State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Science, Sun Yat-sen University, 135 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou, China.
Arch Virol. 2010 Mar;155(3):351-9. doi: 10.1007/s00705-010-0594-3. Epub 2010 Feb 4.
Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV) is an important pathogen isolated from grouper, Epinephelus tauvina, and characterized as a novel ranavirus. To better understand the function of viral structural genes involved in SGIV infection and virus-host interactions, a candidate gene, VP38 (ORF038L), was investigated in this study. SGIV VP38 was found to encode a 170-aa peptide containing an RGD motif, and it showed significant identity only to members of the genus Iridovirus, family Iridoviridae, except megalocytivirus. The VP38 gene was identified by temporal expression pattern analysis and drug inhibition assay as a late (L) gene. Immunofluorescence localization revealed that P38 was distributed predominately in the cytoplasm and that association of VP38 with viral factories increased at the late stage of SGIV infection. Consistent results from immunoelectron microscopy (IEM) and western blot analysis revealed that SGIV VP38 is a viral capsid protein. Furthermore, antibodies specific for SGIV VP38 exhibited substantial SGIV-neutralizing activity in vitro, suggesting that VP38 might play an important role in SGIV infectivity.
新加坡石斑鱼虹彩病毒（SGIV）是从青石斑鱼（Epinephelus tauvina）中分离出的一种重要病原体，被鉴定为一种新型虹彩病毒。为了更好地了解与 SGIV 感染和病毒-宿主相互作用相关的病毒结构基因的功能，本研究对候选基因 VP38（ORF038L）进行了研究。SGIV VP38 编码一个含有 RGD 基序的 170 个氨基酸肽，除了 megalocytivirus 外，它与虹彩病毒科虹彩病毒属的成员具有显著的同一性。通过时间表达模式分析和药物抑制试验，确定 VP38 是晚期（L）基因。免疫荧光定位显示 P38 主要分布在细胞质中，并且在 SGIV 感染的晚期，VP38 与病毒工厂的关联增加。免疫电子显微镜（IEM）和 Western blot 分析的一致结果表明，SGIV VP38 是一种病毒衣壳蛋白。此外，针对 SGIV VP38 的抗体在体外表现出显著的 SGIV 中和活性，表明 VP38 可能在 SGIV 的感染性中发挥重要作用。
