A Genome-Wide Association Study Pinpoints Quantitative Trait Genes for Plant Height, Heading Date, Grain Quality, and Yield in Rye ( L.).

Rye is the only cross-pollinating Triticeae crop species. Knowledge of rye genes controlling complex-inherited traits is scarce, which, currently, largely disables the genomics assisted introgression of untapped genetic variation from self-incompatible germplasm collections in elite inbred lines for hybrid breeding. We report on the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) in rye based on the phenotypic evaluation of 526 experimental hybrids for plant height, heading date, grain quality, and yield in 2 years and up to 19 environments.

Improvement of drug tolerance in immunogenicity testing by acid treatment on Biacore.

Detection of anti-drug antibodies (ADA) can be difficult, if not impossible, in the presence of drug in the sample. This is a particular concern with therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which have typically longer half-lives than other proteins. For detection of ADA in presence of high drug concentrations, assay choice is limited to ELISA-like methods, capable of incorporating acid dissociation procedures to separate drug-ADA immune complexes.

New enzymes involved in aerobic benzoate metabolism in Azoarcus evansii.

A new principle of aerobic aromatic metabolism has been postulated, which is in contrast to the known pathways. In various bacteria the aromatic substrate benzoate is first converted to its coenzyme A (CoA) thioester, benzoyl-CoA, which is subsequently attacked by an oxygenase, followed by a non-oxygenolytic fission of the ring. We provide evidence for this hypothesis and show that benzoyl-CoA conversion in the bacterium Azoarcus evansii requires NADPH, O(2) and two protein components, BoxA and BoxB.

A new purple sulfur bacterium isolated from a littoral microbial mat, Thiorhodococcus drewsii sp. nov.

A new strain of purple sulfur bacterium was isolated from a marine microbial mat sampled in Great Sippewissett Salt Marsh at the Atlantic coast (Woods Hole, Mass., USA). Single cells of strain AZ1 were coccus-shaped, highly motile by means of a single flagellum, and did not contain gas vesicles.

Genes coding for a new pathway of aerobic benzoate metabolism in Azoarcus evansii.

A new pathway for aerobic benzoate oxidation has been postulated for Azoarcus evansii and for a Bacillus stearothermophilus-like strain. Benzoate is first transformed into benzoyl coenzyme A (benzoyl-CoA), which subsequently is oxidized to 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA and then to 3-ketoadipyl-CoA; all intermediates are CoA thioesters. The genes coding for this benzoate-induced pathway were investigated in the beta-proteobacterium A.