A quantitative real time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay with specific primers recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) has been widely used successfully for detection and mon...A quantitative real time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay with specific primers recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) has been widely used successfully for detection and monitoring of the pandemic H1N1/2009 influenza A virus. In this study, we report the design and characterization of a novel set of primers to be used in a qRT-PCR assay for detecting the pandemic H1N1/2009 virus. The newly designed primers target three regions that are highly conserved among the hemagglutinin (HA) genes of the pandemic H1N1/2009 viruses and are different from those targeted by the WHO-recommended primers. The qRT-PCR assays with the newly designed primers are highly specific, and as specific as the WHO-recommended primers for detecting pandemic H1N1/2009 viruses and other influenza viruses including influenza B viruses and influenza A viruses of human, swine, and raccoon dog origin. Furthermore, the qRT-PCR assays with the newly designed primers appeared to be at least 10-fold more sensitive than those with the WHO-recommended primers as the detection limits of the assays with our primers and the WHO-recommended primers were 2.5 and 25 copies of target RNA per reaction, respectively. When tested with 83 clinical samples, 32 were detected to be positive using the qRT-PCR assays with our designed primers, while only 25 were positive by the assays with the WHO-recommended primers. These results suggest that the qRT-PCR system with the newly designed primers represent a highly sensitive assay for diagnosis of the pandemic H1N1/2009 virus infection.展开更多
Aureococcus anophagefferens, a small pelagophyte algae, has caused brown tide blooms in coastal waters of Qinhuangdao in recent years, presenting significant negative impacts on the shellfish mariculture industry. Und...Aureococcus anophagefferens, a small pelagophyte algae, has caused brown tide blooms in coastal waters of Qinhuangdao in recent years, presenting significant negative impacts on the shellfish mariculture industry. Under standard light microscopy, it is visually indistinguishable from other small algae in field samples due to its extremely small size. In this study, quantitative polymerase chain reaction(q PCR) based on 18 S r DNA sequences was developed and used to detect and enumerate A. anophagefferens. A linear regression(R2 = 0.91) was generated based on cycle thresholds value(Ct) versus known concentrations of A. anophagefferens. Twenty-two field samples collected in coastal waters of Qinhuangdao were subjected to DNA extraction and then analyzed using q PCR. Results showed that A. anophagefferens had a wide distribution in coastal waters along Qinhuangdao. Elevated A. anophagefferens abundance, category 3 brown tide blooms(〉200 000 cells/m L) occurred at Dongshan Beach and Tiger-stone Beach in August in 2013. In shellfish mariculture areas along coastal waters of Qinhuangdao, 4 stations had category 3 blooms, and 6 stations had category 2 blooms(35 000–200 000 cells/m L) in August and all stations had category 1 blooms(〉0 to ≤35 000 cells/m L) in October. Quantitative PCR allows for detection of A. anophagefferens cells at low levels in filed samples, which is essential to effective management and prediction of brown tide blooms.展开更多
The quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR)is a powerful and sensitive method to measure expression of targeted gene but it highly relies on the use of suitable reference genes for data normalization....The quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR)is a powerful and sensitive method to measure expression of targeted gene but it highly relies on the use of suitable reference genes for data normalization.We evaluated the expressions of 8 housekeeping genes:18S ribosomal rDNA(18S rDNA),28S ribosomal r DNA(28S rDNA),rubisco large subunit(rbc-L),β-actin(ACT),glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase(GAPDH),elongation factor 1(EF1),β-tubulin(Tub B),and P-phycoerythrin B(PEB),to select the suitable reference genes for different life-history stages(tetrasporophyte,carposporophyte,and male/female gametophyte)of Gracilaria vermiculophylla by absolute quantitative method.Softwares geNorm and BestKeeper were used to verify the results acquired from copy number analysis.Results show that the expression of identified reference genes varied in comparing groups composed of different type of life stages.It is suggested that 18S rDNA and TubB could be used for highly complex samples composed of mixed ploidy and phases.18S rDNA and 28S rDNA were also preferred for using among the matured isomorphic samples.But for samples with different maturities,TubB and ACT were recommended for tetrasporophytes and gametophytes respectively.展开更多
