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Showing papers in "Nucleic Acids Research in 1994"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The sensitivity of the commonly used progressive multiple sequence alignment method has been greatly improved and modifications are incorporated into a new program, CLUSTAL W, which is freely available.
Abstract: The sensitivity of the commonly used progressive multiple sequence alignment method has been greatly improved for the alignment of divergent protein sequences. Firstly, individual weights are assigned to each sequence in a partial alignment in order to down-weight near-duplicate sequences and up-weight the most divergent ones. Secondly, amino acid substitution matrices are varied at different alignment stages according to the divergence of the sequences to be aligned. Thirdly, residue-specific gap penalties and locally reduced gap penalties in hydrophilic regions encourage new gaps in potential loop regions rather than regular secondary structure. Fourthly, positions in early alignments where gaps have been opened receive locally reduced gap penalties to encourage the opening up of new gaps at these positions. These modifications are incorporated into a new program, CLUSTAL W which is freely available.

63,427 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A genomic sequencing technique which is capable of detecting every methylated cytosine on both strands of any target sequence, using DNA isolated from fewer than 100 cells is developed.
Abstract: An understanding of DNA methylation and its potential role in gene control during development, aging and cancer has been hampered by a lack of sensitive methods which can resolve exact methylation patterns from only small quantities of DNA. We have now developed a genomic sequencing technique which is capable of detecting every methylated cytosine on both strands of any target sequence, using DNA isolated from fewer than 100 cells. In this method, sodium bisulphite is used to convert cytosine residues to uracil residues in single-stranded DNA, under conditions whereby 5-methylcytosine remains non-reactive. The converted DNA is amplified with specific primers and sequenced. All the cytosine residues remaining in the sequence represent previously methylated cytosines in the genome. The work described has defined procedures that maximise the efficiency of denaturation, bisulphite conversion and amplification, to permit methylation mapping of single genes from small amounts of genomic DNA, readily available from germ cells and early developmental stages.

1,954 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is postulate that this residual AR activity may be sufficient for development of male primary and secondary sex characteristics, but may fall below a threshold level of activity necessary for normal maintenance of motor neuron function.
Abstract: Some transcription factors contain stretches of polyglutamine encoded by repeats of the trinucleotide CAG. Expansion of the CAG repeat in the androgen receptor (AR) has been correlated with the incidence and severity of X-linked spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (Kennedy's disease). In order to understand the relationship of this mutation to AR function, we constructed ARs that varied in the position and size of the polyglutamine tract, and assayed for the abilities of these mutant receptors to bind androgen and to activate transcription of several different AR-responsive reporter genes. Elimination of the tract in both human and rat AR resulted in elevated transcriptional activation activity, strongly suggesting that the presence of the polyglutamine tract is inhibitory to transactivation. Progressive expansion of the CAG repeat in human AR caused a linear decrease of transactivation function. Importantly, expansion of the tract did not completely eliminate AR activity. We postulate that this residual AR activity may be sufficient for development of male primary and secondary sex characteristics, but may fall below a threshold level of activity necessary for normal maintenance of motor neuron function. This functional abnormality may be representative of other genetic diseases that are associated with CAG expansion mutations in open reading frames, such as spinocerebellar ataxia type I and Huntington's disease.

1,137 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Lisitsyn et al. as discussed by the authors adapted representational difference analysis (RDA) for use with cDNA, which was found to be extremely sensitive, reproducible, and predominantly lacked false positives.
