Generation of recombinant rotavirus with an antigenic mosaic of cross-reactive neutralization epitopes on VP4

Using Species a Rotavirus Reverse Genetics to Engineer Chimeric Viruses Expressing SARS-CoV-2 Spike Epitopes

Species A rotavirus (RVA) vaccines based on live attenuated viruses are used worldwide in humans. The recent establishment of a reverse genetics system for rotoviruses (RVs) has opened the possibility of engineering chimeric viruses expressing heterologous peptides from other viral or microbial species in order to develop polyvalent vaccines. We tested the feasibility of this concept by two approaches. First, we inserted short SARS-CoV-2 spike peptides into the hypervariable region of the simian RV SA11 strain viral protein (VP) 4. Second, we fused the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, or the shorter receptor binding motif (RBM) nested within the RBD, to the C terminus of nonstructural protein (NSP) 3 of the bovine RV RF strain, with or without an intervening Thosea asigna virus 2A (T2A) peptide. Mutating the hypervariable region of SA11 VP4 impeded viral replication, and for these mutants, no cross-reactivity with spike antibodies was detected. To rescue NSP3 mutants, we established a plasmid-based reverse genetics system for the bovine RV RF strain. Except for the RBD mutant that demonstrated a rescue defect, all NSP3 mutants delivered endpoint infectivity titers and exhibited replication kinetics comparable to that of the wild-type virus. In ELISAs, cell lysates of an NSP3 mutant expressing the RBD peptide showed cross-reactivity with a SARS-CoV-2 RBD antibody. 3D bovine gut enteroids were susceptible to infection by all NSP3 mutants, but cross-reactivity with SARS-CoV-2 RBD antibody was only detected for the RBM mutant. The tolerance of large SARS-CoV-2 peptide insertions at the C terminus of NSP3 in the presence of T2A element highlights the potential of this approach for the development of vaccine vectors targeting multiple enteric pathogens simultaneously. IMPORTANCE We explored the use of rotaviruses (RVs) to express heterologous peptides, using SARS-CoV-2 as an example. Small SARS-CoV-2 peptide insertions (<34 amino acids) into the hypervariable region of the viral protein 4 (VP4) of RV SA11 strain resulted in reduced viral titer and replication, demonstrating a limited tolerance for peptide insertions at this site. To test the RV RF strain for its tolerance for peptide insertions, we constructed a reverse genetics system. NSP3 was C-terminally tagged with SARS-CoV-2 spike peptides of up to 193 amino acids in length. With a T2A-separated 193 amino acid tag on NSP3, there was no significant effect on the viral rescue efficiency, endpoint titer, and replication kinetics. Tagged NSP3 elicited cross-reactivity with SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies in ELISA. We highlight the potential for development of RV vaccine vectors targeting multiple enteric pathogens simultaneously.

Re-Examining Rotavirus Innate Immune Evasion: Potential Applications of the Reverse Genetics System

Rotaviruses represent one of the most successful pathogens in the world, with high infectivity and efficient transmission between the young of many animal species, including humans. To overcome host defenses, rotaviruses have evolved a plethora of strategies to effectively evade the innate immune response, establish initial infection in the small intestine, produce progeny, and shed into the environment. Previously, studying the roles and relative contributions of specific rotaviral factors in innate immune evasion had been challenging without a plasmid-only reverse genetics system. Although still in its infancy, current reverse genetics technology will help address important research questions regarding rotavirus innate immune evasion, host range restriction, and viral pathogenesis. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about the antiviral host innate immune defense mechanisms, countermeasures of rotavirus-encoded factors, and strategies to better understand these interactions using the rotavirus reverse genetics system.

FAST Proteins: Development and Use of Reverse Genetics Systems for Reoviridae Viruses

Reverse genetics systems for viruses, the technology used to generate gene-engineered recombinant viruses from artificial genes, enable the study of the roles of the individual nucleotides and amino acids of viral genes and proteins in infectivity, replication, and pathogenicity. The successful development of a reverse genetics system for poliovirus in 1981 accelerated the establishment of protocols for other RNA viruses important for human health. Despite multiple efforts, rotavirus (RV), which causes severe gastroenteritis in infants, was refractory to reverse genetics analysis, and the first complete reverse genetics system for RV was established in 2017. This novel technique involves use of the fusogenic protein FAST (fusion-associated small transmembrane) derived from the bat-borne Nelson Bay orthoreovirus, which induces massive syncytium formation. Co-transfection of a FAST-expressing plasmid with complementary DNAs encoding RV genes enables rescue of recombinant RV. This review focuses on methodological insights into the reverse genetics system for RV and discusses applications and potential improvements to this system.