AIM:To evaluate the suitability of reference genes in gastric tissue samples and cell lines.METHODS:The suitability of genes ACTB,B2M,GAPDH,RPL29,and 18S rRNA was assessed in21 matched pairs of neoplastic and adjacent...AIM:To evaluate the suitability of reference genes in gastric tissue samples and cell lines.METHODS:The suitability of genes ACTB,B2M,GAPDH,RPL29,and 18S rRNA was assessed in21 matched pairs of neoplastic and adjacent nonneoplastic gastric tissues from patients with gastric adenocarcinoma,27 normal gastric tissues from patients without cancer,and 4 cell lines using reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR).The ranking of the best single and combination of reference genes was determined by NormFinder,geNorm,BestKeeper,and DataAssist.In addition,GenEx software was used to determine the optimal number of reference genes.To validate the results,the mRNA expression of a target gene,DNMT1,was quantified using the different reference gene combinations suggested by the various software packages for normalization.RESULTS:ACTB was the best reference gene for all gastric tissues,cell lines and all gastric tissues plus cell lines.GAPDH+B2M or ACTB+B2M was the best combination of reference genes for all the gastric tissues.On the other hand,ACTB+B2M was the best combination for all the cell lines tested and was also the best combination for analyses involving all the gastric tissues plus cell lines.According to the GenEx software,2 or 3 genes were the optimal number of references genes for all the gastric tissues.The relative quantification of DNMT1 showed similar patterns when normalized by each combination of reference genes.The level of expression of DNMT1 in neoplastic,adjacent non-neoplastic and normal gastric tissues did not differ when these samples were normalized using GAPDH+B2M(P=0.32),ACTB+B2M(P=0.61),or GAPDH+B2M+ACTB(P=0.44).CONCLUSION:GAPDH+B2M or ACTB+B2M is the best combination of reference gene for all the gastric tissues,and ACTB+B2M is the best combination for the cell lines tested.展开更多
AIM:To establish the more feasible and sensitive assessment approach to the detection of adefovir (ADV) resistance-associated hepatitis B virus (HBV) quasispecies.METHODS: Based on the characteristics of rtA181V/T and...AIM:To establish the more feasible and sensitive assessment approach to the detection of adefovir (ADV) resistance-associated hepatitis B virus (HBV) quasispecies.METHODS: Based on the characteristics of rtA181V/T and rtN236T mutations, a new approach based on real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was established for the detection of ADV-resistant HBV quasispecies, total HBV DNA, rtA181 and rtN236 mutations in blood samples from 32 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with unsatisfactory curative effect on ADV and compared with routine HBV DNA sequencing.RESULTS: Both the sensitivity and specificity of this new detection approach to ADV-resistant HBV quasispecies were 100%, which were much higher than those of direct HBV DNA sequencing. The approach was able to detect 0.1% of mutated strains in a total plasmid population. Among the 32 clinical patients, single rtA181 and rtN236T mutation and double rtA181T and rtN236T mutations were detected in 20 and 8, respectively, while ADV-resistant mutations in 6 (including, rtA181V/T mutation alone in 5 patients) and no associated mutations in 26.CONCLUSION: This new approach is more feasible and efficient to detect ADV-resistant mutants of HBV and ADV-resistant mutations before and during ADV treatment with a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 100%.展开更多
Tea plant (Camellia sinensis) has unique biological features for the study of cellular and molecular mechanisms, an evergreen broad-leaved woody plant which can accumulate selenium in soil abundant of Selenium. Expres...Tea plant (Camellia sinensis) has unique biological features for the study of cellular and molecular mechanisms, an evergreen broad-leaved woody plant which can accumulate selenium in soil abundant of Selenium. Expression of the genes related to Selenium (Se) metabolism is an adaptation to the soil environment for a long period. The purpose of the present study was to explore if there exist differences of expression about these genes in tea plant between growing in Selenium-abundant and normal soil. A quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (Q-RT-PCR) assay was done for quantification of ATP sulfurylase (APS) and selenocysteine methyltransferase (SMT) mRNA normalized to Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene in tea plant. Young leaves, mature leaves and tender