Abstract: Detection of differentially regulated genes has been severely hampered by technical limitations. In an effort to overcome these problems, the PCR-coupled subtractive process of representational difference analysis (RDA) [Lisitsyn, N. et al. (1993) Science 259, 946-951] has been adapted for use with cDNA. In a model system, RAG-1 and RAG-2, the genes responsible for activating V(D)J recombination, were identified in a genomic transfectant by cDNA RDA in a small fraction of the time taken by conventional means. The system was also modified to eliminate expected difference products to facilitate the identification of novel genes. Additional alterations to the conditions allowed isolation of differentially expressed fragments. Several caffeine up-regulated clones were obtained from the pre-B cell line 1-8, including IGF-1B, and a predicted homologue of the natural killer cell antigen, NKR-P1. The approach was found to be fast, extremely sensitive, reproducible, and predominantly lacked false positives. cDNA RDA has the capacity and adaptability to be applied to a wide range of biological problems, including the study of single gene disorders, characterization of mutant and complemented cell types, developmental or post-event expression time courses, and examination of pathogen-host interactions.

947 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: A data base is described in which over 2,500 mutations in the p53 gene of human tumors and tumor cell lines are compiled from a systematic search of reports published before 1 January 1994.
Abstract: A data base is described in which over 2,500 mutations in the p53 gene of human tumors and tumor cell lines are compiled from a systematic search of reports published before 1 January 1994. Data from 1994 are being added intermittently, with a systematic search and update scheduled for December, 1994. The compilation has been deposited with the EMBL Data Library and is available in electronic form free of charge. This report contains a rationale for the compilation, a brief summary of the major findings and a description of the data base.

942 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work describes a general approach to several RNA sequence analysis problems using probabilistic models that flexibly describe the secondary structure and primary sequence consensus of an RNA sequence family, called 'covariance models'.
Abstract: We describe a general approach to several RNA sequence analysis problems using probabilistic models that flexibly describe the secondary structure and primary sequence consensus of an RNA sequence family. We call these models 'covariance models'. A covariance model of tRNA sequences is an extremely sensitive and discriminative tool for searching for additional tRNAs and tRNA-related sequences in sequence databases. A model can be built automatically from an existing sequence alignment. We also describe an algorithm for learning a model and hence a consensus secondary structure from initially unaligned example sequences and no prior structural information. Models trained on unaligned tRNA examples correctly predict tRNA secondary structure and produce high-quality multiple alignments. The approach may be applied to any family of small RNA sequences.

853 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The utility of the method was demonstrated in the parallel analysis of 5 point mutations from exon 4 of the human tyrosinase gene, as was the relative efficacy of hybridization with single or double-stranded PCR products.
Abstract: A simple and rapid method for the analysis of genetic polymorphisms has been developed using allele-specific oligonucleotide arrays bound to glass supports. Allele-specific oligonucleotides are covalently immobilized on glass slides in arrays of 3 mm spots. Genomic DNA is amplified by PCR using one fluorescently tagged primer oligonucleotide and one biotinylated primer oligonucleotide. The two complementary DNA strands are separated, the fluorescently tagged strand is hybridized to the support-bound oligonucleotide array, and the hybridization pattern is detected by fluorescence scanning. Multiple polymorphisms present in the PCR product may be detected in parallel. The effect of spacer length, surface density and hybridization conditions were evaluated, as was the relative efficacy of hybridization with single or double-stranded PCR products. The utility of the method was demonstrated in the parallel analysis of 5 point mutations from exon 4 of the human tyrosinase gene.

754 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
E. Werle1, Claudio Schneider, M. Renner, M. Völker, W. Fiehn 
TL;DR: A new purification method using exonuclease I (exo I) and shrimp alkaline phosphatase (sAP) to degrade excess primers and nucleotides, which are the main factors interfering with dideoxy PCR sequencing.
