Molecular characterization and expression analyses of the Viperin gene in Larimichthys crocea (Family: Sciaenidae)

Gene characterization and expression pattern of Mx and Viperin genes in Dabry’s sturgeonAcipenser dabryanus

“…However, the sturgeon viperin gene was constitutively expressed in all eleven examined tissues (brain, head kidney, gill, spleen, liver, muscle, heart, intestine, meddle kidney, peripheral blood, and skin), with predominant expression in peripheral blood. Similarly, the phenomenon was also observed in large yellow croaker and red drum (Dang et al, ; Zhang, Liu et al, ; Zhang, Huang et al, ). It has been hypothesized that viperin gene may participate in blood immunity.…”

“…Viperin is relatively well conserved from humans to teleosts, which all contain three important domains (an N‐terminal amphipathic α‐helix domain, a radical SAM domain, and a highly conserved C‐terminal domain) (Zhang, Liu et al, ; Zhang, Huang et al, ; Zhong, Ji, Fu, Liu, & Zhu, ). These domains are crucial for viperin's functions, such as the antiviral response.…”

“…For instance, the α‐helix is essential for viperin's subcellular localization to disrupt release of certain viruses, such influenza virus (Waheed & Freed, ; Wang, Zhang, Liu, & Gui, 2014a; Zhong et al, ). The radical SAM domain contains four conserved motifs, M1 to M4, and the C‐terminal domain was also conserved in different species (Zhang, Liu et al, ; Zhang, Huang et al, ; Zhong et al, ), the latter domain is important for the protein's antiviral activity (Helbig et al, ). However, the N‐terminal amphipathic α‐helix domain and a leucine zipper motif are not so well conserved (Helbig & Beard, ; Helbig & Beard, ; Mattijssen & Pruijn, ).…”

“…The C‐terminal domain, which is highly conserved across species, is important for antiviral activity (Helbig et al, ). In fish, viperin homologs were identified in a wide range of species, such as Oncorhynchus mykiss (Boudinot, Massin, Blanco, Riffault, & Benmansour, ), Siniperca chuatsi (Sun & Nie, ), Sciaenops ocellatus (Dang, Zhang, Hu, & Sun, ), Oreochromis niloticus (Lee et al, ), Carassius auratus (Wang, Zhang, Liu, Shi et al, ), and Larimichthys crocea (Zhang, Liu, Zhao, Guo, & Shen, ; Zhang, Huang et al, ). Sequence analyses have shown that teleostean and mammalian viperin proteins are highly conserved (Fitzgerald, ; Padhi, ), and could be induced by IFNs, bacteria, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the viral mimic polyinosine‐polycytidylic acid (poly (I:C)) and viruses (Lindqvist & Överby, ; Minton, ).…”

“…The octaploid Dabry's sturgeon ( Acipenser dabryanus ), which is mainly distributed in the mainstream of the upper Yangtze River and its tributaries, is an endemic and critically endangered species that was listed as a First Class Protected Animal by the China Government in 1989. Many viruses and bacteria that threaten sturgeons have been identified, including white sturgeon ( Acipenser transmontanus ) iridovirus (WSIV), white sturgeon herpesvirus‐1, 2 (WSHV‐1, 2), shovelnose sturgeon ( Scaphirhynchus platorynchus ) iridovirus (SSIV) (Hua, ) and (Zhang, Liu et al, ; Zhang, Huang et al, ). Although interferon and its induced genes had been studied (Luo, Di et al, ; Luo, Zhang et al, ; Qi et al, ; Xu et al, ), there has been no systematic study of antivirus protein genes in sturgeons.…”