Biofunctionalized semiconductor quantum dots for virus detection

Virus is a kind of microorganism and possesses simple structure and contains one nucleic acid,which must be replicated using the host cell system.It causes large-scale infectious diseases and poses serious threats to the health,social well-being,and economic conditions of millions of people worldwide.Therefore,there is an urgent need to develop novel strategies for accurate diagnosis of virus infection to prevent disease transmission.Quantum dots(QDs)are typical fluorescence nanomaterials with high quantum yield,broad absorbance range,narrow and size-dependent emission,and good stability.QDs-based nanotechnology has been found to be effective method with rapid response,easy operation,high sensitivity,and good specificity,and has been widely applied for the detection of different viruses.However,until now,no systematic and critical review has been published on this important research area.Hence,in this review,we aim to provide a comprehensive coverage of various QDs-based virus detection methods.The fundamental investigations have been reviewed,including information related to the synthesis and biofunctionalization of QDs,QDs-based viral nucleic acid detection strategies,and QDs-based immunoassays.The challenges and perspectives regarding the potential application of QDs for virus detection is also discussed.

A mini review and hypothesis for coronavirus detection using photonics: surface enhanced Raman scattering and fluorescence resonance energy transfer

COVID-19 has devastated numerous nations around the world and has overburdened numerous healthcare systems,which has also caused the loss of livelihoods due to prolonged shutdowns and further led to a cascading effect on the global economy.COVID-19 infections have an incubation period of 2–7 days,but 40 to 45%of cases are asymptomatic or show mild to moderate respiratory symptoms after the period due to subclinical lung abnormalities,making it more likely to spread the pandemic disease.To restrict the spread of the virus,on-site diagnosis methods that are quicker,more precise,and easily accessible are required.Rapid Antigen Detection Tests and Polymerase Chain Reaction tests are currently the primary methods used to determine the presence of COVID-19 viruses.These tests are typically time-consuming,not accurate,and,more importantly,not available to everyone.Hence,in this review and hypothesis,we proposed equipment that employs the properties of photonics to improve the detection of COVID-19 viruses by taking the advantage of typical binding of coronavirus with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2(ACE2)receptors.This hypothetical model would combine Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering(SERS)and Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer(FRET)to provide great flexibility,high sensitivities,and enhanced accessibility.

Establishment of Reverse-transcription Loopmediated Isothermal Amplification Method for Detection of Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus

A reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification （RT-LAMP） method was established for the detection of wheat streak mosaic virus （WSMV）. Ac-cording to the conservative regions of the genes that encode the coat protein of WSMV, 2 pairs of primers were designed. Final y, the 1st pair of primers was select-ed through the specificity test. The sensitivity test showed the sensitivity of RT-LAMP method was 10 times higher than that of RT-PCR. In addition, the amplifica-tion of target gene could be judged visual y from the presence of fluorescence （cal-cein） in the final reaction system. The RT-LAMP method, established in this study, was rapid, easy, specific and sensitive. Moreover, it did not require sophisticated equip-ment. The RT-LAMP was suitable for the rapid detection of WSMV.

不同症状类型苜蓿病毒病AMV病原检测及其寄主范围测定

为明确采自田间不同症状类型苜蓿病毒病病样中苜蓿花叶病毒(alfalfa mosaic virus,AMV)的带毒情况、症状表现与叶绿素含量的相关性及AMV的寄主范围,本试验通过田间调查采样、症状归类、丙酮乙醇混合液法和双抗体夹心酶联免疫吸附测定(DAS-ELISA)法对不同病样的叶绿素和AMV含量进行测定和检测,并对提纯至不同症状类型病样中AMV对9科32种植物的致病性进行测定。结果表明田间苜蓿病毒病病样有轻花叶、重花叶、叶片边缘褪绿黄化型和叶片畸形皱缩花叶矮化型4种症状类型,均带有AMV,且叶绿素含量、AMV含量与症状表现之间具有正相关性,症状表现最严重的叶片畸形皱缩花叶矮化型病样的叶绿素a、b、总叶绿素含量均比对照低58.00%以上,类胡萝卜素含量比对照高134.06%,AMV含量最高,为252.96 pg·mL^(-1);寄主范围测定表明AMV可侵染7科27种植物,对西葫芦致病性最强,症状表现为局部枯斑,30 d时AMV浓度为316.19 pg·mL^(-1)。

Rapid and Sensitive Detection of PRRSV by a Reverse Transcription-Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay

A real-time monitoring reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay was developed for the sensitive and specific detection of prototypic,prevalent North American porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) strains.As a higher sensitivity and specificity method than reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR),the RT-LAMP method only used a turbidimeter,exhibited a detection limit corresponding to a 10-4 dilution of template RNA extracted from 250 μL of 105 of the 50% tissue culture infective dose (TCID50) of PRRSV-containing cells,and no cross-reactivity was observed with other related viruses including porcine circovirus type 2,swine influenza virus,porcine rotavirus and classical swine fever virus.From forty-two field samples,33 samples in the RT-LAMP assay was detected positive,whereas three of which were not detected by RT-PCR.Furthermore,in 33 strains of PRRSV,an identical detection rate was observed with the RT-LAMP assay to what were isolated using porcine alveolar macrophages.These findings demonstrated that the RT-LAMP assay has potential clinical applications for the detection of highly pathogenic PRRSV isolates,especially in developing countries.

