重症急性呼吸道感染儿童中人博卡病毒的分型检测与基因进化分析

目的 了解重症急性呼吸道感染住院儿童中人博卡病毒（HBoV）的感染状况,流行病学特征及其进化特征.方法 采用巢式PCR的方法,对来自北京儿童医院重症急性呼吸道感染住院儿童的259份鼻咽抽吸物,进行人博卡病毒（HBoV）分型检测与测序,同时进行了合并感染检测、流行病学、临床特点及基因多态性分析.结果 共检出56份人博卡病毒感染阳性标本,阳性率为21.6％,[95％ CI（16.0％～27.3％）,P＜0.0001],其中2岁以下儿童感染率较高.与其他呼吸道常见病毒的合并感染率为94.6％.HBoV阳性产物测序分析发现,人博卡病毒1型占96.4％ （54/56）,2、3型各1份.HBoV阳性株分型区（VP1/VP2）序列变异不明显.结论 人博卡病毒是儿童急性呼吸道感染常见的病原体,以I型最为常见,分型区（VP1/VP2）序列较保守.HBoV在重症急性呼吸道感染儿童中是否起到真正的致病作用还需进一步的研究.     

山东省新分离乙脑病毒(SD08-10株)全基因组序列特征

目的 对山东省新分离乙脑病毒SD08-10株进行全基因组序列测定和分析,全面了解其基因组特征.方法 设计乙脑病毒全基因组序列扩增引物,RT-PCR扩增片段,PCR产物直接测序,拼接后获得全基因组序列.采用Clestal X(1.8)、DNAStar、GENEDOC(3.2)、Mega(4.0)等生物学软件进行核苷酸序列及氨基酸序列分析和病毒的系统进化分析.结果 新分离乙脑病毒SD08-10株基因组全长10 965个核苷酸,从97位到10 392位,共10 296个核苷酸编码一个开放阅读框,编码3432个氨基酸.与GenBank登录的所有59株乙脑病毒全基因组序列比较发现,其核苷酸总体差异率为0.7%～18.9%,氨基酸总体差异率为0.1%～5.2%.与目前使用的减毒活疫苗株SA-14-14-2株相比较,全基因组共存在1253个核苷酸差异,82个氨基酸差异.全基因组序列系统进化分析显示SD08-10属于基因Ⅰ型乙脑病毒.结论 新分离的乙脑病毒SD08-10株属于基因Ⅰ型,与2007年中国分离株SH17M-07进化关系最接近.     

四川省分离的基因1型乙型脑炎病毒分子特征分析

目的 从四川省巴中市采集的蚊虫标本中分离乙型脑炎(简称乙脑)病毒(JEV),确定其基因型别,并分析相关的基因1型乙脑病毒PrM和E基因区段氨基酸序列特征.方法 对2004年采集蚊虫标本进行病毒分离,对新分离的乙脑病毒进行生物学、血清学及分子生物学鉴定.逆转录聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)扩增新分离JEV的PrM、E区段核苷酸序列,测序后应用Clustal X软件做碱基配对分析,MEGA4软件完成病毒进化分析,GENEDOC(3.2)软件完成氨基酸位点分析,根据蜱传脑炎病毒可溶性蛋白晶体结构为模板进行乙脑病毒E蛋白三维结构模拟预测分析.结果 共采集4668只蚊虫标本,主要是骚扰阿蚊和库蚊,分离到6株病毒,经鉴定均属于基因1型的乙脑病毒.将四川省分离的6个毒株结合我国新分离的基因1型乙脑病毒与减毒活疫苗株SA14-14-2株的PrM区段和E区段氨基酸比较,发现PrM区段在PrM2、64和65位存在基因1型乙脑病毒独有的氨基酸位点差异,E区段存在14处共同的氨基酸位点差异,其中在E129、222、327和366位点为中国目前分离到的基因1型乙脑病毒所特有的位点特征.结论 从四川省巴中市首次分离到基因1型的乙脑病毒,并发现基因1型乙脑病毒与减毒活疫苗株之间PrM、E基因区段存在氨基酸差异,但现行疫苗株理论上可以保护新分离的基因1型乙脑病毒.     

