We are grateful to the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center for providing funding for this work.

1. Cell Line with an Integrated Recombination Substrate
<ol>
<li>The HeLa cells were stably transformed with pDR-GFP (plasmid7 gift from M. Jasin, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) and maintained in puromycin for selection of transformants.</li>
<li>The cells are passaged in DMEM/FBS, containing 10% fetal bovine serum, 2 mM GlutaMAX, 1 mM sodium pyruvate, penicillin/streptomycin (100 U/ mL/0.1 mg/ mL), and 1.5 ug/ mL puromycin.</li>
</ol>
The recombination substrate in the pDR-GFP plasmid, and in stable transformants, contains two inactive alleles of GFP (Figure 1). One allele is inactive due to the inclusion in its coding sequence of the 18 bp restriction enzyme recognition site for I-SceI. Expression of I-SceI in these cells creates a double-stranded DNA break (DSB). There is a second allele of inactive GFP on this DNA, but the portion of its sequence correlated with the I-SceI site on the first allele is wild-type. This second GFP allele can function as a sequence donor for homologous recombination repair of the DSB and would result in an active GFP allele, which is readily detected by flow cytometry. Alternatively, the DSB could be repaired by nonhomologous end-joining, which would destroy the I-SceI restriction site and would result in GFP-negative cells. The level of homologous recombination in a cell is determined by counting the percentage of GFP-positive cells.
This cell line, pHeLa-DR13-9, was selected among all clones for zero background GFP signal and a relatively high percentage of GFP-positive cells upon transfection with the I-SceI expressing plasmid, pCBASce. (The pCBASce and its vector control, pCAGGS, were both supplied by M. Jasin of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.) 
The HeLa-DR13-9 cell line is available from the authors upon request.

2. Transfection to Deplete Endogenous BRCA1 and Add Back Mutant BRCA1.
<ol>
<li>The day before the first transfection (usually a Tuesday): Begin with a 10 cm dish of HeLa-DR13-9 cells at least 90% confluent.</li>
<li>Trypsinize in 1 mL and stop the reaction by adding 9 mL DMEM/FBS, mix well by pipetting.</li>
<li>Add 40 &mu;L of trypsinized cells per well of a 24 well plate in 0.5 mL of DME/FBS.</li>
<li>Day 1 transfections (Wednesday): cells should be ~40-50% confluent, if much less start over. Transfect by mixing: 5 pmol siRNA + 0.3 ug BRCA1-mutant expressing plasmid DNA in 12.5 &mu;L Opti-MEM; and 0.5 &mu;L Lipofectamine 2000 in 12.5 &mu;L Opti-MEM. Proceed with the transfection according to the Lipofectamine protocol (Invitrogen).</li>
<li>Replace the media 4-6 hours later. The siRNA we use to deplete BRCA1 is based on the sequence GCUCCUCUCACUCUUCAGU specifying BRCA1 3'-UTR sequences 80,780 to 80,798 (accession number AY273801).</li>
<li>Day 2: Transfer the cells by trypsinizing from the 24 well plate to a 6 well plate.</li>
<li>Day 3 transfections: 25 pmol siRNA + 0.75 ug BRCA1-mutant expressing plasmid DNA + 0.75 ug pCBASce (or pCAGGS vector control) in 62.5 &mu;L Opti-MEM and 2.5 &mu;L Lipofectamine 2000 in 62.5 &mu;L Opti-MEM. Replace the media 4-6 hours later.</li>
</ol>
3. Analysis of Transfectants.
<ol>
<li>On day 6, trypsinize cells from each well and stop in 1 mL DMEM/FBS. Analyzing the cells for GFP expression can be done on days 5 or 7, but we find that day 6 works best.</li>
<li>Analyze 10,000 cells per well by flow cytometry. We use a Becton Dickinson FACSCalibur instrument in the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Analytical Cytometry shared resource. Single, live cells are gated using the forward and side scatter parameters. GFP-positive cells are detected using the GFP fluorescence detector (FL1), and results are presented as a histogram (Figure 2, bottom).</li>
<li>Left over cells can be replated for photography by fluorescence microscopy if desired.</li>
</ol>
4. Representative Results:

BRCA1 regulates the pathway for repair of double stranded DNA breaks by homologous recombination6,11. Those cells which have undergone repair by homologous recombination are readily detected by fluorescence microscopy (Figure 2, top). Depletion of BRCA1 results in a decrease in the detected GFP-positive cells (Figure 2, right). The output from the FACSCalibur is a histogram with GFP intensity per cell on the X-axis and number of cells on the Y-axis (Figure 2, bottom). In a typical set of results from a single experiment, 15.5% of the cells were GFP-positive after I-SceI expression and control RNAi depletion (Figure 3). By comparison, depletion of BRCA1 and vector add back reduced GFP-conversion to 0.7%. Add-back of wild-type BRCA1 or of BRCA1(I21V) fully restored homologous recombination, as detected by obtaining 15-16% GFP-positive cells. Add-back of the BRCA1(M18T) mutant (Figure 3, lane 5) had similar effect as the add-back of the vector control. Since this variant expressed at similar levels as the endogenous protein9, we thus interpret the BRCA1(M18T) variant is non-functional in homologous recombination.
We typically have 10-20% of the cells convert to GFP-positive after transfecting the I-SceI expression plasmid. Depletion of BRCA1 reproducibly reduces the conversion of GFP-positive cells by about 8-10 fold. Though the actual percentages of GFP-positive cells may change from experiment to experiment, the ratio of GFP-positive cells following BRCA1 depletion relative to the control depletion within an experiment is quite consistent. We normalize results by setting the uninhibited conversion rate to 100% and express results with BRCA1 depletions and add-backs as percentages. In this way, we can combine multiple experiments, and the experimental variation is not high.
Add back of BRCA1 mutants have so far yielded robust results: each BRCA1 variant has either fully restored homologous recombination activity or has had no effect. An important consideration in obtaining these results is that our transfection conditions produce levels of BRCA1 protein that approximately equal the concentration of the endogenous protein in untreated cells. Too high of an overexpression of even a defective mutant of BRCA1 may result in some positive homologous recombination activity.
A problem that we needed to overcome was the toxicity of transfection. Depletion of BRCA1 itself can slow cell growth, and the balance of Lipofectamine-2000 and plasmid DNA relative to the number of cells on the dish must be held at a consistent level. Too much Lipofectamine or plasmid DNA will reduce cell numbers, and the number of cells will be insufficient to obtain reliable flow cytometry results. The balance of the plasmid and Lipofectamine reagents versus the number of cells transfected is quite important for maintaining the viability of the cells.

 <img src="/files/ftp_upload/2468/2468fig1.jpg" alt="Figure 1" /> 
Figure 1. The recombination substrate. The strategy that had been developed by the group of M. Jasin7,12 is depicted. The pDR-GFP plasmid contains two defective alleles of GFP, one of which contains an I-SceI restriction endonuclease site. A HeLa derived cell line contains this DNA substrate integrated at a single site in the genome9, and active repair of the double-stranded DNA break at the I-SceI site by homologous recombination results in conversion of one allele to GFP-positive.
 <img src="/files/ftp_upload/2468/2468fig2.jpg" alt="Figure 2" /> 
Figure 2. Detection of GFP-positive cells by fluorescence microscopy. Cells were tested as per this protocol, and control-depleted cells were active in homologous recombination, as detected by a high percentage of cells with GFP expression (left). Depletion of BRCA1 by RNAi results in a sharp decrease in the number of GFP-positive cells (right).
 <img src="/files/ftp_upload/2468/2468fig3.jpg" alt="Figure 3" /> 
Figure 3. Results of an add-back of BRCA1 missense mutants. Results from a single experiment are shown in this histogram. In the absence of transfected I-SceI expressing plasmid (lane 1) there are no GFP-positive cells detected. The results in lanes 2-6 were all taken from cells in which the I-SceI expressing plasmid was transfected on day 3. In cells that were depleted for an irrelevant gene (luciferase) and with vector add-back, 15.5% of the cells were GFP-positive (lane 2). Depletion of BRCA1 and vector add-back reveals the effect of loss of BRCA1 on homologous recombination (lane 3). The effects of depletion of BRCA1 and add-back of wild-type BRCA1 (lane 4), BRCA1(M18T) (lane 5), and BRCA1(I21V) (lane 6) are shown. These results are from a single experiment, and would be combined with at least two more repeat experiments in order to obtain a measure of the homologous recombination supported by a given mutant BRCA1 protein.