Real-time RT-PCR Assay for the detection of Tahyna Virus

A real-time RT-PCR （RT-qPCR） assay for the detection of Tahyna virus was developed to monitor Tahyna virus infection in field-collected vector mosquito samples. The targets selected for the assay were S segment sequences encoding the nucleocapsid protein from the Tahyna virus. Primers and probes were selected in conserved regions by aligning genetic sequences from various Tahyna virus strains available from GenBank. The sensitivity of the RT-qPCR approach was compared to that of a standard plaque assay in BHK cells. RT-qPCR assay can detect 4.8 PFU of titrated Tahyna virus. Assay specificities were determined by testing a battery of arboviruses, including representative strains of Tahyna virus and other arthropod-borne viruses from China. Seven strains of Tahyna virus were confirmed as positive; the other seven species of arboviruses could not be detected by RT-qPCR. Additionally, the assay was used to detect Tahyna viral RNA in pooled mosquito samples. The RT-qPCR assay detected Tahyna virus in a sensitive, specific, and rapid manner; these findings support the use of the assay in viral surveillance.

Detection and Analysis of Ebola Virus in Sierra Leone-China Friendship Biosafety Laboratory from March 11 to April 20, 2015

Ebola virus disease reemerged in Western Africa in 2014.Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention dispatched the first Ebola virus（EBOV）detection team to run newly established Sierra Leone-China Friendship Biological Safety Laboratory.The aims of study were to understand epidemiology,clinical manifestations and survival time of EBOV in patient＇s blood.A total of 913specimens were tested between March 11 and April20, 2015. EBOV positivity occurred in 7.37% of the blood and 0.53% in throat swabs.

GENE ENGINEERING EB VIRUS MEMBRANE ANTIGEN IN DETECTION OF MA-IgA ANTIBODY(COMPARISON WITH VCA-IgA AND EA-IgA ANTIBODIES)

With gene engineering EB virus membrane antigen as the diagnostic antigen, indirect immunofluo-rescence (IF) assay was used to detect IgA antibody against EB virus membrane antigen (MA-IgA) in sera from 202 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients and 315 controls (normal and patients with other tumors). MA-IgA antibody was positive in 96.8% of the pretreatment NPC patients with a GMT of 1:36.3. MA-IgA detection by this method was more sensitive than EA-IgA detection by IE. In contrast, patients with tumors other than NPC were negative for MA-IgA antibody. 9.1% of VCA-IgA positive persons were MA-IgA positive with a GMT of less than 1:5. No MA-IgA positive was found in VCA-IgA negatives. The results indicated that this method was relatively specific. In the treatment group, the positive rate and GMT of MA-IgA antibody declined with increase in survival time and the decline was faster than VCA-IgA. When recurrence or distant metastasis developed, similar to VCA-IgA and EA-IgA antibodies, the positive rate and GMT of MA-IgA antibody increased to its pretreatment level. Therefore, MA-IgA detection might be valuable in the early diagnosis and monitor of NPC.

Study on Virus-free Culture and Rapid Propagation Technology of Xiangshu Series Varieties of Sweet Potato

[Objective] Sweet potato virus disease had a significant harm to the yield and quality of sweet potato, directly causing the degradation of sweet potato vari- eties and even the harvest failure. Therefore, the detection and removal of sweet potato virus and the establishment of rapid propagation method of sweet potato is of great significance to ensure the stable inheritance of excellent characters of sweet potato, prevent the spread of sweet potato virus and develop sweet potato industry. [Method] With Xiangshu series varieties of sweet potato, Xiangshu 15 and Xiangshu 19 as the research materials, a virus-free culture program was established for meristem tip apex tissue culture of different cultivars, and a rapid propagation method was developed for virus-free seedlings. [Result｜ On the basis of analysis on seedling emergence rate, the optimal addition scheme of plant hormones in the MS culture medium of Xiangshu 15 was 6-BA 3.0 mg/L ＋ NAA 1.0 mg/L, and the opti- mal plant hormone addition scheme for Xiangshu 19 was 6-BA 2.0 mg/L ＋ NAA 0.67 mg/L Under the developed rapid propagation system, the annual reproductive coefficient was up to 49 152, far higher than that （20 000） in field. IConclusionl Based on the actual production, combined with the meristem tip apex tissue culture, a comprehensive prevention and control measure was put forward, which included virus detection, early warning, removal and virus-free seedlings breeding, tt was of great strategic significance to improve the yield and quality of high-quality sweet potato and ensure the healthy development of sweet potato industry in China.

