* Author for correspondence and reprint requests Z. Naturforsch. 64c, 418-420 (2009); received December 15, 2008 Cell suspension culture has rapidly become an alternative source of taxol, an anticancer compound. To investigate the role of DNA methylation in the cultural course of Taxus chinensis cells, analyses of 18S rRNA gene sequences of cultured T chinensis cells and related species were co...

We review all instances in which the nuclear 5S rRNA genes of fungi, protist, nematode, and arthropod species have been reported to be linked to the tandemly repeated units of the rDNA, trans-spliced leader, and histone multigene families. The evolution of these gene arrangements is analyzed by mapping them to independently derived phylogenies. These analyses show that 5S rRNA genes have repeat...

BACKGROUND The intra- and inter-species genetic diversity of bacteria and the absence of 'reference', or the most representative, sequences of individual species present a significant challenge for sequence-based identification. The aims of this study were to determine the utility, and compare the performance of several clustering and classification algorithms to identify the species of 364 seq...

In eukaryotes, each of the more than 100 copies of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes exists in either an RNA polymerase I transcribed open chromatin state or a nucleosomal, closed chromatin state. Open rRNA genes guarantee the cell's supply with structural components of the ribosome, whereas closed rRNA genes ensure genomic integrity. We report that the observed balance between open and closed rRNA ge...

Abstract Hop cyst nematode, Heterodera humuli Filipjev, 1934 was found in soil samples collected from hop farms Bushy Park, Tasmania and Merriang, Victoria, Australia. Morphological molecular characteristics were consistent with those described for this species other parts of the world. Novel gene sequences ITS rRNA, 28S rRNA CO1 mtDNA generated cysts compared against H. available on NCBI GenBa...

Upstream Binding Factor (UBF) is a unique multi-HMGB-box protein first identified as a co-factor in RNA polymerase I (RPI/PolI) transcription. However, its poor DNA sequence selectivity and its ability to generate nucleosome-like nucleoprotein complexes suggest a more generalized role in chromatin structure. We previously showed that extensive depletion of UBF reduced the number of actively tra...

A bacterial strain, designated AcBz01, was isolated from a water sample collected from Gomti River, Lucknow, India, and identified using a molecular approach. On the basis of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequence phylogeny and comparison of this gene sequence with sequences in Ribosomal Database project II, evidence given in this study, it is proposed that isolate is closely related to members o...

Mycoplasmas hominis, Mycoplasmas genitalium and Ureaplasma urealyticum are associated with infections of the genitourinary tract, reproductive failure, and neonatal morbidity and mortality. A multiplex PCR was developed for simultaneously detection of these Mycoplasmas species in a single amplification reaction. The total number of 104 samples was collected from 104 women’s genital specimens wi...

Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) is a pathogen responsible for respiratory and locomotor disorders and causes major economic losses in poultry industry. Early and accurate diagnosis of MS infection plays a major role in control of the infection. This study was conducted to characterize Iranian field isolates of MS isolated from broiler chickens of West Azarbaijan province (Northwest of Iran), ...

Species identification using DNA sequences is the basis for DNA taxonomy. In this study, we sequenced the ribosomal large-subunit RNA gene sequences (3,037-3,061 bp) in length of 13 Chinese Theileria stocks that were infective to cattle and sheep. The complete 28S rRNA gene is relatively difficult to amplify and its conserved region is not important for phylogenetic study. Therefore, we selecte...