Abstract: Structural alterations of the apolipoprotein E (apo E) are known to influence the lipid metabolism. The three most common isoproteins Arg 158) are encoded by three co-dominant alleles (e2, el, e4). Phenotyping is cumbersome and, therefore, several methods for apo E genotyping have been developed. Of these, PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) is currently most rapid and cost-effective (1). To detect mutations not affecting restriction sites, direct PCR sequencing of apo E fragments is the method of choice. This, however, requires purification of PCR products, which is routinely accomplished by techniques like gel electrophoresis or chromatography. We have established a new purification method using exonuclease I (exo I) and shrimp alkaline phosphatase (sAP) to degrade excess primers and nucleotides, which are the main factors interfering with dideoxy PCR sequencing. This procedure simply requires the addition of the enzymes to the PCR product, avoiding frequent sample handling and DNA loss through technical manipulation. Human DNA was extracted from 50 iA EDTA blood with Tris-EDTA lysis and proteinase K digestion. The PCR reaction mix (50 ill) was optimized to contain 10 /tl of DNA extract, 30 pmol of the primers F4 and F6 (2), 5 pi of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), 10 pmol of each dNTP, 2 U of Taq polymerase 5 ii\\ of 10 X PCR buffer (GeneAMP; Perkin-Elmer). After initial denaturation (95°C 5 min) 35 cycles (95°C 20 sec, 60°C 30 sec, 72 °C 30 sec) of amplification were performed, followed by a final extension (72°C 10 min; DNA Thermal Cycler 480, Perkin-Elmer). 2 jil of PCR product (244 bp) were mixed with 1 U exo I and 1 U sAP (USB, Cleveland, USA) and incubated for 1 h at 37°C. The enzymes were inactivated for 15 min at 72°C. The purified PCR product was diluted to a final volume of 10 /tl for cycle sequencing (3) with 0.5 pmol biotinylated primer F6 (A Taq™ Cycle Sequencing Kit; USB) under the same conditions as for PCR of genomic DNA. For chemiluminescence detection (4) we used the 'Sequenase® Images™ non-isotopic DNA sequence detection kit' (USB). Sequencing data obtained with sAP/exo I purified DNA are at least equal to those after column chromatography and superior to those using unpurified templates (Figure 1). Adjusting the purified DNA solutions for dilution we saw a slightly better efficiency of cycle sequencing in the enzymatically purified DNA.

695 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A comprehensive listing is made of posttranscriptionally modified nucleosides from RNA reported in the literature through mid-1994, with the largest number and greatest structural diversity in tRNA, 79; and 28 in rRNA, 12 in mRNA, 11 in snRNA and 3 in other small RNAs.
Abstract: A comprehensive listing is made of posttranscriptionally modified nucleosides from RNA reported in the literature through mid-1994. Included are chemical structures, common names, symbols, Chemical Abstracts registry numbers (for ribonucleoside and corresponding base), Chemical Abstracts Index Name, phylogenetic sources, and initial literature citations for structural characterization or occurrence, and for chemical synthesis. The listing is categorized by type of RNA: tRNA, rRNA, mRNA, snRNA, and other RNAs. A total of 93 different modified nucleosides have been reported in RNA, with the largest number and greatest structural diversity in tRNA, 79; and 28 in rRNA, 12 in mRNA, 11 in snRNA and 3 in other small RNAs.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The latest release of the large ribosomal subunit RNA database contains 429 sequences, all of which are aligned, and incorporate secondary structure information.
Abstract: The latest release of the large ribosomal subunit RNA database contains 429 sequences. All these sequences are aligned, and incorporate secondary structure information. The rRNA WWW Server at URL http://rrna.uia.ac.be/ provides researchers with an easily accessible resource to obtain the data in this database in a number of computer-readable formats. A new query interface has been added to the server. If necessary, the data can also be obtained by anonymous ftp from the same site.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A table of known site-specific DNA modification methyltransferases and their specificities is presented along with EMBL database accession numbers for cloned genes.
Abstract: Restriction endonucleases have site-specific interactions with DNA that can often be inhibited by site-specific DNA methylation and other site-specific DNA modifications. However, such inhibition cannot generally be predicted. The empirically acquired data on these effects are tabulated for over 320 restriction endonucleases. In addition, a table of known site-specific DNA modification methyltransferases and their specificities is presented along with EMBL database accession numbers for cloned genes.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results show that after having been trained on as few as 20 tRNA sequences from only two tRNA subfamilies, the model can discern general tRNA from similar-length RNA sequences of other kinds, can find secondary structure of new t RNA sequences, and can produce multiple alignments of large sets of tRNAs.
