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Chang L, Wang D, Peng C, Wang Q, Xu B, Tong Z. A method for high-concentration agarose gel preparation and its application in high-resolution separation of low-molecular-weight nucleic acids and proteins. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 231:123358. [PMID: 36693602 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.123358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Separation of nucleic acids and proteins using gels has always been a crucial part of molecular biology research. For low-molecular-weight nucleic acids and proteins, low- and medium-concentration agarose gels cannot achieve the high resolution as polyacrylamide gels. We found that 6 %-14 % high-concentration agarose gels (HAGs) could be easily dissolved in an autoclave and the vertical gel cast can be effortlessly filled using an easy-made plastic box. Coupled with the improved buffer condition, HAG electrophoresis resulted in a good resolution of DNA and protein bands. With conventional TBE buffer plus 0.2 % NaCl, DNA fragments that differ by 2-5-bp within the 50-200-bp size range can be resolved on 6 %-8 % HAGs. By using TBE without NaCl, DNA fragments that differ by 2-bp or 2-nt within the 10-100-bp size range can be well resolved on >8 % HAGs. Using a buffer system comprising 1 M Tris-Cl for gel preparation, 0.2 M Tris-Cl/0.2 % SDS as upper tank buffer, and 0.2 M Tris-Cl as the lower tank buffer, HAGs achieved good molecular weight separation of total bacterial and plant proteins in the 10-200 kDa range. In conclusion, we developed a method for HAG preparation and electrophoresis of low-molecular-weight nucleic acids and proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lili Chang
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Resources of Tropical Crops, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences & Key Laboratory for Biology and Genetic Resources of Tropical Crops of Hainan Province, Hainan Institute for Tropical Agricultural Resources, Haikou 571101, China
| | - Dan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Resources of Tropical Crops, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences & Key Laboratory for Biology and Genetic Resources of Tropical Crops of Hainan Province, Hainan Institute for Tropical Agricultural Resources, Haikou 571101, China
| | - Cunzhi Peng
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Resources of Tropical Crops, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences & Key Laboratory for Biology and Genetic Resources of Tropical Crops of Hainan Province, Hainan Institute for Tropical Agricultural Resources, Haikou 571101, China
| | - Qi Wang
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Resources of Tropical Crops, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences & Key Laboratory for Biology and Genetic Resources of Tropical Crops of Hainan Province, Hainan Institute for Tropical Agricultural Resources, Haikou 571101, China
| | - Bingqiang Xu
- Haikou Experimental Station, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, Hainan 571101, China.
| | - Zheng Tong
- Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Resources of Tropical Crops, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences & Key Laboratory for Biology and Genetic Resources of Tropical Crops of Hainan Province, Hainan Institute for Tropical Agricultural Resources, Haikou 571101, China.
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Dubey JP, Howe DK, Furr M, Saville WJ, Marsh AE, Reed SM, Grigg ME. An update on Sarcocystis neurona infections in animals and equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). Vet Parasitol 2015; 209:1-42. [PMID: 25737052 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2015.01.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2014] [Revised: 01/27/2015] [Accepted: 01/29/2015] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a serious disease of horses, and its management continues to be a challenge for veterinarians. The protozoan Sarcocystis neurona is most commonly associated with EPM. S. neurona has emerged as a common cause of mortality in marine mammals, especially sea otters (Enhydra lutris). EPM-like illness has also been recorded in several other mammals, including domestic dogs and cats. This paper updates S. neurona and EPM information from the last 15 years on the advances regarding life cycle, molecular biology, epidemiology, clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment and control.
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Affiliation(s)
- J P Dubey
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD 20705-2350, USA.
| | - D K Howe
- M.H. Gluck Equine Research Center, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546-0099, USA
| | - M Furr
- Marion du Pont Scott Equine Medical Center, Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, 17690 Old Waterford Road, Leesburg, VA 20176, USA
| | - W J Saville
- Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University, 1920 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - A E Marsh
- Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University, 1920 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - S M Reed
- Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, Lexington, KY 40511, USA
| | - M E Grigg
- Molecular Parasitology Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Allergy, and Infectious Diseases, 4 Center Drive, Room B1-06, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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Gebrekidan H, Hailu A, Kassahun A, Rohoušová I, Maia C, Talmi-Frank D, Warburg A, Baneth G. Theileria infection in domestic ruminants in northern Ethiopia. Vet Parasitol 2013; 200:31-8. [PMID: 24360645 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2013.11.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2013] [Revised: 11/15/2013] [Accepted: 11/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Piroplasmosis caused by different tick-borne hemoprotozoan parasites of the genera Theileria and Babesia is among the most economically important infections of domestic ruminants in sub-Saharan Africa. A survey for piroplasm infection was conducted in three locations in Northern Ethiopia. Of 525 domestic ruminants surveyed, 80% of the cattle, 94% of the sheep and 2% of the goats were positive for different Theileria spp. based on PCR of blood followed by DNA sequencing. Sheep had a significantly higher rate of infection compared with cattle (P<0.0003) and both sheep and cattle had higher rates of infection compared to goats (P<0.0001). Four species of Theileria were detected in cattle: T. velifera, T. mutans, T. orientalis complex and T. annulata with infection rates of 66, 8, 4, and 2%, respectively. This is the first report of T. annulata, the cause of Tropical Theileriosis in Ethiopia. Of the two Theileria spp. detected in small ruminants, T. ovis was highly prevalent (92%) in sheep and rare in goats (1.5%) whereas T. seperata was infrequent in sheep (2%) and rare in goats (0.4%). None of the animals were positive for Babesia spp.; however, Sarcocystis capracanis and S. tenella were detected in one goat and a sheep, respectively. The widespread distribution of Theileria spp. among cattle in northern Ethiopia including the virulent T. annulata and more mildly pathogenic T. mutans and T. orientalis, and the high infection rate in sheep with the usually sub-clinical T. ovis indicate extensive exposure to ticks and transmission of piroplasms with an important economic impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hagos Gebrekidan
