Real-time PCR-based identification of bacterial and fungal pathogens from blood samples.

Latest major contributions in the field of sepsis diagnostics result from advances in PCR technologies permitting new standards in speed and quality, given the fact that a timely diagnosis is the decisive factor to the survival of patients with bloodstream infections.Multiplex real-time PCR is a quantitative method for simultaneous amplification and detection of different targeted DNA molecules within hours. Nevertheless, various studies have shown a number of technical shortcomings as well as a high heterogeneity in sensitivity.

Wollknauel is required for embryo patterning and encodes the Drosophila ALG5 UDP-glucose:dolichyl-phosphate glucosyltransferase.

N-linked glycosylation is a prevalent protein modification in eukaryotic cells. Although glycosylation plays an important role in cell signaling during development, a role for N-linked glycosylation in embryonic patterning has not previously been described. In a screen for maternal factors involved in embryo patterning, we isolated mutations in Drosophila ALG5, a UDP-glucose:dolichyl-phosphate glucosyltransferase.

Drosophila brakeless interacts with atrophin and is required for tailless-mediated transcriptional repression in early embryos.

Complex gene expression patterns in animal development are generated by the interplay of transcriptional activators and repressors at cis-regulatory DNA modules (CRMs). How repressors work is not well understood, but often involves interactions with co-repressors. We isolated mutations in the brakeless gene in a screen for maternal factors affecting segmentation of the Drosophila embryo.

Expression dynamics of WOX genes mark cell fate decisions during early embryonic patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana.

During embryonic pattern formation, the main body axes are established and cells of different developmental fates are specified from a single-cell zygote. Despite the fundamental importance of this process, in plants, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. We show that expression dynamics of novel WOX (WUSCHEL related homeobox) gene family members reveal early embryonic patterning events in Arabidopsis.

ZWILLE buffers meristem stability in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The shoot apical meristem of higher plants consists of a population of stem cells at the tip of the plant body that continuously gives rise to organs such as leaves and flowers. Cells that leave the meristem differentiate and must be replaced to maintain the integrity of the meristem. The balance between differentiation and maintenance is governed both by the environment and the developmental status of the plant.