The No. 190808 Serial academic activities of aquatic forum --- the New Sights into Aquatics---were held on the morning of March 14. Hew Choy Leong, a Chinese Singaporean bio-scientist and Emeritus Professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS), presented an academic report entitled “Functional and Structural Studies of Singapore Grouper Iridovirus”. The seminar, presided over by Professor Chen Tangsheng from the College of Fisheries, attracted about 100 teachers and students.
With the introduction of grouper iridovirus and antifreeze protein, Hew Choy Leong explored Singaporegrouper iridovirus (SGIV) by elaborating on three aspects in plain language, namely genomics, proteomics and frozen electron microscopy. Firstly, he introduced the research sequence of SGIV: first, the team analyzed the sequence of SGIV by sequencing the whole genome, and found 162 open reading frames (ORFs), establishing genomics and exploring its gene expression and protein function; then, on this basis, with three diverse research methods of 1D Gel Electrophoresis、shotgunand、In vivo, the team identified the molecular weight and structure of the protein, and confirmed that 71 proteins had been expressed in the above ORFs, providing a protein screening range for subsequent SGIV studies.
Subsequently, Hew Choy Leong demonstrated the entire process of virus invasion--- release, reconstruction, packaging and release under cryo-electron microscope. Moreover, the team deduced a new way for virus to infect cells through vesicle structure. With respect to different characteristics of various virus, Hew’s team modeled and compared nearly 5,000 viruses under the cryo-electron microscope, and finally figured out the microstructure of SGIV. Then Hew specifically explained the structure and function of various membrane proteins. At the end of the report, Hew demonstrated a set of 3D animation models to illustrate the whole process of functional viruses assembled into icosahedrons by viral proteins.
After the report, Pro. Hew discussed the problems and exchanged views with the teachers and students, and expressed his expectations for future research.
【Profile】Hew Choy Leong obtained his doctor’s degree in biochemistry from British Columbia University, Canada. As one of the earliest Chinese-Singaporean scientists to promote academic exchanges between China and foreign countries, he visited many universities in China and gave lectures and attended academic activities. He played a leading role in the diplomatic exchanges between Chinese biologists and was enthusiastic about public welfare as well. In recent years, he has been committed to promoting the international union of universities, cooperation in scientific and technological projects, and talents exchange and employment.
Source: http://news.hzau.edu.cn/2019/0318/53750.shtml
Translated by: Liu Shaokang
Supervised by: Wang Xiaoyan