Rotavirus reverse genetics: A tool for understanding virus biology

Rotaviruses (RVs) are considered to be one of the most common causes of viral gastroenteritis in young children and infants worldwide. Before recent developments, studies on rotavirus biology have suffered from the lack of an effective reverse genetics (RG) system to generate recombinant rotaviruses and study the precise roles of the viral proteins in the context of RV infection. Lately a fully-tractable plasmid-only based RG system for rescuing recombinant rotaviruses has been developed leading to a breakthrough in the RV field. Since then, the reproducibility and improvements of this technology have led to the generation of several recombinant rotaviruses with modifications on different gene segments, which has allowed the manipulation of viral genes to characterise the precise roles of viral proteins during RV replication cycle or to encode exogenous proteins for different purposes. This review will recapitulate the different RG approaches developed so far, highlighting any similarities, differences and limitations of the systems as well as the gene segments involved. The review will further summarise the latest recombinant rotaviruses generated using the plasmid-only based RG system showing the enormous potentials of this technique to shed light on the still unanswered questions in rotavirus biology.

Human Rotavirus Reverse Genetics Systems to Study Viral Replication and Pathogenesis

Human rotaviruses (HuRVAs) are highly important causes of acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide. A lack of reliable and reproducible reverse genetics systems for HuRVAs has limited a proper understanding of HuRVA biology and also the rational design of live-attenuated vaccines. Since the development of the first reverse genetics system for RVAs (partially plasmid-based reverse genetics system) in 2006, there have been many efforts with the goal of generating infectious recombinant HuRVAs entirely from cloned cDNAs. However, the establishment of a HuRVA reverse genetics system was very challenging until 2019. This review article provides an overview of the historical background of the recent development of long-awaited HuRVA reverse genetics systems, beginning with the generation of recombinant human-simian reassortant RVAs with the aid of a helper virus in 2006 and the generation of recombinant animal (simian) RVAs in a helper virus-free manner in 2017, and culminating in the generation of recombinant HuRVAs entirely from plasmid cDNAs in 2019. Notably, the original HuRVA reverse genetics system has already been optimized to increase the efficiency of virus generation. Although the application of HuRVA reverse genetics systems has only just been initiated, these technologies will help to answer HuRVA research questions regarding viral replication and pathogenicity that could not be addressed before, and to develop next-generation vaccines and intestine-specific rotaviral vectors.

Recent advances in rotavirus reverse genetics and its utilization in basic research and vaccine development

Rotaviruses are segmented double-stranded RNA viruses with a high frequency of gene reassortment, and they are a leading cause of global diarrheal deaths in children less than 5 years old. Two-thirds of rotavirus-associated deaths occur in low-income countries. Currently, the available vaccines in developing countries have lower efficacy in children than those in developed countries. Due to added safety concerns and the high cost of current vaccines, there is a need to develop cost-effective next-generation vaccines with improved safety and efficacy. The reverse genetics system (RGS) is a powerful tool for investigating viral protein functions and developing novel vaccines. Recently, an entirely plasmid-based RGS has been developed for several rotaviruses, and this technological advancement has significantly facilitated novel rotavirus research. Here, we review the recently developed RGS platform and discuss its application in studying infection biology, gene reassortment, and development of vaccines against rotavirus disease.

Rescue of Infectious Rotavirus Reassortants by a Reverse Genetics System Is Restricted by the Receptor-Binding Region of VP4

The rotavirus species A (RVA) capsid contains the spike protein VP4, which interacts with VP6 and VP7 and is involved in cellular receptor binding. The capsid encloses the genome consisting of eleven dsRNA segments. Reassortment events can result in novel strains with changed properties. Using a plasmid-based reverse genetics system based on simian RVA strain SA11, we previously showed that the rescue of viable reassortants containing a heterologous VP4-encoding genome segment was strain-dependent. In order to unravel the reasons for the reassortment restrictions, we designed here a series of plasmids encoding chimeric VP4s. Exchange of the VP4 domains interacting with VP6 and VP7 was not sufficient for rescue of viable viruses. In contrast, the exchange of fragments encoding the receptor-binding region of VP4 resulted in virus rescue. All parent strains and the rescued reassortants replicated efficiently in MA-104 cells used for virus propagation. In contrast, replication in BSR T7/5 cells used for plasmid transfection was only efficient for the SA11 strain, whereas the rescued reassortants replicated slowly, and the parent strains failing to produce reassortants did not replicate. While future research in this area is necessary, replication in BSR T7/5 cells may be one factor that affects the rescue of RVAs.

