Production of a Cloned Offspring and CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing of Embryonic Fibroblasts in Cattle.

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) technique was used to produce the first viable cloned cattle offspring in Russia. Whole-genome SNP genotyping confirmed that the cloned calf was identical to the fibroblast cell line that was used for SCNT. CRISPR/Cas9 approach was subsequently used to knock out genes for beta-lactoglobulin gene (PAEP) and the beta-lactoglobulin-like protein gene (LOC100848610) in the fibroblast cells. Gene editing (GE) efficiency was 4.4% for each of these genes. We successfully obtained single-cell-derived fibroblast colonies containing PAEP and LOC100848610 knockouts, which will be used to produce beta-lactoglobulin-deficient cattle.

[Expression of the genes CelA and XylA isolated from a fragment of metagenomic DNA in Escherichia coli].

The glycosyl hydrolase genes cel5A and xyl3A previously isolated by ourselves within a fragment of DNA from the methagenomic library of cow rumen microflora DNA were sub-cloned and expressed in E. coli. The recombinant proteins Cel5A and Xyl3A were purified and characterized. Cellulase Cel5A belongs to the Family 5 glycosyl hydrolases and is a one-module 38.2 kDa enzyme that hydrolyses the 1,4-glycoside bonds of soluble cellulose substrates and amorphous cellulose, showing its maximal activity (31200 u/mg) on lichenan, a soluble substrate with mixed (beta-1,3-1,4) bonds. The end product of the amorphous cellulose hydrolysis is cellobiose. Cel5A is inactive toward the crystal forms of cellulose. Cel5A is an endoglucanase capable of exohydrolysis. The molecular mass of beta-xylosidase Xyl3A belonging to the Family 3 glycosyl hydrolases is 83.7 kDa. The enzyme is active only on xylooligosaccharides, with the maximal activity shown on xylobiose, the end product of the reaction being xylose. No activity on xylane was hitherto observed. Recombinant Cel5A and Xyl3A are stable over a wide range of pH and temperatures, their maximal activity being observed at pH 6.5 and at 55 degrees C.

[Cloning and characterization of a large metagenomic DNA fragment containing glycosyl-hydrolase genes].

The problem of search for and characterization of enzymes synthesized by non-cultivated microorganisms is presently being settled by creating metagenomic libraries. A 6000-clone library with the average size of its inserts amounting to 15 bp has been constructed on the basis of total DNA isolated from cow rumen microorganisms. As the result of the screening of the library on plates with different substrates, a clone was selected that efficiently hydrolyzed lichenan and carboxymethylcellulose. The clone contained the recombinant plasmid pBlue-13 bearing a 12071 bp.-long metagenomic fragment carrying ten open reading frames, two of them being identified as glycosyl hydrolase genes. No homology of the metagenomic DNA with any known microorganism genomes was revealed. The amino acid sequence, deduced on the basis of frame 4 and denoted by Xyl3A, bears resemblance with beta-xylosidases of glycosyl hydrolase Family 3. Frame 6 encodes polypeptide Cel5A homologous to cellulases of glycosyl hydrolase Family 5. The amino acid sequences deduced on the basis of seven out of ten open reading frames were homologous to proteins of microorganisms belonging to the Bacteroides sp. family, the bacteria inhabiting mammalian intestines.

[Phytase activity in some groups of bacteria. Search for and cloning of genes for bacterial phytases]. / Fitaznaia aktivnost' u nekotorykh grupp bakterii. Poisk i klonirovanie genov bakterial'nykh fitaz.

A search for phytase genes in 9 Bacillus strains from the collection of IMGAN was implemented. The growth optimum of strains IX-22, IX-12B, K17-2, K18, IMG I, IMG II, M4 and M8 was 50-60 degrees C; the optimal growth temperature for Bacillus sp. 790 was 45-47 degrees C. According to the sequence data of 16S RNA genes, Bacillus sp. 790 belongs to the B. subtilis/amyloliquefaciens group. The other 8 strains were identified as B. licheniformis. Selection of Bacillus strains, potentially containing the phytase genes, was performed via PCR with primers designed on the basis of the conserved sequence regions of the phyA gene from B. amyloliquefaciens FZB45 with chromosomal DNA being used as the template. The nucleotide sequences of all PCR fragments showed a high level of homology to the known Bacillus phytase genes. The gene libraries of B. licheniformis M8 and B. amyloliquefaciens 790 in E. coli were constructed and phytase-containing clones were selected from them. Twenty-four Pseudomonas strains of different species, 5 Xanthomonas maltophilia strains and 1 Xanthomonas malvacearum (all from the mentioned collection) were tested for phytase activity. Such activity was found in 13 Pseudomonas strains and in 6 Xanthomonas strains. The accumulation of phytase in Pseudomonas was shown to take place at later (over 2 days') growth stages. The optimum pH for phytase from 3 Pseudomonas strains were established. The enzymes were found to be most active at pH 5.5.