Tales of diversity: Genomic and morphological characteristics of forty-six Arthrobacter phages.

The vast bacteriophage population harbors an immense reservoir of genetic information. Almost 2000 phage genomes have been sequenced from phages infecting hosts in the phylum Actinobacteria, and analysis of these genomes reveals substantial diversity, pervasive mosaicism, and novel mechanisms for phage replication and lysogeny. Here, we describe the isolation and genomic characterization of 46 phages from environmental samples at various geographic locations in the U.

Development of a normalized extraction to further aid in fast, high-throughput processing of forensic DNA reference samples.

The goal of this project was to develop a "normalized" extraction procedure to be used in conjunction with previously validated 3μL fast PCR reactions (42-51min utilizing KAPA2G™ Fast Multiplex PCR Kit) and alternative capillary electrophoresis (24-28min injection using POP-6™ Polymer and a 22cm array). This was the final phase of a workflow overhaul for the database unit at Cellmark Forensics to achieve a substantial reduction in processing time for forensic DNA database samples without incurring significant added costs and/or the need for new instrumentation, while still generating high quality STR profiles. Extraction normalization aimed to consistently yield a small range of DNA concentrations, thereby eliminating the need for sample quantification and dilution.

Validation of alternative capillary electrophoresis detection of STRs using POP-6 polymer and a 22cm array on a 3130xl genetic analyzer.

The goal of this project was to reduce capillary electrophoresis detection time on a 3130xl Genetic Analyzer for amplification product obtained from 4-dye and 5-dye STR amplification kits while still generating high quality STR profiles. This was accomplished by utilizing a more viscous polymer (POP-6™) and a shorter array (22 cm) than that which are typically used (POP-4(®) polymer and a 36 cm array) for human identification purposes. Spatial calibration and detection run modules were modified in response to the use of this polymer/array combination and to reduce detection time.

Genome Sequences of Streptomyces Phages Amela and Verse.

Amela and Verse are two Streptomyces phages isolated by enrichment on Streptomyces venezuelae (ATCC 10712) from two different soil samples. Amela has a genome length of 49,452, with 75 genes. Verse has a genome length of 49,483, with 75 genes.

Cluster K mycobacteriophages: insights into the evolutionary origins of mycobacteriophage TM4.

Five newly isolated mycobacteriophages--Angelica, CrimD, Adephagia, Anaya, and Pixie--have similar genomic architectures to mycobacteriophage TM4, a previously characterized phage that is widely used in mycobacterial genetics. The nucleotide sequence similarities warrant grouping these into Cluster K, with subdivision into three subclusters: K1, K2, and K3. Although the overall genome architectures of these phages are similar, TM4 appears to have lost at least two segments of its genome, a central region containing the integration apparatus, and a segment at the right end.

Parentage and relatedness in captive and natural populations of the Roseate Spoonbill (Aves: Ciconiiformes) based on microsatellite data.

This study constitutes a first approach to evaluate the use of genetic information and relatedness estimators in the investigation of questions related to mating system and parentage in ex situ and in situ populations of the Roseate Spoonbill. We assessed the parentage assignments in 17 supposed families from US captive populations and investigated the genetic relationships among 67 nestlings sampled within 28 nests in Brazilian natural breeding colonies. Estimations of genetic relatedness values, hypothesis testing methods, simulations and maximum likelihood approaches were performed on data from four microsatellite loci.