Siberian Federal University

Earlier the Krasnoyarsk biophysicists already developed a probe for detection of encephalitis virus based on another bioluminescent enzyme Renilla luciferase, but the new luciferase is half the molecular weight of the previously described probe.

The greater bioluminescent activity of Metridia longa's luciferase allowed the experts to reduce the detectable concentration of the virus in samples by 33 %, which increased the accuracy of the test. Metridia luciferase has a bright light, and the small size of this enzyme provides the most optimal protein production using recombinant synthesis, which essence is the production of a protein using the gene that encodes the necessary protein, and the cells that produce this protein.

The accuracy of the developed test was checked using standard kits which are used in the Sanitary and Epidemiological Services to determine tick-borne encephalitis. The researchers found out no discrepancies between the results of the two types of the tests.
Moreover, bioluminescent testing took half an hour less time. The biologists also note that the small size of luciferase reduces the likelihood of errors in its production and can be modified for other tests.

According to the researchers, one milligram of the created hybrid protein can provide more than 100 thousand assays. At the same time, they obtained from three to five milligrams of protein from one liter of a culture of genetically modified cells, in which the luminous molecule is produced.