Abstract: Stochastic context-free grammars (SCFGs) are applied to the problems of folding, aligning and modeling families of tRNA sequences. SCFGs capture the sequences' common primary and secondary structure and generalize the hidden Markov models (HMMs) used in related work on protein and DNA. Results show that after having been trained on as few as 20 tRNA sequences from only two tRNA subfamilies (mitochondrial and cytoplasmic), the model can discern general tRNA from similar-length RNA sequences of other kinds, can find secondary structure of new tRNA sequences, and can produce multiple alignments of large sets of tRNA sequences. Our results suggest potential improvements in the alignments of the D- and T-domains in some mitochondrial tRNAs that cannot be fit into the canonical secondary structure.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The reaction pathway has suddenly become more complicated because of the base-flipping and much remains to be learned about the DNA recognition elements in the family members for which structural information is not yet available.
Abstract: The m5C-MTases form a closely-knit family of enzymes in which common amino acid sequence motifs almost certainly translate into common structural and functional elements. These common elements are located predominantly in a single structural domain that performs the chemistry of the reaction. Sequence-specific DNA recognition is accomplished by a separate domain that contains recognition elements not seen in other structures. This, combined with the novel and unexpected mechanistic feature of trapping a base out of the DNA helix, makes the m5C-MTases an intriguing class of enzymes for further study. The reaction pathway has suddenly become more complicated because of the base-flipping and much remains to be learned about the DNA recognition elements in the family members for which structural information is not yet available.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Ribonuclease P is responsible for the 5'-maturation of tRNA precursors, and in bacteria the RNA subunit alone is catalytically active in vitro, i.e., it is a ribozyme.
Abstract: The Ribonuclease P Sequence database is a compilation of RNase P sequences, sequence alignments, secondary structures, three-dimensional models, and accessory information. In its initial form, the database contains information on RNase P RNA in bacteria and archaea, and RNase P protein in bacteria. The sequences themselves are presented phylogenetically ordered and aligned. The database also contains secondary structures of bacterial and archaeal RNAs, including specially annotated 'reference' secondary structures of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis RNase P RNAs, a minimum phylogenetic consensus structure, and coordinates for models of three-dimensional structure.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The use of nucleic acid sequences as a template for the formation of an array of proteins is further demonstrated on two size scales, and the generation of supramolecular bioconjugates was shown by quantitative measurements and gel-retardation assays.
Abstract: Modified biomolecules were used for the non-covalent assembly of novel bioconjugates. Hybrid molecules were synthesized from short single-stranded DNA and streptavidin by chemical methods using a heterobispecific crosslinker. The covalent attachment of an oligonucleotide moiety to streptavidin provides a specific recognition domain for a complementary nucleic acid sequence, in addition to the four native biotin-binding sites. These bispecific binding capabilities allow the hybrid molecules to serve as versatile connectors in a variety of applications. Bifunctional constructs have been prepared from two complementary hybrid molecules, each previously conjugated to biotinylated immunoglobulin G or alkaline phosphatase. The use of nucleic acid sequences as a template for the formation of an array of proteins is further demonstrated on two size scales. A macroscopic DNA array on a microtiter plate has been transformed into a comparable protein chip. A nano-scale array was made by hybridizing DNA-tagged proteins to specific positions along a RNA or DNA sequence. The generation of supramolecular bioconjugates was shown by quantitative measurements and gel-retardation assays.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The rate constants for spontaneous hydrolytic deamination of 5- methylcytosine and cytosine in double-stranded DNA at 37 degrees C are more than sufficient to explain the observed frequency of mutation at sites containing 5-methylcytOSine and emphasize the importance of hydrolysis deamination as a major source of human mutations.
