Transformation of plasmid DNA into E. coli using the heat shock method

Transformation of plasmid DNA into E. coli using the heat shock method is a basic technique of molecular biology. It consists of inserting a foreign plasmid or ligation product into bacteria. This video protocol describes the traditional method of transformation using commercially available chemically competent bacteria from Genlantis. After a short incubation in ice, a mixture of chemically competent bacteria and DNA is placed at 42 degrees C for 45 seconds (heat shock) and then placed back in ice. SOC media is added and the transformed cells are incubated at 37 degrees C for 30 min with agitation. To be assured of isolating colonies irrespective of transformation efficiency, two quantities of transformed bacteria are plated. This traditional protocol can be used successfully to transform most commercially available competent bacteria. The turbocells from Genlantis can also be used in a novel 3-minute transformation protocol, described in the instruction manual.     

Rapid Isolation And Purification Of Mitochondria For Transplantation By Tissue Dissociation And Differential Filtration

Previously described mitochondrial isolation methods using differential centrifugation and/or Ficoll gradient centrifugation require 60 to 100 min to complete. We describe a method for the rapid isolation of mitochondria from mammalian biopsies using a commercial tissue dissociator and differential filtration. In this protocol, manual homogenization is replaced with the tissue dissociator’s standardized homogenization cycle. This allows for uniform and consistent homogenization of tissue that is not easily achieved with manual homogenization. Following tissue dissociation, the homogenate is filtered through nylon mesh filters, which eliminate repetitive centrifugation steps. As a result, mitochondrial isolation can be performed in less than 30 min. This isolation protocol yields approximately 2 x 10¹⁰ viable and respiration competent mitochondria from 0.18 ± 0.04 g (wet weight) tissue sample.     

Effects of cooling and warming conditions on post-thawed motility and fertility of cryopreserved buffalo spermatozoa.

The principal objective of this study was to derive an improved procedure for cryopreservation of swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) spermatozoa. Experiments were conducted to determine effects of cooling rate, intermediate plunge temperature and warming rate on motility and acrosome integrity of spermatozoa. Spermatozoa were obtained from three bulls (three ejaculates/bull) and were subjected to nine cooling conditions before being frozen in liquid nitrogen: cooling at 10, 20, or 30 degrees C/min each to -40, -80, or -120 degrees C before being plunged into liquid nitrogen. The spermatozoa frozen under a given condition were then thawed either at 1000 or 200 degrees C/min. Cooling rate, intermediate temperature and warming rate significantly affected survival of spermatozoa obtained from the three bulls. Cooling spermatozoa from 4 to -120 degrees C either at 20 or 30 degrees C/min yielded better progressive motility compared to other cooling conditions (50 versus 30%). Rapid warming was superior to slow warming. In an additional study, motility and fertility of spermatozoa frozen after being cooled to -120 degrees C at 20 degrees C and 30 degrees C/min and those frozen by a standard protocol used routinely for semen processing were assessed. Progressive motility of cryopreserved spermatozoa cooled at 20 degrees C and 30 degrees C/min was 40%, while that of spermatozoa cryopreserved using a standard protocol was 25%. A total of 178 buffalo cows were inseminated with cryopreserved spermatozoa obtained from one bull, and their pregnancy status was assessed 60 days later by rectal palpation. Out of the 60, 26 (43%) and 23 of 58 (40%) cows inseminated with sperm cooled at 20 and 30 degrees C/min, respectively, became pregnant, whereas 17 of 60 (28%) cows inseminated with sperm frozen by a standard protocol became pregnant. This study demonstrates that an effective cryopreservation procedure for buffalo spermatozoa can be derived by systematic examination of various cryobiological factors.     

Effect of cryopreservation on fusion efficiency and in vitro development into blastocysts of bovine cell lines used in somatic cell cloning

The outcome of the process of cloning by nuclear transfer depends on multiple factors that affect its efficiency. Donor cells should be carefully selected for their use in somatic nuclear transfer, and the protocols used for keeping frozen cell banks are of cardinal importance. Here we studied the effect of two protocols for freezing donor cells on fusion rate and development into blastocysts. Our hypothesis is that freezing affects cell membranes in a way that interferes with the fusion process upon cloning but without hampering normal cell development in vitro. We found that freezing cell lines without controlling the cooling rate gives lower yields in the fusion step and in the final development into blastocysts, compared with cells frozen with a controlled cooling rate of approximately 1 degrees C/min. Transmission electron microscopy of the cells subjected to different freezing procedures showed major damage to the cells frozen with a non-controlled protocol. We conclude that freezing of donor cells for cloning is a critical step in the procedure and should be monitored carefully using a method that allows for a step-wise, controlled cooling rate.     