<ol>
	<li>Carvalho, M. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Determination+of+cancer+risk+associated+with+germ+line+BRCA1+missense+variants+by+functional+analysis.">Determination of cancer risk associated with germ line BRCA1 missense variants by functional analysis.</a> Cancer Res. 67, 1494-1501 (2007).</li><li>Couch, F. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Genetic+epidemiology+of+BRCA1.">Genetic epidemiology of BRCA1.</a> Cancer Biol Ther. 3, 509-514 (2004).</li><li>Couch, F. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Assessment+of+functional+effects+of+unclassified+genetic+variants.">Assessment of functional effects of unclassified genetic variants.</a> Hum Mutat. 29, 1314-1326 (2008).</li><li>Tomlinson, G. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Characterization+of+a+breast+cancer+cell+line+derived+from+a+germ-line+BRCA1+mutation+carrier.">Characterization of a breast cancer cell line derived from a germ-line BRCA1 mutation carrier.</a> Cancer Res. 58, 3237-3242 (1998).</li><li>Ruffner, H., Joazeiro, C. A., Hemmati, D., Hunter, T., Verma, I. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cancer-predisposing+mutations+within+the+RING+domain+of+BRCA1:+loss+of+ubiquitin+protein+ligase+activity+and+protection+from+radiation+hypersensitivity.">Cancer-predisposing mutations within the RING domain of BRCA1: loss of ubiquitin protein ligase activity and protection from radiation hypersensitivity.</a> Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 98, 5134-5139 (2001).</li><li>Moynahan, M. E., Chiu, J. W., Koller, B. H., Jasin, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Brca1+controls+homology-directed+DNA+repair.">Brca1 controls homology-directed DNA repair.</a> Mol Cell. 4, 511-518 (1999).</li><li>Nakanishi, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Human+Fanconi+anemia+monoubiquitination+pathway+promotes+homologous+DNA+repair.">Human Fanconi anemia monoubiquitination pathway promotes homologous DNA repair.</a> Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 102, 1110-1115 (2005).</li><li>Pierce, A. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Double-strand+breaks+and+tumorigenesis.">Double-strand breaks and tumorigenesis.</a> Trends Cell Biol. 11, 52-59 (2001).</li><li>Ransburgh, D. J., Chiba, N., Ishioka, C., Toland, A. E., Parvin, J. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Identification+of+breast+tumor+mutations+in+BRCA1+that+abolish+its+function+in+homologous+DNA+recombination.">Identification of breast tumor mutations in BRCA1 that abolish its function in homologous DNA recombination.</a> Cancer Res. 70, 988-995 (2010).</li><li>Easton, D. F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+systematic+genetic+assessment+of+1,433+sequence+variants+of+unknown+clinical+significance+in+the+BRCA1+and+BRCA2+breast+cancer-predisposition+genes.">A systematic genetic assessment of 1,433 sequence variants of unknown clinical significance in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancer-predisposition genes.</a> Am J Hum Genet. 81, 873-883 (2007).</li><li>Snouwaert, J. N. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=BRCA1+deficient+embryonic+stem+cells+display+a+decreased+homologous+recombination+frequency+and+an+increased+frequency+of+non-homologous+recombination+that+is+corrected+by+expression+of+a+brca1+transgene.">BRCA1 deficient embryonic stem cells display a decreased homologous recombination frequency and an increased frequency of non-homologous recombination that is corrected by expression of a brca1 transgene.</a> Oncogene. 18, 7900-7907 (1999).</li><li>Pierce, A. J., Hu, P., Han, M., Ellis, N., Jasin, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Ku+DNA+end-binding+protein+modulates+homologous+repair+of+double-strand+breaks+in+mammalian+cells.">Ku DNA end-binding protein modulates homologous repair of double-strand breaks in mammalian cells.</a> Genes Dev. 15, 3237-3242 (2001).</li><li>Spearman, A. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Clinically+applicable+models+to+characterize+BRCA1+and+BRCA2+variants+of+uncertain+significance.">Clinically applicable models to characterize BRCA1 and BRCA2 variants of uncertain significance.</a> J Clin Oncol. 26, 5393-5400 (2008).</li><li>Sweet, K., Senter, L., Pilarski, R., Wei, L., Toland, A. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Characterization+of+BRCA1+ring+finger+variants+of+uncertain+significance.">Characterization of BRCA1 ring finger variants of uncertain significance.</a> Breast Cancer Res Treat. 119, 737-743 (2009).</li></ol>

No conflicts of interest declared.

