Cloning, expression and antiviral bioactivity of Red-crowned Crane interferon-α

• We provide the IFN-α gene sequence of Red-crowned Crane for the first time.
• The crIFN-α expressed in E. coli could inhibit the replication of VSV on CEF.
• The antiviral activities were abrogated by rabbit anti-crIFN-α antibodies in vitro.
• CrIFN-α could be expressed in CEF and was mainly located in the cytoplasm.

Interferon-α (IFN-α) genes have been cloned from a variety of animals, but information regarding crane IFN-α has not been reported to date. In this study, we cloned a full-length Red-crowned Crane interferon-α (crIFN-α) gene sequence consisting of a 486 bp partial 5′ UTR, 741 bp complete ORF and 559 bp partial 3′ UTR. This gene encodes a protein of 246 amino acids and shares 60 to 80% identity with avian IFN-α and less than 45% identity with mammalian IFN-α. The expression of crIFN-α with an N-terminal His-tag was investigated in Escherichia coli, and the protein was purified on a nickel column. To obtain activated proteins, crIFN-α inclusion bodies were renatured by dialysis. In vitro cytopathic inhibition assays indicated that the recombinant crIFN-α could inhibit the replication of vesicular stomatitis virus in chicken fibroblasts. These antiviral activities were abrogated by rabbit anti-crIFN-α antibodies in vitro. In addition, an immunofluorescence assay indicated that crIFN-α could be expressed in chicken fibroblasts and was primarily located in the cytoplasm. Taken together, our results suggest that the crIFN-α gene may play an important role in inhibiting the replication of viruses.