roots from tea plants growing in soil abundant of Selenium were respectively obtained from Shitai County, Anhui Province, and also the relevant materials of the selenium un-enriched tea plant planted at agricultural garden of Ahui Agriculture University were taken as control for real-time PCR analysis. The results showed that APS1, APS2 and SMT expression levels for either young or mature leaves in selenium-enriched tea plant were lower than that in ordinary (selenium un-enriched) tea plant. In contrast, the APS1, APS2 and SMT expression level of roots in selenium-enriched tea plant were all higher than that in ordinary tea plant. APS1 gene expression level of roots in selenium-enriched tea plant was about 1.6 times higher than that in the ordinary tea plant, APS2 gene expression level was about 4.8-fold higher than that in the ordinary tea plant, SMT gene expression level was about 3.3 times higher than that in the ordinary tea plant. Among various tissues of selenium-enriched tea plant, APS1 gene relative expression level of young leaves was similar to or slightly higher than mature leaves, and the one of roots was the lowest among them;APS2 gene relative expression level of young leaves was similar to or slightly higher than the roots, and the one of mature leaves was the lowest among them;SMT gene relative expression level of young leaves was similar to or slightly higher than mature leaves, and the one of roots was the highest among them. Our results suggest that there existed correlation between selenium and expression levels of these genes.展开更多
Objective: To investigate molecular alterations associating with prostate carcinoma progression and potentially provide information toward more accurate prognosis/diagnosis. Methods: A set of laser captured microdisse...Objective: To investigate molecular alterations associating with prostate carcinoma progression and potentially provide information toward more accurate prognosis/diagnosis. Methods: A set of laser captured microdissected (LCM) speci- mens from 300 prostate cancer (PCa) patients undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) were defined. Ten patients representing "aggressive" PCa, and 10 representing "non-aggressive" PCa were selected based on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence, Gleason score, pathological stage and tumor cell differentiation, with matched patient age and race between the two groups. Normal and neoplastic prostate epithelial cells were collected with LCM from frozen tissue slides obtained from the RP specimens. The expressions of a panel of genes, including NPY, PTEN, AR, AMACR, DD3, and GSTP1, were measured by quantitative real-time RT-PCR (TaqMan), and correlation was analyzed with clinicopathological features. Results: The expressions of AMACR and DD3 were consistently up-regulated in cancer cells compared to benign prostate epithelial cells in all PCa patients, whereas GSTP1 expression was down regulated in each patient. NPY, PTEN and AR exhibited a striking difference in their expression patterns between aggressive and non-aggressive PCas (P=0.0203, 0.0284, and 0.0378, respectively, Wilcoxon rank sum test). The lower expression of NPY showed association with "aggressive" PCas based on a larger PCa patient cohort analysis (P=0.0037, univariate generalized linear model (GLM) analysis). Conclusion: Despite widely noted heterogeneous nature of PCa, gene ex- pression alterations of AMACR, DD3, and GSTP1 in LCM-derived PCa epithelial cells suggest for common underlying mecha- nisms in the initiation of PCa. Lower NPY expression level is significantly associated with more aggressive clinical behavior of PCa; PTEN and AR may have potential in defining PCa with aggressive clinical behavior. Studies along these lines have potential to define PCa-associated gene expression alterations and likely co-regulation of genes/pathways critical in the biology of PCa onset/progression.展开更多
We isolated 4 Norwalk-like viruses (NLVs) contaminated oysters from 33 Chinese oysters collected from local commer- cial sources of Shandong Province. After amplification of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) reg...We isolated 4 Norwalk-like viruses (NLVs) contaminated oysters from 33 Chinese oysters collected from local commer- cial sources of Shandong Province. After amplification of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) region of NLVs genomes with RT-PCR, the open reading frame 1 (ORF1) of the RdRp was sequenced and subjected to multiple-sequence alignment. The re- sults showed that NLVs in the four isolates belong to genogroup II. The sequence comparison showed that the similarity between four Chinese oyster isolates were higher than 99.0%, which indicated that NLVs prevalent in close areas have high homogeneity in genome sequences. In addition, the most conserved sequences between diverse NLVs were used to design primers and TaqMan probes, then the real-time quantitative PCR assay was performed. According to the standard curve of GII NLVs, the original amounts (copies) of NLVs in positive patient’s fecal isolate, positive Japanese oyster isolate, and the Chinese oyster isolate were 8.9×108, 1.25×108 and 4.7×101 respectively. The detecting limit of NLVs was 1×101 copies. This study will be helpful for routine diagnosis of NLVs pathogens in foods and thus for avoiding food poisoning in the future.展开更多
Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qPCR)has gained popularity as a technique to detect and quantify a specific group of target microorganisms from various environmental samples including soil,water,sedim...Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qPCR)has gained popularity as a technique to detect and quantify a specific group of target microorganisms from various environmental samples including soil,water,sediments,and sludge.Although qPCR is a very useful technique for nucleic acid quantification,accurately quantifying the target microbial group strongly depends on the quality of the primer and probe used.Many aspects of conducting qPCR assays have become increasingly routine and automated;however,one of the most important aspects,designing and selecting primer and probe sets,is often a somewhat arcane process.In many cases,failed or non-specific amplification can be attributed to improperly designed primer-probe sets.This paper is intended to provide guidelines and general principles for designing group-specific primers and probes for qPCR assays.We demonstrate the effectiveness of these guidelines by reviewing the use of qPCR to study anaerobic processes and biologic nutrient removal processes.qPCR assays using group-specific primers and probes designed with this method,have been used to successfully quantify 16S ribosomal Ribonucleic Acid(16S rRNA)gene copy numbers from target methanogenic and ammoniaoxidizing bacteria in various laboratory-and full-scale biologic processes.Researchers with a good command of primer and probe design can use qPCR as a valuable tool to study biodiversity and to develop more efficient control strategies for biologic processes.展开更多
针对微囊藻毒素合成酶基因mcyA探索一种适用于自然水样中微囊藻毒素产毒潜能检测的TaqMan实时荧光定量PCR方法。该方法从铜绿微囊藻FACHB-1279中的mcyA基因中扩增出目的基因片段,用TA克隆方法将基因片段插入Allel TA vector(ABP-CE-TAVE...针对微囊藻毒素合成酶基因mcyA探索一种适用于自然水样中微囊藻毒素产毒潜能检测的TaqMan实时荧光定量PCR方法。该方法从铜绿微囊藻FACHB-1279中的mcyA基因中扩增出目的基因片段,用TA克隆方法将基因片段插入Allel TA vector(ABP-CE-TAVEC020)中来制备质粒标准品。通过不同连续稀释倍数的质粒标准品成功构建了mcyA基因的标准曲线,该法构建的标准曲线相关系数高达0.998 3,满足实时荧光定量RT-PCR的要求。该方法检测所需水样少(仅200μL),具有水样基因组提取操作简便、快速、线性范围广、灵敏度高等优点,能应用于水库、湖泊等水源中具有产毒性能的微囊藻的快速定量检测。展开更多
基金supported by grants from National Basic Research Program of China (No.2011CB504800)National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31100128 and 81030031)+3 种基金National Mega Project on Major Drug Development (2009ZX09103-678)National Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) Program of Chinathe Technology R & D Program of Jiangsu Province, China (BG20077035 and BG2008662)NIH (RO1-AI041927,RO1-AI050468, RO1-DE014145, and RO1-DE014842)
文摘A quantitative real time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay with specific primers recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) has been widely used successfully for detection and monitoring of the pandemic H1N1/2009 influenza A virus. In this study, we report the design and characterization of a novel set of primers to be used in a qRT-PCR assay for detecting the pandemic H1N1/2009 virus. The newly designed primers target three regions that are highly conserved among the hemagglutinin (HA) genes of the pandemic H1N1/2009 viruses and are different from those targeted by the WHO-recommended primers. The qRT-PCR assays with the newly designed primers are highly specific, and as specific as the WHO-recommended primers for detecting pandemic H1N1/2009 viruses and other influenza viruses including influenza B viruses and influenza A viruses of human, swine, and raccoon dog origin. Furthermore, the qRT-PCR assays with the newly designed primers appeared to be at least 10-fold more sensitive than those with the WHO-recommended primers as the detection limits of the assays with our primers and the WHO-recommended primers were 2.5 and 25 copies of target RNA per reaction, respectively. When tested with 83 clinical samples, 32 were detected to be positive using the qRT-PCR assays with our designed primers, while only 25 were positive by the assays with the WHO-recommended primers. These results suggest that the qRT-PCR system with the newly designed primers represent a highly sensitive assay for diagnosis of the pandemic H1N1/2009 virus infection.