The advantage of this method is that we can study the function of the BRCA1 protein in regulating DNA repair by homologous recombination using cells that have wild-type endogenously expressed BRCA1. We have adopted two separate established methods of studying the homologous recombination process and of utilizing RNAi-mediated depletion to obtain the novel method for testing BRCA1 variants for function in DNA repair. The key for the success of this method was to establish a readily transfectable cell line, such as HeLa, with the recombination substrate in the genome such that we obtain very high levels of GFP conversion. We had screened multiple clones of the original transformation in order to obtain one that had no detectable background GFP signal, but upon transfection of the I-SceI expression plasmid had a very high level of GFP conversion.
With this method, we are now investigating other specific BRCA1 amino acid residues for function in homologous recombination. Along with the biological insights from this work, these conclusions can be applied to clinical cancer genetics. A high percentage of BRCA1 missense mutations have unknown clinical significance since there are many rare variants and there is insufficient information for many of these to determine the cancer association by genetic segregation analysis3,10,13,14. Using this method, the consequences of a specific variant on the biological function of BRCA1 in regulating homologous recombination could be used to inform women who carry one of these variants in their genome.

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identifying the effects of brca1 mutations on homologous recombination using cells that express endogenous wild-type brca1

The functional analysis of missense mutations can be complicated by the presence in the cell of the endogenous protein. Structure-function analyses of the BRCA1 have been complicated by the lack of a robust assay for the full length BRCA1 protein and the difficulties inherent in working with cell lines that express hypomorphic BRCA1 protein1,2,3,4,5. We developed a system whereby the endogenous BRCA1 protein in a cell was acutely depleted by RNAi targeting the 3'-UTR of the BRCA1 mRNA and replaced by co-transfecting a plasmid expressing a BRCA1 variant. One advantage of this procedure is that the acute silencing of BRCA1 and simultaneous replacement allow the cells to grow without secondary mutations or adaptations that might arise over time to compensate for the loss of BRCA1 function. This depletion and add-back procedure was done in a HeLa-derived cell line that was readily assayed for homologous recombination activity. The homologous recombination assay is based on a previously published method whereby a recombination substrate is integrated into the genome (Figure 1)6,7,8,9. This recombination substrate has the rare-cutting I-SceI restriction enzyme site inside an inactive GFP allele, and downstream is a second inactive GFP allele. Transfection of the plasmid that expresses I-SceI results in a double-stranded break, which may be repaired by homologous recombination, and if homologous recombination does repair the break it creates an active GFP allele that is readily scored by flow cytometry for GFP protein expression. Depletion of endogenous BRCA1 resulted in an 8-10-fold reduction in homologous recombination activity, and add-back of wild-type plasmid fully restored homologous recombination function. When specific point mutants of full length BRCA1 were expressed from co-transfected plasmids, the effect of the specific missense mutant could be scored. As an example, the expression of the BRCA1(M18T) protein, a variant of unknown clinical significance10, was expressed in these cells, it failed to restore BRCA1-dependent homologous recombination. By contrast, expression of another variant, also of unknown significance, BRCA1(I21V) fully restored BRCA1-dependent homologous recombination function. This strategy of testing the function of BRCA1 missense mutations has been applied to another biological system assaying for centrosome function (Kais et al, unpublished observations). Overall, this approach is suitable for the analysis of missense mutants in any gene that must be analyzed recessively.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Identifying the Effects of BRCA1 Mutations on Homologous Recombination using Cells that Express Endogenous Wild-type BRCA1 at JoVE.com

Identifying the Effects of BRCA1 Mutations on Homologous Recombination using Cells that Express Endogenous Wild-type BRCA1

We provide a method for testing BRCA1 variants in a tissue culture based assay for homologous recombination repair of DNA damage by depleting endogenous BRCA1 protein from a cell using RNAi and replacing it with a BRCA1 point mutant that contains a coding change.

