Nuclear DNA

About: Nuclear DNA is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3933 publications have been published within this topic receiving 185830 citations.

Characterization of nuclease activities and DNA fragmentation induced upon hypersensitive response cell death and mechanical stress.

Abstract: Programmed cell death (PCD) is activated during the response of multicellular organisms to some invading pathogens. One of the key aspects of this process is the degradation of nuclear DNA which is thought to facilitate the recycling of DNA from dead cells. The PCD of tobacco plants (genotype NN) infected with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is accompanied by the induction of nuclease activities and the cleavage of nuclear DNA to fragments of about 50 kb. We examined the correlation between the increase in nuclease activities and the fragmentation of nuclear DNA during TMV- and bacteria-induced PCD in tobacco. We found that the increase in nuclease activities did not always correlate with fragmentation of nuclear DNA. Thus, in addition to pathogens that induce PCD, mechanical injury and infiltration of leaves with 1 M sucrose or bacteria that did not induce PCD also resulted in an increase in nuclease activities. Analysis of nuclease activities in total leaf extracts, nuclear extracts, and intercellular fluid (i.e., apoplast) revealed that at least four different nuclease activities are induced during PCD in tobacco; of these at least three appear to be secreted into the intercellular fluid. Although the latter were also induced in response to treatments that did not result in DNA fragmentation, they may function in the recycling of plant DNA during late stages of PCD when the integrity of the plasma membrane is compromised. This suggestion is supported by the finding that DNA degradation occurred late during TMV-induced PCD in tobacco. In addition, the finding of induced nuclease activities in the intercellular fluid raises the possibility that they may serve a protective function by degrading the DNA of invading pathogens.

Nuclear DNA Content Varies with Cell Size across Human Cell Types

Abstract: Variation in the size of cells, and the DNA they contain, is a basic feature of multicellular organisms that affects countless aspects of their structure and function. Within humans, cell size is known to vary by several orders of magnitude, and differences in nuclear DNA content among cells have been frequently observed. Using published data, here we describe how the quantity of nuclear DNA across 19 different human cell types increases with cell volume. This observed increase is similar to intraspecific relationships between DNA content and cell volume in other species, and interspecific relationships between diploid genome size and cell volume. Thus, we speculate that the quantity of nuclear DNA content in somatic cells of humans is perhaps best viewed as a distribution of values that reflects cell size distributions, rather than as a single, immutable quantity.

A quadruplex real-time qPCR assay for the simultaneous assessment of total human DNA, human male DNA, DNA degradation and the presence of PCR inhibitors in forensic samples: a diagnostic tool for STR typing.

Abstract: A quadruplex real-time qPCR assay was developed to simultaneously assess total human DNA, human male DNA, DNA degradation and PCR inhibitors in forensic samples. Specifically, the assay utilizes a approximately 170-190bp target sequence that spans the TH01 STR locus to quantify total human DNA (nuTH01), a 137 bp target sequence directly adjacent to the SRY gene to quantify human male DNA (nuSRY), a 67 bp target sequence flanking the CSF1PO STR locus (nuCSF) to assess degradation (nuCSF:nuTH01 ratio) and a 77 bp synthetic DNA template used as an internal PCR control target sequence (IPC) for the assessment of PCR inhibition. Validation studies, performed on an ABI 7500 SDS instrument using TaqMan and TaqManMGB detection, indicate each of the targets in the quadruplex assay performs effectively and is informative even when challenged with DNase-degraded and hematin-inhibited samples. The nuTH01-nuSRY-nuCSF-IPC quadruplex qPCR assay is envisioned to assist in the choice of the most informative DNA typing system available, which may include standard autosomal STR typing when the results indicate the presence of non-degraded, single gender DNA or non-degraded, male:female mixtures at ratios expected to yield probative alleles; Y STR typing in samples containing a male component that is overwhelmed by the presence of an excess of female DNA; reduced amplicon size STR typing ("MiniSTRs") where the nuCSF:nuTH01 ratio indicates the sample is highly degraded; enhanced STR amplification with additional AmpliTaq Gold/BSA and/or sample clean-up when the presence of PCR inhibitors is suggested by a delayed IPC C(T) value or mitochondrial DNA typing in samples where little to no nuclear DNA is detected. The present study includes evaluations of species specificity, sensitivity, precision, reproducibility, male-female mixtures, population samples and applications to various casework-type samples as indicated by the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) guidelines.

Effect of Fixation to the Degradation of Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA in Different Tissues

Abstract: Samples of different tissues were preserved in seven fixatives for periods of time extending from 1 to 336 days, to determine which fixatives reduce the time-dependent degradation of DNA and preserve the histological structure. To achieve these results, three PCR systems were used: FGA and TC11 (both for nuclear DNA) and HV1 for mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA). For long-term storage in combination with amplification of nuclear and mt-DNA, consistent results were obtained in Carnoy's solution and glutaraldehyde. Variable results were observed for buffered formalin; an mt-DNA product could be detected even after 3 months of fixation. In regard to comparison of the different tissues, the quantities recovered from skeletal muscles and kidneys were higher than from other tissues.