基金The National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No.40906081the Public Science and Technology Research Funds Projects of Ocean under contract Nos 2011418021 and 201305030Integrated Environmental Governances and Restoration in Beidaihe Coast of Hebei Province
文摘Aureococcus anophagefferens, a small pelagophyte algae, has caused brown tide blooms in coastal waters of Qinhuangdao in recent years, presenting significant negative impacts on the shellfish mariculture industry. Under standard light microscopy, it is visually indistinguishable from other small algae in field samples due to its extremely small size. In this study, quantitative polymerase chain reaction(q PCR) based on 18 S r DNA sequences was developed and used to detect and enumerate A. anophagefferens. A linear regression(R2 = 0.91) was generated based on cycle thresholds value(Ct) versus known concentrations of A. anophagefferens. Twenty-two field samples collected in coastal waters of Qinhuangdao were subjected to DNA extraction and then analyzed using q PCR. Results showed that A. anophagefferens had a wide distribution in coastal waters along Qinhuangdao. Elevated A. anophagefferens abundance, category 3 brown tide blooms(〉200 000 cells/m L) occurred at Dongshan Beach and Tiger-stone Beach in August in 2013. In shellfish mariculture areas along coastal waters of Qinhuangdao, 4 stations had category 3 blooms, and 6 stations had category 2 blooms(35 000–200 000 cells/m L) in August and all stations had category 1 blooms(〉0 to ≤35 000 cells/m L) in October. Quantitative PCR allows for detection of A. anophagefferens cells at low levels in filed samples, which is essential to effective management and prediction of brown tide blooms.
基金Supported by the Key Program of Science and Technology Innovation in Ningbo (No.2019B10009)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.41476111)。
文摘The quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR)is a powerful and sensitive method to measure expression of targeted gene but it highly relies on the use of suitable reference genes for data normalization.We evaluated the expressions of 8 housekeeping genes:18S ribosomal rDNA(18S rDNA),28S ribosomal r DNA(28S rDNA),rubisco large subunit(rbc-L),β-actin(ACT),glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase(GAPDH),elongation factor 1(EF1),β-tubulin(Tub B),and P-phycoerythrin B(PEB),to select the suitable reference genes for different life-history stages(tetrasporophyte,carposporophyte,and male/female gametophyte)of Gracilaria vermiculophylla by absolute quantitative method.Softwares geNorm and BestKeeper were used to verify the results acquired from copy number analysis.Results show that the expression of identified reference genes varied in comparing groups composed of different type of life stages.It is suggested that 18S rDNA and TubB could be used for highly complex samples composed of mixed ploidy and phases.18S rDNA and 28S rDNA were also preferred for using among the matured isomorphic samples.But for samples with different maturities,TubB and ACT were recommended for tetrasporophytes and gametophytes respectively.
基金Supported by Coordenao de Aperfei oamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) to Wisnieski F and Gigek COConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) to Burbano RR and Smith MACFundao de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de So Paulo (FAPESP) to Wisnieski F, Calcagno DQ, Leal M, Pontes TB and Smith MAC as grants and fellowship awards
文摘AIM:To evaluate the suitability of reference genes in gastric tissue samples and cell lines.METHODS:The suitability of genes ACTB,B2M,GAPDH,RPL29,and 18S rRNA was assessed in21 matched pairs of neoplastic and adjacent nonneoplastic gastric tissues from patients with gastric adenocarcinoma,27 normal gastric tissues from patients without cancer,and 4 cell lines using reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR).The ranking of the best single and combination of reference genes was determined by NormFinder,geNorm,BestKeeper,and DataAssist.In addition,GenEx software was used to determine the optimal number of reference genes.To validate the results,the mRNA expression of a target gene,DNMT1,was quantified using the different reference gene combinations suggested by the various software packages for normalization.RESULTS:ACTB was the best reference gene for all gastric tissues,cell lines and all gastric tissues plus cell lines.GAPDH+B2M or ACTB+B2M was the best combination of reference genes for all the gastric tissues.On the other hand,ACTB+B2M was the best combination for all the cell lines tested and was also the best combination for analyses involving all the gastric tissues plus cell lines.According to the GenEx software,2 or 3 genes were the optimal number of references genes for all the gastric tissues.The relative quantification of DNMT1 showed similar patterns when normalized by each combination of reference genes.The level of expression of DNMT1 in neoplastic,adjacent non-neoplastic and normal gastric tissues did not differ when these samples were normalized using GAPDH+B2M(P=0.32),ACTB+B2M(P=0.61),or GAPDH+B2M+ACTB(P=0.44).CONCLUSION:GAPDH+B2M or ACTB+B2M is the best combination of reference gene for all the gastric tissues,and ACTB+B2M is the best combination for the cell lines tested.
