Molecular discrimination of Hyalomma tick species serving as reservoirs and vectors for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in sub-Saharan Africa.

The species identification of tick vectors of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), especially Hyalomma (H.) species, is a prerequisite to understand the eco-epidemiology of this disease and to reveal vector and virus reservoir species. However, the morphologic species discrimination can be difficult for damaged or blood-fed ticks and in case of species intercrosses. Therefore, we used matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis to distinguish the most common Hyalomma species from sub-Saharan Africa (H. truncatum, H. rufipes and H. dromedarii). Within the last years, MALDI-TOF MS analysis based on tick leg proteins has been shown to be a reliable method to distinguish several tick species. For this purpose, a reference spectral library of several European, American and African tick species was established. In this study, six different Hyalomma species were tested, all of which were all clearly distinguishable by mass spectrometric analyses. Moreover, MALDI TOF- MS was able to confirm morphologic findings where sequencing provided ambiguous results. In addition, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on the CO1 gene amplification of ticks has been developed for the unequivocal species identification by amplicon sequencing and specific restriction endonuclease cleavage pattern analysis. RFLP proved to be a feasible auxiliary discrimination tool for selected Hyalomma species when access to sequencing methods is not available, as for instance during field studies.

Simple and rapid purification of alphaherpesviruses by chromatography on a cation exchange membrane.

A simple and rapid method is described for the purification of two alphaherpesviruses, pseudorabies virus (PrV) and bovine herpesvirus 1, by chromatography on a cation exchange membrane. Cell culture supernatants were passed over a sulfonic-acid modified filter membrane and virions were eluted with a potassium chloride-containing buffer. Over 85% of the virus was eluted within a single fraction and specific infectivity of the resulting virus preparation was over 10-fold higher than that of sucrose gradient-purified virions. Cation exchange was also used for purification of PrV mutants deleted in several glycoproteins which grow in cell culture to titers 10- to 100-fold lower than those obtained by wildtype PrV. For PrV, the presence of non-essential glycoprotein gC, which mediates interaction of virions with cell surface heparin sulfate during attachment, was crucial for the successful purification by cation exchange.

Gel filtration chromatography of triple-helical calf skin collagen.

Gel filtration of type I collagen has been of limited use, because at low pH where the protein is not associated it binds to agarose gels, and at neutrality collagen has a tendency to form fibrils. The more porous polyacrylamide-based gels do not interact with collagen but cannot be used at very high flow rates because they are compressible. It was found that these difficulties are surmounted by use of Fractogel TSK HW-65F, a spherical gel made from a weakly hydrophilic vinyl polymer, and use of the buffer system 0.5 M urea, 0.117 M Tris-HCl, pH 7.3, which prevents fibril formation. The solvent has only a slight effect on the thermal stability of collagen, as determined by circular dichroism measurements. The recovery of native collagen, at 25 degrees C, was at least 88% and that of partially unfolded collagen, at 35 degrees C where it is about one-third unfolded, was 98%. The Fractogel TSK gels and the urea, Tris solvent system should be useful for both preparative work and for studies involving interaction of unaggregated type I collagen with smaller molecules at physiological pH.