotrichum lindemuthianum sexual stage) to form recombinants, using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Crosses of all possible combinations between strains 40, 42, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 were made on Petri dishes using M3 culture medium. The 42 x 21 cross produced the largest number of perithecia and five asci; the respective ascospores were isolated. RAPD analysis was performed on the parents and descendants. The 62 polymorphic RAPD bands obtained were used to assess the genetic similarity using the method of Sorence and Dice and clustering analysis in the form of a dendrogram by the UPGMA method. The RAPD markers allowed identification of recombinants from the cross between strains 42 and 21 of G. cingulata f. sp phaseoli and 40 ascospores presented 63 and 49% genetic similarity with parents 2 (strain 42) and 1 (strain 21), respectively.

  2. Fed batch fermentation scale up in the production of recombinant streptokinase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Salvador Losada-Nerey

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the high international demand of the recombinant streptokinase (Skr produced at the National Center for Bioproducts (BioCen, it was necessary to increase the production capacity of the drug, since the current production volume does not cover the demand. A scale up of the process of fermentation of the recombinant streptokinase was made using a fed batch culture, from the bank scale towards a 300L fermenter. The scaling criteria used were: the intensive variables of the process, the relationships of volumes of the fermentation medium and inoculum, the volumetric coefficient of oxygen transfer and air volume to liquid flow relationship which were kept constant. With this scale up procedure it was possible to reproduce the results obtained at the bank scale of and to double the biomass production volume with the same equipment, fulfilling all the quality requirements of the product and to cover the current demand of the market. Techno-economic indicators demonstrated the feasibility of this option.

  3. Enhanced defects recombination in ion irradiated SiC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Izzo, G.; Litrico, G.; Grassia, F.; Calcagno, L.; Foti, G.

    2010-01-01

    Point defects induced in SiC by ion irradiation show a recombination at temperatures as low as 320 K and this process is enhanced after running current density ranging from 80 to 120 A/cm 2 . Ion irradiation induces in SiC the formation of different defect levels and low-temperature annealing changes their concentration. Some levels (S 0 , S x and S 2 ) show a recombination and simultaneously a new level (S 1 ) is formed. An enhanced recombination of defects is besides observed after running current in the diode at room temperature. The carriers introduction reduces the S 2 trap concentration, while the remaining levels are not modified. The recombination is negligible up to a current density of 50 A/cm 2 and increases at higher current density. The enhanced recombination of the S 2 trap occurs at 300 K, which otherwise requires a 400 K annealing temperature. The process can be related to the electron-hole recombination at the associated defect.

  4. PROGENITORS OF RECOMBINING SUPERNOVA REMNANTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moriya, Takashi J., E-mail: takashi.moriya@ipmu.jp [Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, University of Tokyo, Kashiwanoha 5-1-5, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583 (Japan)

    2012-05-01

    Usual supernova remnants have either ionizing plasma or plasma in collisional ionization equilibrium, i.e., the ionization temperature is lower than or equal to the electron temperature. However, the existence of recombining supernova remnants, i.e., supernova remnants with ionization temperature higher than the electron temperature, has been recently confirmed. One suggested way to have recombining plasma in a supernova remnant is to have a dense circumstellar medium at the time of the supernova explosion. If the circumstellar medium is dense enough, collisional ionization equilibrium can be established in the early stage of the evolution of the supernova remnant and subsequent adiabatic cooling, which occurs after the shock wave gets out of the dense circumstellar medium, makes the electron temperature lower than the ionization temperature. We study the circumstellar medium around several supernova progenitors and show which supernova progenitors can have a circumstellar medium dense enough to establish collisional ionization equilibrium soon after the explosion. We find that the circumstellar medium around red supergiants (especially massive ones) and the circumstellar medium dense enough to make Type IIn supernovae can establish collisional ionization equilibrium soon after the explosion and can evolve to become recombining supernova remnants. Wolf-Rayet stars and white dwarfs have the possibility to be recombining supernova remnants but the fraction is expected to be very small. As the occurrence rate of the explosions of red supergiants is much higher than that of Type IIn supernovae, the major progenitors of recombining supernova remnants are likely to be red supergiants.

  5. Measurement of Debye length in laser-produced plasma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehler, W.

    1973-01-01

    The Debye length of an expanded plasma created by placing an evacuated chamber with an entrance slit in the path of a freely expanding laser produced plasma was measured, using the slab geometry. An independent measurement of electron density together with the observed value for the Debye length also provided a means for evaluating the plasma electron temperature. This temperature has applications in ascertaining plasma conductivity and magnetic field necessary for confinement of the laser produced plasma. Also, the temperature obtained would be useful in analyzing electron-ion recombination rates in the expanded plasma and the dynamics of the cooling process of the plasma expansion.

  6. Dissociation of recombinant prion autocatalysis from infectivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noble, Geoffrey P; Supattapone, Surachai

    2015-01-01

    Within the mammalian prion field, the existence of recombinant prion protein (PrP) conformers with self-replicating (ie. autocatalytic) activity in vitro but little to no infectious activity in vivo challenges a key prediction of the protein-only hypothesis of prion replication--that autocatalytic PrP conformers should be infectious. To understand this dissociation of autocatalysis from infectivity, we recently performed a structural and functional comparison between a highly infectious and non-infectious pair of autocatalytic recombinant PrP conformers derived from the same initial prion strain. (1) We identified restricted, C-terminal structural differences between these 2 conformers and provided evidence that these relatively subtle differences prevent the non-infectious conformer from templating the conversion of native PrP(C) substrates containing a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. (1) In this article we discuss a model, consistent with these findings, in which recombinant PrP, lacking post-translational modifications and associated folding constraints, is capable of adopting a wide variety of autocatalytic conformations. Only a subset of these recombinant conformers can be adopted by post-translationally modified native PrP(C), and this subset represents the recombinant conformers with high specific infectivity. We examine this model's implications for the generation of highly infectious recombinant prions and the protein-only hypothesis of prion replication.

  7. Lipase production by recombinant strains of Aspergillus niger expressing a lipase-encoding gene from Thermomyces lanuginosus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Prathumpai, Wai; Flitter, S.J.; Mcintyre, Mhairi

    2004-01-01

    Two recombinant strains of Aspergillus niger (NW 297-14 and NW297-24) producing a heterologous lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus were constructed. The heterologous lipase was expressed using the TAKA amylase promoter from Aspergillus oryzae. The production kinetics of the two strains on different...... shows that it is possible to obtain high productivities of heterologous fungal enzymes in A. niger. However, SDS-PAGE analysis showed that most of the produced lipase was bound to the cell wall....

  8. Resistance to radiation, recombination, repair of DNA and chromosome organisation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fletcher, H L [East Anglia Univ., Norwich (UK). School of Biological Sciences

    1981-01-01

    The model advanced here proposes that death is caused by destructive lesions, mainly double-strand breaks, in all the inter-repairable copies so close together that recombination repair cannot function. Death is related to the exponential of dose where r is the number of copies of the genome. A graph of ln(-ln survival) against ln dose is used to produce a linear dose-survival relationship, the slope of which gives the number of inter-repairable copies of the genome (= number of hits per lethal event). In Ustilago maydis it seems that unless all the chromatids are broken within a few thousand base pairs all ds breaks are repaired. The size of this critical target is similar to the size of a gene. Meiotic pairing in fungi starts outside the genes, and it is therefore suggested that specific pairing sites between genes define the ends of the targets. The model also describes the radiation-induced death of Micrococcus radiodurans and Sacchromyces cerevisiae. Cultured mammalian cells also show a linear ln(-ln survival)/ln dose relationship with a slope of 1.5 showing that both 1st and 2nd order killing occured. Sublethal radiation induces recombination in heterozygous diploid U. maydis proportional to the square of the dose. Sister-chromatid repair is preferred. Polyploid yeast can only use pairs of chromosomes for repair, showing that chromosome pairing is required for recombination repair, and mitotic pairing is restricted to bivalents in the same way that meiotic pairing is.

