Project description:Cowpox virus (CPXV) is a zoonotic orthopoxvirus (OPV) that infects a wide range of mammals. CPXV-specific DNA and antibodies were detected in different vole species, such as common voles (Microtus arvalis) and bank voles (Myodes glareolus). Therefore, voles are the putative main reservoir host of CPXV. However, CPXV was up to now only isolated from common voles. Here we report the detection and isolation of a bank vole-derived CPXV strain (GerMygEK 938/17) resulting from a large-scale screening of bank voles collected in Thuringia, Germany, during 2017 and 2018. Phylogenetic analysis using the complete viral genome sequence indicated a high similarity of the novel strain to CPXV clade 3 and to OPV "Abatino" but also to Ectromelia virus (ECTV) strains. Phenotypic characterization of CPXV GerMygEK 938/17 using inoculation of embryonated chicken eggs displayed hemorrhagic pock lesions on the chorioallantoic membrane that are typical for CPXV but not for ECTV. CPXV GerMygEK 938/17 replicated in vole-derived kidney cell lines but at lower level than on Vero76 cell line. In conclusion, the first bank vole-derived CPXV isolate provides new insights into the genetic variability of CPXV in the putative reservoir host and is a valuable tool for further studies about CPXV-host interaction and molecular evolution of OPV.
Project description:We have used dietary administration of stable isotope labelled lysine to assess protein turnover rates for proteins from four tissues in the bank vole, Myodes glareolus. The annotated genome for this species is not available, so protein identification was attained through cross-species matching to the mouse. For proteins for which confident identifications were derived, the pattern of lysine incorporation over 40d was used to define the rate of synthesis of individual proteins in the four tissues. The data were heavily filtered to retain a very high quality data-set of turnover rates for 1088 proteins. Comparative analysis of the four tissues revealed different median rates of degradation (kidney: 0.099 per day; liver 0.136 per day; heart, 0.054 per day and skeletal muscle, 0.035 per day). These data were compared with protein degradation rates from other studies on intact animals or from cells in culture.
Project description:The urine of bank voles (Myodes glareolus) contains substantial quantities of a small protein that is expressed at much higher levels in males than females, and at higher levels in males in the breeding season. This protein was purified and completely sequenced at the protein level by mass spectrometry. Leucine/isoleucine ambiguity was completely resolved by metabolic labelling, monitoring the incorporation of dietary deuterated leucine into specific sites in the protein. The predicted mass of the sequenced protein was exactly consonant with the mass of the protein measured in bank vole urine samples, correcting for the formation of two disulphide bonds. The sequence of the protein revealed that it was a lipocalin related to aphrodisin and other odorant binding proteins (OBPs), but differed from all OBPs previously described. The pattern of secretion in urine used for scent marking by male bank voles, and similarity to other lipocalins used as chemical signals in rodents, suggest that this protein plays a role in male sexual and/or competitive communication. We propose the name glareosin for this novel protein to reflect the origin of the protein and to emphasise the distinction from known OBPs.
Project description:Orthopoxviruses are large DNA viruses which can cause disease in numerous host species. Even though the eradication of variola virus - the causative agent of human smallpox M-bM-^@M-^S succeeded, with the end of vaccinations several other orthopoxviruses emerged as potential threat to human health. For instance, animal-borne monkeypox virus, cowpox virus and closely related vaccinia virus are all capable of establishing zoonotic infections in humans. The disease caused by each virus differs in terms of expression and severity, but we still know little about the reasons for these different phenotypes. They may be explained by the unique repertoire of host cell modulating factors encoded by each virus. In this study, we aimed at characterizing the specific modulation of the host cells gene expression profile by orthopoxvirus infection. In our study we analyzed changes in host cell gene expression of HeLa cells after infection with cowpox virus, monkeypox virus or vaccinia virus and compared these to each other and to the gene expression profile of non-infected cells using Agilent Whole Genome Microarray technology. We could identify major differences in viral modulation of host cell immune response genes, especially an induction of genes involved in leukocyte migration and Toll-like receptor signalling in cowpox and monkeypox virus infected cells. This was not observed following vaccinia virus infection. If these differences contribute to the different clinical manifestation of cowpox, monkeypox and vaccinia virus infections in certain host species remains to be elucidated. We analyzed the gene expression profile of HeLa cells wich were either mock-infected or infected with Vaccinia virus strain IHD-W, Cowpox virus strain Brighton Red or Monkeypox virus strain MSF#6 at a multiplicity of infection of 5. Experiments were performed in duplicate. At 6 h post infection total RNA was isolated from infected cells and used for microarray analysis.
Project description:The expression levels of developing vole molar and jaw transcriptome were measured. each of first molars at embryonic days 13-16 (E13, E14, E15, E16), second molars at E16, and jaw tissues at E14.
Project description:Orthopoxviruses are large DNA viruses which can cause disease in numerous host species. Even though the eradication of variola virus - the causative agent of human smallpox – succeeded, with the end of vaccinations several other orthopoxviruses emerged as potential threat to human health. For instance, animal-borne monkeypox virus, cowpox virus and closely related vaccinia virus are all capable of establishing zoonotic infections in humans. The disease caused by each virus differs in terms of expression and severity, but we still know little about the reasons for these different phenotypes. They may be explained by the unique repertoire of host cell modulating factors encoded by each virus. In this study, we aimed at characterizing the specific modulation of the host cells gene expression profile by orthopoxvirus infection. In our study we analyzed changes in host cell gene expression of HeLa cells after infection with cowpox virus, monkeypox virus or vaccinia virus and compared these to each other and to the gene expression profile of non-infected cells using Agilent Whole Genome Microarray technology. We could identify major differences in viral modulation of host cell immune response genes, especially an induction of genes involved in leukocyte migration and Toll-like receptor signalling in cowpox and monkeypox virus infected cells. This was not observed following vaccinia virus infection. If these differences contribute to the different clinical manifestation of cowpox, monkeypox and vaccinia virus infections in certain host species remains to be elucidated.