The functional analysis of missense mutations can be complicated by the presence in the cell of the endogenous protein. Structure-function analyses of the ...

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14.5K Views.  The Ohio State University. We provide a method for testing BRCA1 variants in a tissue culture based assay for homologous recombination repair of DNA damage by depleting endogenous BRCA1 protein from a cell using RNAi and replacing it with a BRCA1 point mutant that contains a coding change. 

Video: Identifying the Effects of BRCA1 Mutations on Homologous Recombination using Cells that Express Endogenous Wild-type BRCA1

Studying the Effects of Matrix Stiffness on Cellular Function using Acrylamide-based Hydrogels

Tissue stiffness is an important determinant of cellular function, and changes in tissue stiffness are commonly associated with fibrosis, cancer and cardiovascular disease1-11. Traditional cell biological approaches to studying cellular function involve culturing cells on a rigid substratum (plastic dishes or glass coverslips) which cannot account for the effect of an elastic ECM or the variations in ECM stiffness between tissues. To model in vivo tissue compliance conditions in vitro, we and others use ECM-coated hydrogels. In our laboratory, the hydrogels are based on polyacrylamide which can mimic the range of tissue compliances seen biologically12. "Reactive" cover slips are generated by incubation with NaOH followed by addition of 3-APTMS. Glutaraldehyde is used to cross-link the 3-APTMS and the polyacrylamide gel. A solution of acrylamide (AC), bis-acrylamide (Bis-AC) and ammonium persulfate is used for the polymerization of the hydrogel. N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) is incorporated into the AC solution to crosslink ECM protein to the hydrogel. Following polymerization of the hydrogel, the gel surface is coated with an ECM protein of choice such as fibronectin, vitronectin, collagen, etc.
The stiffness of a hydrogel can be determined by rheology or atomic force microscopy (AFM) and adjusted by varying the percentage of AC and/or bis-AC in the solution12. In this manner, substratum stiffness can be matched to the stiffness of biological tissues which can also be quantified using rheology or AFM. Cells can then be seeded on these hydrogels and cultured based upon the experimental conditions required. Imaging of the cells and their recovery for molecular analysis is straightforward. For this article, we define soft substrata as those having elastic moduli (E) &lt;3000 Pascal and stiff substrata/tissues as those with E &gt;20,000 Pascal.

The effect of substrata stiffness on cellular function can be modeled in vitro using polyacrylamide hydrogels of varying compliances.

Tissue stiffness is an important determinant of cellular function, and changes in tissue stiffness are commonly associated with fibrosis, cancer and ...

Analyzing the Function of Small GTPases by Microinjection of Plasmids into Polarized Epithelial Cells

Epithelial cells polarize their plasma membrane into biochemically and functionally distinct apical and basolateral domains where the apical domain faces the 'free' surfaces and the basolateral membrane is in contact with the substrate and neighboring cells. Both membrane domains are separated by tight junctions, which form a diffusion barrier. Apical-basolateral polarization can be recapitulated successfully in culture when epithelial cells such as Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells are seeded at high density on polycarbonate filters and cultured for several days 1 2. Establishment and maintenance of cell polarity is regulated by an array of small GTPases of the Ras superfamily such as RalA, Cdc42, Rab8, Rab10 and Rab13 3 4 5 6 7. Like all GTPases these proteins cycle between an inactive GDP-bound state and an active GTP-bound state. Specific mutations in the nucleotide binding regions interfere with this cycling 8. For example, Rab13T22N is permanently locked in the GDP-form and thus dubbed 'dominant negative', whereas Rab13Q67L can no longer hydrolyze GTP and is thus locked in a 'dominant active' state 7. To analyze their function in cells both dominant negative and dominant active alleles of GTPases are typically expressed at high levels to interfere with the function of the endogenous proteins 9. An elegant way to achieve high levels of overexpression in a short amount of time is to introduce the plasmids encoding the relevant proteins directly into the nuclei of polarized cells grown on filter supports using microinjection technique. This is often combined with the co-injection of reporter plasmids that encode plasma membrane receptors that are specifically sorted to the apical or basolateral domain. A cargo frequently used to analyze cargo sorting to the basolateral domain is a temperature sensitive allele of the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSVGts045) 10. This protein cannot fold properly at 39&deg;C and will thus be retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) while the regulatory protein of interest is assembled in the cytosol. A shift to 31&deg;C will then allow VSVGts045 to fold properly, leave the ER and travel to the plasma membrane 11. This chase is typically performed in the presence of cycloheximide to prevent further protein synthesis leading to cleaner results. Here we describe in detail the procedure of microinjecting plasmids into polarized cells and subsequent incubations including temperature shifts that allow a comprehensive analysis of regulatory proteins involved in basolateral sorting.

