The single-infection isolates were further confirmed by plaque-purificationas previously described43 (link), and then used for subsequent sequencing. Mixed-infection isolations were verified by real-time RT-PCR as previously described44 (link). Viral RNA was extracted from viral stock fluid using an EasyPure Viral DNA/RNA kit (TransGen, Beijing, China) according to the manufacturer’s manual. cDNA was synthesized from viral RNA by reverse transcription with the 12-bp primer 5'-AGCAAAAGCAGG-3' as previously described45 (link). PCR was performed using specific primers as described in previous research to obtain the full-length HA and NA genes46 (link). The PCR products were purified with the TaKaRa Agarose Gel DNA Purification Kit Ver. 2.0 (TaKaRa, Dalian, China) and sequenced by Invitrogen of Guangdong Co., Ltd. A BLAST search was performed to compare the sequences against the nucleotide sequences of all known HA and NA genes of AIV in the GenBank database, and the HA and NA subtypes of the isolates were determined and verified.
Free full text: Click here