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Chen BJ, Lin CH, Wu HY, Cai JJ, Chao DY. Experimental and analytical pipeline for sub-genomic RNA landscape of coronavirus by Nanopore sequencer. Microbiol Spectr 2024; 12:e0395423. [PMID: 38483513 PMCID: PMC10986531 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03954-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Coronaviruses (CoVs), including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, can infect a variety of mammalian and avian hosts with significant medical and economic consequences. During the life cycle of CoV, a coordinated series of subgenomic RNAs, including canonical subgenomic messenger RNA and non-canonical defective viral genomes (DVGs), are generated with different biological implications. Studies that adopted the Nanopore sequencer (ONT) to investigate the landscape and dynamics of viral RNA subgenomic transcriptomes applied arbitrary bioinformatics parameters without justification or experimental validation. The current study used bovine coronavirus (BCoV), which can be performed under biosafety level 2 for library construction and experimental validation using traditional colony polymerase chain reaction and Sanger sequencing. Four different ONT protocols, including RNA direct and cDNA direct sequencing with or without exonuclease treatment, were used to generate RNA transcriptomic libraries from BCoV-infected cell lysates. Through rigorously examining the k-mer, gap size, segment size, and bin size, the optimal cutoffs for the bioinformatic pipeline were determined to remove the sequence noise while keeping the informative DVG reads. The sensitivity and specificity of identifying DVG reads using the proposed pipeline can reach 82.6% and 99.6% under the k-mer size cutoff of 15. Exonuclease treatment reduced the abundance of RNA transcripts; however, it was not necessary for future library preparation. Additional recovery of clipped BCoV nucleotide sequences with experimental validation expands the landscape of the CoV discontinuous RNA transcriptome, whose biological function requires future investigation. The results of this study provide the benchmarks for library construction and bioinformatic parameters for studying the discontinuous CoV RNA transcriptome.IMPORTANCEFunctional defective viral genomic RNA, containing all the cis-acting elements required for translation or replication, may play different roles in triggering cell innate immune signaling, interfering with the canonical subgenomic messenger RNA transcription/translation or assisting in establishing persistence infection. This study does not only provide benchmarks for library construction and bioinformatic parameters for studying the discontinuous coronavirus RNA transcriptome but also reveals the complexity of the bovine coronavirus transcriptome, whose functional assays will be critical in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo-Jia Chen
- Doctoral Program in Microbial Genomics, National Chung Hsing University and Academia Sinica, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Hung Lin
- Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Yi Wu
- Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - James J. Cai
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Day-Yu Chao
- Doctoral Program in Microbial Genomics, National Chung Hsing University and Academia Sinica, Taichung, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Microbiology and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Department of Post-Baccalaureate Medicine, College of Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
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Lin CH, Tam HMH, Yang CY, Hsieh FC, Wang JL, Yang CC, Hsu HW, Liu HP, Wu HY. Evolution of the coronavirus spike protein in the full-length genome and defective viral genome under diverse selection pressures. J Gen Virol 2023; 104:001920. [PMID: 37997889 PMCID: PMC10768696 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
How coronaviruses evolve by altering the structures of their full-length genome and defective viral genome (DVG) under dynamic selection pressures has not been studied. In this study, we aimed to experimentally identify the dynamic evolutionary patterns of the S protein sequence in the full-length genome and DVG under diverse selection pressures, including persistence, innate immunity and antiviral drugs. The evolutionary features of the S protein sequence in the full-length genome and in the DVG under diverse selection pressures are as follows: (i) the number of nucleotide (nt) mutations does not necessarily increase with the number of selection pressures; (ii) certain types of selection pressure(s) can lead to specific nt mutations; (iii) the mutated nt sequence can be reverted to the wild-type nt sequence under the certain type of selection pressure(s); (iv) the DVG can also undergo mutations and evolve independently of the full-length genome; and (v) DVG species are regulated during evolution under diverse selection pressures. The various evolutionary patterns of the S protein sequence in the full-length genome and DVG identified in this study may contribute to coronaviral fitness under diverse selection pressures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ching-Hung Lin
- Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Hon-Man-Herman Tam
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Cheng-Yao Yang
- Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Feng-Cheng Hsieh
- Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Jiun-Long Wang
- Division of Chest Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 40705, Taiwan, ROC
- Department of Post-Baccalaureate Medicine, College of Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan, ROC
- Department of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Chun-Chun Yang
- Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Hsuan-Wei Hsu
- Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Hao-Ping Liu
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Hung-Yi Wu
- Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan, ROC
