The first isolation and identification of canine parvovirus (CPV) type 2c variants during 2016-2018 genetic surveillance of dogs in Mongolia.

Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) causes a highly contagious and fatal disease, developing into acute hemorrhagic enteritis and myocarditis, in dogs. CPV-2 has evolved, generating antigenic variants CPV-2a/2b/2c that are globally distributed. However, investigating molecular characterization of CPV-2 among dog populations in Mongolia has been limited. Herein, 42 stool samples were collected from dogs with clinical signs of infection, and conventional PCR assays were employed to detect CPV-2 in 23. Our results indicated that during 2016-2018, the new CPV-2a and 2c subtypes were detected in 34.7% of the samples, and the new CPV-2b subtype was detected in 30.4% of samples. VP2 protein sequence analysis and next-generation sequencing of the complete viral genome confirmed these antigenic types. However, sequence analysis indicated new and unreported mutations, Pro580Thr, and Tyr584His in the CPV-2c subtype. From a PCR-positive sample, CPV-2c was successfully isolated, and we performed an immunofluorescence assay for antigen detection. Additionally, we performed genetic characterization and phylogenetic analysis to investigate genetic diversity among isolates from the region, resulting in high CPV-2 genetic diversity in the Mongolian dog population. Striking similarities were also observed between sequences of the strains isolated from Mongolia and China over a similar time span.

Molecular Characterization of the α-Galactosidase SCO0284 from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), a Family 27 Glycosyl Hydrolase.

The SCO0284 gene of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) is predicted to encode an α-galactosidase (680 amino acids) belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 27. In this study, the SCO0284 coding region was cloned and overexpressed in Streptomyces lividans TK24. The mature form of SCO0284 (641 amino acids, 68 kDa) was purified from culture broth by gel filtration chromatography, with 83.3-fold purification and a yield of 11.2%. Purified SCO0284 showed strong activity against p-nitrophenyl-α-D-galactopyranoside, melibiose, raffinose, and stachyose, and no activity toward lactose, agar (galactan), and neoagarooligosaccharides, indicating that it is an α-galactosidase. Optimal enzyme activity was observed at 40°C and pH 7.0. The addition of metal ions or EDTA did not affect the enzyme activity, indicating that no metal cofactor is required. The kinetic parameters Vmax and Km for p-nitrophenyl-α-D-galactopyranoside were 1.6 mg/ml (0.0053 M) and 71.4 U/mg, respectively. Thin-layer chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis of the hydrolyzed products of melibiose, raffinose, and stachyose showed perfect matches with the masses of the sodium adducts of the hydrolyzed products, galactose (M+Na, 203), melibiose (M+Na, 365), and raffinose (M+Na, 527), respectively, indicating that it specifically cleaves the α-1,6-glycosidic bond of the substrate, releasing the terminal D-galactose.

Identification and characterization of a novel ß-galactosidase from Victivallis vadensis ATCC BAA-548, an anaerobic fecal bacterium.

Victivallis vadensis ATCC BAA-548 is a Gram-negative, anaerobic bacterium that was isolated from a human fecal sample. From the genomic sequence of V. vadensis, one gene was found to encode agarase; however, its enzymatic properties have never been characterized. The gene encoding the putative agarase (NCBI reference number ZP_01923925) was cloned by PCR and expressed in E. coli Rosetta-gami by using the inducible T(7) promoter of pET28a(+). The expressed protein with a 6×His tag at the N-terminus was named His6-VadG925 and purified as a soluble protein by Ni(2+)-NTA agarose affinity column chromatography. The purification of the enzyme was 26.8-fold, with a yield of 73.2% and a specific activity of 1.02 U/mg of protein. The purified His6-VadG925 produced a single band with an approximate MW of 155 kDa, which is consistent with the calculated value (154,660 Da) including the 6×His tag. Although VadG925 and many of its homologs were annotated as agarases, it did not hydrolyze agarose. Instead, purified His(6)-VadG925 hydrolyzed an artificial chromogenic substrate, p-nitrophenyl-ß-D-galactopyranoside, but not p-nitrophenyl-α-D-galactopyranoside. The optimum pH and temperature for this ß-galactosidase activity were pH 7.0 and 40°C, respectively. The K(m) and V(max) of His6-VadG925 towards p-nitrophenyl-ß-D-galactopyranoside were 1.69 mg/ml (0.0056 M) and 30.3 U/mg, respectively. His6-VadG925 efficiently hydrolyzed lactose into glucose and galactose, which was demonstrated by TLC and mass spectroscopy. These results clearly demonstrated that VadG925 is a novel ß-galactosidase that can hydrolyze lactose, which is unusual because of its low homology to validated ß-galactosidases.