基金Supported by The fund from Health Project of Jiangsu Province,No.H200711the AIDS,Hepatitis B and Other Infectious Diseases Prevention Program,No.2009ZX10004-712
文摘AIM:To establish the more feasible and sensitive assessment approach to the detection of adefovir (ADV) resistance-associated hepatitis B virus (HBV) quasispecies.METHODS: Based on the characteristics of rtA181V/T and rtN236T mutations, a new approach based on real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was established for the detection of ADV-resistant HBV quasispecies, total HBV DNA, rtA181 and rtN236 mutations in blood samples from 32 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with unsatisfactory curative effect on ADV and compared with routine HBV DNA sequencing.RESULTS: Both the sensitivity and specificity of this new detection approach to ADV-resistant HBV quasispecies were 100%, which were much higher than those of direct HBV DNA sequencing. The approach was able to detect 0.1% of mutated strains in a total plasmid population. Among the 32 clinical patients, single rtA181 and rtN236T mutation and double rtA181T and rtN236T mutations were detected in 20 and 8, respectively, while ADV-resistant mutations in 6 (including, rtA181V/T mutation alone in 5 patients) and no associated mutations in 26.CONCLUSION: This new approach is more feasible and efficient to detect ADV-resistant mutants of HBV and ADV-resistant mutations before and during ADV treatment with a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 100%.
文摘Tea plant (Camellia sinensis) has unique biological features for the study of cellular and molecular mechanisms, an evergreen broad-leaved woody plant which can accumulate selenium in soil abundant of Selenium. Expression of the genes related to Selenium (Se) metabolism is an adaptation to the soil environment for a long period. The purpose of the present study was to explore if there exist differences of expression about these genes in tea plant between growing in Selenium-abundant and normal soil. A quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (Q-RT-PCR) assay was done for quantification of ATP sulfurylase (APS) and selenocysteine methyltransferase (SMT) mRNA normalized to Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene in tea plant. Young leaves, mature leaves and tender roots from tea plants growing in soil abundant of Selenium were respectively obtained from Shitai County, Anhui Province, and also the relevant materials of the selenium un-enriched tea plant planted at agricultural garden of Ahui Agriculture University were taken as control for real-time PCR analysis. The results showed that APS1, APS2 and SMT expression levels for either young or mature leaves in selenium-enriched tea plant were lower than that in ordinary (selenium un-enriched) tea plant. In contrast, the APS1, APS2 and SMT expression level of roots in selenium-enriched tea plant were all higher than that in ordinary tea plant. APS1 gene expression level of roots in selenium-enriched tea plant was about 1.6 times higher than that in the ordinary tea plant, APS2 gene expression level was about 4.8-fold higher than that in the ordinary tea plant, SMT gene expression level was about 3.3 times higher than that in the ordinary tea plant. Among various tissues of selenium-enriched tea plant, APS1 gene relative expression level of young leaves was similar to or slightly higher than mature leaves, and the one of roots was the lowest among them;APS2 gene relative expression level of young leaves was similar to or slightly higher than the roots, and the one of mature leaves was the lowest among them;SMT gene relative expression level of young leaves was similar to or slightly higher than mature leaves, and the one of roots was the highest among them. Our results suggest that there existed correlation between selenium and expression levels of these genes.
