Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is a form of NIDDM characterized by an early age of onset and autosomal-dominant inheritance (1). So far, three MODY-causing genes have been identified; namely, the hepatocyte nuclear factor4a (HNF-4a)/M0DYl on chromosome 20q, the glucokinase/M0DY2 on chromosome 7p, and the HNFla/M0DY3 on chromosome 12 q (2-4). The identification of the MODY genes has...

The relationship between components of biochemical network and the resulting dynamics of the overall system is a key focus of computational biology. However, as these networks and resulting mathematical models are inherently complex and non-linear, the understanding of this relationship becomes challenging. Among many approaches, model reduction methods provide an avenue to extract components r...

Owing to the genetic flexibility and error-free bulk production, bio-nanostructures such as filamentous phage showed great potential in materials synthesis, however, their photo-responsive behaviour is neither explored nor unveiled. Here we show M13 phage genetically engineered with tyrosine residues precisely fused to the major coat protein is converted into a photo-responsive organic nanowire...

BACKGROUND We propose, model, and implement a novel system of population-level intervention against a virus. One context is a treatment against a chronic infection such as HIV. The underlying principle is a form of virus 'wars' in which a benign, transmissible agent is engineered to protect against infection by and spread of a lethal virus. In our specific case, the protective agent consists of...

Viruses have recently attracted attention as biological templates for assembly of nanostructures and nanoelectronic circuits. They can be coated with metals, silica or semiconductor materials and form end-to-end nanorod assemblies. Such viruses as tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and M13 bacteriophage have appropriate cylindrical shape and particularly suitable dimensions: M13 is 860 nm long and 6.5 ...

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) PCR is a feasible method to evaluate genotoxin-induced DNA damage and mutations. In this study, Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 14917T, Enterococcus faecium DSMZ 20477T, Escherichia coli PQ37 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae S441 were screened for DNA genetic alterations by DNA fingerprinting using M13 and LA1 primers after treatment with three compounds forming...

Climate change, drought, erosion, water contamination resources, desertification, and loss of soil quality represent major environmental risks worldwide. Facing these is the most important issue for sustainable development. Conventional tillage (CT) practices seem to expose soils semi-arid regions, which are initially fragile, degradation that accentuated by overuse environment. The benefits co...

A primosome assembly site for F plasmid DNA replication has been identified. This site, which we term rriA (F), is localized to one strand of a 385-base-pair Sau3A restriction fragment very close to ori 2 and within the 2.25-kilobase DNA sequence required for replication and incompatibility of the entire F plasmid. rriA (F) was isolated by cloning into the deletion phage vector M13 delta Elac. ...

The family of three-dimensional molecular structures of the major coat protein from the M13 bacteriophage, which was determined in detergent micelles by NMR methods, has been analyzed by constrained geometry optimization in a phospholipid environment. A single-layer solvation shell of dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine lipids was built around the protein, after replacing single residues by cysteines ...

Vismodegib (Erivedge, GDC-0449) is a first-in-class, orally administered small-molecule Hedgehog pathway inhibitor that is approved for the treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma. Previously, we reported results from preclinical and clinical radiolabeled mass balance studies in which we determined that metabolism is the main route of vismodegib elimination. The metabolites of vismodegib are...