title: Molecular modeling and expression of the Litopenaeus vannamei proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) after white spot syndrome virus shrimp infection.
abstract: Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is the eukaryotic sliding clamp that tethers DNA polymerase to DNA during replication. The full-length cDNA of the Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei PCNA (LvPCNA) was cloned and encoded a protein of 260 amino acids that is highly similar to other Crustacean PCNAs. The theoretical shrimp PCNA structure has all the domains that are necessary for its interaction with template DNA and DNA polymerase. RT-PCR analysis showed that LvPCNA is expressed mainly in muscle and hemocytes and much less in hepatopancreas and gills. LvPCNA mRNA levels are not statistically different in muscle from healthy and challenged shrimp with the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). In contrast, the mRNA levels of the viral DNA polymerase show a biphasic pattern with expression at 6 h post-infection and later at 24 and 48 h. These results suggest that in shrimp muscle LvPCNA levels are steadily kept to allow viral replication and that WSSV DNA polymerase (WSSV-DNApol) is more responsive towards later stages of infection. More knowledge of the DNA replication machinery would result in a better understanding of the mechanism and components of viral replication, since the WSSV genome does not have all the components required for assembly of a fully functional replisome.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Aquatic Molecular Biology Lab, A.C. Carretera a La Victoria km 0.6, Apartado Postal 1735, Hermosillo, Sonora, 83000, Mexico.
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de-la-Re-Vega
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Aquatic Molecular Biology Lab, A.C. Carretera a La Victoria km 0.6, Apartado Postal 1735, Hermosillo, Sonora, 83000, Mexico.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muhlia-Almazan
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad de Sonora, Blvd. Luis Encinas y Rosales S/N, Hermosillo, Sonora, 83000, Mexico.
authors.forename: Aldo A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Arvizu-Flores
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Aquatic Molecular Biology Lab, A.C. Carretera a La Victoria km 0.6, Apartado Postal 1735, Hermosillo, Sonora, 83000, Mexico.
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Islas-Osuna
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Aquatic Molecular Biology Lab, A.C. Carretera a La Victoria km 0.6, Apartado Postal 1735, Hermosillo, Sonora, 83000, Mexico.
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yepiz-Plascencia
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad (LANGEBIO), Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados (CINVESTAV Unidad Irapuato) Km 9.6 Libramiento Norte Carretera Irapuato-León, Apartado Postal 629, Irapuato, Guanajuato, 36500, Mexico ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), International Scholar.
authors.forename: Luis G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Brieba
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Aquatic Molecular Biology Lab, A.C. Carretera a La Victoria km 0.6, Apartado Postal 1735, Hermosillo, Sonora, 83000, Mexico.
authors.forename: Rogerio R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Sotelo-Mundo
keywords: DNA polymerase; PCNA; Proliferating cell nuclear antigen; Shrimp; WSSV; White spot syndrome virus