Microtiter plate transformation using the LiAc/SS carrier DNA/PEG method

Here, we describe a protocol that has been adapted for the transformation of yeast cells in 96-well microtiter plates. This protocol can be tailored for multiple applications and is suitable for high-throughput applications. It can be completed in 2-3 h, once the yeast cells have been grown depending on the heat shock used.     

Cryopreserved Morulae can be used to Efficiently Generate Germline-transmitting Chimeras by Blastocyst Injection

The production of chimeric mice is a complex process, requiring the careful coordination of tissue culture cell growth, production of a large number (30–75) of competent blastocysts and the availability of appropriately timed pseudo pregnant female mice. Failure at any of these steps can impinge upon the rapid production of chimeras. One potential improvement for the efficient generation of chimeric mice would be the utilization of cryopreserved embryos suitable for injection. C57Bl/6 morulae were frozen using a standard 2-step protocol with ethylene glycol as the cryopreservation agent. We determined that cryopreserved morulae could thaw, culture to blastocyst stage in KSOM media and survive injection at rates equivalent to control embryos. Cryopreserved morulae were also equivalent to controls at all later stages in the process of production of chimeric mice, including birth rate, percentage chimerism of resulting animals and ability to produce germline progeny. Hence, cryopreservation of morulae for blastocyst injection is a suitable option to enhance the efficiency of chimeric mouse generation.     

Expression of the myc/His-tagged human peptide transporter hPEPT1 in yeast for protein purification and functional analysis

The human intestinal peptide transporter hPEPT1 has been expressed in the yeast Pichia pastoris using the promoter of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate-dehydrogenase gene. A myc-epitope fused to a polyhistidine-tag was introduced at the C-terminus of hPEPT1 for ease of detection and purification. Yeast cells transformed with tagged hPEPT1 exhibited 30-fold increased dipeptide uptake compared to control cells with a substrate specificity and pH dependence similar to the native transporter. The tagged hPEPT1 protein was detected in crude membrane fractions of Pichia cells with an apparent molecular mass of 66 kDa and an expression level of approximately 64 pmol/mg membrane protein. These studies demonstrate that tagged hPEPT1 can be expressed functionally in P. pastoris with unaltered phenotypical characteristics allowing the yeast cells to be used for functional analysis such as screening for compounds utilizing the peptide transporter for absorption in the human intestine. Moreover, recombinant hPEPT1 can now easily be detected for further purification purposes using immobilized metal-affinity chromatography.     

Atrogin-1/MAFbx,a Muscle-Specific Ubiquitin Ligase,Is Highly Expressed in the Smooth Muscle of the Chicken Gizzard

To improve the transformation efficiency of Zygosaccharomyces rouxii by electroporation, glycerol was added to the electroporation buffer and the cells were frozen at ?80 °C. These alterations drastically increased transformation efficiency, and we found that competent cells can be preserved at ?80 °C without decreasing their transformation efficiency for at least 30 d.     

Genetic transformation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with single-stranded circular DNA vectors

We asked if single-stranded vector DNA molecules could be used to reintroduce cloned DNA sequences into a eukaryotic cell and cause genetic transformation typical of that observed using double-stranded DNA vectors. DNA was presented to Saccharomyces cerevisiae following a standard transformation protocol, genetic transformants were isolated, and the physical state of the transforming DNA sequence was determined. We found that single-stranded DNA molecules transformed yeast cells 10- to 30-fold more efficiently than double-stranded molecules of identical sequence. More cells were competent for transformation by the single-stranded molecules. Single-stranded circular (ssc) DNA molecules carrying the yeast 2 μ plasmid-replicator sequence were converted to autonomously replicating double-stranded circular (dsc) molecules, suggesting their efficient utilization as templates for DNA synthesis in the cell. Single-stranded DNA molecules carrying 2 μ plasmid non-replicator sequences recombined with the endogenous multicopy 2 μ plasmid DNA. This recombination yielded either the simple molecular adduct expected from homologous recombination (40% of the transformants examined) or aberrant recombination products carrying incomplete transforming DNA sequences, endogenous 2 μ plasmid DNA sequences, or both (60% of the transformants examined). These aberrant recombination products suggest the frequent use of a recombination pathway that trims one or both of the substrate DNA molecules. Similar aberrant recombination products were detected in 30% of the transformants in cotransformation experiments employing single-stranded and double-stranded DNA molecules, one carrying the 2 μ plasmid replicator sequence and the other the selectable genetic marker. We conclude that single-stranded DNA molecules are useful vectors for the genetic transformation of a eukaryotic cell. They offer the advantage of high transformation efficiency, and yield the same intracellular DNA species obtained upon transformation with double-stranded DNA molecules. In addition, single-stranded DNA molecules can participate in a recombination pathway that trims one or both DNA recombination substrates, a pathway not detected, at least at the same frequency, when transforming with double-stranded DNA molecules     