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Lin CH, Chen B, Chao DY, Hsieh FC, Lai CC, Wang WC, Kuo CY, Yang CC, Hsu HW, Tam HMH, Wu HY. Biological characterization of coronavirus noncanonical transcripts in vitro and in vivo. Virol J 2023; 20:232. [PMID: 37828527 PMCID: PMC10571414 DOI: 10.1186/s12985-023-02201-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In addition to the well-known coronavirus genomes and subgenomic mRNAs, the existence of other coronavirus RNA species, which are collectively referred to as noncanonical transcripts, has been suggested; however, their biological characteristics have not yet been experimentally validated in vitro and in vivo. METHODS To comprehensively determine the amounts, species and structures of noncanonical transcripts for bovine coronavirus in HRT-18 cells and mouse hepatitis virus A59, a mouse coronavirus, in mouse L cells and mice, nanopore direct RNA sequencing was employed. To experimentally validate the synthesis of noncanonical transcripts under regular infection, Northern blotting was performed. Both Northern blotting and nanopore direct RNA sequencing were also applied to examine the reproducibility of noncanonical transcripts. In addition, Northern blotting was also employed to determine the regulatory features of noncanonical transcripts under different infection conditions, including different cells, multiplicities of infection (MOIs) and coronavirus strains. RESULTS In the current study, we (i) experimentally determined that coronavirus noncanonical transcripts were abundantly synthesized, (ii) classified the noncanonical transcripts into seven populations based on their structures and potential synthesis mechanisms, (iii) showed that the species and amounts of the noncanonical transcripts were reproducible during regular infection but regulated in altered infection environments, (iv) revealed that coronaviruses may employ various mechanisms to synthesize noncanonical transcripts, and (v) found that the biological characteristics of coronavirus noncanonical transcripts were similar between in vitro and in vivo conditions. CONCLUSIONS The biological characteristics of noncanonical coronavirus transcripts were experimentally validated for the first time. The identified features of noncanonical transcripts in terms of abundance, reproducibility and variety extend the current model for coronavirus gene expression. The capability of coronaviruses to regulate the species and amounts of noncanonical transcripts may contribute to the pathogenesis of coronaviruses during infection, posing potential challenges in disease control. Thus, the biology of noncanonical transcripts both in vitro and in vivo revealed here can provide a database for biological research, contributing to the development of antiviral strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ching-Hung Lin
- Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan
| | - BoJia Chen
- Doctoral Program in Microbial Genomics, National Chung Hsing University and Academia Sinica, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan
| | - Day-Yu Chao
- Graduate Institute of Microbiology and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan
- Doctoral Program in Microbial Genomics, National Chung Hsing University and Academia Sinica, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan
- Department of Post-Baccalaureate Medicine, College of Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan
| | - Feng-Cheng Hsieh
- Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Chen Lai
- Institute of Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Chen Wang
- Institute of Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Yu Kuo
- Institute of Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Chun Yang
- Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan
| | - Hsuan-Wei Hsu
- Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan
| | - Hon-Man-Herman Tam
- Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Yi Wu
- Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan.
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Zhang R, Wang P, Ma X, Wu Y, Luo C, Qiu L, Zeshan B, Yang Z, Zhou Y, Wang X. Nanopore-Based Direct RNA-Sequencing Reveals a High-Resolution Transcriptional Landscape of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus. Viruses 2021; 13:2531. [PMID: 34960801 PMCID: PMC8706258 DOI: 10.3390/v13122531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The TRS-mediated discontinuous transcription process is a hallmark of Arteriviruses. Precise assessment of the intricate subgenomic RNA (sg mRNA) populations is required to understand the kinetics of viral transcription. It is difficult to reconstruct and comprehensively quantify splicing events using short-read sequencing, making the identification of transcription-regulatory sequences (TRS) particularly problematic. Here, we applied long-read direct RNA sequencing to characterize the recombined RNA molecules produced in porcine alveolar macrophages during early passage infection of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). Based on sequencing two PRRSV isolates, namely XM-2020 and GD, we revealed a high-resolution and diverse transcriptional landscape in PRRSV. The data revealed intriguing differences in subgenomic recombination types between the two PRRSVs while also demonstrating TRS-independent heterogeneous subpopulation not previously observed in Arteriviruses. We find that TRS usage is a regulated process and share the common preferred TRS in both strains. This study also identified a substantial number of TRS-mediated transcript variants, including alternative-sg mRNAs encoding the same annotated ORF, as well as putative sg mRNAs encoded nested internal ORFs, implying that the genetic information encoded in PRRSV may be more intensively expressed. Epigenetic modifications have emerged as an essential regulatory layer in gene expression. Here, we gained a deeper understanding of m5C modification in poly(A) RNA, elucidating a potential link between methylation and transcriptional regulation. Collectively, our findings provided meaningful insights for redefining the transcriptome complexity of PRRSV. This will assist in filling the research gaps and developing strategies for better control of the PRRS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riteng Zhang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (R.Z.); (P.W.); (X.M.); (Y.W.); (C.L.); (L.Q.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Peixin Wang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (R.Z.); (P.W.); (X.M.); (Y.W.); (C.L.); (L.Q.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Xin Ma
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (R.Z.); (P.W.); (X.M.); (Y.W.); (C.L.); (L.Q.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Yifan Wu
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (R.Z.); (P.W.); (X.M.); (Y.W.); (C.L.); (L.Q.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Chen Luo
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (R.Z.); (P.W.); (X.M.); (Y.W.); (C.L.); (L.Q.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Li Qiu
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (R.Z.); (P.W.); (X.M.); (Y.W.); (C.L.); (L.Q.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Basit Zeshan
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Central Punjab, Johar Town, Lahore 54000, Pakistan;
| | - Zengqi Yang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (R.Z.); (P.W.); (X.M.); (Y.W.); (C.L.); (L.Q.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Yefei Zhou
- Department of Life Science, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing 211171, China
| | - Xinglong Wang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; (R.Z.); (P.W.); (X.M.); (Y.W.); (C.L.); (L.Q.); (Z.Y.)