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Hebrew University, PO Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Asrat Hailu
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, PO Box 9086, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Aysheshm Kassahun
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, PO Box 9086, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Vinicna 7, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Iva Rohoušová
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Vinicna 7, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Carla Maia
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Vinicna 7, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic; Medical Parasitology unit. Center of Malaria and other Tropical Diseases. Institute of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Rua da Junqueira 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Dalit Talmi-Frank
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Hebrew University, PO Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Alon Warburg
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, The Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, The Kuvin Centre for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
| | - Gad Baneth
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Hebrew University, PO Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
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Yan W, Qian W, Li X, Wang T, Ding K, Huang T. Morphological and molecular characterization of Sarcocystis miescheriana from pigs in the central region of China. Parasitol Res 2012; 112:975-80. [PMID: 23224613 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-012-3219-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2012] [Accepted: 11/22/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Sarcocystosis is an important food-borne parasitosis in humans and various animals. Sarcocystis miescheriana and Sarcocystis suihominis are pathogenic to pigs; S. suihominis is also distinctly pathogenic to humans. Intermediate and final hosts can harbor more than one Sarcocystis species, so the exact identification for Sarcocystis infection in various hosts is essential to control sarcocystosis in humans and important economic animals including pigs. In this study, four isolates of sarcocysts from slaughtered pigs (SmJY1-SmJY4) in the central region of China, in Henan province, were collected and examined by transmission electron microscopy and 18S rRNA sequence analysis to identify the Sarcocystis species in pigs in China. The results showed that cysts in the diaphragm muscles have a thick cyst wall with a number of palisade-like protrusions up to 4.38 μm in length. Inside these protrusions, there were 13-16 fibrils per protrusion. Bradyzoites in cysts showed typical characteristics of Apicomplexa including a conoid, many micronemes, dense bodies, one big nucleus, and a number of amylopectin granules. These ultrastructural results suggest that characteristics of tissue cysts of the isolates SmJY1-SmJY4 were similar to those of S. miescheriana. The sequence similarities of SmJY1-SmJY4 with S. miescheriana were 99-99.5 %, and the sequence similarities of SmJY1-SmJY4 with S. suihominis were much lower. Results of the ultrastructural observation in combination with molecular characterization based on the 18S rRNA sequence represent the first demonstration of S. miescheriana in pigs in China. In addition, results of the histological examination showed that the cysts of S. miescheriana had two types of cyst wall, a palisade-like thick wall and another smoothly thin wall, and could cause obvious atrophy, degeneration, and necrosis of muscle fibers in the diaphragm of naturally infected pigs. These findings will provide an important reference for the examination of Sarcocystis species in the slaughter quarantine of live pigs and in the control of sarcocystosis in pigs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenchao Yan
- Animal Quarantine Laboratory, College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471003, China.
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Olias P, Gruber AD, Heydorn A, Kohls A, Mehlhorn H, Hafez HM, Lierz M. A novelSarcocystis-associated encephalitis and myositis in racing pigeons. Avian Pathol 2009; 38:121-8. [DOI: 10.1080/03079450902737847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Abstract
This article is presented with two main goals: (1) to provide equine clinicians with a resource for identifying types of serum tests available and (2) to outline briefly the necessary sample type, assay principle, and relative strengths and weakness of the various methods. Specific etiologies are presented and grouped by clinical diagnosis categories, along with brief comments concerning each disorder and its relevant diagnostic assays. This organization provides an abstracted list of infectious disorders commonly considered for the various clinical presentations and a summary of available serologic tests for narrowing the differential diagnosis list. The reader is also provided with a list of specific laboratories that perform the diagnostic assay for the mentioned disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kurt L Zimmerman
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
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Sundar N, Asmundsson IM, Thomas NJ, Samuel MD, Dubey JP, Rosenthal BM. Modest genetic differentiation among North American populations of Sarcocystis neurona may reflect expansion in its geographic range. Vet Parasitol 2008; 152:8-15. [PMID: 18243561 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2007.12.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2007] [Revised: 12/04/2007] [Accepted: 12/10/2007] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Sarcocystis neurona is an important cause of neurological disease in horses (equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, EPM) and sea otters in the United States. In addition, EPM-like disease has been diagnosed in several other land and marine mammals. Opossums are its only definitive hosts. Little genetic diversity among isolates of S. neurona from different hosts has been reported. Here, we used 11 microsatellites to characterize S. neurona DNA isolated from natural infections in 22 sea otters (Enhydra lutris) from California and Washington and in 11 raccoons (Procyon lotor) and 1 striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) from Wisconsin. By jointly analyzing these 34 isolates with 26 isolates previously reported, we determined that geographic barriers may limit S. neurona dispersal and that only a limited subset of possible parasite genotypes may have been introduced to recently established opossum populations. Moreover, our study confirms that diverse intermediate hosts share a common infection source, the opossum (Didelphis virginiana).
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Affiliation(s)
- N Sundar
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Natural Resources Institute, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705-2350, USA
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