Prokaryotic Expression and Potential Application of the Truncated PCV-2 Capsid Protein

Three pairs of specific primers were designed to amplify the F2-1, F2-2 and XF2-2 truncated sequences of ORF2 which encodes the capsid protein of porcine circovirus type 2 （PCV-2）. The F2-1 sequence had most of the NLS region of ORF2, but the F2-2 and XF2-2 genes had the NLS region deleted. Truncated genes were subcloned into pET-32a（＋） vectors to construct recombinant fusion expression vectors. The vectors were then transformed into Rosetta（DE3） E. coli and expressed by induction of IPTG. Expressed proteins were detected by western blotting and ELISA. The protein with best immunoreactivity was confirmed and selected, then utilized to inoculate SPF rabbits to prepare polyclonal antibodies. The protein and prepared polyclonal antibody were utilized to detect sera samples against PCV-2 from Shandong province and PCV-2 particles in PK-15 cells. In our study, three recombinant fusion proteins were successfully obtained, and the molecular weights of fusion proteins were 35.9 kDa, 33.6 kDa and 38.6 kDa respectively detected by SDS-PAGE. All of the proteins showed positive reaction with anti-PCV-2 antisera, and His-XF2-2 showed better immunoreactivity than the others. The protein of His-XF2-2 was coated as antigen in ELISA to detect the seroprevalence of PCV-2 in certain districts of Shandong province, the seropositivity rate was 27.7 % （73/264）. Specific fluorescence and positive signals for PCV-2 could be detected in PK-15 cells inoculated with PCV-2 with the participation of prepared antibodies against His-XF2-2 in IFA and IPMA. Experimental results indicated that the truncated PCV-20RF2 gene containing most of the NLS region was successfully expressed in E. coli, and His-XF2-2 was demonstrated to have better immunoreactivity with anti-PCV-2 antisera than the other two fusion proteins. His-XF2-2 and prepared polyclonal antibodies against it had a satisfactory capability in detecting PCV-2 infection.

Development of a Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay for Porcine Circovirus Type 2

In this study, the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method was used to develop a rapid and simple detection system for porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2). According to the PCV2 sequences published in GenBank, multiple LAMP primers were designed targeting conserved sequences of PCV2. Using the DNA extracted from PCV2 isolates HUN-09 and SD-09 as the template, LAMP reactions in a PCV2 LAMP system was performed, the amplification products were detected by adding SYBR Green I and could be observed directly by the naked eye. The results showed highly-efficient and specific amplification in 30 min at 63°C with a LAMP real-time turbidimeter. Furthermore, PCV2 DNA templates, with a detection limit of 5.5×10-5 ng of nucleic acid, indicated that this assay was highly sensitive. The results obtained with the naked eye after SYBR Green I staining were consistent with those detected by the real-time turbidimeter, showing the potential simplicity of interpretation of the assay results. The LAMP assay appeared to have greater accuracy than PCR and virus isolation for the analysis of 18 clinical samples. In addition it offers higher specificity and sensitivity, shorter reaction times and simpler procedures than the currently available methods of PCV2 detection. It is therefore a promising tool for the effective and efficient detection of PCV2.

Detection of diverse viruses in alimentary specimens of bats in Macao

Bats carry a variety of viruses, and some of them cause public health problems. Macao, which is famous for its gambling industry, has a complex population structure. The globalization in such an international metropolis has enhanced the chance of disease transmission. Therefore, surveillance of zoonotic viruses is necessary for the early warning of potential emerging infectious diseases.Here, we report the first surveillance of bat viruses in Macao. In this study, we collected 1004 samples involving 10 bat species from 7 sites from April 2015 to May 2016, and examined the presence of viruses using nucleic acid-based methods. Coronaviruses, adenoviruses and paramyxoviruses were detected in these samples, with a high prevalence of coronaviruses. While,none was positive for hepatitis A virus, hepatitis E virus or hantavirus. Co-infections are not common in those bat species, but coronavirus HKU6 and adenovirus can be found commonly occurred in Myotis ricketti.