Rotavirus reverse genetics systems: Development and application

Rotaviruses (RVs) cause acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children. Since 2006, live-attenuated vaccines have reduced the number of RV-associated deaths; however, RV is still responsible for an estimated 228,047 annual deaths worldwide. RV, a member of the family Reoviridae, has an 11-segmented double-stranded RNA genome contained within a non-enveloped, triple layered virus particle. In 2017, a long-awaited helper virus-free reverse genetics system for RV was established. Since then, numerous studies have reported the generation of recombinant RVs; these studies verify the robustness of reverse genetics systems. This review provides technical insight into current reverse genetics systems for RVs, as well as discussing basic and applied studies that have used these systems.

Reverse Genetics Approach for Developing Rotavirus Vaccine Candidates Carrying VP4 and VP7 Genes Cloned from Clinical Isolates of Human Rotavirus

Species A rotaviruses (RVs) are a leading cause of severe acute gastroenteritis in infants and children younger than 5 years. Currently available RV vaccines were adapted from wild-type RV strains by serial passage of cultured cells or by reassortment between human and animal RV strains. These traditional methods require large-scale screening and genotyping to obtain vaccine candidates. Reverse genetics is a tractable, rapid, and reproducible approach to generating recombinant RV vaccine candidates carrying any VP4 and VP7 genes that provide selected antigenicity. Here, we developed a vaccine platform by generating recombinant RVs carrying VP4 (P[4] and P[8]), VP7 (G1, G2, G3, G8, and G9), and/or VP6 genes cloned from human RV clinical samples using the simian RV SA11 strain (G3P[2]) as a backbone. Neutralization assays using monoclonal antibodies and murine antisera revealed that recombinant VP4 and VP7 monoreassortant viruses exhibited altered antigenicity. However, replication of VP4 monoreassortant viruses was severely impaired. Generation of recombinant RVs harboring a chimeric VP4 protein for SA11 and human RV gene components revealed that the VP8* fragment was responsible for efficient infectivity of recombinant RVs. Although this system must be improved because the yield of vaccine viruses directly affects vaccine manufacturing costs, reverse genetics requires less time than traditional methods and enables rapid production of safe and effective vaccine candidates.IMPORTANCE Although vaccines have reduced global RV-associated hospitalization and mortality over the past decade, the multisegmented genome of RVs allows reassortment of VP4 and VP7 genes from different RV species and strains. The evolutionary dynamics of novel RV genotypes and their constellations have led to great genomic and antigenic diversity. The reverse genetics system is a powerful tool for manipulating RV genes, thereby controlling viral antigenicity, growth capacity, and pathogenicity. Here, we generated recombinant simian RVs (strain SA11) carrying heterologous VP4 and VP7 genes cloned from clinical isolates and showed that VP4- or VP7-substituted chimeric viruses can be used for antigenic characterization of RV outer capsid proteins and as improved seed viruses for vaccine production.

Generation of Infectious Recombinant Human Rotaviruses from Just 11 Cloned cDNAs Encoding the Rotavirus Genome

The generation of recombinant group A rotaviruses (RVAs) entirely from cloned cDNAs has been described only for a single animal RVA strain, simian SA11-L2. We recently developed an optimized RVA reverse genetics system based on only RVA cDNAs (11-plasmid system), in which the concentration of cDNA plasmids containing the NSP2 and NSP5 genes is 3- or 5-fold increased in relation to that of the other plasmids. Based on this approach, we generated a recombinant human RVA (HuRVA)-based monoreassortant virus containing the VP4 gene of the simian SA11-L2 virus using the 11-plasmid system. In addition to this monoreassortant virus, authentic HuRVA (strain KU) was also generated with the 11-plasmid system with some modifications. Our results demonstrate that the 11-plasmid system involving just RVA cDNAs can be used for the generation of recombinant HuRVA and recombinant HuRVA-based reassortant viruses.IMPORTANCE Human group A rotavirus (HuRVA) is a leading pathogen causing severe diarrhea in young children worldwide. In this paper, we describe the generation of recombinant HuRVA (strain KU) from only 11 cloned cDNAs encoding the HuRVA genome by reverse genetics. The growth properties of the recombinant HuRVA were similar to those of the parental RVA, providing a powerful tool for better understanding of HuRVA replication and pathogenesis. Furthermore, the ability to manipulate the genome of HuRVAs "to order" will be useful for next-generation vaccine production for this medically important virus and for the engineering of clinical vectors expressing any foreign genes.

