A simple method for cloning leishmanial promastigotes

A method of cloning leishmanial promastigotes is described in which mid-exponential phase cultures are diluted to contain approximately 3 X 10(3) promastigotes per ml. Hanging-drop preparations made from 0.2-0.4 microliter volumes of the diluted culture seen to contain a single promastigote are picked-up in glass capillary tubes. Additional culture medium is taken into the capillaries which are then heat-sealed and incubated at 22 degrees C. Growth of leishmanial promastigotes inside the sealed capillary tubes is followed by direct microscopic observation through the walls of the tubes. When active promastigotes are seen the contents of the tubes are inoculated into small volumes of culture medium. The method is extremely easy to use, requires no specialised apparatus, and has been successfully used with different strains and species of Leishmania, with up to 100 percent of the cloned organisms growing.     

A simple and rapid method for screening transformant yeast colonies using PCR.

A simple and rapid procedure for screening transformant yeast colonies is described. In this method, a trace amount of plasmid DNA is isolated from a small amount of yeast cell mass; then, the presence of the exogenous DNA in each yeast colony is detected by PCR amplification.     

Twin PCRs: a simple and efficient method for directional cloning of PCR products

A simple and efficient method was developed for directional cloning of PCR products without any restriction enzyme digestion of the amplified sequence. Two pairs of primers were designed in which parts of two restriction enzyme recognition sequences were integrated, and the primers were used for two parallel PCRs. The PCR products were mixed, heat denatured and re-annealed to generate hybridized DNA fragments bearing sticky ends compatible with restriction enzymes. This method is particularly useful when it is necessary to use a restriction enzyme but there is an additional internal restriction site within the amplified sequence, or when there are problems caused by end sensitivity of restriction enzymes.     

A simple and rapid method for cloning insect vitellogenin cDNAs

We describe a simple and rapid method for cloning insect vitellogenin (Vg) cDNAs. The method relies on the facts that insect Vg amino acid sequences can be aligned confidently along their entire lengths and that a short, highly conserved GL/ICG motif and up to nine cysteine residues that follow at conserved locations are present near the C-termini. An adaptor-ligated double-strand cDNA library is constructed from poly(A)+ RNA prepared from vitellogenic female fat body tissues using a commercial kit, and subjected to PCR with each of the degenerate nucleotide sequences for the GL/ICG motif and the adaptor sequence as primers. The PCR products (0.7-0.9 kb, representing the 3' portion) are cloned, the nucleotide sequences are determined, and the deduced amino acid sequences are aligned with the known insect Vg sequences starting from the GL/ICG motif. Gene-specific primers corresponding to the sequences near the 5'-termini of the initial clones and the adaptor sequence are employed to obtain the remaining 5' portion of the Vg cDNAs. The method was successfully applied to the bean bug Plautia stali (Heteroptera), revealing three Vg genes.     

A simple method for cloning and replica plating of mammalian cells using multicellular spheroids.

V 79/4 Chinese hamster cells or HeLa cells grow in Eagle's MEM supplemented with 25 microgram/ml dextran sulphate to form clonal multicellular spheroids. These cell clones, consisting of 5-10(2) cells, are easy to separate, to transfer from one culture vessel into another and grow as normal monolayer colonies on Dederon cloth circles after subculture in Eagle's MEM without dextran sulphate. A simple replica technique is described by which 500 clones can be transfered onto at least 3 replica cloth circles, 10 cm in diameter, with a replica plating efficiency of approximately 100%.     

Antisense PCR: A simple and robust method for performing nested single-tube PCR

To overcome the disadvantages of two-round nested PCR, we developed a simple and robust closed single-tube nested PCR method (antisense PCR). The method uses antisense oligonucleotides that carry a 5′ tag and that can potentially hybridize to the 3′ ends of the outer primers, depending on the annealing temperature. During initial cycles, which are performed at a high annealing temperature, the antisense oligonucleotides do not hybridize and amplification is directed by the outer primers. During later cycles, for which the annealing temperature is decreased, the outer primers hybridize to the antisense oligonucleotides, extend to produce sequences that are mismatched to the amplicon templates, and consequently become inactivated, whereas the inner primers hybridize to the amplicon templates and continue amplification. Antisense quantitative PCR (qPCR) was compared with one-round qPCR for real-time amplification of four PCR targets (BCR, APC, N-RAS, and a rearranged IGH gene). It had equal amplification efficiency but produced much less nonspecific amplification. Antisense PCR enables both endpoint detection and real-time quantification. It can substitute for two-round nested PCRs but may also be applicable to instances of one-round PCR in which nonspecificity is a problem.     

