Effects of polymerase,template dilution and cycle number on PCR based 16 S rRNA diversity analysis using the deep sequencing method

Background  

The primer and amplicon length have been found to affect PCR based estimates of microbial diversity by pyrosequencing, while other PCR conditions have not been addressed using any deep sequencing method. The present study determined the effects of polymerase, template dilution and PCR cycle number using the Solexa platform.     

An optimised system for refolding of human glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase

Background  

Human glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), active in both dimer and tetramer forms, is the key entry enzyme in the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), providing NADPH for biosynthesis and various other purposes, including protection against oxidative stress in erythrocytes. Accordingly haemolytic disease is a major consequence of G6PD deficiency mutations in man, and many severe disease phenotypes are attributed to G6PD folding problems. Therefore, a robust refolding method with high recovery yield and reproducibility is of particular importance to study those clinical mutant enzymes as well as to shed light generally on the refolding process of large multi-domain proteins.     

Changes of plant N:P stoichiometry across a 3000-km aridity transect in grasslands of northern China

Plant and Soil - Rice cultivars bred for fertile soils may not be the best suited to nutrient limited environments. Therefore, rice cultivars suited to sustain productivity in low-fertile soils and...     

Opposite effects of nitrogen fertilization and plastic film mulching on crop N and P stoichiometry in a temperate agroecosystem

Aims Crop nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry can influence food nutritive quality and many ecosystem processes. However, how and why N and P stoichiometry respond to long-term agricultural management practices (e.g. N fertilization and film mulching) are not clearly understood.     

Cultivation-dependent and high-throughput sequencing approaches studying the co-occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes in municipal sewage system

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology - During the past years, antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) leading for the spreading of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) became a global problem,...