A two minute liquid based sample preparation for rapid SARS-CoV2 real-time PCR screening: A multicentre evaluation.

Background: Apart from major health concerns associated to the SARS-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, also the diagnostic workflow encountered serious problems. Limited availability of kit components, buffers and even plastics has resulted in suboptimal testing procedures worldwide. Alternative workflows have been implemented to overcome these difficulties.

CaAP2 transcription factor is a candidate gene for a flowering repressor and a candidate for controlling natural variation of flowering time in Capsicum annuum.

The APETALA2 transcription factor homolog CaAP2 is a candidate gene for a flowering repressor in pepper, as revealed by induced-mutation phenotype, and a candidate underlying a major QTL controlling natural variation in flowering time. To decipher the genetic control of transition to flowering in pepper (Capsicum spp.) and determine the extent of gene function conservation compared to model species, we isolated and characterized several ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS)-induced mutants that vary in their flowering time compared to the wild type.

Diagnostic testing for Legionnaires' disease in the Netherlands between 2007 and 2009: a possible cause for the decline in reported Legionnaires' disease patients.

Legionnaires' disease (LD) is an acute pneumonia caused by the inhalation or aspiration of aerosols contaminated with the Legionella bacteria. In the Netherlands, around 300 LD cases per year were reported between 2000 and 2008, but in 2009, the number dropped to 251, which was the lowest number in the previous 5 years of surveillance. We investigated if this decrease could be explained by the number of performed Legionella diagnostic tests in this year.

A genetic map of melon highly enriched with fruit quality QTLs and EST markers, including sugar and carotenoid metabolism genes.

A genetic map of melon enriched for fruit traits was constructed, using a recombinant inbred (RI) population developed from a cross between representatives of the two subspecies of Cucumis melo L.: PI 414723 (subspecies agrestis) and 'Dulce' (subspecies melo). Phenotyping of 99 RI lines was conducted over three seasons in two locations in Israel and the US.