Phylogenetic analysis of human G9P[8] rotavirus strains circulating in Jiangsu, China between 2010 and 2016

Rotavirus A (RVA) is the leading cause of acute viral gastroenteritis in children under 5 years of age worldwide. G9P[8] is a common RVA genotype that has been persistently prevalent in Jiangsu, China. To determine the genetic diversity of G9P[8] RVAs, 7 representative G9P[8] strains collected from Suzhou Children's Hospital between 2010 and 2016 (named JS2010-JS2016) were analyzed through whole-genome sequencing. All evaluated strains showed the Wa-like constellation G9-P[8]-I1-R1-C1-M1-A1-N1-T1-E1-H1. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis revealed that the VP7 genes of all strains clustered into lineage G9-III and G9-VI. With the exception of strain JS2012 (P[8]-4), the VP4 sequences of all strains belonged to the P[8]-3 lineage. Sequencing further revealed that amino acid substitutions were present in the antigenic regions of the VP7 and VP4 genes of all strains. Moreover, there were multiple substitutions in antigenic sites I and II of the nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) genes, whereas the other NSP genes were relatively conserved. In conclusion, our phylogenetic analysis of these 7 G9P[8] strains suggests that RVA varied across regions and time. Therefore, our findings suggest that continued surveillance is necessary to explore the molecular evolutionary characteristics of RVA for better prevention and treatment of acute viral gastroenteritis.

At last: a fully tractable, plasmid only based reverse genetics system for rotavirus

Recently, a plasmid only-based reverse genetics system has been developed for species A rotaviruses. The significance of this achievement is discussed, based on background information on rotavirus structure, classification, replication and genetic research procedures.

[A plasmid-based reverse genetics system for rotaviruses]

Rotavirus (RV), a non-enveloped icosahedral virus containing eleven gene segments of double-stranded RNA, is the leading cause of severe, acute diarrhea among infants and young children worldwide. Safe and effective rotavirus vaccines have been available since 2006, and have markedly reduced the number of deaths by severe gastroenteritis. However, rotaviruses are still responsible for approximately 200,000 deaths annually worldwide. Reverse genetics systems for the manipulation of viral genomes are a powerful approach for studying viral replication and pathogenesis, and for developing vaccines and viral vectors. The understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying RV pathogenesis, or development of next generation vaccines, has been hampered by the lack of a complete reverse genetics system. Recently, we developed a novel reverse genetics system which enabled recovery of recombinant RVs entirely from cloned cDNAs. This new strategy requires co-expression of a small transmembrane protein that accelerates cell-to-cell fusion and vaccinia virus capping enzyme. In this review, the strategies and history of the development of reverse genetics systems for the family Reoviridae are described.

[Rotaviruses]

Rotavirus, a member of the family Reoviridae, was identified as the leading etiological agent of severe gastroenteritis in infants and young children in 1973. The rotavirus genome is composed of 11 gene segments of double-stranded (ds)RNA. During the last 40 years, a large amount of basic research on rotavirus structure, genome, antigen, replication, pathogenesis, epidemiology, immune responses, and evolution has been accumulated. This article reviews the fundamental aspects of rotavirology including recent important achievements in research.

An Inhibitory Motif on the 5'UTR of Several Rotavirus Genome Segments Affects Protein Expression and Reverse Genetics Strategies

Rotavirus genome consists of eleven segments of dsRNA, each encoding one single protein. Viral mRNAs contain an open reading frame (ORF) flanked by relatively short untranslated regions (UTRs), whose role in the viral cycle remains elusive. Here we investigated the role of 5'UTRs in T7 polymerase-driven cDNAs expression in uninfected cells. The 5'UTRs of eight genome segments (gs3, gs5-6, gs7-11) of the simian SA11 strain showed a strong inhibitory effect on the expression of viral proteins. Decreased protein expression was due to both compromised transcription and translation and was independent of the ORF and the 3'UTR sequences. Analysis of several mutants of the 21-nucleotide long 5'UTR of gs 11 defined an inhibitory motif (IM) represented by its primary sequence rather than its secondary structure. IM was mapped to the 5' terminal 6-nucleotide long pyrimidine-rich tract 5'-GGY(U/A)UY-3'. The 5' terminal position within the mRNA was shown to be essentially required, as inhibitory activity was lost when IM was moved to an internal position. We identified two mutations (insertion of a G upstream the 5'UTR and the U to A mutation of the fifth nucleotide of IM) that render IM non-functional and increase the transcription and translation rate to levels that could considerably improve the efficiency of virus helper-free reverse genetics strategies.