This article details the procedures involved in overexpression and analysis of small GTPases in polarized epithelial cells using microinjection technique.

Epithelial cells polarize their plasma membrane into biochemically and functionally distinct apical and basolateral domains where the apical domain faces ...

A PCR-based Genotyping Method to Distinguish Between Wild-type and Ornamental Varieties of Imperata cylindrica

Wild-type I. cylindrica (cogongrass) is one of the top ten worst invasive plants in the world, negatively impacting agricultural and natural resources in 73 different countries throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, New Zealand, Oceania and the Americas1-2. Cogongrass forms rapidly-spreading, monodominant stands that displace a large variety of native plant species and in turn threaten the native animals that depend on the displaced native plant species for forage and shelter. To add to the problem, an ornamental variety [I. cylindrica var. koenigii (Retzius)] is widely marketed under the names of Imperata cylindrica 'Rubra', Red Baron, and Japanese blood grass (JBG). This variety is putatively sterile and noninvasive and is considered a desirable ornamental for its red-colored leaves. However, under the correct conditions, JBG can produce viable seed (Carol Holko, 2009 personal communication) and can revert to a green invasive form that is often indistinguishable from cogongrass as it takes on the distinguishing characteristics of the wild-type invasive variety4 (Figure 1). This makes identification using morphology a difficult task even for well-trained plant taxonomists. Reversion of JBG to an aggressive green phenotype is also not a rare occurrence. Using sequence comparisons of coding and variable regions in both nuclear and chloroplast DNA, we have confirmed that JBG has reverted to the green invasive within the states of Maryland, South Carolina, and Missouri. JBG has been sold and planted in just about every state in the continental U.S. where there is not an active cogongrass infestation. The extent of the revert problem in not well understood because reverted plants are undocumented and often destroyed.
Application of this molecular protocol provides a method to identify JBG reverts and can help keep these varieties from co-occurring and possibly hybridizing. Cogongrass is an obligate outcrosser and, when crossed with a different genotype, can produce viable wind-dispersed seeds that spread cogongrass over wide distances5-7. JBG has a slightly different genotype than cogongrass and may be able to form viable hybrids with cogongrass. To add to the problem, JBG is more cold and shade tolerant than cogongrass8-10, and gene flow between these two varieties is likely to generate hybrids that are more aggressive, shade tolerant, and cold hardy than wild-type cogongrass. While wild-type cogongrass currently infests over 490 million hectares worldwide, in the Southeast U.S. it infests over 500,000 hectares and is capable of occupying most of the U.S. as it rapidly spreads northward due to its broad niche and geographic potential3,7,11. The potential of a genetic crossing is a serious concern for the USDA-APHIS Federal Noxious Week Program. Currently, the USDA-APHIS prohibits JBG in states where there are major cogongrass infestations (e.g., Florida, Alabama, Mississippi). However, preventing the two varieties from combining can prove more difficult as cogongrass and JBG expand their distributions. Furthermore, the distribution of the JBG revert is currently unknown and without the ability to identify these varieties through morphology, some cogongrass infestations may be the result of JBG reverts. Unfortunately, current molecular methods of identification typically rely on AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms) and DNA sequencing, both of which are time consuming and costly. Here, we present the first cost-effective and reliable PCR-based molecular genotyping method to accurately distinguish between cogongrass and JBG revert.