Identification and characterization of a xyloglucan-specific family 74 glycosyl hydrolase from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2).

The sco6545 gene of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) was nominated as a putative cellulase with 863 mature-form amino acids (90.58 kDa). We overexpressed and purified Sco6545 and demonstrated that the protein is not a cellulase but a xyloglucan-specific glycosyl hydrolase which cleaves xyloglucan at unbranched glucose residues.

Identification and biochemical characterization of Sco3487 from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), an exo- and endo-type ß-agarase-producing neoagarobiose.

Streptomyces coelicolor can degrade agar, the main cell wall component of red macroalgae, for growth. To constitute a crucial carbon source for bacterial growth, the alternating α-(1,3) and ß-(1,4) linkages between the 3,6-anhydro-L-galactoses and D-galactoses of agar must be hydrolyzed by α/ß-agarases. In S. coelicolor, DagA was confirmed to be an endo-type ß-agarase that degrades agar into neoagarotetraose and neoagarohexaose. Genomic sequencing data of S. coelicolor revealed that Sco3487, annotated as a putative hydrolase, has high similarity to the glycoside hydrolase (GH) GH50 ß-agarases. Sco3487 encodes a primary translation product (88.5 kDa) of 798 amino acids, including a 45-amino-acid signal peptide. The sco3487 gene was cloned and expressed under the control of the ermE promoter in Streptomyces lividans TK24. ß-Agarase activity was detected in transformant culture broth using the artificial chromogenic substrate p-nitrophenyl-ß-D-galactopyranoside. Mature Sco3487 (83.9 kDa) was purified 52-fold with a yield of 66% from the culture broth. The optimum pH and temperature for Sco3487 activity were 7.0 and 40°C, respectively. The K(m) and V(max) for agarose were 4.87 mg/ml (4 × 10(-5) M) and 10.75 U/mg, respectively. Sco3487 did not require metal ions for its activity, but severe inhibition by Mn(2+) and Cu(2+) was observed. Thin-layer chromatography analysis, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry, and Fourier transform-nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry of the Sco3487 hydrolysis products revealed that Sco3487 is both an exo- and endo-type ß-agarase that degrades agarose, neoagarotetraose, and neoagarohexaose into neoagarobiose.

Overexpression and biochemical characterization of DagA from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2): an endo-type ß-agarase producing neoagarotetraose and neoagarohexaose.

The DagA product of Streptomyces coelicolor is an agarase with a primary translation product (35 kDa) of 309 amino acids, including a 30-amino acid signal peptide. Although dagA expression in Streptomyces lividans under the control of its own set of promoters was previously reported, its enzymatic properties have never been elucidated. To develop an improved expression system for dagA, three types of strong promoters for the Streptomyces host were linked to dagA, and their efficiencies in DagA production were compared in S. lividans TK24. All of the transformants with dagA grew at improved rates and produced larger amounts of DagA in the modified R2YE medium containing 0.5% agar as the sole carbon source. Of the three transformants, the S. lividans TK24/pUWL201-DagA (ermE promoter) produced the highest agarase activity (A (540)=4.24), and even the S. lividans TK24/pHSEV1-DagA (tipA promoter) and S. lividans TK24/pWHM3-DagA (sprT promoter) produced higher agarase activity (A (540)=0.24 and 0.12, respectively) than the control (A (540)=0.01) in the modified R2YE medium. The mature form of DagA protein (32 kDa) was successfully purified by one-step affinity column chromatography by using agarose beads with excellent yield. The purified DagA was found to exhibit maximal agarase activity at 40 °C and pH 7.0. The K(m), V(max), and K(cat) values for agarose were 2.18 mg/ml (approximately 1.82 × 10(-5) M), 39.06 U/mg of protein, and 9.5 × 10(3)/s, respectively. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, and Fourier transform nuclear magnetic resonance (FT-NMR) spectrometry of the hydrolyzed products of agarose by DagA revealed that DagA is an endo-type ß-agarase that degrades agarose into neoagarotetraose and neoagarohexaose.