  9. Recombinant chromosome 7 in a mosaic 45,X/47,XXX patient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tirado, Carlos A; Gotway, Garrett; Torgbe, Emmanuel; Iyer, Santha; Dallaire, Stephanie; Appleberry, Taylor; Suterwala, Mohamed; Garcia, Rolando; Valdez, Federico; Patel, Sangeeta; Koduru, Prasad

    2012-01-01

    Individuals with pericentric inversions are at risk for producing offspring with chromosomal gains and losses, while those carrying paracentric inversions usually produce unviable gametes [Madan, 1995]. In this current study, we present a newborn with dysmorphic features and malformations, whose karyotype showed an abnormal copy of chromomosome 7 described at first as add(7)(q32) as well as mos 45,X/47,XXX. Array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) revealed an interstitial deletion in the long arm of chromosome 7 involving bands q35 to q36.3 but retaining the 7q subtelomere. The patient's deletion is believed to be due to meiotic recombination in the inversion loop in the phenotypically normal father who seems to carry two paracentric inversions in the long arm of chromosome 7, which was described as rec(7)(7pter- > q35::q36.3- > 7qter)pat. The abnormal copy of chromosome 7 in the father has been described as: der(7)(7pter- > q22.1::q36.3- > q35::q22.1- > q35::q36.3- > 7qter). This is a unique karyotype that to our knowledge has not been previously reported in the literature and predisposes to meiotic recombination that can result in deletions or duplications of 7q35-36. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. A novel genetic system for recombinant protein secretion in the Antarctic Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marino Gennaro

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The final aim of recombinant protein production is both to have a high specific production rate and a high product quality. It was already shown that using cold-adapted bacteria as host vectors, some "intractable" proteins can be efficiently produced at temperature as low as 4°C. Results A novel genetic system for the production and secretion of recombinant proteins in the Antarctic Gram-negative bacterium Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125 was set up. This system aims at combining the low temperature recombinant product production with the advantages of extra-cellular protein targeting. The psychrophilic α-amylase from Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAB23 was used as secretion carrier. Three chimerical proteins were produced by fusing intra-cellular proteins to C-terminus of the psychrophilic α-amylase and their secretion was analysed. Data reported in this paper demonstrate that all tested chimeras were translocated with a secretion yield always higher than 80%. Conclusion Data presented here demonstrate that the "cold" gene-expression system is efficient since the secretion yield of tested chimeras is always above 80%. These secretion performances place the α-amylase derived secretion system amongst the best heterologous secretion systems in Gram-negative bacteria reported so far. As for the quality of the secreted passenger proteins, data presented suggest that the system also allows the correct disulphide bond formation of chimera components, secreting a fully active passenger.

  11. Genome-scale metabolic model of Pichia pastoris with native and humanized glycosylation of recombinant proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irani, Zahra Azimzadeh; Kerkhoven, Eduard J; Shojaosadati, Seyed Abbas; Nielsen, Jens

    2016-05-01

    Pichia pastoris is used for commercial production of human therapeutic proteins, and genome-scale models of P. pastoris metabolism have been generated in the past to study the metabolism and associated protein production by this yeast. A major challenge with clinical usage of recombinant proteins produced by P. pastoris is the difference in N-glycosylation of proteins produced by humans and this yeast. However, through metabolic engineering, a P. pastoris strain capable of producing humanized N-glycosylated proteins was constructed. The current genome-scale models of P. pastoris do not address native nor humanized N-glycosylation, and we therefore developed ihGlycopastoris, an extension to the iLC915 model with both native and humanized N-glycosylation for recombinant protein production, but also an estimation of N-glycosylation of P. pastoris native proteins. This new model gives a better prediction of protein yield, demonstrates the effect of the different types of N-glycosylation of protein yield, and can be used to predict potential targets for strain improvement. The model represents a step towards a more complete description of protein production in P. pastoris, which is required for using these models to understand and optimize protein production processes. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Succinic acid production from xylose mother liquor by recombinant Escherichia coli strain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Honghui; Pan, Jiachuan; Wang, Jing; Wang, Nan; Zhang, Jie; Li, Qiang; Wang, Dan; Zhou, Xiaohua

    2014-11-02

    Succinic acid (1,4-butanedioic acid) is identified as one of important building-block chemicals. Xylose mother liquor is an abundant industrial residue in xylitol biorefining industry. In this study, xylose mother liquor was utilized to produce succinic acid by recombinant Escherichia coli strain SD121, and the response surface methodology was used to optimize the fermentation media. The optimal conditions of succinic acid fermentation were as follows: 82.62 g L -1 total initial sugars, 42.27 g L -1 MgCO 3 and 17.84 g L -1 yeast extract. The maximum production of succinic acid was 52.09 ± 0.21 g L -1 after 84 h with a yield of 0.63 ± 0.03 g g -1 total sugar, approaching the predicted value (53.18 g L -1 ). It was 1.78-fold of the production of that obtained with the basic medium. This was the first report on succinic acid production from xylose mother liquor by recombinant E. coli strains with media optimization using response surface methodology. This work suggested that the xylose mother liquor could be an alternative substrate for the economical production of succinic acid by recombinant E. coli strains.

  13. Recombinant human acetylcholine receptor alpha-subunit induces chronic experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lennon, V A; Lambert, E H; Leiby, K R; Okarma, T B; Talib, S

    1991-04-01

    A synthetic gene encoding the 210 N-terminal residues of the alpha-subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) of human skeletal muscle was cloned into an inducible expression plasmid to produce a fusion protein in high yield in Escherichia coli. Like native human AChR, the recombinant human alpha 1-210 protein induced AChR-binding, AChR-modulating, and AChR-blocking autoantibodies in rats when injected once intradermally as an emulsion in CFA, with Bordetella pertussis vaccine as supplementary adjuvant. The minimum dose of recombinant protein required to induce biochemical signs of experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) with 100% incidence was 2.2 micrograms. With 6.6 to 22 micrograms, serum levels of autoantibodies were persistent, and clinically apparent EAMG lasted more than a month. Clinical, electrophysiological, and biochemical indices of EAMG induced by doses of 66 micrograms or more were more uniformly severe and persistent, with 33% fatality. Rats receiving a control extract of E. coli containing plasmid without the alpha 1-210 codon insert, with adjuvants, did not develop autoantibodies or signs of EAMG. This highly reproducible new model of EAMG induced by a recombinant human autoantigen should be valuable for testing Ag-specific immunotherapeutic strategies that might be applicable to treating acquired myasthenia gravis in humans.

  14. Vaccine development against the Taenia solium parasite: the role of recombinant protein expression in Escherichia coli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gauci, Charles; Jayashi, César; Lightowlers, Marshall W

    2013-01-01

    Taenia solium is a zoonotic parasite that causes cysticercosis. The parasite is a major cause of human disease in impoverished communities where it is transmitted to humans from pigs which act as intermediate hosts. Vaccination of pigs to prevent transmission of T. solium to humans is an approach that has been investigated to control the disease. A recombinant vaccine antigen, TSOL18, has been remarkably successful at reducing infection of pigs with T. solium in several experimental challenge trials. The vaccine has been shown to eliminate transmission of naturally acquired T. solium in a field trial conducted in Africa. We recently reported that the vaccine was also effective in a field trial conducted in Peru. The TSOL18 recombinant antigen for each of these trials has been produced by expression in Escherichia coli. Here we discuss research that has been undertaken on the TSOL18 antigen and related antigens with a focus on improved methods of preparation of recombinant TSOL18 and optimized expression in Escherichia coli.

  15. Roles of silkworm endoplasmic reticulum chaperones in the secretion of recombinant proteins expressed by baculovirus system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imai, Saki; Kusakabe, Takahiro; Xu, Jian; Li, Zhiqing; Shirai, Shintaro; Mon, Hiroaki; Morokuma, Daisuke; Lee, Jae Man

    2015-11-01

    Baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) is widely used for production of recombinant eukaryotic proteins in insect larvae or cultured cells. BEVS has advantages over bacterial expression system in producing post-translationally modified secreted proteins. However, for some unknown reason, it is very difficult for insects to secrete sufficiently for certain proteins of interest. To understand the reasons why insect cells fail to secrete some kinds of recombinant proteins, we here employed three mammalian proteins as targets, EPO, HGF, and Wnt3A, with different secretion levels in BEVS and investigated their mRNA transcriptions from the viral genome, subcellular localizations, and interactions with silkworm ER chaperones. Moreover, we observed that no significantly influence on the secretion amounts of all three proteins when depleting or overexpressing most endogenous ER chaperone genes in cultured silkworm cells. However, among all detected ER chaperones, the depletion of BiP severely decreased the recombinant protein secretion in BEVS, indicating the possible central role of Bip in silkworm secretion pathway.

