3D imaging of colorectal cancer organoids identifies responses to Tankyrase inhibitors.

Aberrant activation of the Wnt signalling pathway is required for tumour initiation and survival in the majority of colorectal cancers. The development of inhibitors of Wnt signalling has been the focus of multiple drug discovery programs targeting colorectal cancer and other malignancies associated with aberrant pathway activation. However, progression of new clinical entities targeting the Wnt pathway has been slow.

Cancer Antigen Discovery Is Enabled by RNA Sequencing of Highly Purified Malignant and Nonmalignant Cells.

Purpose: Broadly expressed, highly differentiated tumor-associated antigens (TAA) can elicit antitumor immunity. However, vaccines targeting TAAs have demonstrated disappointing clinical results, reflecting poor antigen selection and/or immunosuppressive mechanisms.

Experimental Design: Here, a panel of widely expressed, novel colorectal TAAs were identified by performing RNA sequencing of highly purified colorectal tumor cells in comparison with patient-matched colonic epithelial cells; tumor cell purification was essential to reveal these genes.

DNA Ligase 1 is an essential mediator of sister chromatid telomere fusions in G2 cell cycle phase.

Fusion of critically short or damaged telomeres is associated with the genomic rearrangements that support malignant transformation. We have demonstrated the fundamental contribution of DNA ligase 4-dependent classical non-homologous end-joining to long-range inter-chromosomal telomere fusions. In contrast, localized genomic recombinations initiated by sister chromatid fusion are predominantly mediated by alternative non-homologous end-joining activity that may employ either DNA ligase 3 or DNA ligase 1.

Burden and Profile of Somatic Mutation in Duodenal Adenomas from Patients with Familial Adenomatous- and -associated Polyposis.

Duodenal polyposis and cancer are important causes of morbidity and mortality in familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and MUTYH-associated polyposis (MAP). This study aimed to comprehensively characterize somatic genetic changes in FAP and MAP duodenal adenomas to better understand duodenal tumorigenesis in these disorders. Sixty-nine adenomas were biopsied during endoscopy in 16 FAP and 10 MAP patients with duodenal polyposis.

Sister chromatid telomere fusions, but not NHEJ-mediated inter-chromosomal telomere fusions, occur independently of DNA ligases 3 and 4.

Telomeres shorten with each cell division and can ultimately become substrates for nonhomologous end-joining repair, leading to large-scale genomic rearrangements of the kind frequently observed in human cancers. We have characterized more than 1400 telomere fusion events at the single-molecule level, using a combination of high-throughput sequence analysis together with experimentally induced telomeric double-stranded DNA breaks. We show that a single chromosomal dysfunctional telomere can fuse with diverse nontelomeric genomic loci, even in the presence of an otherwise stable genome, and that fusion predominates in coding regions.

Escape from telomere-driven crisis is DNA ligase III dependent.

Short dysfunctional telomeres are capable of fusion, generating dicentric chromosomes and initiating breakage-fusion-bridge cycles. Cells that escape the ensuing cellular crisis exhibit large-scale genomic rearrangements that drive clonal evolution and malignant progression. We demonstrate that there is an absolute requirement for fully functional DNA ligase III (LIG3), but not ligase IV (LIG4), to facilitate the escape from a telomere-driven crisis.

Genomic characterisation of invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica Subspecies enterica Serovar Bovismorbificans isolates from Malawi.

Background: Invasive Non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) are an important cause of bacteraemia in children and HIV-infected adults in sub-Saharan Africa. Previous research has shown that iNTS strains exhibit a pattern of gene loss that resembles that of host adapted serovars such as Salmonella Typhi and Paratyphi A. Salmonella enterica serovar Bovismorbificans was a common serovar in Malawi between 1997 and 2004.

Exploring the diversity of Arcobacter butzleri from cattle in the UK using MLST and whole genome sequencing.

Arcobacter butzleri is considered to be an emerging human foodborne pathogen. The completion of an A. butzleri genome sequence along with microarray analysis of 13 isolates in 2007 revealed a surprising amount of diversity amongst A.

Genomic variations define divergence of water/wildlife-associated Campylobacter jejuni niche specialists from common clonal complexes.

Although the major food-borne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni has been isolated from diverse animal, human and environmental sources, our knowledge of genomic diversity in C. jejuni is based exclusively on human or human food-chain-associated isolates. Studies employing multilocus sequence typing have indicated that some clonal complexes are more commonly associated with particular sources.

Genetic characterization indicates that a specific subpopulation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is associated with keratitis infections.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common opportunistic bacterial pathogen that causes a variety of infections in humans. Populations of P. aeruginosa are dominated by common clones that can be isolated from diverse clinical and environmental sources.

Whole genome sequencing of a natural recombinant Toxoplasma gondii strain reveals chromosome sorting and local allelic variants.

Background: Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic parasite of global importance. In common with many protozoan parasites it has the capacity for sexual recombination, but current evidence suggests this is rarely employed. The global population structure is dominated by a small number of clonal genotypes, which exhibit biallelic variation and limited intralineage divergence.

New screening software shows that most recent large 16S rRNA gene clone libraries contain chimeras.

A new computer program, called Mallard, is presented for screening entire 16S rRNA gene libraries of up to 1,000 sequences for chimeras and other artifacts. Written in the Java computer language and capable of running on all major operating systems, the program provides a novel graphical approach for visualizing phylogenetic relationships among 16S rRNA gene sequences. To illustrate its use, we analyzed most of the large libraries of cloned bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences submitted to the public repository during 2005.

At least 1 in 20 16S rRNA sequence records currently held in public repositories is estimated to contain substantial anomalies.

A new method for detecting chimeras and other anomalies within 16S rRNA sequence records is presented. Using this method, we screened 1,399 sequences from 19 phyla, as defined by the Ribosomal Database Project, release 9, update 22, and found 5.0% to harbor substantial errors.

Elevated abundance of bacteriophage infecting bacteria in soil.

Here we report the first direct counts of soil bacteriophage and show that substantial populations of these viruses exist in soil (grand mean = 1.5 x 10(7) g(-1)), at least 350-fold more than the highest numbers estimated from traditional viable plaque counts. Adding pure cultures of a Serratia phage to soil showed that the direct counting methods with electron microscopy developed here underestimated the added phage populations by at least eightfold.

Characterization of Serratia isolates from soil, ecological implications and transfer of Serratia proteamaculans subsp. quinovora Grimont et al. 1983 to Serratia quinivorans corrig., sp. nov.

Eleven strains of Serratia were isolated from different soils and the guts of invertebrates and characterized by their sensitivity to eight indigenous bacteriophages. They were also classified according to bacteriocin production and sensitivity, BiOLOG plate and API 20E strip profiles and 16S rRNA sequence information. One strain was thus identified as Serratia plymuthica, another as Serratia fonticola.

PRIMROSE: a computer program for generating and estimating the phylogenetic range of 16S rRNA oligonucleotide probes and primers in conjunction with the RDP-II database.

We describe PRIMROSE, a computer program for identifying 16S rRNA probes and PCR primers for use as phylogenetic and ecological tools in the identification and enumeration of bacteria. PRIMROSE is designed to use data from the Ribosomal Database Project (RDP) to find potentially useful oligonucleotides with up to two degenerate positions. The taxonomic range of these, and other existing oligonucleotides, can then be explored, allowing for the rapid identification of suitable oligonucleotides.