Transfection of exogenous rotavirus rearranged RNA segments in cells infected with a WT rotavirus results in subsequent gene rearrangements

Group A rotaviruses, members of the family Reoviridae, are a major cause of infantile acute gastroenteritis. The rotavirus genome consists of 11 dsRNA segments. In some cases, an RNA segment is replaced by a rearranged RNA segment, which is derived from its standard counterpart by partial sequence duplication. It has been shown that some rearranged segments are preferentially encapsidated into viral progenies after serial passages in cell culture. Based on this characteristic, a reverse genetics system was used previously to introduce exogenous segment 7 rearrangements into an infectious rotavirus. This study extends this reverse genetics system to RNA segments 5 and 11. Transfection of exogenous rotavirus rearranged RNA segment 5 or 11 into cells infected with a WT helper rotavirus (bovine strain RF) resulted in subsequent gene rearrangements in the viral progeny. Whilst recombinant viruses were rescued with an exogenous rearranged segment 11, the exogenous segment was modified by a secondary rearrangement. The occurrence of spontaneous rearrangements of WT or exogenous segments is a major hindrance to the use of this reverse genetics approach.

A new rotavirus VP6-based foreign epitope presenting vector and immunoreactivity of VP4 epitope chimeric proteins

The VP6, the group antigenic rotavirus (RV), is highly conserved and the most abundant, constituting about 39% of the viral structure proteins by weight. The high degree of identity (>87%-99%) in the primary amino acid sequences suggests VP6-based vaccines could potentially provide heterotypic protection. Although some efforts have been made toward producing recombinant rotavirus VP6 vaccines, the native VP6 is still unsatisfactory as an optimal vaccine. The major neutralizing antigenic epitopes that exist on VP4 or VP7 are not on the native VP6, and as a vector the native VP6 lacks insertion sites that can be used for insertion of foreign epitopes. In this study, a new foreign epitope presenting system using VP6 as a vector (VP6F) was constructed on the outer surface of the vector six sites that could be used for insertion of the foreign epitopes created. Using this system, three VP6-based VP4 epitope chimeric proteins were constructed. Results showed that these chimeric proteins reacted with anti-VP6 and -VP4 antibodies, and elicited antibodies against VP6 and VP4 in guinea pigs. Antibodies against VP6F or antibodies against the chimeric proteins neutralized RV Wa and SA11 infection in vitro. It is optimistic that the limitation for using the native VP6 as a vaccine candidate or vector will be solved with our proposed approach. It is expected that this VP6-based epitope presenting system and the VP6-based VP4 epitope chimeric proteins will be valuable for and contribute to the development of novel RV vaccines and vaccine vectors.

Experimental pathways towards developing a rotavirus reverse genetics system: synthetic full length rotavirus ssRNAs are neither infectious nor translated in permissive cells

At present the ability to create rationally engineered mutant rotaviruses is limited because of the lack of a tractable helper virus-free reverse genetics system. Using the cell culture adapted bovine RV RF strain (G6P6 [1]), we have attempted to recover infectious RV by co-transfecting in vitro transcribed ssRNAs which are identical in sequence to the positive sense strand of each of the 11 dsRNA genomic segments of the RF strain. The RNAs were produced either from cDNAs cloned by a target sequence-independent procedure, or from purified double layered RV particles (DLPs). We have validated their translational function by in vitro synthesis of (35)S-labelled proteins in rabbit reticulocyte lysates; all 11 proteins encoded by the RV genome were expressed. Transfection experiments with DLP- or cDNA-derived ssRNAs suggested that the RNAs do not act independently as mRNAs for protein synthesis, once delivered into various mammalian cell lines, and exhibit cytotoxicity. Transfected RNAs were not infectious since a viral cytopathic effect was not observed after infection of MA104 cells with lysates from transfected cells. By contrast, an engineered mRNA encoding eGFP was expressed when transfected under identical conditions into the same cell lines. Co-expression of plasmids encoding NSP2 and NSP5 using a fowlpox T7 polymerase recombinant virus revealed viroplasm-like structure formation, but this did not enable the translation of transfected RV ssRNAs. Attempts to recover RV from ssRNAs transcribed intracellularly from transfected cDNAs were also unsuccessful and suggested that these RNAs were also not translated, in contrast to successful translation from a transfected cDNA encoding an eGFP mRNA.