Abstract: The modified base, 5-methylcytosine, constitutes approximately 1% of human DNA, but sites containing 5-methylcytosine account for at least 30% of all germline and somatic point mutations. A genetic assay with a sensitivity of 1 in 10(7), based on reversion to neomycin resistance of a mutant pSV2-neo plasmid, was utilized to determine and compare the deamination rates of 5-methylcytosine and cytosine in double-stranded DNA for the first time. The rate constants for spontaneous hydrolytic deamination of 5-methylcytosine and cytosine in double-stranded DNA at 37 degrees C were 5.8 x 10(-13) s-1 and 2.6 x 10(-13) s-1, respectively. These rates are more than sufficient to explain the observed frequency of mutation at sites containing 5-methylcytosine and emphasize the importance of hydrolytic deamination as a major source of human mutations.



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A systematic study by inserting two series of synthetic RBSs of varying spacing and SD sequence into a plasmid vector containing the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene demonstrated an optimal aligned spacing of 5 nt for both series.
Abstract: The prokaryotic mRNA ribosome binding site (RBS) usually contains part or all of a polypurine domain UAAGGAGGU known as the Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence found just 5' to the translation initiation codon. It is now clear that the SD sequence is important for identification of the translation initiation site on the mRNA by the ribosome, and that as a result, the spacing between the SD and the initiation codon strongly affects translational efficiency (1). It is not as clear, however, whether there is a unique optimal spacing. Complications involving the definition of the spacing as well as secondary structures have obscured matters. We thus undertook a systematic study by inserting two series of synthetic RBSs of varying spacing and SD sequence into a plasmid vector containing the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene. Care was taken not to introduce any secondary structure. Measurements of protein expression demonstrated an optimal aligned spacing of 5 nt for both series. Since aligned spacing corresponds naturally to the spacing between the 3'-end of the 16S rRNA and the P-site, we conclude that there is a unique optimal aligned SD-AUG spacing in the absence of other complicating issues.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results suggest that PPAR gamma 2 serves a unique function among PPAR family members as an important regulator of adipocyte-specific gene expression.
Abstract: Previously, we identified a novel transcription factor, ARF6, as a key regulator of the tissue-specific adipocyte P2 (aP2) enhancer. In order to identify the proteins which comprise the adipocyte ARF6 complex, we have purified this DNA binding activity from a cultured adipocyte cell line. We have developed a system for growth and differentiation of HIB-1B brown adipocytes in suspension culture that facilitates the production of large quantities of adipocyte nuclear extract. ARF6 was purified from HIB-1B nuclear extract by a combination of conventional and sequence-specific DNA affinity chromotography. Chemical sequencing and mass spectral analysis of tryptic peptides derived from the purified polypeptides identifies the ARF6 complex as a heterodimer of the retinoid X receptor alpha (RXR alpha) and the murine peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma). Of the known PPAR gamma isoforms, PPAR gamma is the predominant form expressed in adipose tissue. These results suggest that PPAR gamma 2 serves a unique function among PPAR family members as an important regulator of adipocyte-specific gene expression.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The BAC system is suitable for most large genome applications, is more 'user friendly' than the YAC system, and will likely lead to rapid progress in cloning biologically significant genes from plants.
Abstract: The construction of representative large insert DNA libraries is critical for the analysis of complex genomes. The predominant vector system for such work is the yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) system. Despite the success of YACs, many problems have been described including: chimerism, tedious steps in library construction and low yields of YAC insert DNA. Recently a new E.coli based system has been developed, the bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) system, which offers many potential advantages over YACs. We tested the BAC system in plants by constructing an ordered 13,440 clone sorghum BAC library. The library has a combined average insert size, from single and double size selections, of 157 kb. Sorghum inserts of up to 315 kb were isolated and shown to be stable when grown for over 100 generations in liquid media. No chimeric clones were detected as determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization of ten BAC clones to metaphase and interphase S.bicolor nuclei. The library was screened with six sorghum probes and three maize probes and all but one sorghum probe hybridized to at least one BAC clone in the library. To facilitate chromosome walking with the BAC system, methods were developed to isolate the proximal ends of restriction fragments inserted into the BAC vector and used to isolate both the left and right ends of six randomly selected BAC clones. These results demonstrate that the S. bicolor BAC library will be useful for several physical mapping and map-based cloning applications not only in sorghum but other related cereal genomes, such as maize. Furthermore, we conclude that the BAC system is suitable for most large genome applications, is more 'user friendly' than the YAC system, and will likely lead to rapid progress in cloning biologically significant genes from plants.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The hidden Markov model finds the exact locations of about 80% of the known E. coli genes, and approximate locations for about 10%, and finds several potentially new genes and locates several places were insertion or deletion errors/and or frameshifts may be present in the contigs.