Thermal characterization of Nakagata's mouse sperm freezing protocol

This paper reports the results of an experimental study of the warming and cooling rates achieved using the popular Nakagata Protocol for murine sperm cryopreservation. Problems with the storage and maintenance of the huge number of genetically engineered mouse strains have led to an increased need for murine sperm preservation. Recent studies have begun to focus on optimizing the cryopreservation of murine sperm by carefully studying the effects of cooling and warming rates on sperm survival. In current practice, however, the Nakagata protocol is widely used. The actual cooling and warming rates achieved using the Nakagata protocol have not previously been determined; and the Nakagata protocol has a number of unspecified parameters which we have found can significantly affect cooling rates, warming rates and sperm survival. A detailed study of the thermal response of samples frozen and thawed using the Nakagata protocol reveals that the cooling rates range from 30 to almost 300 °C per minute depending on the exact manner in which the Nakagata protocol is implemented. Warming rates range from 160 °C/min to about 1000 °C/min. Sperm survival depended significantly on the particular cooling rate achieved, and less strongly on the warming rates. Overall, it was found that the particular manner in which the Nakagata protocol was implemented could strongly affect cooling rates and sperm survival; and, consistent with the findings of Mazur and Koshimoto, an optimal cooling rate appears to exist in the range of cooling rates that can be achieved using the Nakagata protocol.     

Genetic effects induced in Sacharomyces cerevisiae by cyclophosphamide in vitro without liver enzyme preparations

Cyclophosphamide induced forward mutation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain S288C and mitotic recombination in strains D3 and D5 but not in strain D4. The yeast cells were treated with the compound in phsphate buffer without recourse to metabolic activation protocols. Elevation of the treatment temperature increased the genetic activity of cyclophosphamide. Respiration-deficient isolates of strains S288C and D3 were more sensitive than the respiratory competent parent strains were for inducing forward mutation and mitotic recombination, respectively. Cyclophosphamide was incubated in phosphate buffer alone for increasing time intervals; strain D3 cells were added to aliquots for each time interval and incubated for an additional 30 min. The frequency of induced recombination increased as the time of compound incubation increased, showing that spontaneous degradation of cyclophosphamide to genetically active breakdown products was responsible for the genetic damage induced in the yeast cells.     

Visualization of freezing damage. II. Structural alterations during warming

There is a growing amount of indirect evidence which suggests that the loss in viability of rapidly cooled cells is due to recrystallization of intracellular ice. This possibility was tested by an evaluation of the formation of morphological artifacts in rapidly cooled cells to determine whether this process can account for the loss in viability. Samples of the common yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were frozen at 1.8 or 1500 °C/min, and the structure of the frozen cells was examined by the use of freeze-fracturing techniques. Other cells cooled at the same rate were warmed to temperatures ranging from ?20 ° to ?50 °C and then rapidly cooled to ?196 °C, a procedure that should cause small ice crystals to coalesce by the process of migratory recrystallization. Cells cooled at 1500 °C/min and then warmed to temperatures above ?40 °C formed large intracellular ice crystals within 30 min, and appreciable recrystallization occurred at temperatures as low as ?45 °C. Cells cooled at 1.8 °C/min and warmed to temperatures as high as ?20 °C underwent little structural alteration. These results demonstrate that intracellular ice can cause morphological artifacts. The correlation between the temperature at which rapid recrystallization begins and the temperature at which the cells are inactivated indicates that recrystallization is responsible for the death of rapidly cooled cells.     