[Reverse genetics system of rotaviruses: development and application for analysis of VP4 spike protein]

The rotavirus genome is composed of 11 gene segments of double-stranded (ds)RNA. Reverse genetics is the powerful and ideal methodology for the molecular analysis of virus biology, which enables the virus genome to be artificially manipulated. Although reverse genetics systems exist for nearly all major groups of RNA viruses, development of such a system for rotaviruses is more challenging owing in part to the technical complexity of manipulation of their multi-segmented genome. A breakthrough in the field of rotavirus reverse genetics came in 2006, when we established the first reverse genetics system for rotaviruses, which is a partially plasmid-based system that permits replacement of a viral gene segment with the aid of a helper virus. Although this helper virus-driven system is technically limited and gives low levels of recombinant viruses, it allows alteration of the rotavirus genome, thus contributing to our understanding of these medically important viruses. In this review, I describe the development and application of our rotavirus reverse genetics system, and its future perspectives.

Genetics and reverse genetics of rotavirus

Rotavirus is a member of the family Reoviridae, which have genomes consisting of 10-12 double-stranded RNA segments. The functions of proteins encoded by each segment of the rotavirus genome have been studied extensively by several methods including reassortants, temperature-sensitive mutants, isolates with rearranged RNA segments, RNAi analysis, and other procedures. However, as found for most RNA viruses, the technique of reverse genetics is required for precise genotype/phenotype correlation, for the analysis of the role of specific mutation in replication process and pathogenesis, and for the development of vectors and vaccines. In 2006, we presented the first description of a reverse genetics system for rotavirus, although a helper virus and a selection system are required. Since then, two other approaches have been reported for rotavirus reverse genetics, both requiring the presence of a helper virus. A tractable, helper virus-free reverse genetics system for rotavirus has not been developed so far, in contrast to the recent developments of plasmid only-based reverse genetics systems for other members of the Reoviridae.

Comparative analysis of Reoviridae reverse genetics methods

Effective methods to engineer the segmented, double-stranded RNA genomes of Reoviridae viruses have only recently been developed. Mammalian orthoreoviruses (MRV) and bluetongue virus (BTV) can be recovered from entirely recombinant reagents, significantly improving the capacity to study the replication, pathogenesis, and transmission of these viruses. Conversely, rotaviruses (RVs), which are the major etiological agent of severe gastroenteritis in infants and children, have thus far only been modified using single-segment replacement methods. Reoviridae reverse genetics techniques universally rely on site-specific initiation of transcription by T7 RNA polymerase to generate the authentic 5' end of recombinant RNA segments, but they vary in how the RNAs are introduced into cells: recombinant BTV is recovered by transfection of in vitro transcribed RNAs, whereas recombinant MRV and RV RNAs are transcribed intracellularly from transfected plasmid cDNAs. Additionally, several parameters have been identified in each system that are essential for recombinant virus recovery. Generating recombinant BTV requires the use of 5' capped RNAs and is enhanced by multiple rounds of RNA transfection, suggesting that translation of viral proteins is likely the rate-limiting step. For RV, the efficiency of recovery is almost entirely dependent on the strength of the selection mechanism used to isolate the single-segment recombinant RV from the unmodified helper virus. The reverse genetics methods for BTV and RV are presented and compared to the previously described MRV methods. Analysis and comparison of each method suggest several key lines of research that might lead to a reverse genetics system for RV, analogous to those used for MRV and BTV.

Modification of the trypsin cleavage site of rotavirus VP4 to a furin-sensitive form does not enhance replication efficiency

The infectivity of rotavirus (RV) is dependent on an activation process triggered by the proteolytic cleavage of its spike protein VP4. This activation cleavage is performed by exogenous trypsin in the lumen of the intestines in vivo. Here, we report the generation and characterization of a recombinant RV expressing cDNA-derived VP4 with a modified cleavage site (arginine at position 247) recognized by endogenous furin as well as exogenous trypsin. Unexpectedly, the mutant virus (KU//rVP4-R247Furin) was incapable of plaque formation without an exogenous protease, although the mutant VP4s on virions were efficiently cleaved by endogenous furin. Furthermore, KU//rVP4-R247Furin showed impaired infectivity in MA104 and CV-1 cells even in the presence of trypsin compared with the parental virus carrying authentic VP4 (KU//rVP4). Although the total titre of KU//rVP4-R247Furin was comparable to that of KU//rVP4, the extracellular titre of KU//rVP4-R247Furin was markedly lower than its cell-associated titre in comparison with that of KU//rVP4. In contrast, the two viruses showed similar growth in a furin-defective LoVo cell line. These results suggest that intracellular cleavage of VP4 by furin may be disadvantageous for RV infectivity, possibly due to an inefficient virus release process.

