An integrated strategy involving high-throughput sequencing to characterize an unknown GM wheat event in Canada.

Glyphosate-resistant wheat plants were discovered in southern Alberta in 2017, representing an unauthorized GM release in Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency undertook a series of experiments to characterize and identify this unknown GM wheat, as well as to develop and validate construct-specific and event-specific qPCR assays. Results of PCR-based assays and Sanger sequencing indicated the presence of CaMV 35S promoter (p35S), Rice Actin 1 intron (RactInt1), CP4-EPSPS gene and nopaline synthase terminator (tNOS) elements in the unknown GM wheat.

Application of high-throughput sequencing to whole rabies viral genome characterisation and its use for phylogenetic re-evaluation of a raccoon strain incursion into the province of Ontario.

Raccoon rabies remains a serious public health problem throughout much of the eastern seaboard of North America due to the urban nature of the reservoir host and the many challenges inherent in multi-jurisdictional efforts to administer co-ordinated and comprehensive wildlife rabies control programmes. Better understanding of the mechanisms of spread of rabies virus can play a significant role in guiding such control efforts. To facilitate a detailed molecular epidemiological study of raccoon rabies virus movements across eastern North America, we developed a methodology to efficiently determine whole genome sequences of hundreds of viral samples.

Role of HD2 genes in seed germination and early seedling growth in Arabidopsis.

The Arabidopsis HD2 family of histone deacetylases consist of 4 members (HD2A, HD2B, HD2C, HD2D) that play diverse roles in plant development and physiology through chromatin remodelling. Here, we show that the transcripts of HD2 family members selectively accumulate in response to glucose through a HXK1-independent signal transduction pathway during the early stages of seedling growth. Germination was enhanced in hd2a null mutants relative to wild-type seeds.

Control of somatic embryogenesis and embryo development by AP2 transcription factors.

Members of the AP2 family of transcription factors, such as BABY BOOM (BBM), play important roles in cell proliferation and embryogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana (AtBBM) and Brassica napus (BnBBM) but how this occurs is not understood. We have isolated three AP2 genes (GmBBM1, GmAIL5, GmPLT2) from somatic embryo cultures of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr, and discovered GmBBM1 to be homologous to AtBBM and BnBBM.

CSR1, the sole target of imidazolinone herbicide in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The imidazolinone-tolerant mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana, csr1-2(D), carries a mutation equivalent to that found in commercially available Clearfield crops. Despite their widespread usage, the mechanism by which Clearfield crops gain imidazolinone herbicide tolerance has not yet been fully characterized. Transcription profiling of imazapyr (an imidazolinone herbicide)-treated wild-type and csr1-2(D) mutant plants using Affymetrix ATH1 GeneChip microarrays was performed to elucidate further the biochemical and genetic mechanisms of imidazolinone resistance.