Abstract: A hidden Markov model (HMM) has been developed to find protein coding genes in E. coli DNA using E. coli genome DNA sequence from the EcoSeq6 database maintained by Kenn Rudd. This HMM includes states that model the codons and their frequencies in E. coli genes, as well as the patterns found in the intergenic region, including repetitive extragenic palindromic sequences and the Shine-Delgarno motif. To account for potential sequencing errors and or frameshifts in raw genomic DNA sequence, it allows for the (very unlikely) possiblity of insertions and deletions of individual nucleotides within a codon. The parameters of the HMM are estimated using approximately one million nucleotides of annotated DNA in EcoSeq6 and the model tested on a disjoint set of contigs containing about 325,000 nucleotides. The HMM finds the exact locations of about 80% of the known E. coli genes, and approximate locations for about 10%. It also finds several potentially new genes, and locates several places were insertion or deletion errors and or frameshifts may be present in the contigs. Based on further examination and analysis of the results from the parser, we describe a new putative S-adenosyl-L-methionine methyltransferase domain that appears to be present in proteins from a variety of phylogenetically diverse organisms and organelles.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The precision of this approach is better than other methods and has been tested on a larger data set, and a means for predicting exon-exon junctions in cDNA sequences, which can be useful for selecting optimal PCR primers.
Abstract: A new method which predicts internal exon sequences in human DNA has been developed. The method is based on a splice site prediction algorithm that uses the linear discriminant function to combine information about significant triplet frequencies of various functional parts of splice site regions and preferences of oligonucleotides in protein coding and intron regions. The accuracy of our splice site recognition function is 97% for donor splice sites and 96% for acceptor splice sites. For exon prediction, we combine in a discriminant function the characteristics describing the 5'-intron region, donor splice site, coding region, acceptor splice site and 3'-intron region for each open reading frame flanked by GT and AG base pairs. The accuracy of precise internal exon recognition on a test set of 451 exon and 246693 pseudoexon sequences is 77% with a specificity of 79%. The recognition quality computed at the level of individual nucleotides is 89% for exon sequences and 98% for intron sequences. This corresponds to a correlation coefficient for exon prediction of 0.87. The precision of this approach is better than other methods and has been tested on a larger data set. We have also developed a means for predicting exon-exon junctions in cDNA sequences, which can be useful for selecting optimal PCR primers.

Journal Article
TL;DR: The FSSP database currently contains an extended structural family for each of 330 representative protein chains, and all such comparisons are based purely on the 3D co-ordinates of the proteins and are derived by automatic structure comparison programs.
Abstract: FSSP (families of structurally similar proteins) is a database of structural alignments of proteins in the Protein Data Bank (PDB). The database currently contains an extended structural family for each of 330 representative protein chains. Each data set contains structural alignments of one search structure with all other structurally significantly similar proteins in the representative set (remote homologs, < 30% sequence identity), as well as all structures in the Protein Data Bank with 70-30% sequence identity relative to the search structure (medium homologs). Very close homologs (above 70% sequence identity) are excluded as they rarely have marked structural differences. The alignments of remote homologs are the result of pairwise all-against-all structural comparisons in the set of 330 representative protein chains. All such comparisons are based purely on the 3D co-ordinates of the proteins and are derived by automatic (objective) structure comparison programs. The significance of structural similarity is estimated based on statistical criteria. The FSSP database is available electronically from the EMBL file server and by anonymous ftp (file transfer protocol).