  16. On the mutagenicity of homologous recombination and double-strand break repair in bacteriophage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shcherbakov, Victor P; Plugina, Lidiya; Shcherbakova, Tamara; Sizova, Svetlana; Kudryashova, Elena

    2011-01-02

    The double-strand break (DSB) repair via homologous recombination is generally construed as a high-fidelity process. However, some molecular genetic observations show that the recombination and the recombinational DSB repair may be mutagenic and even highly mutagenic. Here we developed an effective and precise method for studying the fidelity of DSB repair in vivo by combining DSBs produced site-specifically by the SegC endonuclease with the famous advantages of the recombination analysis of bacteriophage T4 rII mutants. The method is based on the comparison of the rate of reversion of rII mutation in the presence and in the absence of a DSB repair event initiated in the proximity of the mutation. We observed that DSB repair may moderately (up to 6-fold) increase the apparent reversion frequency, the effect of being dependent on the mutation structure. We also studied the effect of the T4 recombinase deficiency (amber mutation in the uvsX gene) on the fidelity of DSB repair. We observed that DSBs are still repaired via homologous recombination in the uvsX mutants, and the apparent fidelity of this repair is higher than that seen in the wild-type background. The mutator effect of the DSB repair may look unexpected given that most of the normal DNA synthesis in bacteriophage T4 is performed via a recombination-dependent replication (RDR) pathway, which is thought to be indistinguishable from DSB repair. There are three possible explanations for the observed mutagenicity of DSB repair: (1) the origin-dependent (early) DNA replication may be more accurate than the RDR; (2) the step of replication initiation may be more mutagenic than the process of elongation; and (3) the apparent mutagenicity may just reflect some non-randomness in the pool of replicating DNA, i.e., preferential replication of the sequences already involved in replication. We discuss the DSB repair pathway in the absence of UvsX recombinase. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Deleting multiple lytic genes enhances biomass yield and production of recombinant proteins by Bacillus subtilis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yi; Chen, Zhenmin; Zhao, Ruili; Jin, Tingting; Zhang, Xiaoming; Chen, Xiangdong

    2014-08-31

    Bacillus subtilis is widely used in agriculture and industrial biotechnology; however, cell autolysis significantly decreases its yield in liquid cultures. Numerous factors mediate the lysis of B. subtilis, such as cannibalism factors, prophages, and peptidoglycan (PG) hydrolases. The aim of this work was to use molecular genetic techniques to develop a new strategy to prevent cell lysis and enhance biomass as well as the production of recombinant proteins. Five genes or genetic elements representing three different functional categories were studied as follows: lytC encoding PG hydrolases, the prophage genes xpf and yqxG-yqxH-cwlA (yGlA), and skfA and sdpC that encode cannibalism factors. Cell lysis was reduced and biomass was enhanced by deleting individually skfA, sdpC, xpf, and lytC. We constructed the multiple deletion mutant LM2531 (skfA sdpC lytC xpf) and found that after 4 h of culture, its biomass yield was significantly increased compared with that of prototypical B. subtilis 168 (wild-type) strain and that 15% and 92% of the cells were lysed in cultures of LM2531 and wild-type, respectively. Moreover, two expression vectors were constructed for producing recombinant proteins (β-galactosidase and nattokinase) under the control of the P43 promoter. Cultures of LM2531 and wild-type transformants produced 13741 U/ml and 7991 U/ml of intracellular β-galactosidase, respectively (1.72-fold increase). Further, the level of secreted nattokinase produced by strain LM2531 increased by 2.6-fold compared with wild-type (5226 IU/ml vs. 2028 IU/ml, respectively). Our novel, systematic multigene deletion approach designed to inhibit cell lysis significantly increased the biomass yield and the production of recombinant proteins by B. subtilis. These findings show promise for guiding efforts to manipulate the genomes of other B. subtilis strains that are used for industrial purposes.

  18. submitter Experimental investigation of ion–ion recombination under atmospheric conditions

    CERN Document Server

    Franchin, A; Leppä, J; Nieminen, T; Gagné, S; Schobesberger, S; Wimmer, D; Duplissy, J; Riccobono, F; Dunne, E M; Rondo, L; Downard, A; Bianchi, F; Kupc, A; Tsagkogeorgas, G; Lehtipalo, K; Manninen, H E; Almeida, J; Amorim, A; Wagner, P E; Hansel, A; Kirkby, J; Kürten, A; Donahue, N M; Makhmutov, V; Mathot, S; Metzger, A; Petäjä, T; Schnitzhofer, R; Sipilä, M; Stozhkov, Y; Tomé, A; Kerminen, V -M; Carslaw, K; Curtius, J; Baltensperger, U; Kulmala, M

    2015-01-01

    We present the results of laboratory measurements of the ion–ion recombination coefficient at different temperatures, relative humidities and concentrations of ozone and sulfur dioxide. The experiments were carried out using the Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets (CLOUD) chamber at CERN, the walls of which are made of conductive material, making it possible to measure small ions. We produced ions in the chamber using a 3.5 GeV $c^{−1}$ beam of positively charged pions $(π^+)$ generated by the CERN Proton Synchrotron (PS). When the PS was switched off, galactic cosmic rays were the only ionization source in the chamber. The range of the ion production rate varied from 2 to 100 $cm^{−3} s^{−1}$, covering the typical range of ionization throughout the troposphere. The temperature ranged from −55 to 20 °C, the relative humidity (RH) from 0 to 70 %, the SO2 concentration from 0 to 40 ppb, and the ozone concentration from 200 to 700 ppb. The best agreement of the retrieved ion–ion recombination coeffici...

  19. Recombiner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saalfrank, H.

    1985-01-01

    Air containing hydrogen can be oxidized by heating in a container called a recombiner, in order to avoid the collection of hydrogen. The container is long and a large number of straight heating bars are arranged in parallel in it and they are flanged to a lid. The heating bars are surrounded by tubes, in order to obtain good heat transfer by a narrow annular gap. (orig.) [de

  20. Anti-proliferative activity of recombinant melittin expressed in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Recombinant melittin was then successfully expressed in Escherichia coli. The activity of affinity-purified recombinant melittin was determined in human leukemic U937 cells. Results show that the recombinant melittin had the same anti-proliferative activity in human leukemic U937 cells in vitro as natural one. This shows the ...

  1. Recombinant human protein - new palette of drugs for the treatment of psoriasis

    OpenAIRE

    Kristl, Jernej

    2015-01-01

    Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory disease, which is estimated to affect 2,5% of the worldćs population. Clinically it is characterized by thickened, silvery white, scaly plaques, that can produce considerable discomfort and pain in patients. For the treatment of psoriasis are currently mainly used corticosteroids, vitamin D analogs, ultraviolet A radiation and retinoids, allof which are nonspecific and unable to block the outbreak of disease. Advances in recombinant DNA technology and incr...

  2. Live hot, die young: transmission distortion in recombination hotspots.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Graham Coop

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available There is strong evidence that hotspots of meiotic recombination in humans are transient features of the genome. For example, hotspot locations are not shared between human and chimpanzee. Biased gene conversion in favor of alleles that locally disrupt hotspots is a possible explanation of the short lifespan of hotspots. We investigate the implications of such a bias on human hotspots and their evolution. Our results demonstrate that gene conversion bias is a sufficiently strong force to produce the observed lack of sharing of intense hotspots between species, although sharing may be much more common for weaker hotspots. We investigate models of how hotspots arise, and find that only models in which hotspot alleles do not initially experience drive are consistent with observations of rather hot hotspots in the human genome. Mutations acting against drive cannot successfully introduce such hotspots into the population, even if there is direct selection for higher recombination rates, such as to ensure correct segregation during meiosis. We explore the impact of hotspot alleles on patterns of haplotype variation, and show that such alleles mask their presence in population genetic data, making them difficult to detect.