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Mahmud S, Biswas S, Paul GK, Mita MA, Promi MM, Afrose S, Hasan MR, Zaman S, Uddin MS, Dhama K, Emran TB, Saleh MA, Simal-Gandara J. Plant-Based Phytochemical Screening by Targeting Main Protease of SARS-CoV-2 to Design Effective Potent Inhibitors. Biology (Basel) 2021; 10:589. [PMID: 34206970 PMCID: PMC8301192 DOI: 10.3390/biology10070589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Currently, a worldwide pandemic has been declared in response to the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a fatal and fast-spreading viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The low availability of efficient vaccines and treatment options has resulted in a high mortality rate, bringing the world economy to its knees. Thus, mechanistic investigations of drugs capable of counteracting this disease are in high demand. The main protease (Mpro) expressed by SARS-CoV-2 has been targeted for the development of potential drug candidates due to the crucial role played by Mpro in viral replication and transcription. We generated a phytochemical library containing 1672 phytochemicals derived from 56 plants, which have been reported as having antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal activity. A molecular docking program was used to screen the top three candidate compounds: epicatechin-3-O-gallate, psi-taraxasterol, and catechin gallate, which had respective binding affinities of -8.4, -8.5, and -8.8 kcal/mol. Several active sites in the targeted protein, including Cys145, His41, Met49, Glu66, and Met165, were found to interact with the top three candidate compounds. The multiple simulation profile, root-mean-square deviation, root-mean-square fluctuation, radius of gyration, and solvent-accessible surface area values supported the inflexible nature of the docked protein-compound complexes. The toxicity and carcinogenicity profiles were assessed, which showed that epicatechin-3-O-gallate, psi-taraxasterol, and catechin gallate had favorable pharmacological properties with no adverse effects. These findings suggest that these compounds could be developed as part of an effective drug development pathway to treat COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shafi Mahmud
- Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh; (S.M.); (G.K.P.); (S.Z.); (M.S.U.)
| | - Suvro Biswas
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh; (S.B.); (M.A.M.); (M.M.P.); (S.A.); (M.R.H.)
| | - Gobindo Kumar Paul
- Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh; (S.M.); (G.K.P.); (S.Z.); (M.S.U.)
| | - Mohasana Akter Mita
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh; (S.B.); (M.A.M.); (M.M.P.); (S.A.); (M.R.H.)
| | - Maria Meha Promi
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh; (S.B.); (M.A.M.); (M.M.P.); (S.A.); (M.R.H.)
| | - Shamima Afrose
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh; (S.B.); (M.A.M.); (M.M.P.); (S.A.); (M.R.H.)
| | - Md. Robiul Hasan
- Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh; (S.B.); (M.A.M.); (M.M.P.); (S.A.); (M.R.H.)
| | - Shahriar Zaman
- Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh; (S.M.); (G.K.P.); (S.Z.); (M.S.U.)
| | - Md. Salah Uddin
- Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh; (S.M.); (G.K.P.); (S.Z.); (M.S.U.)
| | - Kuldeep Dhama
- Division of Pathology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly 243122, UP, India;
| | - Talha Bin Emran
- Department of Pharmacy, BGC Trust University Bangladesh, Chittagong 4381, Bangladesh
| | - Md. Abu Saleh
- Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh; (S.M.); (G.K.P.); (S.Z.); (M.S.U.)
| | - Jesus Simal-Gandara
- Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Department of Analytical and Food Chemistry, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Vigo–Ourense Campus, E32004 Ourense, Spain
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