A method for multiplex gene synthesis employing error correction based on expression.

Our ability to engineer organisms with new biosynthetic pathways and genetic circuits is limited by the availability of protein characterization data and the cost of synthetic DNA. With new tools for reading and writing DNA, there are opportunities for scalable assays that more efficiently and cost effectively mine for biochemical protein characteristics. To that end, we have developed the Multiplex Library Synthesis and Expression Correction (MuLSEC) method for rapid assembly, error correction, and expression characterization of many genes as a pooled library.

How the Kennel Club is tackling inherited disorders in the United Kingdom.

Health screening of potential canine breeding stock can provide invaluable information to allow breeders to select against inherited diseases in their breeding programmes. This review details the screening programmes that are currently available to UK dog breeders and evaluates their impact as selective tools for dog breeders.

Population structure and inbreeding from pedigree analysis of purebred dogs.

Dogs are of increasing interest as models for human diseases, and many canine population-association studies are beginning to emerge. The choice of breeds for such studies should be informed by a knowledge of factors such as inbreeding, genetic diversity, and population structure, which are likely to depend on breed-specific selective breeding patterns. To address the lack of such studies we have exploited one of the world's most extensive resources for canine population-genetics studies: the United Kingdom (UK) Kennel Club registration database.

A testicular influence on restraint-induced activation of medial parvocellular neurons in the paraventricular nucleus in the male rat.

To gauge the strength by which the testes influence stress-induced activation of neurosecretory neurons in the paraventricular nucleus, we studied within medial parvocellular neurons the effects of gonadectomy on restraint-induced Fos-immunoreactivity and on CRH and arginine vasopressin (AVP) heteronuclear (hn) RNA expression levels. Relative to intact male rats (sham-gonadectomized), gonadectomized rats showed a significantly greater number of medial parvocellular neurons recruited to express Fos protein evident at 0.5 h and from 1-4 h after the onset of 30-min restraint exposure.