Ultrahigh-Throughput Detection of Enzymatic Alcohol Dehydrogenase Activity in Microfluidic Droplets with a Direct Fluorogenic Assay.

The exploration of large DNA libraries of metagenomic or synthetic origin is greatly facilitated by ultrahigh-throughput assays that use monodisperse water-in-oil emulsion droplets as sequestered reaction compartments. Millions of samples can be generated and analysed in microfluidic devices at kHz speeds, requiring only micrograms of reagents. The scope of this powerful platform for the discovery of new sequence space is, however, hampered by the limited availability of assay substrates, restricting the functions and reaction types that can be investigated.

Structure and decoy-mediated inhibition of the SOX18/Prox1-DNA interaction.

The transcription factor (TF) SOX18 drives lymphatic vessel development in both embryogenesis and tumour-induced neo-lymphangiogenesis. Genetic disruption of Sox18 in a mouse model protects from tumour metastasis and established the SOX18 protein as a molecular target. Here, we report the crystal structure of the SOX18 DNA binding high-mobility group (HMG) box bound to a DNA element regulating Prox1 transcription.