Reverse genetics for mammalian reovirus

Mammalian orthoreoviruses (reoviruses) are highly tractable models for studies of viral replication and pathogenesis. The versatility of reovirus as an experimental model has been enhanced by development of a plasmid-based reverse genetics system. Infectious reovirus can be recovered from cells transfected with plasmids encoding cDNAs of each reovirus gene segment using a strategy that does not require helper virus and is independent of selection. In this system, transcription of each gene segment is driven by bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase, which can be supplied transiently by recombinant vaccinia virus (rDIs-T7pol) or by cells that constitutively express the enzyme. Reverse genetics systems have been developed for two prototype reovirus strains, type 1 Lang (T1L) and type 3 Dearing (T3D). Each reovirus cDNA was encoded on an independent plasmid for the first-generation rescue system. The efficiency of virus recovery was enhanced in a second-generation system by combining the cDNAs for multiple reovirus gene segments onto single plasmids to reduce the number of plasmids from 10 to 4. The reduction in plasmid number and the use of baby hamster kidney cells that express T7 RNA polymerase increased the efficiency of viral rescue, reduced the incubation time required to recover infectious virus, and eliminated potential biosafety concerns associated with the use of recombinant vaccinia virus. Reovirus reverse genetics has been used to introduce mutations into viral capsid and nonstructural components to study viral protein-structure activity relationships and can be exploited to engineer recombinant reoviruses for vaccine and oncolytic applications.

The rhesus rotavirus gene encoding VP4 is a major determinant in the pathogenesis of biliary atresia in newborn mice

Biliary atresia (BA) is a devastating disease of childhood for which increasing evidence supports a viral component in pathogenesis. The murine model of BA is induced by perinatal infection with rhesus rotavirus (RRV) but not with other strains of rotavirus, such as TUCH. To determine which RRV gene segment(s) is responsible for pathogenesis, we used the RRV and TUCH strains to generate a complete set of single-gene reassortants. Eleven single-gene "loss-of-function" reassortants in which a TUCH gene replaced its RRV equivalent and 11 single-gene "gain-of-function" reassortants in which an RRV gene replaced its TUCH equivalent were generated. Newborn BALB/c mice were inoculated with the reassortants and were monitored for biliary obstruction and mortality. In vitro, the ability to bind to and replicate within cholangiocytes was analyzed. Infection of mice with the "loss-of-function" reassortant R(T(VP4)), where gene 4 from TUCH was placed on an RRV background, eliminated the ability of RRV to cause murine BA. In a reciprocal fashion, the "gain-of-function" reassortant T(R(VP4)) resulted in murine BA with 88% mortality. Compared with those for RRV, R(T(VP4)) binding and titers in cholangiocytes were significantly attenuated, while T(R(VP4)) binding and titers were significantly increased over those for TUCH. Reassortants R(T(VP3)) and T(R(VP3)) induced an intermediate phenotype. RRV gene segment 4 plays a significant role in governing tropism for the cholangiocyte and the ability to induce murine BA. Gene segment 3 did not affect RRV infectivity in vitro but altered its in vivo effect.

Dual selection mechanisms drive efficient single-gene reverse genetics for rotavirus

Current methods for engineering the segmented double-stranded RNA genome of rotavirus (RV) are limited by inefficient recovery of the recombinant virus. In an effort to expand the utility of RV reverse genetics, we developed a method to recover recombinant viruses in which independent selection strategies are used to engineer single-gene replacements. We coupled a mutant SA11 RV encoding a temperature-sensitive (ts) defect in the NSP2 protein with RNAi-mediated degradation of NSP2 mRNAs to isolate a virus containing a single recombinant gene that evades both selection mechanisms. Recovery is rapid and simple; after two rounds of selective passage the recombinant virus reaches titers of ≥10(4) pfu/mL. We used this reverse genetics method to generate a panel of viruses with chimeric NSP2 genes. For one of the chimeric viruses, the introduced NSP2 sequence was obtained from a pathogenic, noncultivated human RV isolate, demonstrating that this reverse genetics system can be used to study the molecular biology of circulating RVs. Combining characterized RV ts mutants and validated siRNA targets should permit the extension of this "two-hit" reverse genetics methodology to other RV genes. Furthermore, application of a dual selection strategy to previously reported reverse genetics methods for RV may enhance the efficiency of recombinant virus recovery.