  3. Site directed recombination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurka, Jerzy W.

    1997-01-01

    Enhanced homologous recombination is obtained by employing a consensus sequence which has been found to be associated with integration of repeat sequences, such as Alu and ID. The consensus sequence or sequence having a single transition mutation determines one site of a double break which allows for high efficiency of integration at the site. By introducing single or double stranded DNA having the consensus sequence flanking region joined to a sequence of interest, one can reproducibly direct integration of the sequence of interest at one or a limited number of sites. In this way, specific sites can be identified and homologous recombination achieved at the site by employing a second flanking sequence associated with a sequence proximal to the 3'-nick.

  4. Recombination rate variation in mice from an isolated island.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Richard J; Gray, Melissa M; Parmenter, Michelle D; Broman, Karl W; Payseur, Bret A

    2017-01-01

    Recombination rate is a heritable trait that varies among individuals. Despite the major impact of recombination rate on patterns of genetic diversity and the efficacy of selection, natural variation in this phenotype remains poorly characterized. We present a comparison of genetic maps, sampling 1212 meioses, from a unique population of wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) that recently colonized remote Gough Island. Crosses to a mainland reference strain (WSB/EiJ) reveal pervasive variation in recombination rate among Gough Island mice, including subchromosomal intervals spanning up to 28% of the genome. In spite of this high level of polymorphism, the genomewide recombination rate does not significantly vary. In general, we find that recombination rate varies more when measured in smaller genomic intervals. Using the current standard genetic map of the laboratory mouse to polarize intervals with divergent recombination rates, we infer that the majority of evolutionary change occurred in one of the two tested lines of Gough Island mice. Our results confirm that natural populations harbour a high level of recombination rate polymorphism and highlight the disparities in recombination rate evolution across genomic scales. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Recombinant Nonstructural 3 Protein, rNS3, of Hepatitis C Virus Along With Recombinant GP96 Induce IL-12, TNFα and α5integrin Expression in Antigen Presenting Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajizadeh, Mohammad Reza; Mokarram, Pooneh; Kamali sarvestani, Eskandar; Bolhassani, Azam; Mostafavi Pour, Zohreh

    2013-01-01

    Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the main cause of chronic liver disease and to date there has been no vaccine development to prevent this infection. Among non-structural HCV proteins, NS3 protein is an excellent goal for a therapeutic vaccine, due to its large size and less variation in conserved regions. The immunogenic properties of heat shock proteins (HSPs) for instance GP96 have prompted investigations into their function as strong adjuvant to improve innate and adaptive immunity. Objectives The aim of this study was to examine additive effects of recombinant GP96 (rGP96) fragments accompanied by rNS3 on expression levels of α5integrin and pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-12 and TNFα, in Antigen Presenting Cells (APCs). Materials and Methods Recombinant viral proteins (rNS3 and rRGD-NS3), N-terminal and C-terminal fragments of GP96 were produced and purified from E. coli in order to treat the cells; mouse spleen Dendritic Cells (DCs) and THP-1 macrophages. Results Our results showed that rNT-GP96 alone significantly increases the expression level of IL-12, TNFα and α5integrin in THP-1 macrophages and DCs, while IL-12 and TNFα expression levels were unaffected by either rNS3 or rRGD-NS3. Interestingly, the co-addition of these recombinant proteins with rNT-GP96 increased IL-12, TNFα and α5integrin expression. Pearson Correlation showed a direct association between α5integrin with IL-12 and TNF-α expression. Conclusions we have highlighted the role of rNS3 plus rNT-GP96 mediated by α5integrin in producing IL-12 and TNFα. It can be suggested that rNT-GP96 could enhance immunity characteristic of rNS3 protein via production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. PMID:24032046

  6. Live recombinant BHV/BRSV vaccine

    OpenAIRE

    Keil, G.M.; Rijsewijk, F.A.M.

    1998-01-01

    The present invention refers to synthetic Bovine Respiratory Syncytium virus genes. Also the invention relates to live attenuated Bovine Herpesvirus recombinants carrying such synthetic genes. Furthermore, the invention relates to vaccines based on these live attenuated recombinants, for the protection of cattle against both Bovine herpesvirus infection and against Bovine Respiratory Syncytium virus infection. Also the invention relates to methods for the preparation of such live attenuated r...

  7. Recombinant snake venom prothrombin activators

    OpenAIRE

    L?vgren, Ann

    2012-01-01

    Three prothrombin activators; ecarin, which was originally isolated from the venom of the saw-scaled viper Echis carinatus, trocarin from the rough-scaled snake Tropidechis carinatus, and oscutarin from the Taipan snake Oxyuranus scutellatus, were expressed in mammalian cells with the purpose to obtain recombinant prothrombin activators that could be used to convert prothrombin to thrombin. We have previously reported that recombinant ecarin can efficiently generate thrombin without the need ...

  8. Electronic recombination in some physics problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guzman, O.

    1988-01-01

    This work is related to calculations of electronic recombination rates, as a function of electronic density, electronic temperature, and ion nuclear charge. Recombination times can be calculated and compared to cooling time, in cooling processes of ion beans by electrons from storage rings. (A.C.A.S.) [pt

  9. Use of a ring chromosome and pulsed-field gels to study interhomolog recombination, double-strand DNA breaks and sister-chromatid exchange in yeast

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Game, J.C.; Sitney, K.C.; Cook, V.E.; Mortimer, R.K.

    1989-01-01

    The authors describe a system that uses pulsed-field gels for the physical detection of recombinant DNA molecules, double-strand DNA breaks (DSB) and sister-chromatid exchange in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The system makes use of a circular variant of chromosome II (Chr. III). Meiotic recombination between this ring chromosome and a linear homolog produces new molecules of sizes distinguishable on gels from either parental molecule. They demonstrate that these recombinant molecules are not present either in strains with two linear Chr. III molecules or in rad50 mutants, which are defective in meiotic recombination. In conjunction with the molecular endpoints. They present data on the timing of commitment to meiotic recombination scored genetically. They have used x-rays to linearize circular Chr. III, both to develop a sensitive method for measuring frequency of DSB and as a means of detecting double-size circles originating in part from sister-chromatid exchange, which they find to be frequent during meiosis

  10. Expression and purification of recombinant hemoglobin in Escherichia coli

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Natarajan, Chandrasekhar; Jiang, Xiaoben; Fago, Angela

    2011-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Recombinant DNA technologies have played a pivotal role in the elucidation of structure-function relationships in hemoglobin (Hb) and other globin proteins. Here we describe the development of a plasmid expression system to synthesize recombinant Hbs in Escherichia coli, and we describe...... a protocol for expressing Hbs with low intrinsic solubilities. Since the alpha- and beta-chain Hbs of different species span a broad range of solubilities, experimental protocols that have been optimized for expressing recombinant human HbA may often prove unsuitable for the recombinant expression......-translational modifications. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our protocol should prove useful for the experimental study of recombinant Hbs in many non-human animals. One of the chief advantages of our protocol is that we can express soluble recombinant Hb without co-expressing molecular chaperones, and without the need...

  11. Production of recombinant proteins GST L1, E6 and E7 tag HPV 16 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In the present work recombinant proteins were produced for used in LUMINEX in order to undergo serological study of Tunisian female population. HPV types 16 L1, E6 and E7 sequences fused to their 3'-end to a sequence encoding the terminal undecapeptide of the SV40 large T-antigen (tag) were isolated from plasmids ...