A PCR-based Genotyping Method to Distinguish Between Wild-type and Ornamental Varieties of Imperata cylindrica

We provide a cost-effective and rapid molecular genotyping protocol that employs variety-specific PCR primers that target DNA sequence differences within the chloroplast trnL-F spacer region to differentiate between varieties of Imperata cylindrica (cogongrass) that cannot be distinguished by morphology alone. These varieties include the federally listed noxious weed, cogongrass and closely-related, wide-spread ornamental variety, I. cylindrica var. koenigii (Japanese blood grass).

Wild-type I. cylindrica (cogongrass) is one of the top ten worst invasive plants in the world, negatively impacting agricultural and natural resources in ...

Recombineering Homologous Recombination Constructs in Drosophila

The continued development of techniques for fast, large-scale manipulation of endogenous gene loci will broaden the use of Drosophila melanogaster as a genetic model organism for human-disease related research. Recent years have seen technical advancements like homologous recombination and recombineering. However, generating unequivocal null mutations or tagging endogenous proteins remains a substantial effort for most genes. Here, we describe and demonstrate techniques for using recombineering-based cloning methods to generate vectors that can be used to target and manipulate endogenous loci in vivo. Specifically, we have established a combination of three technologies: (1) BAC transgenesis/recombineering, (2) ends-out homologous recombination and (3) Gateway technology to provide a robust, efficient and flexible method for manipulating endogenous genomic loci. In this protocol, we provide step-by-step details about how to (1) design individual vectors, (2) how to clone large fragments of genomic DNA into the homologous recombination vector using gap repair, and (3) how to replace or tag genes of interest within these vectors using a second round of recombineering. Finally, we will also provide a protocol for how to mobilize these cassettes in vivo to generate a knockout, or a tagged gene via knock-in. These methods can easily be adopted for multiple targets in parallel and provide a means for manipulating the Drosophila genome in a timely and efficient manner.

Recombineering Homologous Recombination Constructs in Drosophila

Homologous recombination techniques greatly advance Drosophila genetics by enabling the creation of molecularly precise mutations. The recent adoption of recombineering allows one to manipulate large pieces of DNA and transform them into Drosophila6. The methods presented here combine these techniques to rapidly generate large homologous recombination vectors.

The continued development of techniques for fast, large-scale manipulation of endogenous gene loci will broaden the use of Drosophila melanogaster as a ...

Measuring the Effects of Bacteria on C. Elegans Behavior Using an Egg Retention Assay

C. elegans egg-laying behavior is affected by environmental cues such as osmolarity1 and vibration2. In the total absence of food C. elegans also cease egg-laying and retain fertilized eggs in their uterus3. However, the effect of different sources of food, especially pathogenic bacteria and particularly Enterococcus faecalis, on egg-laying
	behavior is not well characterized. The egg-in-worm (EIW) assay is a useful tool to quantify the effects of different types of bacteria, in this case E. faecalis, on egg- laying behavior.
	
	EIW assays involve counting the number of eggs retained in the uterus of C. elegans4. The EIW assay involves bleaching staged, gravid adult C. elegans to remove the cuticle and separate the retained eggs from the animal. Prior to bleaching, worms are exposed to bacteria (or any type of environmental cue) for a fixed period of time. After bleaching, one is very easily able to count the number of eggs retained inside the uterus of the worms. In this assay, a quantifiable increase in egg retention after E. faecalis exposure can be easily measured. The EIW assay is a behavioral assay that may be used to screen for potentially pathogenic bacteria or the presence of environmental toxins. In addition, the EIW assay may be a tool to screen for drugs that affect neurotransmitter signaling since egg-laying behavior is modulated by neurotransmitters such as serotonin and acetylcholine5-9.

Measuring the Effects of Bacteria on C. Elegans Behavior Using an Egg Retention Assay

An egg-in-worm (EIW) assay is a useful method to quantify egg-laying behavior. Alterations in egg laying can be a behavioral response of the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to potentially harmful environmental substances such as those produced by pathogenic bacteria.

