title: Molecular cloning, expression, and characterization of a functional single-chain Fv antibody to the mycotoxin zearalenone.
abstract: The heavy-chain and kappa light-chain variable region genes of an antizearalenone hybridoma cell line (2G3-6E3-2E2) were isolated by PCR and joined by a DNA linker encoding peptide (Gly4Ser)3 as a single-chain Fv (scFv) DNA fragment. The scFv DNA fragment was cloned into a phagemid (pCANTAB5E) and expressed as a fusion protein with E tag and phage M13 p3 in Escherichia coli TG1. In the presence of helper phage M13K07, the scFv fusion protein was displayed on the surfaces of recombinant phages. High-affinity scFv phages were enriched through affinity selection in microtiter wells coated with zearalenone-ovalbumin conjugate. The selected recombinant phages were used to infect E. coli HB2151 for the production of soluble scFv antibodies. One selected clone (pQY1.5) in HB2151 secreted a soluble scFv antibody (QY1.5) with a high zearalenone-binding affinity (concentration required for 50% inhibition of binding, 14 ng/ml), similar to that of parent monoclonal antibody in a competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. However, scFv QY1.5 exhibited higher cross-reactivity with zearalenone analogs and had greater sensitivity to methanol destabilization than the parent monoclonal antibody did. Nucleotide sequence analyses revealed that the light-chain portion of scFv QY1.5 had a nucleotide sequence identity of 97% to a mouse germ line gene VK23.32 in mouse kappa light-chain variable region subgroup V, whereas the heavy-chain nucleotide sequence was classified as mouse heavy-chain subgroup III (D) but without any closely related members having highly homologous complementarity-determining region sequences. The potential of soluble scFv QY1.5 for routine screening of zearalenone and its analogs was demonstrated with zearalenone-spiked corn extracts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: H R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Linz
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Pestka
authors.forename: L P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Hart
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression; D005803:Genes, Immunoglobulin; D006825:Hybridomas; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D015025:Zearalenone / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D015025:Zearalenone