  12. Construction of a recombinant Bacillus velezensis strain as an integrated control agent against plant diseases and insect pests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roh, Jong Yul; Liu, Qin; Choi, Jae Young; Wang, Yong; Shim, Hee Jin; Xu, Hong Guang; Choi, Gyung Ja; Kim, Jin-Cheol; Je, Yeon Ho

    2009-10-01

    To construct a new recombinant strain of Bacillus velezensis that has antifungal and insecticidal activity via the expression of the insecticidal Bacillus thuringiensis crystal protein, a B. thuringiensis expression vector (pHT1K-1Ac) was generated that contained the B. thuringiensis cry1Ac gene under the control of its endogenous promoter in a minimal E. coli-B. thuringiensis shuttle vector (pHT1K). This vector was introduced into a B. velezensis isolate that showed high antifungal activities against several plant diseases, including rice blast (Magnaporthe grisea), rice sheath blight (Rhizotonia solani), tomato gray mold (Botrytis cinerea), tomato late blight (Phytophthora infestans), and wheat leaf rust (Puccinia recondita), by electroporation. The recombinant B. velezensis strain was confirmed by PCR using cry1Ac-specific primers. Additionally, the recombinant strain produced a protein approximately 130 kDa in size and parasporal inclusion bodies similar to B. thuringiensis. The in vivo antifungal activity assay demonstrated that the activity of the recombinant B. velezensis strain was maintained at the same level as that of wild-type B. velezensis. Furthermore, it exhibited high insecticidal activity against a lepidopteran pest, Plutella xylostella, although its activity was lower than that of a recombinant B. thuringiensis strain, whereas wild-type B. velezensis strain did not show any insecticidal activity. These results suggest that this recombinant B. velezensis strain can be used to control harmful insect pests and fungal diseases simultaneously in one crop.

  13. Bayesian inference of shared recombination hotspots between humans and chimpanzees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ying; Rannala, Bruce

    2014-12-01

    Recombination generates variation and facilitates evolution. Recombination (or lack thereof) also contributes to human genetic disease. Methods for mapping genes influencing complex genetic diseases via association rely on linkage disequilibrium (LD) in human populations, which is influenced by rates of recombination across the genome. Comparative population genomic analyses of recombination using related primate species can identify factors influencing rates of recombination in humans. Such studies can indicate how variable hotspots for recombination may be both among individuals (or populations) and over evolutionary timescales. Previous studies have suggested that locations of recombination hotspots are not conserved between humans and chimpanzees. We made use of the data sets from recent resequencing projects and applied a Bayesian method for identifying hotspots and estimating recombination rates. We also reanalyzed SNP data sets for regions with known hotspots in humans using samples from the human and chimpanzee. The Bayes factors (BF) of shared recombination hotspots between human and chimpanzee across regions were obtained. Based on the analysis of the aligned regions of human chromosome 21, locations where the two species show evidence of shared recombination hotspots (with high BFs) were identified. Interestingly, previous comparative studies of human and chimpanzee that focused on the known human recombination hotspots within the β-globin and HLA regions did not find overlapping of hotspots. Our results show high BFs of shared hotspots at locations within both regions, and the estimated locations of shared hotspots overlap with the locations of human recombination hotspots obtained from sperm-typing studies. Copyright © 2014 by the Genetics Society of America.

  14. Heterogeneous recombination among Hepatitis B virus genotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castelhano, Nadine; Araujo, Natalia M; Arenas, Miguel

    2017-10-01

    The rapid evolution of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) through both evolutionary forces, mutation and recombination, allows this virus to generate a large variety of adapted variants at both intra and inter-host levels. It can, for instance, generate drug resistance or the diverse viral genotypes that currently exist in the HBV epidemics. Concerning the latter, it is known that recombination played a major role in the emergence and genetic diversification of novel genotypes. In this regard, the quantification of viral recombination in each genotype can provide relevant information to devise expectations about the evolutionary trends of the epidemic. Here we measured the amount of this evolutionary force by estimating global and local recombination rates in >4700 HBV complete genome sequences corresponding to nine (A to I) HBV genotypes. Counterintuitively, we found that genotype E presents extremely high levels of recombination, followed by genotypes B and C. On the other hand, genotype G presents the lowest level, where recombination is almost negligible. We discuss these findings in the light of known characteristics of these genotypes. Additionally, we present a phylogenetic network to depict the evolutionary history of the studied HBV genotypes. This network clearly classified all genotypes into specific groups and indicated that diverse pairs of genotypes are derived from a common ancestor (i.e., C-I, D-E and, F-H) although still the origin of this virus presented large uncertainty. Altogether we conclude that the amount of observed recombination is heterogeneous among HBV genotypes and that this heterogeneity can influence on the future expansion of the epidemic. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Graded Recombination Layers for Multijunction Photovoltaics

    KAUST Repository

    Koleilat, Ghada I.

    2012-06-13

    Multijunction devices consist of a stack of semiconductor junctions having bandgaps tuned across a broad spectrum. In solar cells this concept is used to increase the efficiency of photovoltaic harvesting, while light emitters and detectors use it to achieve multicolor and spectrally tunable behavior. In series-connected current-matched multijunction devices, the recombination layers must allow the hole current from one cell to recombine, with high efficiency and low voltage loss, with the electron current from the next cell. We recently reported a tandem solar cell in which the recombination layer was implemented using a progression of n-type oxides whose doping densities and work functions serve to connect, with negligible resistive loss at solar current densities, the constituent cells. Here we present the generalized conditions for design of efficient graded recombination layer solar devices. We report the number of interlayers and the requirements on work function and doping of each interlayer, to bridge an work function difference as high as 1.6 eV. We also find solutions that minimize the doping required of the interlayers in order to minimize optical absorption due to free carriers in the graded recombination layer (GRL). We demonstrate a family of new GRL designs experimentally and highlight the benefits of the progression of dopings and work functions in the interlayers. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

  16. Review of Parton Recombination Models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bass, Steffen A

    2006-01-01

    Parton recombination models have been very successful in explaining data taken at RHIC on hadron spectra and emission patterns in Au+Au collisions at transverse momenta above 2 GeV/c, which have exhibited features which could not be understood in the framework of basic perturbative QCD. In this article I will review the current status on recombination models and outline which future challenges need to be addressed by this class of models

  17. The model of recombination process in TlBr

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grigorjeva, L.; Millers, D.

    2002-01-01

    The time-resolved luminescence was used as a tool in the study of recombination process in several undoped TlBr crystals. The spectra and decay kinetics observed under electron beam excitation were investigated. Observation of several luminescence bands with different decay rates shows that more than one recombination center is involved and the recombination process is quite complicated. The band at ∼2.5 eV is dominant under 10 ns excitation pulse (electron beam or nitrogen laser pulses). The results of short-lived absorption and luminescence are used for analysis of possible mechanisms of recombination processes in TlBr

  18. Affinity purification of recombinant human plasminogen activator ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Affinity purification of recombinant human plasminogen activator from ... Screening antibody was performed using rhPA milk in an ELISA-elution assay. ... useful for purifying other tPA mutants or other novel recombinant milkderived proteins.

  19. Construction, expression, purification and biotin labeling of a single recombinant multi-epitope antigen for double-antigen sandwich ELISA to detect hepatitis C virus antibody.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Jing; Xiu, Bingshui; Wang, Guohua; Chen, Kun; Feng, Xiaoyan; Song, Xiaoguo; Zhu, Cuixia; Yang, Xiqin; Bai, Guanzhong; Ling, Shigan; Zhang, Heqiu

    2011-08-01

    Based on B cell epitope predictions, a recombinant antigen with multiple epitopes from four Hepatitis C Virus fragments (C, NS3, NS4 and NS5) were engineered. The recombinant gene was then highly expressed in E. coli. The non-modified and C-terminal-modified recombinant proteins were used for coating and biotin labeling, respectively, to establish the double-antigen sandwich ELISA. Ten positive reference samples confirmed by the CHIRON RIBA HCV 3.0 SIA kit were detected positive, Forty one plasma samples were positive among samples from 441 volunteers, which indicated that the recombinant antigen could readily react well with plasma HCV antibody. As critical reagents of double-antigen sandwich ELISA, the recombinant multi-epitope antigen and the C-terminal-modified and biotin-conjugated antigen show good antigenicity. In this study, we provide a simple approach to produce multiple epitopes within one recombinant protein in order to avoid the costly expression of less-effective pools of multiple proteins, which is the conventional strategy of diagnostic antigen production for HCV antibody detection.