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Two highly related human cDNAs, hSNF2 alpha and -beta, encode amino acid sequences homologous to both the yeast SWI2/ SNF2 and the Drosophila brahma and it is suggested that global transcriptional coactivators equivalent to the yeastSWI/SNF complex exist in mammalian cells.
Abstract: A set of genes (SWI1, SWI2/SNF2, SWI3, SNF5 and SNF6) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are required for transcription of a variety of yeast genes. It was recently reported that the mammalian glucocorticoid receptor failed to activate transcription when transiently expressed in swi1-, swi2- or swi3- yeast strains. We report here that two highly related human cDNAs, hSNF2 alpha and -beta, encode amino acid sequences homologous to both the yeast SWI2/SNF2 and the Drosophila brahma. Similar to their yeast and Drosophila counterparts, both human cDNAs contain helicase motifs, a bromodomain, a highly charged C-terminal sequence and an N-terminal sequence rich in proline, glutamine and glycine. Tissue distribution of the mRNAs varied slightly. Transcriptional activation by the estrogen receptor and the retinoic acid receptor was enhanced by co-expression of either hSNF2 cDNA. No enhancement was observed for promoters which do not respond to nuclear receptors. We suggest that global transcriptional coactivators equivalent to the yeast SWI/SNF complex exist in mammalian cells.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown that excellent quality hybridization signals can be obtained from a standard hybridization reaction, after only 1 second of CCD data acquisition, and as measured by the time required to obtain equivalent signal to noise ratios, 32P detection speed by the direct CCD approach is at least 10 fold greater than could be obtained with a commercial gas phase array detector.
Abstract: A method is described for the detection of DNA hybrids formed on a solid support, based upon the pairing of oligonucleotide chemistry and the technologies of electronic microdevice design. Surface matrices have been created in which oligonucleotide probes are covalently linked to a thin SiO2 film. 32P labeled target nucleic acid is then hybridized to this probe matrix under conditions of high stringency. The salient feature of the method is that to achieve the highest possible collection efficiency, the hybridization matrix is placed directly on the surface of a charge coupled device (CCD), which is used to detect 32P decay from hybridized target molecules (1, Eggers, M.D., Hogan, M.E., Reich, R.K., Lamture, J.B., Beattie, K.L., Hollis, M.A., Ehrilich, D.J., Kosicki, B.B., Shumaker, J.M., Varma, R.S., Burke, B.E., Murphy, A., and Rathman, D.D., (1993), Advances in DNA Sequencing Technology, Proc. SPIE, 1891, 13-26). Two implementations of the technology have been employed. The first involves direct attachment of the matrix to the surface of a CCD. The second involves attachment of the matrix to a disposible SiO2 coated chip, which is then placed face to face upon the CCD surface. As can be predicted from this favorable collection geometry and the known characteristics of a CCD, it is found that as measured by the time required to obtain equivalent signal to noise ratios, 32P detection speed by the direct CCD approach is at least 10 fold greater than can be obtained with a commercial gas phase array detector, and at least 100 fold greater than when X-ray film is used for 32P detection. Thus, it is shown that excellent quality hybridization signals can be obtained from a standard hybridization reaction, after only 1 second of CCD data acquisition.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Trinucleotide phosphoramidites representing codons for all 20 amino acids have been prepared and used in automated, solid-phase DNA synthesis and it is shown that these substances can be used to introduce entire codons into oligonucleotides in excess of 98% yield.
Abstract: Trinucleotide phosphoramidites representing codons for all 20 amino acids have been prepared and used in automated, solid-phase DNA synthesis. In contrast to an earlier report, we show that these substances can be used to introduce entire codons into oligonucleotides in excess of 98% yield, and are ideal reagents for the synthesis of mixed oligonucleotides for random mutagenesis.