Effect of cryopreservation on human articular chondrocyte viability, proliferation, and collagen expression

Autotransplantation of human chondrocytes is an alternative therapeutic treatment for focal lesions of cartilage. During the process of isolation and culture of chondrocytes some problems that render the implantation of the cells unsuitable can occur. For security, some cells must be stored using cryopreservation. The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of cryopreservation on cellular viability, proliferation, and collagen expression of human chondrocytes. Human osteoarthritic cartilage (n = 23) was obtained and transferred to a sterile flask containing Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) and antibiotics. Chondrocytes were isolated, cultured for 3-4 weeks, and frozen in DMEM containing 10% human serum and 10% dimethyl sulfoxide by use of three different protocols. A cellular fraction was frozen directly to -80 degrees C (Protocol I). Another fraction was directly frozen to -80 degrees C and 24 h later introduced into liquid nitrogen (Protocol II). The last aliquot was frozen with controlled freezing using a freezing rate of -1 degrees C/min to a temperature of -40 degrees C, 2 degrees C/min to -60 degrees C, and 5 degrees C/min to -150 degrees C (Protocol III). Cells were cryopreserved for 2 weeks. Cells from each cryopreservation method were then cultured for 7 days and cellular proliferation was evaluated by the counting of the total cells in each flask. Cryopreservation had a negative effect on chondrocyte survival and proliferation. The survival after cryopreservation with the three protocols was 70-75%. There was no significative difference between the methods used to cryopreserve (P = 0.4117). However, there was a significant difference among the donors (P = 0.0111). Cellular proliferation of chondrocytes was reduced by cryopreservation (P = 0.024). The rate of proliferation of different groups was control samples 6.56, Protocol I 4.66, Protocol II 4.69, and Protocol III 5.58. Statistical analysis showed that the programmed protocol was the best method to preserve cellular functions. Chondrocytes were able to express collagen type II 1 week after cryopreservation. Cryopreservation modifies the survival and proliferation of chondrocytes. Of all protocols used to cryopreserve, the programmed protocol seems to be the best technique. Cryopreservation does not alter the collagen type II expression.     

Survival of rapidly frozen hatched mouse blastocysts

The objective of the present study was to examine the effect of rapid freezing on the in vitro and in vivo survival of zona-pellucida-free hatched mouse blastocysts. Hatched blastocysts were rapidly frozen in a freezing medium containing either ethylene glycol (EG) or glycerol (G) in 1.5 M or 3 M concentration. Prior to freezing, embryos were equilibrated in the freezing medium for 2 min, 10 min, 20 min or 30 min at room temperature. To freeze them, embryos were held in liquid nitrogen vapour [approximately 1 cm above the surface of the liquid nitrogen (LN2)] for 2 minutes and then immersed into LN2. After thawing, embryos were transferred either to rehydration medium (DPBS + 10% foetal calf serum +0.5 M sucrose) for 10 minutes or rehydrated directly in DPBS supplemented with foetal calf serum. In vitro survival of embryos frozen with EG was higher than those frozen with G. The highest survival was obtained with 3 M EG and 2 min or 10 min equilibration prior to freezing, combined with direct rehydration after thawing. Frozen blastocysts developed into normal foetuses as well as unfrozen control ones did, with averages of 30% (control), 26% (EG) and 15% (G). The results show that hatching and hatched mouse blastocysts can be cryopreserved by a simple rapid freezing protocol in EG without significant loss of viability. Our data indicate that the mechanical protection of the zona pellucida is not needed during freezing in these stages.     

Persistence of the mitogenic response to platelet-derived growth factor (competence) does not reflect a long-term interaction between the growth factor and the target cell

Quiescent BALB/c-3T3 cells exposed briefly to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) become "competent" to replicate their DNA even if PDGF is removed from cell culture medium prior to the onset of DNA synthesis. We have suggested that persistence of the PDGF-induced competent state reflects a rapidly induced and relatively stable biochemical change within the target cells. Others suggest that the phenomenon reflects a long-term association between PDGF and its target cells or perhaps between PDGF and the cell culture dish. This controversy has been addressed (a) by examining the effect of anti-PDGF antibodies on PDGF- induced competence and (b) by studying the chemical fate of 125I- labeled PDGF. Anti-PDGF antibodies inactive both soluble and surface- bound PDGF. However, if quiescent 3T3 cells are exposed to PDGF for as little as 30 min, subsequent addition of these antibodies to the culture medium does not prevent the mitogenic response. Under conditions where the PDGF-induced competent state decays stochastically with a t1/2 of 18-20 h, cell-associated 125I-PDGF decays with a t1/2 of approximately 50 min. These data do not support the concept that persistence of the PDGF-induced competent state reflects a long-term association between PDGF and the target cells or between PDGF and the culture dish.     