Hepatitis associated with hepatitis B virus in broilers

Infection by hepatitis B virus （HBV） results in acute and chronic liver damages in humans. Liver products of broilers as a primary food consumed in our daily life have a close connection with public health. The prevalence of the virus in livers and serum of broilers is of great significance, owning to the potential transmission between chickens and humans. Liver tissues and serum samples were tested to investigate the prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection in slaughtered broilers, for expression of HBV antigens and antibodies. The distribution and positive rate of hepatitis B surface antigen （HBsAg）, hepatitis B core antigen （HBcAg） and hepatitis B e antigen （HBeAg） in liver samples were examined using immunohistochemistry. HBsAg was mainly located in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes with a positivity of 81.61% whereas HBeAg and HBcAg were primarily located in the nucleus of hepatocytes with a positivity of 40.13 and 49.10%, respectively. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） analysis of serum for HBV serological markers demonstrated a high prevalence of hepatiits B surface antibody （HBsAb, 54.91%） and hepatitis B core antibody （HBcAb, 27.68%）, whereas HBeAb, HBsAg and HBeAg were rarely detectable. Classic hepatitis pathological changes, including swollen hepatocytes, focal parenchymal necrosis, lymphocytic infiltration and hyperplasia of fibrous connective tissues were observed using histopathological analysis. Some of the liver samples were found positive for HBV DNA using nested PCR. Sequence comparison confirmed that all sequences shared 97.5-99.3% identity with human HBV strains. These results demonstrated the existence of HBV in livers and serums of broilers. Animals or animal products contaminated with HBV could raise an important public health concern over food safety and zoonotic risk.

Survey of Porcine Viral Diarrhea in Beijing Using Umbilical Cord Blood

[ Objective] The study aimed to understand the status of piglet diarrhea virus in large-scale farms in surrounding areas of Beijing. [ Method] By collecting 570 umbilical cord blood samples of diseased pigs, nucleic acids of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus （PRRSV） , classical swine fever virus （CSFV）, porcine pseudorabies virus （PRV）, porcine circovirus （PCV）, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus （PEDV）, transmissible gastroenteritis virus （TGEV）, and porcine rotavirus （RV） were detected by PCR or RT-PCR assay. [Result] The detection rates of PRRSV, PCV-2, PEI）V, PPV, TGEV, PRV, RV and CSFV were 38.7%, 29.6%, 21.8%, 13.03%, 5.6%, 4.2%, 3.8% and 1.7%, respectively. [ Conclusion] The major pathogens were PRRSV, PCV-2, PEDV and PPV, and mixed infection was serious.

A Study on Tissue Culture and Rapid Propagation ofGinger

The buds of ginger grown in Tongdao Dong Autonomous County were used as explants, the tissue culture and rapid propagation of ginger were studied and the CMV (Cucumber mosaic virus) and TMV (Tobacco mosaic virus) of ginger tissue culture seedlings were detected. The results showed that MS+6-BA 4.0 mg/L+NAA 0.2 mg/L was the suitable medium for the proliferation induction and differentiation of ginger seedlings. This medium can realize the synchronous culture of ginger seedling proliferation and rooting, and one-step seedling re fining and transplanting, and the proliferation multiple can reach 3.00. The suitable rooting medium was 1/2MS+0.4 mg/L NAA. The survival rate of coir and vermiculite was the highest among the 4 culture mediums, reaching 100%. The survival rate of peat and cottonseed shell was very low, among which the ginger seedling transplanted with vermiculite grew more robustly than that transplanted with coir, with developed root system, more adventitious roots and less yellowing of leaves. No CMV and TMV were found in the tissue culture seedlings of ginger. The tissue culture seedlings can be used for the production of non-toxic ginger seedlings.

Complete Genome Sequence Analysis of Guangdong Isolates of Cymbidium Mosaic Virus

[Objectives]The paper was to explore the genetic information and evolution of CymMV,and to provide an important scientific basis for monitoring and early warning of orchid virus disease and anti-virus genetic engineering of orchid in Guangdong Province.[Methods]RT-PCR and DASELISA were used to detect and identify CymMV from leaves with suspected virus disease of Cymbidium sinense collected from Guangzhou area.The genome sequence assembly,annotation,phylogeny and selection pressure analysis of CymMV isolates were performed with related molecular biology software.[Results]Two CymMV isolates(GZV013 and ZC29)were found in Guangdong Province for the first time in this study.The genome of both GZV013 and ZC29 were 6227 nt in length,encoding 5 functional proteins.The similarity analysis of the full sequence showed that the nucleotide sequence identity of GZV013 and Taiwan isolate M2 was 97.03% and that of ZC29 and Nanjing isolate NJ-1 was 97.11%.The complete genome sequence identity among CymMV isolates ranged from 86.85% to 98.31%,and the differentiation of diverse populations was closely related to host species and geographical isolation.Each region of CymMV genome was affected by negative selection and conformed to the neutral evolution model.The genes encoding RdRp,TGB1 and TGB2 had the highest mutation rates in the genome.[Conclusions]GZV013 was most closely related to Taiwan isolate M2,and ZC29 was most closely related to Nanjing isolate NJ-1,belonging to the same branch of a family.