  20. [Construction and immunogenicity of recombinant porcine parvovirus-like particles with somatostatin].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xuehua; Zheng, Qisheng; Chen, Jin; Xue, Gang; Hou, Hongyan; Hou, Jibo

    2010-08-01

    In order to obtain a virus-like particle vaccine both for porcine parvovirus (PPV) prevention and growth-promotion, VP2 gene of PPV NJ-a strain was amplified with PCR, and four copies of synthetic somatostatin gene were fused to the N-terminal of VP2 gene. The fused gene was cloned into pFast-HT A to construct the recombinant plasmid pFast-SS4-VP2, then the pFast-SS4-VP2 was transformed into DH10Bac competent cells and recombined with shuttle vector Bacmid, followed by identification with blue-white screening and PCR analysis for three cycles, and the positive recombinant was named as rBacmid-SS4-VP2. The positive Sf-9 cells were transfected with rBacmid-SS4-VP2 by Lipofectamine to produce recombinant baculovirus. When the cytopathic effect (CPE) was obvious, the transfected Sf-9 cell was harvested, and the positive recombinant virus was named as rBac-SS4-VP2. The insertion for the target gene into baculovirus genome was confirmed with PCR. SDS-PAGE and Western blotting revealed that the calculated protein of approximately 68 kDa was in the expressed in the insect cells. The Sf-9 cells infected with rBac-SS4-VP2 were stained positive against PPV antibody using the indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Moreover, the virus particle self-assembly was observed under electron microscopy. 90 four-week-old mice were immunized by the recombinant protein coupled with different adjuvants alhydrogel, IMS and oil. VP2-specific ELISA antibodies, PPV-specific neutralizing antibody, somatostatin antibody and growth hormone levels were examined to evaluate the immunogenicity of this virus like particle. Results indicated that mice groups immunized rSS4-VP2 protein with alhydrogel and IMS developed similar humoral immune response comparing with inactived PPV vaccine. Mice group immunized with rSS4-VP2 generated higher level of SS antibody and growth hormone comparing with negative control, mice receiving rSS4-VP2 with alhydrogel developed the highest antibody titre than all

  1. Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein induces bone formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, E.A.; Rosen, V.; D'Alessandro, J.S.; Bauduy, M.; Cordes, P.; Harada, T.; Israel, D.I.; Hewick, R.M.; Kerns, K.M.; LaPan, P.; Luxenberg, D.P.; McQuaid, D.; Moutsatsos, I.K.; Nove, J.; Wozney, J.M.

    1990-01-01

    The authors have purified and characterized active recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) 2A. Implantation of the recombinant protein in rats showed that a single BMP can induce bone formation in vivo. A dose-response and time-course study using the rat ectopic bone formation assay revealed that implantation of 0.5-115 μg of partially purified recombinant human BMP-2A resulted in cartilage by day 7 and bone formation by day 14. The time at which bone formation occurred was dependent on the amount of BMP-2A implanted; at high doses bone formation could be observed at 5 days. The cartilage- and bone-inductive activity of the recombinant BMP-2A is histologically indistinguishable from that of bone extracts. Thus, recombinant BMP-2A has therapeutic potential to promote de novo bone formation in humans

  2. Studies of the cytosolic thymidine kinase in human cells and comparison to the recombinantly expressed enzyme

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kock Jensen, Helle

    by recombinant technics to examine the relation between the TKl gene and the TKl protein. In the second part of this investigation a direct expression system for human TKl in E.coli was developed to produce a source of high amounts of TKl, to be able to examine the structure of TKl. The resulting recombinant TKl...... cells and that this modification can not be performed in E.coli....... infections. In the first part of the present investigation a sensitive test for quantitating TKl mRNA (competitive PCR) is developed and the results show that PHA stimulated lymphocytes reveal the same pattern concerning expression of TKl mRNA and TKl enzyme activity as serum-stimulated cells. This pattern...

  3. A novel recombinant virus-like particle vaccine for prevention of porcine parvovirus-induced reproductive failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antonis, Adriaan F G; Bruschke, Christianne J M; Rueda, Paloma; Maranga, Luis; Casal, J Ignacio; Vela, Carmen; Hilgers, Luuk A Th; Belt, Peter B G M; Weerdmeester, Klaas; Carrondo, Manuel J T; Langeveld, Jan P M

    2006-06-29

    A novel vaccine against porcine parvovirus (PPV), composed of recombinant virus-like particles (PPV-VLPs) produced with the baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) at industrial scale, was tested for its immunogenicity and protective potency. A formulation of submicrogram amounts of PPV-VLPs in a water-in-mineral oil adjuvant evoked high serum antibody titres in both guinea pigs, used as reference model, and target species, pigs. A single immunisation with 0.7microg of this antigen yielded complete foetal protection against PPV infection after challenge with a virulent strain of this virus. Furthermore, also in the presence of mild adjuvants the protective action of these PPV-VLPs is excellent. This recombinant subunit vaccine overcomes some of the drawbacks of classical PPV vaccines.

  4. Inference of Ancestral Recombination Graphs through Topological Data Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cámara, Pablo G.; Levine, Arnold J.; Rabadán, Raúl

    2016-01-01

    The recent explosion of genomic data has underscored the need for interpretable and comprehensive analyses that can capture complex phylogenetic relationships within and across species. Recombination, reassortment and horizontal gene transfer constitute examples of pervasive biological phenomena that cannot be captured by tree-like representations. Starting from hundreds of genomes, we are interested in the reconstruction of potential evolutionary histories leading to the observed data. Ancestral recombination graphs represent potential histories that explicitly accommodate recombination and mutation events across orthologous genomes. However, they are computationally costly to reconstruct, usually being infeasible for more than few tens of genomes. Recently, Topological Data Analysis (TDA) methods have been proposed as robust and scalable methods that can capture the genetic scale and frequency of recombination. We build upon previous TDA developments for detecting and quantifying recombination, and present a novel framework that can be applied to hundreds of genomes and can be interpreted in terms of minimal histories of mutation and recombination events, quantifying the scales and identifying the genomic locations of recombinations. We implement this framework in a software package, called TARGet, and apply it to several examples, including small migration between different populations, human recombination, and horizontal evolution in finches inhabiting the Galápagos Islands. PMID:27532298

  5. Retroviral Vectors for Analysis of Viral Mutagenesis and Recombination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan M.O. Rawson

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Retrovirus population diversity within infected hosts is commonly high due in part to elevated rates of replication, mutation, and recombination. This high genetic diversity often complicates the development of effective diagnostics, vaccines, and antiviral drugs. This review highlights the diverse vectors and approaches that have been used to examine mutation and recombination in retroviruses. Retroviral vectors for these purposes can broadly be divided into two categories: those that utilize reporter genes as mutation or recombination targets and those that utilize viral genes as targets of mutation or recombination. Reporter gene vectors greatly facilitate the detection, quantification, and characterization of mutants and/or recombinants, but may not fully recapitulate the patterns of mutagenesis or recombination observed in native viral gene sequences. In contrast, the detection of mutations or recombination events directly in viral genes is more biologically relevant but also typically more challenging and inefficient. We will highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the various vectors and approaches used as well as propose ways in which they could be improved.

  6. Development of a recombinant toxin fragment vaccine for Clostridium difficile infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karczewski, Jerzy; Zorman, Julie; Wang, Su; Miezeiewski, Matthew; Xie, Jinfu; Soring, Keri; Petrescu, Ioan; Rogers, Irene; Thiriot, David S; Cook, James C; Chamberlin, Mihaela; Xoconostle, Rachel F; Nahas, Debbie D; Joyce, Joseph G; Bodmer, Jean-Luc; Heinrichs, Jon H; Secore, Susan

    2014-05-19

    Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the major cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis, a disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The disease is mostly of nosocomial origin, with elderly patients undergoing anti-microbial therapy being particularly at risk. C. difficile produces two large toxins: Toxin A (TcdA) and Toxin B (TcdB). The two toxins act synergistically to damage and impair the colonic epithelium, and are primarily responsible for the pathogenesis associated with CDI. The feasibility of toxin-based vaccination against C. difficile is being vigorously investigated. A vaccine based on formaldehyde-inactivated Toxin A and Toxin B (toxoids) was reported to be safe and immunogenic in healthy volunteers and is now undergoing evaluation in clinical efficacy trials. In order to eliminate cytotoxic effects, a chemical inactivation step must be included in the manufacturing process of this toxin-based vaccine. In addition, the large-scale production of highly toxic antigens could be a challenging and costly process. Vaccines based on non-toxic fragments of genetically engineered versions of the toxins alleviate most of these limitations. We have evaluated a vaccine assembled from two recombinant fragments of TcdB and explored their potential as components of a novel experimental vaccine against CDI. Golden Syrian hamsters vaccinated with recombinant fragments of TcdB combined with full length TcdA (Toxoid A) developed high titer IgG responses and potent neutralizing antibody titers. We also show here that the recombinant vaccine protected animals against lethal challenge with C. difficile spores, with efficacy equivalent to the toxoid vaccine. The development of a two-segment recombinant vaccine could provide several advantages over toxoid TcdA/TcdB such as improvements in manufacturability. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Creation of the technology and man's gen-engineering insulin extraction (GEIE) on the basis of high productive strain - GEIE producent

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kosinov, A.; Kotelnikova, O.