Ethnoveterinary knowledge in pastoral Karamoja,Uganda

Ethnopharmacological relevance

The people of Karamoja of northern Uganda chiefly rely on ethnoveterinary knowledge (EVK) to control common livestock health problems. In spite of cattle's central role in Karamojong culture and livelihoods, there has been no systematic recording of their ethnoveterinary plant-based cures to date.

Aim of study

To document the remedies used to treat livestock diseases, their preparation and administration.

Methods

Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, guided questionnaires, group discussions, direct observations and collection trips.

Results

We present information on 209 plant species and 18 non-plant materials. Plant species are distributed over 116 genera and 54 families. The most common medicinal use was treatment against anaplasmosis. Balanites aegyptiacus, Carissa spinarum, Warburgia salutaris and Harrisonia abyssinica had the most uses of all species. All different plant parts were used; bark and underground parts were exploited more frequently than other plant parts. Most remedies listed used a single ingredient, typically soaked in water; only 12.8% remedies used multiple plants. The route of administration was primarily oral followed by topical applications. Almost all plants are collected from the wild; none of the few cultivated plants used had been planted for medicinal purposes.

Conclusions

The pastoralists in the study site possess a wealth of EVK which they use to maintain animal health. Their rich knowledge and high diversity of plants were recorded here for the first time.     

Genetic structure and variability of virus populations in cross-protected grapevines superinfected by Grapevine fanleaf virus

Recombination was assessed in a vineyard site in which grapevines cross-protected with mild strains GHu of Grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV) or Ta of Arabis mosaic virus (ArMV) were superinfected with GFLV field isolates following transmission by the nematode vector Xiphinema index. The genetic structure and variability within RNA2 of isolates from grapevines co-infected with GFLV field isolates and either GFLV-GHu or ArMV-Ta were characterized to identify intra- and interspecies recombinants. Sequence analysis and phylogenetic relationships inferred intraspecies recombination among GFLV field isolates but not between field isolates and GFLV-GHu. SISCAN analysis confirmed a mosaic structure for two GFLV field isolates for which recombination sites were located in the movement protein and coat protein genes. One of the recombinants was found in eight grapevines that were in close spatial proximity within the vineyard site, suggesting its transmission by X. index. No interspecies recombination was detected between GFLV field isolates and ArMV-Ta. Altogether, our findings suggest that mild protective strains GFLV-GHu and ArMV-Ta did not assist the emergence of viable recombinants to detectable level during a 12-year cross-protection trial. To our knowledge, this is the first extensive characterization of the genetic structure and variability of virus isolates in cross-protected plants.     

Discovery of novel [Arg49]phospholipase A2 isozymes from Protobothrops elegans venom and regional evolution of Crotalinae snake venom phospholipase A2 isozymes in the southwestern islands of Japan and Taiwan.

Protobothrops (formerly Trimeresurus) elegans, a Crotalinae snake, inhabits Ishigaki and Iriomote islands of the Sakishima Islands of Japan which are located between Okinawa island of Japan and Taiwan. Two phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) isozymes were purified to homogeneity from P. elegans venom and sequenced. This led to a discovery of novel PLA(2) isozymes with Arg at position 49, that is, [Arg(49)]PLA(2) forms, named PeBP(R)-I and PeBP(R)-II. They are polymorphic at position 3, Val for PeBP(R)-I and Ile for PeBP(R)-II. The cDNAs encoding PeBP(R)-I and PeBP(R)-II were cloned. The cDNA encoding an [Asp(49)]PLA(2) named PePLA(2) was also obtained. In contrast to PLA(2) isozymes from Protobothrops genus with 122 amino acid residues, PeBP(R)-I and PeBP(R)-II are composed of 121 amino acid residues due to lack of Pro at position 90. They exhibited necrotic and edema-inducing activities but no hemorrhagic activity was detected. A phylogenetic tree constructed for venom PLA(2) isozymes of Protobothrops genus and of related genera in the southwestern islands of Japan and Taiwan revealed that PeBP(R)-I and PeBP(R)-II of P. elegans are evolutionarily much closer to PmK49PLA(2), a [Lys(49)]PLA(2), from P. mucrosquamatus (Taiwan) than BPI and BPII, both [Lys(49)]PLA(2) forms, from P. flavoviridis (Amami-Oshima and Tokunoshima islands of Japan). Such evolutionary relationships are also seen in neutral [Asp(49)]PLA(2) isozymes from the three Protobothrops species. Thus, P. elegans is the species much closer to P. mucrosquamatus than P. flavoviridis. Their evolutionary distances seem to be well related to geological history of the islands where they have lived. In addition, it was clearly noted that Ovophis okinavensis (Amami-Oshima), which had formerly belonged to the Trimeresurus genus, and Trimeresurus stejnegeri (Taiwan) are the species fairly distant from Protobothrops genus.     

