Development and Evaluation of a Novel Armored RNA Technology Using Bacteriophage Q β

In this study, we report a novel technology for preparing AR using bacteriophage Q β and compare its stability with AR prepared using the MS2 phage system for packaging norovirus detection target RNA. AR could be successfully and efficiently produced using the developed bacteriophage Qβ system. Two types of AR–AR-QNoV prepared using the Qβ system and AR-MNoV prepared using th e MS2 system—were stored at different temperatures for different durations. After incubating at − 20 °C for 360 days, the copy numbers of AR-QNoV and AR-MNoV decreased by 8.9% and 35.9%, respectively. After incubating at 4 °C for 60 days, the copy numbers of AR-QNoV and AR-MNoV decreased by 12.0% and 38.9%, respectively. After incubating at 45 °C, the copy numbers of AR-QNoV decreased by 71.8% after 5 days, whereas those of AR-MNoV decreased by 92.9% after only 4 days. After 5 days, AR-MNoV could not be detected using real-time RT-PCR. There was a significant difference in copy numbers decrease rate between AR-QNoV and AR-MNoV at three different temperatures (P <  0.05 ). Therefore, AR prepared using the new bacteriophage Qβ system is more stable than the traditional AR, making the developed strategy a good candidate for AR preparation and quality control.
Source: Food and Environmental Virology - Category: Virology Source Type: research