Cloning and Prokaryotic Expression of VP1 Gene of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus(FMDV) Type O

[Objective] To provide theoretical basis for further investigation on diagnosis method of FMDV.[Method] According to the nucleotide sequence of foot-and-mouth disease virus(FMDV) type O published in GenBank,a pair of special primers were designed to amplify VP1 gene by RT-PCR and the products were subsequently inserted into the expression vector pGEX-6p-1.With sequencing,the target gene was correctly cloned into the expression vector,which was induced by IPTG to express the recombinant gene.[Result] The target gene,about 682 bp,was obtained by PCR and the cloned VP1 gene was successfully expressed in prokaryotic cells.The expressed products were fusion proteins with molecular weight 51 kD by SDS-PAGE identification.The result of Western Blot indicated the immunogenicity of the fusion proteins.[Conclusion] The fusion proteins of VP1 gene of FMDV type O were obtained,which could be used as coating antigen for preparation of foot-and-mouth disease diagnostic kit.