Rz1-9 is a multimeric hammerhead ribozyme targeted against nine highly conserved sites within the env coding region of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) RNA. This ribozyme was shown to inhibit HIV-1 replication (1, 2). However, Rz1-9 target sites are only conserved within the clade B of HIV-1. In this study, we have designed another multimeric ribozyme, Rz10-14. This multimeric ribozy...

A combination gene therapy strategy using an ASPsi-gag antisense RNA (targeted against the packaging signal and the gag-coding region) and a multimeric hammerhead ribozyme Rz1-9 (targeted against nine sites within the env-coding region) or Rz1-14 (targeted against 14 sites within the 5' leader and the pro-, pol-, vif- and env-coding regions) was assessed for inhibiting HIV-1 replication. A muri...

Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum) is an extremely harmful pathogen, which infects humans and causes severe public health problems. To date, no effective therapeutic drugs for this pathogen are available. In this study, we designed and constructed three hammerhead ribozymes targeting the eggshell protein gene of S. japonicum (SjESG). The cleavage activities of these three ribozymes were deter...

Although most resistance genes (R-genes) deployed against virus infections have lasted more than 25 years, the effectiveness of Rz1 that confers partial resistance against Beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) was compromised in approximately 10 years in MN/ND by the emergence of resistance breaking (RB) strains of BNYVV (5). Using reverse genetics, Koenig et al. (3) demonstrated that for Eur...

Coliphage lambda proteins Rz and Rz1 are the inner membrane and outer membrane subunits of the spanin complex-a heterotetramer that bridges the periplasm and is essential for the disruption of the outer membrane during phage lysis. Recent evidence suggests the spanin complex functions by fusing the inner and outer membrane. Here, we use a genetics approach to investigate and characterize determ...

Lennefors, B-L. 2006. Molecular breeding for resistance to rhizomania in sugar beets. Doctor’s dissertation ISSN: 1652-6880, ISBN: 91-576-7255-5 Rhizomania is one of the most destructive sugar beet diseases. It is caused by Beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) vectored by the soilborne protoctist Polymyxa betae Keskin. The studies in this thesis evaluated natural and transgenic resistances t...

Beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) is a member of the genus Benyvirus (21,22) and causes the disease known as rhizomania. It often is reported to be the most important sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) virus (17). BNYVV is transmitted by the plasmodiophorid, Polymyxa betae Keskin (1,2,6). In the United States, the virus first was identified in California in 1984 (5) but now occurs in every maj...

The hammerhead ribozyme is a small catalytic RNA molecule. Potential hammerhead ribozymes that possess a catalytic domain and flanking sequence complementary to a target mRNA can cleave in trans at a putative cleavage site within the target molecule. We have investigated the potential of hammerhead ribozymes to down-regulate the product of the fibrillin-1 gene (FBN1). Fibrillin is a 347 kDa gly...