Construction and characterization of EGFP reporter gene labeled Sindbis virus

Abstract

To construct and characterize EGFP reporter gene labeled Sindbis virus (SINV). The reporter gene EGFP was inserted into the genome of infectious clone pBR-XJ160 by using multi-fusion long fragment PCR method. Then apply reverse genetic manipulation technique to rescue and obtain EGFP labeled SINV. We successively obtained labeled SINV, which has good fluorescent expression characteristics and genetic stability. The labeled virus can be seen in living cells and living body, and this serves as a good tool for cell and tissue tropism and biological function study of viruses. This study laid a foundation for further studying the cell tropism, biological functions and infection mechanism of SINV.