The current vaccines failed to provide substantial protection against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) and the new vaccine development faces great challenges. Sialoadhesin (Sn) and CD163 are the two key receptors for PRRS virus (PRRSV) infection of porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs), but the artificial microRNA (amiRNA) strategy targeting two viral receptors has not been described. The candidate miRNAs targeting Sn or CD163 receptor were predicted using a web-based miRNA design tool and validated by transfection of cells with each amiRNA expression vector plus the reporter vector. The amiRNA-expressing recombinant adenoviruses (rAds) were generated using AdEasy Adenoviral Vector System. The rAd transduction efficiencies for pig cells were measured by flow cytometry and fluorescent microscopy. The expression and exosome-mediated secretion of amiRNAs were detected by RT-PCR. The knock-down of Sn or CD163 receptor by rAd- and/or exosome-delivered amiRNA was detected by quantitative RT-PCR and flow cytometry. The additive anti-PRRSV effect between the two amiRNAs was detected by quantitative RT-PCR and viral titration. All 18 amiRNAs validated were effective against Sn or CD163 receptor mRNA expression. Two rAds expressing Sn- or CD163-targeted amiRNA were generated for further study. The maximal rAd transduction efficiency was 62% for PAMs at MOI 800 or 100% for PK-15 cells at MOI 100. The sequence-specific amiRNAs were expressed efficiently in and secreted from the rAd-transduced cells via exosomes. The expression of Sn and CD163 receptors was inhibited significantly by rAd transduction and/or amiRNA-containing exosome treatment at mRNA and protein levels. Both PRRSV ORF7 copy number and viral titer were reduced significantly by transduction of PAMs with the two rAds and/or by treatment with the two amiRNA-containing exosomes. The additive anti-PRRSV effect between the two amiRNAs was relatively long-lasting (96 h) and effective against three different viral strains. These results suggested that Sn- and CD163-targeted amiRNAs had an additive anti-PRRSV effect against different viral strains. Our findings provide new evidence supporting the hypothesis that exosomes can also serve as an efficient small RNA transfer vehicle for pig cells.

This study investigated the prevalence of Salmonella and the molecular typing of all isolates in a goose production chain including hatchery, farm, slaughterhouse, and market. A total of 350 Salmonella isolates was detected from 1,030 samples, and 13 serotypes were recovered. The highest Salmonella contamination frequency was observed at the hatchery, which 51.8% (188/363) of samples were Salmonella positive. S. Potsdam and S. Typhimurium were the 2 most common serotypes. S. Potsdam was most frequently found in the hatchery, while S. Typhimurium was widely distributed in the goose production chain. In general, the antibiotic resistance of Salmonella isolates is low, which isolates from the market is comparatively higher than from other production links indicating a possibility of Salmonella cross-contamination in the market. By the multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis, 7 different ST types were identified. ST2039 was the most common ST type, which was mostly found from S. Potsdam isolates in hatchery indicating that S. Potsdam might have been long existed in hatchery. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis of S. Potsdam indicated that S. Potsdam could be transmitted along the production chain. The PFGE analysis of S. Typhimurium showed that PFGE pattern 29 (PF29) was distributed in hatchery, and also in farm and from humans indicating the risk of S. Typhimurium transmitting to humans by the food supply chain. Our study provided the evidence of Salmonella cross-contamination in the slaughterhouse and the retail market of goose production chain, and specific serotypes existed for a long time at a particular production link. The spread of Salmonella along the production chain, might cause harm to humans through cross-contamination. Further studies would be needed to control the Salmonella contamination in hatchery and prevent the transmission of the pathogen during the goose production.

Bacteria with carbapenem or tigecycline resistance have been spreading widely among humans, animals and the environment globally, being great threats to public health. However, bacteria co-carrying drug resistance genes of carbapenem and tigecycline in Shewanella and Acinetobacter species remain to be investigated. Here, we detected nine bla_NDM-1-carrying Shewanella spp. isolates as well as three A. portensis isolates co-harboring tet(X3) and bla_NDM-1 from seventy-two samples collected from a dairy farm in China. To explore their genomic characteristic and transmission mechanism, we utilized various methods, including PCR, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, conjugation experiment, whole-genome sequencing, circular intermediate identification and bioinformatics analysis. Clonal dissemination was found among three A. portensis, of which tet(X3) and bla_NDM-1 were located on a novel non-conjugative plasmid pJNE5-X3_NDM-1 (333,311 bp), and the circular intermediate ΔISCR2-tet(X3)-bla_NDM-1 was identified. Moreover, there was another copy of tet(X3) on the chromosome of A. portensis. It was verified that bla_NDM-1 could be transferred to Escherichia coli C600 from Shewanella spp. by conjugation, and self-transmissible IncA/C₂ plasmids mediated the transmission of bla_NDM-1 in Shewanella spp. strains. Stringent surveillance was warranted to curb the transmission of such vital resistance genes.

S . Enteritidis is a highly adapted pathogen that causes significant economic losses in the poultry industry around the world.

Glycoprotein 5 (GP5) from porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is a key inducer of neutralizing antibodies. A truncated GP5 gene lacking the signal peptide and transmembrane sequences was amplified via an overlap PCR method and inserted into prokaryotic expression vectors, pET32a or pGEX-6p-1, to add an His or GST tag, respectively. His-tagged GP5 was induced with IPTG, verified by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting, and purified to serve as an immunogen accompanied with the Salmonella typhimurium flagellin (FliC), a Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) agonist. Levels of TLR5 and cytokine mRNAs in spleens of mice following injection with FliC were detected by qRT-PCR to verify the activation of innate immunity. FliC was used as an adjuvant and administered with the GP5 to C57BL/6 mice via intraperitoneal injection. Coadministration of GP5 with FliC induced a significantly enhanced GP5-specific IgG and IFN-γ response compared with administration of GP5 alone, and the GP5-specific titer in the GP5 + FliC coadministration group was elevated almost twofold after the third immunization. These results indicate that FliC is an effective adjuvant, increasing the induction of antibodies against GP5 with the induction of both humoral and cellular immune responses.