Chloroplast DNA sequence utility for the lowest phylogenetic and phylogeographic inferences in angiosperms: the tortoise and the hare IV.

Premise Of The Study: Noncoding chloroplast DNA (NC-cpDNA) sequences are the staple data source of low-level phylogeographic and phylogenetic studies of angiosperms. We followed up on previous papers (tortoise and hare II and III) that sought to identify the most consistently variable regions of NC-cpDNA. We used an exhaustive literature review and newly available whole plastome data to assess applicability of previous conclusions at low taxonomic levels.

Inclusion body myopathy associated with Paget disease of bone and frontotemporal dementia is caused by mutant valosin-containing protein.

Inclusion body myopathy associated with Paget disease of bone and frontotemporal dementia (IBMPFD) is a dominant progressive disorder that maps to chromosome 9p21.1-p12. We investigated 13 families with IBMPFD linked to chromosome 9 using a candidate-gene approach.

Kousseff syndrome caused by deletion of chromosome 22q11-13.

Kousseff syndrome was originally described by Boris Kousseff in 1984: Pediatrics 74:395-398 in three siblings whose main features were conotruncal heart defects, neural tube defects, and dysmorphic features. The proband is a white male who has spina bifida, shunted hydrocephalus, cleft palate, short stature, cognitive impairment, and the typical craniofacial features of velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS), including low-set and dysplastic ears, broad base of the nose, narrow alae nasi, and retrognathia. The family history is significant for a brother who died at 2 weeks of age with myelomeningocele, hydrocephalus, transposition of the great vessels, and unilateral renal agenesis, and a sister who died at 11 days of age with myelomeningocele, truncus arteriosus, hypocalcemia, and autopsy findings of absent thymus and parathyroid glands, consistent with DiGeorge anomaly.

Heterogeneity in familial dominant Paget disease of bone and muscular dystrophy.

The combination of autosomal dominant, early onset Paget disease of bone (PDB) and muscular dystrophy is an unusual disorder. We recently mapped the disorder in a large family from central Illinois with PDB and proximal limb-girdle type of muscular dystrophy (LGMD), and in 3 additional families with hereditary inclusion body myopathy (HIBM), Paget disease of bone and frontotemporal dementia, to a unique locus on chromosome 9p21.1-q12.

Site-specific photo-cross-linking between lambda integrase and its DNA recombination target.

The site-specific recombinase (Int) of bacteriophage lambda is a heterobivalent DNA-binding protein and is composed of three domains as follows: an amino-terminal domain that binds with high affinity to "arm-type" sequences within the recombination target DNA (att sites), a carboxyl-terminal domain that contains all of the catalytic functions, and a central domain that contributes significantly to DNA binding at the "core-type" sequences where DNA cleavage and ligation are executed. We constructed a family of core-type DNA oligonucleotides, each of which contained the photoreactive analog 4-thiodeoxythymidine (4-thioT) at a different position. When tested for their respective abilities to promote covalent cross-links with Int after irradiation with UV light at 366 nm, one oligonucleotide stood out dramatically.