Measuring fast gene dynamics in single cells with time-lapse luminescence microscopy.

Time-lapse fluorescence microscopy is an important tool for measuring in vivo gene dynamics in single cells. However, fluorescent proteins are limited by slow chromophore maturation times and the cellular autofluorescence or phototoxicity that arises from light excitation. An alternative is luciferase, an enzyme that emits photons and is active upon folding.

A locally funded Puerto Rican parrot (Amazona vittata) genome sequencing project increases avian data and advances young researcher education.

Background: Amazona vittata is a critically endangered Puerto Rican endemic bird, the only surviving native parrot species in the United States territory, and the first parrot in the large Neotropical genus Amazona, to be studied on a genomic scale.

Findings: In a unique community-based funded project, DNA from an A. vittata female was sequenced using a HiSeq Illumina platform, resulting in a total of ~42.