A simple,efficient, standard-dilution method for cloning hybridomas

Summary A simple standard-dilution method which obviates routine use of viable cell counts, feeder layers and time-consuming scale-up procedures is described. This method can be used to clone monoclonal antibody-producing hybridomas 9–14 days post-fusion. Each cloning cycle takes 5 min. Approximately 60% of the positive, monoclonal antibody-producing hybridomas were successfully cloned and established.     

A simple method for estimating global DNA methylation using bisulfite PCR of repetitive DNA elements

We report a method for studying global DNA methylation based on using bisulfite treatment of DNA and simultaneous PCR of multiple DNA repetitive elements, such as Alu elements and long interspersed nucleotide elements (LINE). The PCR product, which represents a pool of approximately 15000 genomic loci, could be used for direct sequencing, selective restriction digestion or pyrosequencing, in order to quantitate DNA methylation. By restriction digestion or pyrosequencing, the assay was reproducible with a standard deviation of only 2% between assays. Using this method we found that almost two-thirds of the CpG methylation sites in Alu elements are mutated, but of the remaining methylation target sites, 87% were methylated. Due to the heavy methylation of repetitive elements, this assay was especially useful in detecting decreases in DNA methylation, and this assay was validated by examining cell lines treated with the methylation inhibitor 5-aza-2′deoxycytidine (DAC), where we found a 1–16% decrease in Alu element and 18–60% LINE methylation within 3 days of treatment. This method can be used as a surrogate marker of genome-wide methylation changes. In addition, it is less labor intensive and requires less DNA than previous methods of assessing global DNA methylation.     

A simple method for cloning Giardia duodenalis from cultures and fecal samples

Using a novel method for cloning Giardia duodenalis from cultures and fecal samples, 47 clones from 7 isolates were established in vitro. Average colony-forming efficiency in established cultures was 43.2% compared to 11.2% when cloning directly from excystation. The highest success rate of cloning was found with the Portland (P1, ATCC No. 30888) isolate, with a colony-forming efficiency of 92.7%. Cloned and parent populations were compared over a range of 13 enzymes using starch gel electrophoresis. No genetic difference was found between any of the clones and the parent isolates.     

A simple and fast method for cloning and analyzing polymerase chain reaction products

A method describing a fast and efficient way for cloning polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products is presented that involves end repair and purification of the PCR product, followed by kinasing and ligation to the vector with the use of a temperature gradient. Efficiency of ligation was estimated to be 50%–70%. Following transformation, cells are plated on MacConkey agar. Bacteria from selected colonies are used directly from the plates for screening without any subsequent purification. Using this protocol, PCR products can be efficiently cloned quickly and economically.     

一种降低dATP用量的简单易错PCR方法

易错PCR是基因体外诱变的主要方法之一,是通过在PCR体系中添加Mn2+、提高Mg2+浓度和dCTP/dTTP浓度等措施达到基因诱变的目的。【目的和方法】本研究在不添加Mn2+、不调整其它任何PCR成分的情况下,通过降低dATP浓度的底物不平衡作用,对洋葱抗菌蛋白基因Ace-AMP1和苏云金芽胞杆菌毒蛋白(Bt)基因cry1A(c)进行了PCR诱变。【结果】结果表明:随着dATP浓度的降低,序列变异率和碱基突变率均呈升高趋势。当dTTP/dCTP/dGTP∶dATP在20∶1-40∶1时,碱基突变率介于1.4%-1.8%之间,序列变异率介于77.8%-100%之间。【讨论和结论】该方法简化了常规易错PCR诱变中的条件优化过程,简单实用。降低dATP浓度的诱变方法主要引起AT→GC的变异,适用于提高靶基因GC含量的体外诱变。本研究降低单一底物浓度的诱变方法可以提高诱变基因的AT或GC含量,是对易错PCR诱变方法的拓展。