    1996-01-01

    Main problems which should be solved: - To create the new highly productive recombinant GENI stain-producer - To select the medium and cultivation's conditions for stain-producer. - To elaborate the separation and purification GENI technology. In order to create the new GENI stain-producer we need significantly change the separation and purification's technology which was elaborated according to traditional method before. The separation and purification GENI's technology demand the industrial methods utilization, such as: ultrafiltration, high-and-low pressures chromatography. Besides, the utilization of recombinant micro-organisms, required for to obtain the medicinal preparations, places a constraint on the quality controls ready made product which should be in conformity with following conditions: high trustworthiness, reproducibility and sensitivity. In this connection, we need to perform a series of the work concerning with analytic controls methods of production and substance preparations technology. To create the separation and purification GENt technology on the highly productive recombinant GENI Stain-producers base. To put in an application in order to patient this new stain. The results of these works will be base for to prepare the normative-technical documents concerning with GENI substances production. Also, we will make the initial data and plan required for to project the GENI substances production. This work will be performed without foreign partner's participation

  8. Hydroxylation of recombinant human collagen type I alpha 1 in transgenic maize co-expressed with a recombinant human prolyl 4-hydroxylase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pappu Kameshwari M

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Collagens require the hydroxylation of proline (Pro residues in their triple-helical domain repeating sequence Xaa-Pro-Gly to function properly as a main structural component of the extracellular matrix in animals at physiologically relevant conditions. The regioselective proline hydroxylation is catalyzed by a specific prolyl 4-hydroxylase (P4H as a posttranslational processing step. Results A recombinant human collagen type I α-1 (rCIα1 with high percentage of hydroxylated prolines (Hyp was produced in transgenic maize seeds when co-expressed with both the α- and β- subunits of a recombinant human P4H (rP4H. Germ-specific expression of rCIα1 using maize globulin-1 gene promoter resulted in an average yield of 12 mg/kg seed for the full-length rCIα1 in seeds without co-expression of rP4H and 4 mg/kg seed for the rCIα1 (rCIα1-OH in seeds with co-expression of rP4H. High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS analysis revealed that nearly half of the collagenous repeating triplets in rCIα1 isolated from rP4H co-expressing maize line had the Pro residues changed to Hyp residues. The HRMS analysis determined the Hyp content of maize-derived rCIα1-OH as 18.11%, which is comparable to the Hyp level of yeast-derived rCIα1-OH (17.47% and the native human CIa1 (14.59%, respectively. The increased Hyp percentage was correlated with a markedly enhanced thermal stability of maize-derived rCIα1-OH when compared to the non-hydroxylated rCIα1. Conclusions This work shows that maize has potential to produce adequately modified exogenous proteins with mammalian-like post-translational modifications that may be require for their use as pharmaceutical and industrial products.

  9. Hadron production at RHIC: recombination of quarks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fries, Rainer J [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)

    2005-01-01

    We discuss quark recombination applied to the hadronization of a quark gluon plasma. It has been shown that the quark recombination model can explain essential features of hadron production measured in high energy heavy ion collisions.

  10. Recombinant L-Asparaginase from Zymomonas mobilis: A Potential New Antileukemic Agent Produced in Escherichia coli.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen Einsfeldt

    Full Text Available L-asparaginase is an enzyme used as a chemotherapeutic agent, mainly for treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In this study, the gene of L-asparaginase from Zymomonas mobilis was cloned in pET vectors, fused to a histidine tag, and had its codons optimized. The L-asparaginase was expressed extracellularly and intracellularly (cytoplasmically in Escherichia coli in far larger quantities than obtained from the microorganism of origin, and sufficient for initial cytotoxicity tests on leukemic cells. The in silico analysis of the protein from Z. mobilis indicated the presence of a signal peptide in the sequence, as well as high identity to other sequences of L-asparaginases with antileukemic activity. The protein was expressed in a bioreactor with a complex culture medium, yielding 0.13 IU/mL extracellular L-asparaginase and 3.6 IU/mL intracellular L-asparaginase after 4 h of induction with IPTG. The cytotoxicity results suggest that recombinant L-asparaginase from Z. mobilis expressed extracellularly in E.coli has a cytotoxic and cytostatic effect on leukemic cells.

  11. Identification of enzymes and quantification of metabolic fluxes in the wild type and in a recombinant Aspergillus oryzae strain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Henrik; Carlsen, Morten; Nielsen, Jens Bredal

    1999-01-01

    Two alpha-amylase-producing strains of Aspergillus oryzae, a wild-type strain and a recombinant containing additional copies of the alpha-amylase gene, were characterized,vith respect to enzyme activities, localization of enzymes to the mitochondria or cytosol, macromolecular composition...

  12. Recombination Processes and Nonlinear Markov Chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pirogov, Sergey; Rybko, Alexander; Kalinina, Anastasia; Gelfand, Mikhail

    2016-09-01

    Bacteria are known to exchange genetic information by horizontal gene transfer. Since the frequency of homologous recombination depends on the similarity between the recombining segments, several studies examined whether this could lead to the emergence of subspecies. Most of them simulated fixed-size Wright-Fisher populations, in which the genetic drift should be taken into account. Here, we use nonlinear Markov processes to describe a bacterial population evolving under mutation and recombination. We consider a population structure as a probability measure on the space of genomes. This approach implies the infinite population size limit, and thus, the genetic drift is not assumed. We prove that under these conditions, the emergence of subspecies is impossible.

  13. [Construction and expression of a recombinant adenovirus with LZP3].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Bang-dang; Zhang, Fu-chun; Sun, Mei-yu; Li, Yi-jie; Ma, Zheng-hai

    2007-08-01

    To explore a new immunocontraceptive vaccine and construct an attenuated recombinant adenoviral vaccine against Lagurus lagurus zona pellucida 3(LZP3). LZP3 gene was subcloned into the shuttle vector pShuttle-CMV, and then a two-step transformation procedure was employed to construct a recombinant adenoviral plasmid with LZP3, which was digested with Pac I and transfected into HEK293 cells to package recombinant adenovirus particles. Finally, HeLa cells were infected by the recombinant adenovirus. LZP3 gene was detected from the recombinant virus by PCR, and its transcription and expression were analyzed by RT-PCR and Western blot. Recombinant adenovirus vector pAd-LZP3 with LZP3 gene was constructed by homologous recombination in E.coli, and a recombinant adenovirus was obtained by transfecting HEK293 cells with pAd-LZP3. PCR test indicated that LZP3 gene was successfully integrated into the adenoviral genome, and the titer of the recombinant adenovirus reached 1.2x10(10) pfu/L. The transcription and expression of LZP3 gene in the infected HeLa cells were confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blot. The recombinant adenovirus RAd-LZP3 can be successfully expressed in the infected HeLa cells, which lays the foundation for further researches into immunizing animals with RAd-LZP3.

  14. Genetic characterization of somatic recombination in Trichoderma pseudokoningii

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barcellos Fernando Gomes

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Crossing experiments via hyphal anastomosis between two strains contrasting for auxotrophic markers of Trichoderma pseudokoningii were conducted to characterize the somatic recombination process in this specie. Four crossings were made and a total of 1052 colonies obtained from conidial suspensions of the heterokaryotic colonies were analyzed. Sixty-eight recombinant colonies, from four growing generations, were analyzed for the auxotrophic markers. Of the 68 colonies analyzed, 58 were stable after four generations and the remainders were unstable, reverting to one of the parentals. Most of the recombinant colonies were unstable through subculture and after four growing generations they showed the leu ino met markers (auxotrophic for leucin, inositol and metionin respectively. The unstable recombinant colonies showed irregular growing borders, sparse sporulation and frequent sector formation. The results suggest the occurrence of recombination mechanisms in the heterokaryon (somatic recombination, different from those described for the parasexual cycle or parameiosis. Therefore, we proposed the ocurrence of nuclei degradation from one parental (non prevalent parental in the heterokaryon and that the resulting chromosomal fragments may be incorporated into whole nuclei of the another parental (prevalent parental. However the parameiosis as originally described cannot be excluded.

