A DNA microarray is a collection of microscopic DNA spots arranged on a solid surface via covalent attachment to a chemically suitable substrate. DNA microarrays allow hundreds of thousands of DNA seq...
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Several fluorescent reporter molecules, such as the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), are available as research tools to monitor gene activity and protein distribution within cells.  However, currentl...
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Botulinum neurotoxins produced by Clostridium botulinum are the most potent toxins known. Because of the threat of bio-terrorism, sensitive methods for detecting botulinum neurotoxin are needed; howev...
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In addition to simple nucleotide polymorphisms, the human genome includes intermediate structural variations, such as amplifications, insertions, deletions, inversions and complex rearrangements. Whil...
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The yeast two-hybrid system is a powerful technique used to detect protein-protein interactions. The technique has been used to establish physical interactions between genetically identified proteins,...
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The main form of RNA polymerase in E. coli is Eσ70. One of the recognition elements within the promoter region for Eσ70 is the UP element. This element is situated upstream of the RNA transcription ...
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DNA damage occurs in organisms as a result of exposure to environmental chemicals and radiation. Failure to repair this damage can lead to tumor formation and cancer. Although a gene has been found in...
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Membrane proteins perform many crucial functions in vivo.  Physical characterization of these proteins, including the determination of three-dimensional crystal structures, could improve fundamental ...
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Accurate monitoring of gene expression is critical to determining those patterns of expression correlating with exposure to certain drugs or toxins. By elucidating these patterns, researchers may be a...
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Microbial genome sequencing projects uncover large numbers of new genes. Functional analyses of these genes require targeted modifications of particular DNA sequences in their chromosomal locations us...
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Acyl carrier protein (ACP) is a small lipid carrier protein involved in fatty acid biosynthesis and in the solubilization of fats to make them metabolically available. The molecule is difficult to obt...
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Antioxidant response elements (AREs) are small segments of DNA that turn on a wide variety of genes in response to oxidative stress. They are of particular interest in the study of cancer treatment an...
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Epitope tagging provides an improved method of protein immunopurification. The technique involves adding a small peptide epitope to a protein of interest through recombinant DNA techniques. The recomb...
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Analysis by mass spectrometry requires that molecules first be converted to gas-phase ions. Converting small molecules into ions is straightforward; however, it was not possible to ionize large molecu...
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The gene mdm2 is a negative regulator of p53, which plays a key role in apoptosis and is important in chemotherapy. Mice with knockout mutations in mdm2 would be useful in studying this gene; however,...
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La Crosse virus is an etiologic agent for childhood encephalitis in North America. Structurally, the nucleocapsid of this virus is enclosed by a host-derived lipid envelope holding two virion glycopro...
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The human heart sodium channel beta1 subunit is a protein encoded by a single gene. It interacts with the alpha subunit to alter the functional properties of the channel.
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Phosphoglucomutase (PGM) is a glycolytic enzyme that converts glucose 1-phosphate to glucose 6-phosphate. This enzyme plays a major role in directing the flow of carbon toward either anabolic or catab...
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The ability to unambiguously mark a cell’s genotype is essential for studies in which genetically distinct cell populations must be distinguished from one another in vivo.
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The ability to unambiguously mark a cell’s genotype is essential for studies in which genetically distinct cell populations must be distinguished from one another in vivo.
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The ability to unambiguously mark a cell’s genotype is essential for studies in which genetically distinct cell populations must be distinguished from one another in vivo.
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Microorganisms adapted to grow in exceptionally harsh environments, such as hot springs and arctic soils, are a potentially vast source of novel metabolic processes, antibiotics, enzymes and other pro...
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The enzyme RNA polymerase II synthesizes precursors to mRNAs and small nuclear RNAs. Sequence analysis of the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II has revealed an unusual heptapeptide repeat at the mo...
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The study of full-length cDNA clones is important for determining the structure and function of genes.
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CREB is a transcription factor that has been implicated as a critical regulator of neuronal function and survival. Knockout mice lacking CREB exhibit a disease similar to ataxia telangiectasia, a neur...
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