Rearranged genomic RNA segments offer a new approach to the reverse genetics of rotaviruses

Group A rotaviruses (RV), members of the Reoviridae family, are a major cause of infantile acute gastroenteritis. The RV genome consists of 11 double-stranded RNA segments. In some cases, an RNA segment is replaced by a rearranged RNA segment, which is derived from its standard counterpart by partial sequence duplication. We report here a reverse genetics system for RV based on the preferential packaging of rearranged RNA segments. Using this system, wild-type or in vitro-engineered forms of rearranged segment 7 from a human rotavirus (encoding the NSP3 protein), derived from cloned cDNAs and transcribed in the cytoplasm of COS-7 cells with the help of T7 RNA polymerase, replaced the wild-type segment 7 of a bovine helper virus (strain RF). Recombinant RF viruses (i.e., engineered monoreassortant RF viruses) containing an exogenous rearranged RNA were recovered by propagating the viral progeny in MA-104 cells, with no need for additional selective pressure. Our findings offer the possibility to extend RV reverse genetics to segments encoding nonstructural or structural proteins for which no potent selective tools, such as neutralizing antibodies, are available. In addition, the system described here is the first to enable the introduction of a mutated gene expressing a modified nonstructural protein into an infectious RV. This reverse genetics system offers new perspectives for investigating RV protein functions and developing recombinant live RV vaccines containing specific changes targeted for attenuation.

Rotaviruses: from basic research to disease prevention by vaccination

The third European Rotavirus Biology Meeting, very ably organized by J Gray and M Iturriza-Gómara (Health Protection Agency, London, UK), took place at Cameron House in the picturesque environment of Loch Lomond, with beautiful and warm weather supporting the event. A total of 62 scientists, mainly from Europe but also from India and the USA, participated. The social program included a guided tour of the Glengoyne Distillery (north of Glasgow), who have produced Scotch whisky for almost 200 years, and a Scottish-themed dinner with ‘celebration of the haggis’, performances by two Highland dancers and subsequent ceilidh dancing. The scientific program covered various aspects of rotavirus biology, molecular epidemiology and vaccine development.

[Present and future of reverse genetics of rotavirus]

Rotavirus is the leading pathogen for acute gastroenteritis in mammals and birds. Although the reverse genetics system has been utilized in many viruses, the system using a helper virus was developed for rotavirus in 2006. As a step for antigenic analysis of VP4 antigen of rotavirus, we prepared an infectious rotavirus with a spike protein VP4 having an antigenic mosaic by substituting one of the cross-reactive neutralization epitopes of a simian strain SA-11 with the corresponding one of a human strain DS-1. The future improvement and application of the rotavirus reverse genetics were discussed in this review.

Rotaviruses and rotavirus vaccines

BACKGROUND

Rotaviruses (RVs) are an important cause of acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide, resulting in more than 600 000 deaths per annum, mainly in developing countries. Since the 1980s, there has been intensive research on the development of RV vaccine candidates, and since 2006 two vaccines have been licensed in many countries.

SOURCES OF DATA

The scientific literature since the 1970s has been consulted, and the results of original research carried out in authors' laboratories were used.

AREAS OF AGREEMENT

There are firmly established data on virus particle structure, genome composition, gene-protein assignment, protein-function assignment (incomplete), virus classification, the mechanisms of several steps of the replication cycle (adsorption, primary transcription, virus maturation-all partial), several mechanisms of pathogenesis, aspects of the immune response, diagnosis, illness and treatment, epidemiology and vaccine development.

AREAS OF CONTROVERSY

Research on the following areas is still in full flux and in part not generally accepted: several steps of the replication cycle (mechanism of viral entry into host cells, mechanisms of packaging and reassortment of viral RNAs, morphogenesis of subviral particles in viroplasms and maturation of virus particles in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) with temporary acquisition and subsequent loss of an envelope), the true correlates of protection and the long-term effectiveness of RV vaccines. GROWING RESEARCH: Recently, a system that allows carrying out reverse genetics with some of the RV genes has been established which, however, has limitations. There is intensive research ongoing, which is trying to develop better and universally applicable reverse genetics systems. There is broad research on the molecular mechanisms of the immune response and on which immunological parameter correlates best with lasting protection from severe RV disease. Research into other than live attenuated vaccines is growing.

AREAS TIMELY FOR DEVELOPING RESEARCH

The establishment of better reverse genetics systems for RVs is the most important research goal for both the understanding of the molecular biology of RVs and the development of new and safe RV vaccines. The black boxes of our knowledge on aspects of RV replication (RNA packaging, RNA replication, control of reassortment and functions of the non-structural RV proteins) are under intensive research.