Mi Ran Choi

Production of the Antiserum against Recombinant Envelop Protein, rVP466 for the Neutralization of White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV)

This study was carried out to evaluate neutralization effects against WSSV using antiserum produced from recombinant envelop protein, rVP466 of WSSV. The VP466 gene of WSSV was cloned into pCold I expression vector and rVP466 was expressed in E. coli RIPL. The antiserum against rVP466 was produced in white rabbits (New Zealand white rabbit). The specific immunoreactivity to the antigen, rVP466, was confirmed by Western blot. The constant amounts of WSSV at 1×10⁴ diluted stocks were mixed with various antiserum concentrations and then injected to the muscle of shrimp, Penaeus chinensis, for the neutralization challenge. The shrimps challenged with WSSV as a positive control and those with the mixture of WSSV and preimmune serum as a preimmune control showed 100% cumulative mortality at 17 days post challenge and 83% at 25 days post challenge, respectively. The shrimps challenged with 3 different mixtures of WSSV and rVP466 antiserum at ratios of 1:0.01, 1:0.1 and 1:1 showed 73%, 53% and 46% cumulative mortalities at 25 days post challenge, respectively. These results indicated that WSSV could be neutralized by the rVP466 antiserum. These results suggest that envelop protein VP466 is involved in the initial step of WSSV infection in shrimp.

Experimental Infection for the Neutralization of White Spot Syndrome Virus(WSSV) in Wild Captured Sand Shrimp, Crangon affinis

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is one of the most virulent viral agents threatening the penaeid shrimp culture industry. This study was carried out to evaluate the susceptibility of the sand shrimp, Crangon affinis, to WSSV as an alternative experimental model. WSSV caused 100% mortality in C. affinis within 7 days after experimental infection by immersion. Based on challenge studies, it was confirmed that C. affinis could be a potential host in WSSV transmission. Also, the neutralization of WSSV was carried out using an antiserum raised against recombinant envelop protein rVP466 to evaluate the WSSV infection mechanism. A constant amount of WSSV (at 1x10⁴ diluted stocks) was incubated with various amounts of antiserum and then mixed to 20 l reservoir for the immersion challenge of C. affinis for neutralization. At 5 days post challenge, the shrimp in the positive control immersed in the immersion reservoir containing WSSV stock showed 100% mortality. The shrimps challenged with the 3 different mixtures of WSSV and rVP466 antiserum (1:0.1, 1:0.5 and 1:1) showed 100%, 68.8% and 68.8% mortality at 14 days post challenge, respectively. These results indicated that the antiserum raised against rVP466 could block WSSV infection in C. affinis. Therefore, this study confirmed that C. affinis can be naturally infected by WSSV as another potential host and that C. affinis can be used as an alternative experimental animal instead of penaeid shrimps.

Vaccination of Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) against White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) by Oral Vaccination of Recombinant Fusion Protein, rVP19+28

This study was carried out to evaluate the vaccination effects of recombinant fusion protein rVP19+28 against WSSV in shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. The VP19+28 gene fused with VP19 and VP28 genes was inserted into pET-28a(+) expression vector and cloned in E. coli BL21 (DE3) to produce fused gene product recombinant VP19+VP28 as a single protein. For the vaccination, the shrimps were fed with pellets coated with purified recombinant protein, rVP19+28, for 2 weeks. Then, constant amounts of WSSV at 1×10² diluted stocks were injected to the muscle of the shrimp for the in vivo challenge tests. Non-vaccinated shrimps showed a cumulative mortality of 100% at 11 days post-challenge. The shrimps vaccinated with the inactivated E. coli BL21 as a host cell control showed cumulative mortality of 100% at 17 days post-challenge. The shrimps vaccinated with rVP19, rVP28 and rVP19+28 showed mortalities of 66.7%, 41.7% and 41.7% at 21 days post-challenge, respectively. These results indicated that the rVP28 and rVP19+28 had relatively high vaccination effects against WSSV infection. However, this study suggests that the fusion protein rVP19+28 was more effective for the protection of shrimp against WSSV than rVP28, even though the cumulative mortalities were the same 21 days post-challenge.

Optimization of the Medium Composition for Heteropolysaccharide-7 Production by Beijerinckia indica L3 Using Response Surface Methodology

The production of heteropolysaccharide-7 (PS-7) by Beijerinckia indica (B. indica L3) was evaluated in shaker flask culture. The medium optimization was studied using response surface methodology (RSM). A five-level three-factor central composite design was employed to determine the maximum PS-7 yield at optimum levels for whey lactose, glucose and ammonium nitrate contents. The validity of the model could be determined by the regression coefficient, R². The values of R² were 0.72, 0.64 and 0.85 in PS-7, DCW and viscosity, respectively. The optimal medium combinations of whey lactose, glucose and ammonium nitrate concentrations on the PS-7 production were whey lactose (2%), glucose (1%) and ammonium nitrate 5 mM, respectively. The result indicated that PS-7 production was affected significantly by the addition of glucose to whey lactose based on medium and C/N ratio.