  15. Variation in Recombination Rate and Its Genetic Determinism in Sheep Populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petit, Morgane; Astruc, Jean-Michel; Sarry, Julien; Drouilhet, Laurence; Fabre, Stéphane; Moreno, Carole R; Servin, Bertrand

    2017-10-01

    Recombination is a complex biological process that results from a cascade of multiple events during meiosis. Understanding the genetic determinism of recombination can help to understand if and how these events are interacting. To tackle this question, we studied the patterns of recombination in sheep, using multiple approaches and data sets. We constructed male recombination maps in a dairy breed from the south of France (the Lacaune breed) at a fine scale by combining meiotic recombination rates from a large pedigree genotyped with a 50K SNP array and historical recombination rates from a sample of unrelated individuals genotyped with a 600K SNP array. This analysis revealed recombination patterns in sheep similar to other mammals but also genome regions that have likely been affected by directional and diversifying selection. We estimated the average recombination rate of Lacaune sheep at 1.5 cM/Mb, identified ∼50,000 crossover hotspots on the genome, and found a high correlation between historical and meiotic recombination rate estimates. A genome-wide association study revealed two major loci affecting interindividual variation in recombination rate in Lacaune, including the RNF212 and HEI10 genes and possibly two other loci of smaller effects including the KCNJ15 and FSHR genes. The comparison of these new results to those obtained previously in a distantly related population of domestic sheep (the Soay) revealed that Soay and Lacaune males have a very similar distribution of recombination along the genome. The two data sets were thus combined to create more precise male meiotic recombination maps in Sheep. However, despite their similar recombination maps, Soay and Lacaune males were found to exhibit different heritabilities and QTL effects for interindividual variation in genome-wide recombination rates. This highlights the robustness of recombination patterns to underlying variation in their genetic determinism. Copyright © 2017 by the Genetics Society

  16. Evolution of recombination in eutherian mammals: insights into mechanisms that affect recombination rates and crossover interference

    OpenAIRE

    Segura, Joana; Ferretti, Luca; Ramos-Onsins, Sebastián; Capilla, Laia; Farré, Marta; Reis, Fernanda; Oliver-Bonet, Maria; Fernández-Bellón, Hugo; Garcia, Francisca; Garcia-Caldés, Montserrat; Robinson, Terence J.; Ruiz-Herrera, Aurora

    2013-01-01

    Recombination allows faithful chromosomal segregation during meiosis and contributes to the production of new heritable allelic variants that are essential for the maintenance of genetic diversity. Therefore, an appreciation of how this variation is created and maintained is of critical importance to our understanding of biodiversity and evolutionary change. Here, we analysed the recombination features from species representing the major eutherian taxonomic groups Afrotheria, Rodentia, Primat...

  17. In vitro V(D)J recombination: signal joint formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortes, P; Weis-Garcia, F; Misulovin, Z; Nussenzweig, A; Lai, J S; Li, G; Nussenzweig, M C; Baltimore, D

    1996-11-26

    The first step of V(D)J recombination, specific cleavage at the recombination signal sequence (RSS), can be carried out by the recombination activating proteins RAG1 and RAG2. In vivo, the cleaved coding and signal ends must be rejoined to generate functional antigen receptors and maintain chromosomal integrity. We have investigated signal joint formation using deletion and inversion substrates in a cell free system. RAG1 and RAG2 alone or in combination were unable to generate signal joints. However, RAG1 and RAG2 complemented with nuclear extracts were able to recombine an extrachromosomal substrate and form precise signal joints. The in vitro reaction resembled authentic V(D)J recombination in being Ku-antigen-dependent.

  18. Construction and expression of a recombinant antibody-targeted plasminogen activator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schnee, J.M.; Runge, M.S.; Matsueda, G.A.; Hudson, N.W.; Seidman, J.G.; Haber, E.; Quertermous, T.

    1987-01-01

    Covalent linkage of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) to a monoclonal antibody specific for the fibrin β chain (anti-fibrin 59D8) results in a thrombolytic agent that is more specific and more potent that t-PA alone. To provide a ready source of this hybrid molecule and to allow tailoring of the active moieties for optimal activity, the authors have engineered a recombinant version of the 59D8-t-PA conjugate. The rearranged 59D8 heavy chain gene was cloned and combined in the expression vector pSV2gpt with sequence coding for a portion of the γ2b constant region and the catalytic β chain of t-PA. This construct was transfected into heavy chain loss variant cells derived form the 59D8 hybridoma. Recombinant protein was purified by affinity chromatography and analyzed with electrophoretic transfer blots and radioimmunoassay. These revealed a 65-kDa heavy chain-t-PA fusion protein that is secreted in association with the 59D8 light chain in the form of a 170-kDa disulfide-linked dimer. Chromogenic substrate assays showed the fusion protein to have 70% of the peptidolytic activity of native t-PA and to activate plasminogen as efficiently as t-PA. IN a competitive binding assay, reconstituted antibody was shown to have a binding profile similar to that of native 59D8. Thus, by recombinant techniques, they have produced a hybrid protein capable of high affinity fibrin binding and plasminogen activation

  19. Resistance to radiation, recombination, repair of DNA and chromosome organisation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fletcher, H.L.

    1981-01-01

    The model advanced here proposes that death is caused by destructive lesions, mainly double-strand breaks, in all the inter-repairable copies so close together that recombination repair cannot function. Death is related to the exponential of dose where r is the number of copies of the genome. A graph of ln(-ln survival) against ln dose is used to produce a linear dose-survival relationship, the slope of which gives the number of inter-repairable copies of the genome (= number of hits per lethal event). In Ustilago maydis it seems that unless all the chromatids are broken within a few thousand base pairs all ds breaks are repaired. The size of this critical target is similar to the size of a gene. Meiotic pairing in fungi starts outside the genes, and it is therefore suggested that specific pairing sites between genes define the ends of the targets. The model also describes the radiation-induced death of Micrococcus radiodurans and Sacchromyces cerevisiae. Cultured mammalian cells also show a linear ln(-ln survival)/ln dose relationship with a slope of 1.5 showing that both 1st and 2nd order killing occured. Sublethal radiation induces recombination in heterozygous diploid U. maydis proportional to the square of the dose. Sister-chromatid repair is preferred. Polyploid yeast can only use pairs of chromosomes for repair, showing that chromosome pairing is required for recombination repair, and mitotic pairing is restricted to bivalents in the same way that meiotic pairing is. (orig./AJ)

  20. Recombination-Driven Genome Evolution and Stability of Bacterial Species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixit, Purushottam D; Pang, Tin Yau; Maslov, Sergei

    2017-09-01

    While bacteria divide clonally, horizontal gene transfer followed by homologous recombination is now recognized as an important contributor to their evolution. However, the details of how the competition between clonality and recombination shapes genome diversity remains poorly understood. Using a computational model, we find two principal regimes in bacterial evolution and identify two composite parameters that dictate the evolutionary fate of bacterial species. In the divergent regime, characterized by either a low recombination frequency or strict barriers to recombination, cohesion due to recombination is not sufficient to overcome the mutational drift. As a consequence, the divergence between pairs of genomes in the population steadily increases in the course of their evolution. The species lacks genetic coherence with sexually isolated clonal subpopulations continuously formed and dissolved. In contrast, in the metastable regime, characterized by a high recombination frequency combined with low barriers to recombination, genomes continuously recombine with the rest of the population. The population remains genetically cohesive and temporally stable. Notably, the transition between these two regimes can be affected by relatively small changes in evolutionary parameters. Using the Multi Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) data, we classify a number of bacterial species to be either the divergent or the metastable type. Generalizations of our framework to include selection, ecologically structured populations, and horizontal gene transfer of nonhomologous regions are discussed as well. Copyright © 2017 by the Genetics Society of America.