基金Project supported by the Center for Prostate Disease Researchthe Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Rockville, MD, USA
文摘Objective: To investigate molecular alterations associating with prostate carcinoma progression and potentially provide information toward more accurate prognosis/diagnosis. Methods: A set of laser captured microdissected (LCM) speci- mens from 300 prostate cancer (PCa) patients undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) were defined. Ten patients representing "aggressive" PCa, and 10 representing "non-aggressive" PCa were selected based on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence, Gleason score, pathological stage and tumor cell differentiation, with matched patient age and race between the two groups. Normal and neoplastic prostate epithelial cells were collected with LCM from frozen tissue slides obtained from the RP specimens. The expressions of a panel of genes, including NPY, PTEN, AR, AMACR, DD3, and GSTP1, were measured by quantitative real-time RT-PCR (TaqMan), and correlation was analyzed with clinicopathological features. Results: The expressions of AMACR and DD3 were consistently up-regulated in cancer cells compared to benign prostate epithelial cells in all PCa patients, whereas GSTP1 expression was down regulated in each patient. NPY, PTEN and AR exhibited a striking difference in their expression patterns between aggressive and non-aggressive PCas (P=0.0203, 0.0284, and 0.0378, respectively, Wilcoxon rank sum test). The lower expression of NPY showed association with "aggressive" PCas based on a larger PCa patient cohort analysis (P=0.0037, univariate generalized linear model (GLM) analysis). Conclusion: Despite widely noted heterogeneous nature of PCa, gene ex- pression alterations of AMACR, DD3, and GSTP1 in LCM-derived PCa epithelial cells suggest for common underlying mecha- nisms in the initiation of PCa. Lower NPY expression level is significantly associated with more aggressive clinical behavior of PCa; PTEN and AR may have potential in defining PCa with aggressive clinical behavior. Studies along these lines have potential to define PCa-associated gene expression alterations and likely co-regulation of genes/pathways critical in the biology of PCa onset/progression.
文摘We isolated 4 Norwalk-like viruses (NLVs) contaminated oysters from 33 Chinese oysters collected from local commer- cial sources of Shandong Province. After amplification of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) region of NLVs genomes with RT-PCR, the open reading frame 1 (ORF1) of the RdRp was sequenced and subjected to multiple-sequence alignment. The re- sults showed that NLVs in the four isolates belong to genogroup II. The sequence comparison showed that the similarity between four Chinese oyster isolates were higher than 99.0%, which indicated that NLVs prevalent in close areas have high homogeneity in genome sequences. In addition, the most conserved sequences between diverse NLVs were used to design primers and TaqMan probes, then the real-time quantitative PCR assay was performed. According to the standard curve of GII NLVs, the original amounts (copies) of NLVs in positive patient’s fecal isolate, positive Japanese oyster isolate, and the Chinese oyster isolate were 8.9×108, 1.25×108 and 4.7×101 respectively. The detecting limit of NLVs was 1×101 copies. This study will be helpful for routine diagnosis of NLVs pathogens in foods and thus for avoiding food poisoning in the future.
基金This work was also supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government(MOEHRD)by New&Renewable Energy of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning(KETEP)grant(No.20101T100100366).
文摘Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qPCR)has gained popularity as a technique to detect and quantify a specific group of target microorganisms from various environmental samples including soil,water,sediments,and sludge.Although qPCR is a very useful technique for nucleic acid quantification,accurately quantifying the target microbial group strongly depends on the quality of the primer and probe used.Many aspects of conducting qPCR assays have become increasingly routine and automated;however,one of the most important aspects,designing and selecting primer and probe sets,is often a somewhat arcane process.In many cases,failed or non-specific amplification can be attributed to improperly designed primer-probe sets.This paper is intended to provide guidelines and general principles for designing group-specific primers and probes for qPCR assays.We demonstrate the effectiveness of these guidelines by reviewing the use of qPCR to study anaerobic processes and biologic nutrient removal processes.qPCR assays using group-specific primers and probes designed with this method,have been used to successfully quantify 16S ribosomal Ribonucleic Acid(16S rRNA)gene copy numbers from target methanogenic and ammoniaoxidizing bacteria in various laboratory-and full-scale biologic processes.Researchers with a good command of primer and probe design can use qPCR as a valuable tool to study biodiversity and to develop more efficient control strategies for biologic processes.
文摘针对微囊藻毒素合成酶基因mcyA探索一种适用于自然水样中微囊藻毒素产毒潜能检测的TaqMan实时荧光定量PCR方法。该方法从铜绿微囊藻FACHB-1279中的mcyA基因中扩增出目的基因片段,用TA克隆方法将基因片段插入Allel TA vector(ABP-CE-TAVEC020)中来制备质粒标准品。通过不同连续稀释倍数的质粒标准品成功构建了mcyA基因的标准曲线,该法构建的标准曲线相关系数高达0.998 3,满足实时荧光定量RT-PCR的要求。该方法检测所需水样少(仅200μL),具有水样基因组提取操作简便、快速、线性范围广、灵敏度高等优点,能应用于水库、湖泊等水源中具有产毒性能的微囊藻的快速定量检测。