Identification of a novel enterovirus E isolates HY12 from cattle with severe respiratory and enteric diseases.

In this study, a virus strain designated as HY12 was isolated from cattle with a disease of high morbidity and mortality in Jilin province. Biological and physiochemical properties showed that HY12 isolates is cytopathic with an extremely high infectivity. HY12 is resistant to treatment of organic solvent and acid, and unstable at 60°C for 1 h. Electron microscopy observation revealed the virus is an approximately 22-28 nm in diameter. The complete genome sequence of HY12 consists of 7416 nucleotides, with a typical picornavirus genome organization including a 5'-untranslated region (UTR), a large single ORF encoding a polyprotein of 2176 amino acids, and a 3'-UTR. Phylogenetic analysis clustered HY12 isolates to a new serotype/genotype within the clade of enterovirus E (formerly BEV-A). Alignment analysis revealed a unique insertion of 2 amino acid residues (NF) at the C-terminal of VP1 protein between aa 825 and 826, and several rare mutations in VP1 and VP4 of HY12 isolates in relation to known bovine enterovirus (BEV) strains. This is the first report of an enterovirus E in China, which is potentially associated with an outbreak in cattle with severe respiratory and enteric diseases.

Complete Genomic Sequence of a Novel Porcine Circovirus 2 Strain, CC12.

The genome sequence of a novel porcine circovirus 2 strain (CC12) is composed of 1,767 nucleotides, with two major open reading frames (ORFs). ORF1 encodes two replication-associated proteins (Rep and Rep') with the unique mutation N186S, and ORF2 encodes a viral capsid protein (Cap) with two rare mutations, R59K and A190T.

Alternative Splicing of the Amelogenin Gene in a Caudate Amphibian, Plethodon cinereus.

As the major enamel matrix protein contributing to tooth development, amelogenin has been demonstrated to play a crucial role in tooth enamel formation. Previous studies have revealed amelogenin alternative splicing as a mechanism for amelogenin heterogeneous expression in mammals. While amelogenin and its splicing forms in mammalian vertebrates have been characterized, splicing variants of amelogenin gene still remains largely unknown in non-mammalian species. Here, using PCR and sequence analysis we discovered two novel amelogenin transcript variants in tooth organ extracts from a caudate amphibian, the salamander Plethodoncinereus. The one was shorter -S- (416 nucleotides including untranslated regions, 5 exons) and the other larger -L- (851 nt, 7 exons) than the previously published "normal" gene in this species -M- (812 nucleotides, 6 exons). This is the first report demonstrating the amelogenin alternative splicing in amphibian, revealing a unique exon 2b and two novel amelogenin gene transcripts in Plethodoncinereus.

Overexpression of triosephosphate isomerase inhibits proliferation of chicken embryonal fibroblast cells.

Triosephosphate isomerase (TPI), a glycolytic enzyme, functions in catalyzing the interconversion of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate and is generally upregulated in tumours. However, there are data suggesting loss in lymphomas. To determine its effects in chicken embryonal fibroblasts (CEF) a plasmid was constructed to allow transfection. Upon culture in a suitable medium, cells transfected with the TPI demonstrated upregulation and were significantly more susceptible to apoptosis compared to controls with decreased proliferation. These finding therefore render a novel mechanism by which CEF can be triggered to undergo death by upregulation of TPI.