Frequency of stages of the seminiferous cycle in the thick-tailed bush baby (Otolemur garnetti), a prosimian primate: possible phylogenetic implications?

Spermatogenesis in the thick-tailed bush baby, Otolemur garnetti, was studied using light microscopy. The stages and stage frequencies of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium were determined using semithin sections stained with methylene blue-azure II. These sections were obtained from the testes of six healthy adult males (n=6). They revealed 11 stages of the seminiferous epithelial cycle in this species. The mean relative frequencies of the stages I–XI were 10.9, 6.0, 5.9, 7.3, 13.2, 10.7, 11.7, 9.2, 7.6, 8.9 and 8.6, respectively. Comparisons were made between the frequency data in the thick-tailed bush baby and equivalent data in the rat, hamster, macaque, baboon, chimpanzee and man. There was a significant correlation (P<0.05) between the Otolemur data and equivalent stage frequency data of two rodent species (rat and hamster) and monkey (Macaca arctoides). However, there was no significant correlation between the present data and those of the baboon, chimpanzee and man. Possible phylogenetic implications of these findings are discussed.     

Reconstructing the evolution of the respiratory apparatus in tetrapods

The structural type of a lung for animals that are derived from a single ancestral group can be characterized using extant phylogenetic bracketing. Functional morphological approximation can then be used to provide further information on the functional attributes. Combining information from diverse sources, plausible explanations are deduced for the respiratory apparatus of extinct species. The air-breathing apparatus of tetrapods has its origin in gill breathing. The lungs of the first tetrapods were probably long and consisted of a single series of parenchyma-filled chambers, arranged along an intrapulmonary duct. The duct gave rise to a broad central lumen in anurans. In amniotes a cartilaginous reinforcement evolved. The septate nature of the gas-exchange tissue (parenchyma) is recognizable in all tetrapods except birds. Active expiration began with the origin of transverse body wall musculature in amphibians, whereas active, negative-pressure inspiration is seen only in amniotes. The functional transition of trunk musculature from locomotor to respiratory is most complete in birds.     

Cloning of cDNAs encoding the three pituitary glycoprotein hormone beta subunit precursor molecules in the Japanese toad,Bufo japonicus

Complementary DNAs encoding precursor molecules of the beta subunits of three pituitary glycoprotein hormones (LH, FSH, and TSH) of the Japanese toad (Bufo japonicus) were isolated and sequenced. Unexpectedly large numbers of single nucleotide substitutions were found in all three beta subunit cDNAs. The eight isolated LH beta precursor cDNA clones were classified into six forms of nucleotide sequence, with four nucleotide substitutions each in the apoprotein coding region and in the 3' untranslated region (UTR). In the deduced amino acid sequence, the LH beta subunit showed two forms with a single amino acid substitution. The seven isolated FSH beta subunit cDNAs were classified into two forms, which differed from each other at 11 positions in the 3' UTR. The six isolated TSH beta subunit clones were classified into four forms with 2 and 5 nucleotide substitutions in the signal peptide and apoprotein coding regions, respectively. However, all the substitutions in the apoprotein coding region were silent. The substitution in the signal peptide coding region could produce three forms of signal peptide. Amino acid sequence comparison revealed that the toad LH beta subunit is more similar to the fish GTH II beta subunit than to mammalian and avian LH beta subunits. We found that the toad LH beta subunit molecule is a partial chimera of LH and FSH; amino acid residues located in 36th to 42nd and 96th to 99th are identical or similar to those of not LH- but FSH-beta subunit in mammalian, whereas it is more similar to LH- than FSH-beta subunit in total. We also found that the toad FSH beta subunit is more similar to the fish GTH II beta subunit than to the fish GTH I beta subunit and that the toad TSH beta subunit is more similar to tetrapod TSH beta subunits than to fish TSH beta subunits.