One of the central topics in environmental bioremediation research is to identify microorganisms that are capable of degrading the contaminants of interest. Here we report application of combined microautoradiography (MAR) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The method has previously been used in a number of systems; however, here we demonstrate its feasibility in studying the degrad...

We describe here the use of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to measure the transfection efficiency of the transient expression vector pCMVcat in lymphoblasts and fibroblasts. By using a pCMVcat probe, we can visualize the location of the plasmid after transfection and thus determine transfection efficiency. In this report, we show that, for transfection of pCMVcat by the diethylaminoe...

The use of inorganic phosphate (Pi) and dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) by different bacterial groups was studied in experimental mesocosms of P-starved eastern Mediterranean waters in the absence (control mesocosms) and presence of additional Pi (P-amended mesocosms). The low Pi turnover times in the control mesocosms and the increase in heterotrophic prokaryotic abundance and production up...

A fluorescence in situ hybridization assay for the rapid identification of clinically relevant enterococci (Enterococcus faecalis, E. faecium, E. gallinarum, the VanC-type resistance group) was developed and evaluated with 33 reference strains, 68 clinical isolates, and 58 positive blood cultures. All probes showed excellent sensitivities and specificities.

Glucocorticoids act by binding to the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), which binds to specific motifs within enhancers of target genes to activate transcription. Previous studies have suggested that GRs can promote interactions between gene promoters and distal elements within target loci. In contrast, we demonstrate here that glucocorticoid addition to mouse bone-marrow-derived macrophages produc...

We analyzed three human genes that were >200 kbp in length as they are switched on rapidly and synchronously by tumor necrosis factor alpha and obtained new insights into the transcription cycle that are difficult to obtain using continuously active, short, genes. First, a preexisting "whole-gene" loop in one gene disappears on stimulation; it is stabilized by CCCTC-binding factor and TFIIB and...

Eight anaerobic granular sludges were surveyed for Crenarchaeota using rRNA gene cloning. Microbial arrangement and substrate uptake patterns were elucidated by fluorescent in situ hybridization and beta imaging. Group 1.3 Crenarchaeota represented up to 50% of Archaea and 25% of the total microbiota in five sludges. Crenarchaeota were localized in close association with methanogenic Archaea.

Biological systems may perform reproducibly to generate invariant outcomes, despite external or internal noise. One example is the C. elegans vulva, in which the final cell fate pattern is remarkably robust. Although this system has been extensively studied and the molecular network underlying cell fate specification is well understood, very little is known in quantitative terms. Here, through ...

The coastal North Sea is characterized by strong seasonal dynamics in abiotic and biotic variables. Hence, pronounced temporal changes in the bacterioplankton community composition can be expected. Catalyzed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed a seasonal succession, with Alphaproteobacteria dominating before the spring phytoplankton bloom, Bacteroidetes increa...

Neurons with similar morphology and neurotransmitter content located at a specific brain region may be part of the same or functionally separate networks. To address the question whether morphologically similar neurons have similar structural architecture at the chromosomal level, we studied Purkinje neurons in the cerebellum. Previous studies have shown that in Purkinje neurons centromeres of ...