Peter H. Seeburg

Bio: Peter H. Seeburg is an academic researcher from Max Planck Society. The author has contributed to research in topics: AMPA receptor & Receptor. The author has an hindex of 121, co-authored 306 publications receiving 60564 citations.

A system for shotgun DNA sequencing.

Abstract: A multipurpose cloning site has been introduced into the gene for beta-galactosidase (beta-D-galactosidegalactohydrolase, EC 3.21.23) on the single-stranded DNA phage M13mp2 (Gronenborn, B. and Messing, J., (1978) Nature 272, 375-377) with the use of synthetic DNA. The site contributes 14 additional codons and does not affect the ability of the lac gene product to undergo intracistronic complementation. Two restriction endonuclease cleavage sites in the viral gene II were removed by single base-pair mutations. Using the new phage M13mp7, DNA fragments generated by cleavage with a variety of different restriction endonucleases can be cloned directly. The nucleotide sequences of the cloned DNAs can be determined rapidly by DNA synthesis using chain terminators and a synthetic oligonucleotide primer complementary to 15 bases preceeding the new array of restriction sites.

Supercoil sequencing: a fast and simple method for sequencing plasmid DNA

Abstract: A method for obtaining sequence information directly from plasmid DNA is presented. The procedure involves the rapid preparation of clean supercoiled plasmid DNA from small bacterial cultures, its complete denaturation by alkali, and sequence determination using oligodeoxyribonucleotide-primed enzymatic DNA synthesis in the presence of dideoxynucleoside triphosphates. The advantages of the method include speed, simplicity, avoidance of additional cloning steps into single-stranded phage M13 vectors, and hence applicability to sequencing large numbers of samples.

Human insulin receptor and its relationship to the tyrosine kinase family of oncogenes

Abstract: We have deduced the entire 1,370-amino-acid sequence of the human insulin receptor precursor from a single complementary DNA clone. The precursor starts with a 27-amino-acid signal sequence, followed by the receptor α-subunit, a precursor processing enzyme cleavage site, then the β-subunit containing a single 23-amino-acid transmembrane sequence. There are sequence homologies to human epidermal growth factor receptor and the members of the src family of oncogene products.

Domain interaction between NMDA receptor subunits and the postsynaptic density protein PSD-95

Abstract: The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subserves synaptic glutamate-induced transmission and plasticity in central neurons. The yeast two-hybrid system was used to show that the cytoplasmic tails of NMDA receptor subunits interact with a prominent postsynaptic density protein PSD-95. The second PDZ domain in PSD-95 binds to the seven-amino acid, COOH-terminal domain containing the terminal tSXV motif (where S is serine, X is any amino acid, and V is valine) common to NR2 subunits and certain NR1 splice forms. Transcripts encoding PSD-95 are expressed in a pattern similar to that of NMDA receptors, and the NR2B subunit co-localizes with PSD-95 in cultured rat hippocampal neurons. The interaction of these proteins may affect the plasticity of excitatory synapses.

Human tumour necrosis factor: precursor structure, expression and homology to lymphotoxin.

Abstract: Human tumour necrosis factor has about 30% homology in its amino acid sequence with lymphotoxin, a lymphokine that has similar biological properties. Recombinant tumour necrosis factor can be obtained by expression of its complementary DNA in Escherichia coli and induces the haemorrhagic necrosis of transplanted methylcholanthrene-induced sarcomas in syngeneic mice.

The sequence of the human genome.

Abstract: A 2.91-billion base pair (bp) consensus sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome was generated by the whole-genome shotgun sequencing method. The 14.8-billion bp DNA sequence was generated over 9 months from 27,271,853 high-quality sequence reads (5.11-fold coverage of the genome) from both ends of plasmid clones made from the DNA of five individuals. Two assembly strategies-a whole-genome assembly and a regional chromosome assembly-were used, each combining sequence data from Celera and the publicly funded genome effort. The public data were shredded into 550-bp segments to create a 2.9-fold coverage of those genome regions that had been sequenced, without including biases inherent in the cloning and assembly procedure used by the publicly funded group. This brought the effective coverage in the assemblies to eightfold, reducing the number and size of gaps in the final assembly over what would be obtained with 5.11-fold coverage. The two assembly strategies yielded very similar results that largely agree with independent mapping data. The assemblies effectively cover the euchromatic regions of the human chromosomes. More than 90% of the genome is in scaffold assemblies of 100,000 bp or more, and 25% of the genome is in scaffolds of 10 million bp or larger. Analysis of the genome sequence revealed 26,588 protein-encoding transcripts for which there was strong corroborating evidence and an additional approximately 12,000 computationally derived genes with mouse matches or other weak supporting evidence. Although gene-dense clusters are obvious, almost half the genes are dispersed in low G+C sequence separated by large tracts of apparently noncoding sequence. Only 1.1% of the genome is spanned by exons, whereas 24% is in introns, with 75% of the genome being intergenic DNA. Duplications of segmental blocks, ranging in size up to chromosomal lengths, are abundant throughout the genome and reveal a complex evolutionary history. Comparative genomic analysis indicates vertebrate expansions of genes associated with neuronal function, with tissue-specific developmental regulation, and with the hemostasis and immune systems. DNA sequence comparisons between the consensus sequence and publicly funded genome data provided locations of 2.1 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A random pair of human haploid genomes differed at a rate of 1 bp per 1250 on average, but there was marked heterogeneity in the level of polymorphism across the genome. Less than 1% of all SNPs resulted in variation in proteins, but the task of determining which SNPs have functional consequences remains an open challenge.

A synaptic model of memory: long-term potentiation in the hippocampus

Abstract: Long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission in the hippocampus is the primary experimental model for investigating the synaptic basis of learning and memory in vertebrates. The best understood form of long-term potentiation is induced by the activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor complex. This subtype of glutamate receptor endows long-term potentiation with Hebbian characteristics, and allows electrical events at the postsynaptic membrane to be transduced into chemical signals which, in turn, are thought to activate both pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms to generate a persistent increase in synaptic strength.

Recombinant genomes which express chloramphenicol acetyltransferase in mammalian cells.

Abstract: We constructed a series of recombinant genomes which directed expression of the enzyme chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) in mammalian cells. The prototype recombinant in this series, pSV2-cat, consisted of the beta-lactamase gene and origin of replication from pBR322 coupled to a simian virus 40 (SV40) early transcription region into which CAT coding sequences were inserted. Readily measured levels of CAT accumulated within 48 h after the introduction of pSV2-cat DNA into African green monkey kidney CV-1 cells. Because endogenous CAT activity is not present in CV-1 or other mammalian cells, and because rapid, sensitive assays for CAT activity are available, these recombinants provided a uniquely convenient system for monitoring the expression of foreign DNAs in tissue culture cells. To demonstrate the usefulness of this system, we constructed derivatives of pSV2-cat from which part or all of the SV40 promoter region was removed. Deletion of one copy of the 72-base-pair repeat sequence in the SV40 promoter caused no significant decrease in CAT synthesis in monkey kidney CV-1 cells; however, an additional deletion of 50 base pairs from the second copy of the repeats reduced CAT synthesis to 11% of its level in the wild type. We also constructed a recombinant, pSV0-cat, in which the entire SV40 promoter region was removed and a unique HindIII site was substituted for the insertion of other promoter sequences.