With the development of recombinant DNA technology and the many analytic techniques based on restriction endonucleases, it has become relatively routine to isolate a segment of genomic DNA carrying a gene of interest, to define the limits of the gene within this DNA segment, and then to determine the gene's complete nucleotide sequence. In this way, a number of structural questions can be direc...

LytA is responsible for the autolysis of many Streptococcus species, including pathogens such as S. pneumoniae, S. pseudopneumoniae and S. mitis. However, how this major autolysin achieves full activity remains unknown. Here, the full-length structure of the S. pneumoniae LytA dimer is reported at 2.1 Å resolution. Each subunit has an N-terminal amidase domain and a C-terminal choline-binding d...

A new reverse genetics method has been developed to identify and isolate deletion mutants for targeted plant genes. Deletion mutant libraries are generated using fast neutron bombardment. DNA samples extracted from the deletion libraries are used to screen for deletion mutants by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers flanking the targeted genes. By adjusting PCR conditions to p...

Chrysanthemum is one of the ornamental plants that cultivated widely in worldwide. This flower is one of the most important cut and pot flowers in the world due to its high diversity of colors and shapes. The creation of mutation is an important method for the production of new cultivars, and many cultivars have been produced through spontaneous and induced mutations. In this study, explants of...

In the European Union, the Committee for Advanced Therapies of the European Medicines Agency takes the lead in the scientific assessment for marketing authorization applications for advanced therapy medicinal products, which include gene therapy medicinal products, somatic cell therapy medicinal products, and tissue-engineered products. The Committee for Advanced Therapies also takes the lead i...

Functional analysis of the Plasmodium falciparum genome is restricted because of the limited ability to genetically manipulate this important human pathogen. We have developed an efficient transposon-mediated insertional mutagenesis method much needed for high-throughput functional genomics of malaria parasites. A drug-selectable marker, human dihydrofolate reductase, added to the lepidopteran ...