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Singapore
scientists isolate white spot virus proteins
From the Department of Biological Sciences,
National University of Singapore, 14 Science
Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore
Researchers report the most complete list
so far of proteins present in a virus that
causes severe shrimp mortality and significant
economic losses to shrimp cultivation worldwide.
This discovery could help understand how
the virus is assembled and how it infects
shrimps.
White spot syndrome is a viral infection
of shrimps that is highly lethal and contagious,
killing shrimps within 7 to 10 days. In
1993, this disease resulted in a virtual
collapse
of the Chinese shrimp farming industry
and, by 1996, it had severely affected East
and
South Asia. The disease was reported in
the United States in late 1995. Although
no treatment
for the disease is available yet, scientists
have been studying the proteins that make
up the virus to understand how it infects
shrimps and avoids their immune system.
Choy-Leong
Hew and colleagues showed that the virus
is assembled by at least 58 proteins,
including 13 proteins which are reported
for the first time. The scientists also localized
33 of the proteins on the envelope, which
is the membrane surrounding the virus, and
nine proteins in the nucleocapsid, the core
of the virus that contains its genetic material.
Although Hew and colleagues do not know yet
how these proteins work together, their localization
in the virus is shedding light on some of
their functions and will help determine which
ones could be targeted by antiviral drugs.
Article: “Shotgun Identification of
the Structural Proteome of Shrimp White Spot
Syndrome Virus and iTRAQ Differentiation
of Envelope and Nucleocapsid Subproteomes,” by
Zhengjun Li, Qingsong Lin, Jing Chen, Jin
Lu Wu, Teck Kwang Lim, Siew See Loh, Xuhua
Tang, and Choy-Leong Hew
MEDIA CONTACT: Choy-Leong Hew, National
University of Singapore; tel: 65-6516-2692;
e-mail: dbshewcl@nus.edu.sg or dbshead@nus.edu.sg
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