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Directed chromosomal integration and expression of porcine rotavirus outer capsid protein VP4 in Lactobacillus casei ATCC393

  • Applied genetics and molecular biotechnology
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Abstract

Using two-step plasmid integration in the presence of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), we developed a stable and markerless Lactobacillus casei strain for vaccine antigen expression. The upp of L. casei, which encodes uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (UPRTase), was used as a counterselection marker. We employed the Δupp isogenic mutant, which is resistant to 5-FU, as host and a temperature-sensitive suicide plasmid bearing upp expression cassette as counterselectable integration vector. Extrachromosomal expression of UPRTase complemented the mutated chromosomal upp allele and restored sensitivity to 5-FU. The resultant genotype can either be wild type or recombinant. The efficacy of the system was demonstrated by insertion and expression of porcine rotavirus (PRV) VP4. To improve VP4 expression, we analyzed L. casei transcriptional profiles and selected the constitutive highly expressed enolase gene (eno). The VP4 inserted after the eno termination codon were screened in the presence of 5-FU. Using genomic PCR amplification, we confirmed that VP4 was successfully integrated and stably inherited for at least 50 generations. Western blot demonstrated that VP4 was steadily expressed in medium with different carbohydrates. RT-qPCR and ELISA analysis showed that VP4 expression from the chromosomal location was similar to that achieved by a plasmid expression system. Applying the recombinant strain to immunize BALB/c mice via oral administration revealed that the VP4-expressing L. casei could induce both specific local and systemic humoral immune responses in mice. Overall, the improved gene replacement system represents an efficient method for chromosome recombination in L. casei and provides a safe tool for vaccine production.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Fund of China (Grant No. 31272594).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, Mu Cai Street No. 59, Harbin, Xiang Fang District, China

    Ji-Yuan Yin, Chao-Qun Guo, Zi Wang, Mei-Ling Yu, Shuai Gao, Syed M. Bukhari, Li-Jie Tang, Yi-Gang Xu & Yi-Jing Li

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  1. Ji-Yuan Yin
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  2. Chao-Qun Guo
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  3. Zi Wang
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Correspondence to Yi-Gang Xu or Yi-Jing Li.

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Yin, JY., Guo, CQ., Wang, Z. et al. Directed chromosomal integration and expression of porcine rotavirus outer capsid protein VP4 in Lactobacillus casei ATCC393. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 100, 9593–9604 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-016-7779-y

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