Serum human telomerase reverse transcriptase: a novel biomarker for breast cancer diagnosis.

Background: Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein complex composed mainly of a reverse transcriptase catalytic subunit, telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT). Expression of hTERT confers telomerase activity, indicating that hTERT is the rate-limiting component of human telomerase. The aim of the present study was to investigate the diagnostic implications of hTERT in the serum of breast cancer patients.

Induction and characterization of streptomycin-resistant mutants in Capsicum praetermissum.

Streptomycin-resistant mutants were isolated from mutagenised cotyledon explants of Capsicum praetermissum Heiser & Smith. The explants were mutagenised with N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea, which resulted in a high frequency of streptomycin-resistant mutants (18.0%) and a low frequency of chlorophyll-deficient (albino) mutants (8.