激光显微切割技术用于子宫内膜异位组织DNA的提取及其完整性分析

目的：探索一套激光显微切割（LCM）分离子宫内膜异位症腺体细胞后提取微量DNA并进行完整性分析的操作流程。方法：分别对20例石蜡标本及20例冰冻标本进行LCM,收集切割后的腺体细胞;2组标本各取10例提取微量DNA,检测DNA浓度并通过PCR扩增进行验证;余20例标本分别进行全基因组扩增,检测产物浓度并利用8种常见管家基因作为引物通过PCR扩增进行验证,对比分析其结果。结果：石蜡标本与冰冻标本在LCM获取腺体细胞及提取微量DNA两个环节中均可获得满意效果;但经全基因组扩增后,石蜡标本无法保留完整DNA信息。结论：LCM获取子宫内膜异位症腺体细胞提取微量DNA是一种操作简单、结果稳定的方法,可作为日后子宫内膜异位症基因组研究的常规方法;冰冻切片相对石蜡切片,更能保留完整的DNA信息。     

Insulin-like growth factor II increases cytoplasmic free calcium in competent Balb/c 3T3 cells treated with epidermal growth factor

To determine the role of calcium in the action of insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II), we have examined the effect of multiplication stimulating activity, the rat IGF-II, on cytoplasmic-free calcium concentration, [Ca2+]c, in aequorin-loaded Balb/c 3T3 cells. IGF-II does not cause any change in [Ca2+]c in quiescent cells. By contrast, IGF-II induces changes in [Ca2+]c in platelet-derived growth factor(PDGF) - pretreated competent cells: when competent cells are incubated with epidermal growth factor (EGF) for 10 min, subsequent IGF-II induces an immediate increase in [Ca2+]c. Without EGF treatment, IGF-II does not cause any increase in [Ca2+]c. The priming action of EGF is time dependent, requiring approximately 10 min for the maximum effect. The IGF-II-mediated increase in [Ca2+]c is totally dependent on extracellular calcium and is blocked by lanthanum. When DNA synthesis in PDGF-treated competent cells is assessed by measuring [3H]thymidine incorporation, IGF-II by itself has only a small effect. Likewise, a brief treatment with EGF results in only a small increase in [3H]thymidine incorporation. By contrast, in competent cells briefly treated with EGF, IGF-II causes a marked stimulation of [3H]thymidine incorporation. These results indicate that IGF-II increases [Ca2+]c in competent Balb/c 3T3 cells treated with EGF by stimulating calcium influx and that IGF-II-stimulated calcium influx may be related causally to its action on cell proliferation.     

Cryopreservation of Greenshell™ mussel (Perna canaliculus) trochophore larvae

The Greenshell™ mussel (Perna canaliculus) is the main shellfish species farmed in New Zealand. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of cryoprotectant concentration, loading and unloading strategy as well as freezing and thawing method in order to develop a protocol for cryopreservation of trochophore larvae (16–20 h old). Toxicity tests showed that levels of 10–15% ethylene glycol (EG) were not toxic to larvae and could be loaded and unloaded in a single step. Through cryopreservation experiments, we designed a cryopreservation protocol that enabled 40–60% of trochophores to develop to D-larvae when normalized to controls. The protocol involved: holding at 0 °C for 5 min, then cooling at 1 °C min⁻¹ to −10 °C, holding for a further 5 min, then cooling at 0.5 °C min⁻¹ to −35 °C followed by a 5 min hold and then plunging into liquid nitrogen. A final larval rearing experiment of 18 days was conducted to assess the ability of these frozen larvae to develop further. Results showed that only 2.8% of the frozen trochophores were able to develop to competent pediveligers.     

A microarray-based protocol for monitoring the growth of yeast overexpression strains

Gene overexpression can be used to investigate the biological pathways that are important in the response to a small molecule or other perturbation. To facilitate the use of gene overexpression in the study of small-molecule mechanisms, we developed a microarray-based protocol for monitoring the growth of a pool of yeast strains, each overexpressing a different protein. In this protocol, yeast harboring a set of approximately 3,900 galactose-inducible overexpression plasmids are grown in the absence or presence of a small molecule for multiple generations. The plasmids are then extracted from the two populations, processed and labeled in such a manner that their relative concentrations can be determined by competitive hybridization to a microarray. Although this protocol was developed for monitoring a specific set of overexpression plasmids, it could presumably be adapted to monitor yeast that have been transformed with any set of plasmids for which the gene inserts have been spotted, or otherwise arrayed, in a microarray format. This protocol can be completed in approximately 15 hours of hands-on time over the course of several days.