FIND-IT: Accelerated trait development for a green evolution.

Improved agricultural and industrial production organisms are required to meet the future global food demands and minimize the effects of climate change. A new resource for crop and microbe improvement, designated FIND-IT (Fast Identification of Nucleotide variants by droplet DigITal PCR), provides ultrafast identification and isolation of predetermined, targeted genetic variants in a screening cycle of less than 10 days. Using large-scale sample pooling in combination with droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) greatly increases the size of low-mutation density and screenable variant libraries and the probability of identifying the variant of interest.

Assessing Population Diversity of Yeast Species and Identification of Strains for Brewing Applications.

yeasts have gained popularity in many sectors of the biotechnological industry, specifically in the field of beer production, but also in wine and ethanol production. Their unique properties enable to outcompete conventional brewer's yeast in industrially relevant traits such as production of ethanol and pleasant flavors. Recent advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) and high-throughput screening techniques have facilitated large population studies allowing the selection of appropriate yeast strains with improved traits.

New highly sensitive sandwich ELISA system for soluble endoglin quantification in different biological fluids.

Soluble endoglin (sEng) is a fragment of a membrane-associated receptor (CD105) expressed on endothelial cells, mesenchymal stem cells and trophoblast cells. It is considered as a regulatory factor involved in the development of preeclampsia (PE) and cancer-associated neo-angiogenesis. The purpose of this study was to describe a new sandwich ELISA for sEng quantification.

Magnesium sulfate potentiates effect of DigiFab on marinobufagenin-induced Na/K-ATPase inhibition.

Background: Immunoneutralization of elevated circulating levels of endogenous digitalis-like Na/K-ATPase inhibitors (i.e. cardiotonic steroids (CTS)) represents a novel approach in the treatment of preeclampsia (PE).

Interaction with Cfd1 increases the kinetic lability of FeS on the Nbp35 scaffold.

P-loop NTPases of the ApbC/Nbp35 family are involved in FeS protein maturation in nearly all organisms and are proposed to function as scaffolds for initial FeS cluster assembly. In yeast and animals, Cfd1 and Nbp35 are homologous P-loop NTPases that form a heterotetrameric complex essential for FeS protein maturation through the cytosolic FeS cluster assembly (CIA) pathway. Cfd1 is conserved in animals, fungi, and several archaeal species, but in many organisms, only Nbp35 is present, raising the question of the unique roles played by Cfd1 and Nbp35.