C. elegans egg-laying behavior is  affected by environmental cues such as osmolarity1 and  vibration2. In the total absence of food C. elegans also cease ...

gDNA Enrichment by a Transposase-based Technology for NGS Analysis of the Whole Sequence of BRCA1, BRCA2, and 9 Genes Involved in DNA Damage Repair

The widespread use of Next Generation Sequencing has opened up new avenues for cancer research and diagnosis. NGS will bring huge amounts of new data on cancer, and especially cancer genetics. Current knowledge and future discoveries will make it necessary to study a huge number of genes that could be involved in a genetic predisposition to cancer. In this regard, we developed a Nextera design to study 11 complete genes involved in DNA damage repair. This protocol was developed to safely study 11 genes (ATM, BARD1, BRCA1, BRCA2, BRIP1, CHEK2, PALB2, RAD50, RAD51C, RAD80, and TP53) from promoter to 3&#39;-UTR in 24 patients simultaneously. This protocol, based on transposase technology and gDNA enrichment, gives a great advantage in terms of time for the genetic diagnosis thanks to sample multiplexing. This protocol can be safely used with blood gDNA.

gDNA Enrichment by a Transposase-based Technology for NGS Analysis of the Whole Sequence of BRCA1, BRCA2, and 9 Genes Involved in DNA Damage Repair

gDNA enrichment for NGS sequencing is an easy and powerful tool for the study of constitutional mutations. In this article, we present the procedure to analyse simply the complete sequence of 11 genes involved in DNA damage repair.

The widespread use of Next Generation Sequencing has opened up new avenues for cancer research and diagnosis. NGS will bring huge amounts of new data on ...

Identifying Protein-protein Interaction Sites Using Peptide Arrays

Protein-protein interactions mediate most of the processes in the living cell and control homeostasis of the organism. Impaired protein interactions may result in disease, making protein interactions important drug targets. It is thus highly important to understand these interactions at the molecular level. Protein interactions are studied using a variety of techniques ranging from cellular and biochemical assays to quantitative biophysical assays, and these may be performed either with full-length proteins, with protein domains or with peptides. Peptides serve as excellent tools to study protein interactions since peptides can be easily synthesized and allow the focusing on specific interaction sites. Peptide arrays enable the identification of the interaction sites between two proteins as well as screening for peptides that bind the target protein for therapeutic purposes. They also allow high throughput SAR studies. For identification of binding sites, a typical peptide array usually contains partly overlapping 10-20 residues peptides derived from the full sequences of one or more partner proteins of the desired target protein. Screening the array for binding the target protein reveals the binding peptides, corresponding to the binding sites in the partner proteins, in an easy and fast method using only small amount of protein.
In this article we describe a protocol for screening peptide arrays for mapping the interaction sites between a target protein and its partners. The peptide array is designed based on the sequences of the partner proteins taking into account their secondary structures. The arrays used in this protocol were Celluspots arrays prepared by INTAVIS Bioanalytical Instruments. The array is blocked to prevent unspecific binding and then incubated with the studied protein. Detection using an antibody reveals the binding peptides corresponding to the specific interaction sites between the proteins.

Peptide array screening is a high throughput assay for identifying protein-protein interaction sites. This allows mapping multiple interactions of a target protein and can serve as a method for identifying sites for inhibitors that target a protein. Here we describe a protocol for screening and analyzing peptide arrays.

Protein-protein interactions mediate most of the processes in the living cell and control homeostasis of the organism. Impaired protein interactions may ...

Determination of Sialic Acids in Liver and Milk Samples of Wild-type and CMAH Knock-out Mice.

CMAH (cytidine monophosphate-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase) is responsible for the oxidation of cytidine monophosphate-N-acetylneuraminic acids in mammals. However, humans cannot oxidize cytidine monophosphate-N-acetylneuraminic acid to cytidine monophosphate-N-glycolylneuraminic acid due to a primary exon deletion of the CMAH gene. To understand the effects and implications of the lack of CMAH activity in more detail, a Cmah knock-out model in mice is of keen interest in basic and applied research. The analysis method to determine the phenotype of this mouse model is herein described in detail, and is based on the detection of both N-acetylneuraminic acid and N-glycolylenuraminic acid in the liver and milk of wild-type and Cmah knock-out mice. Endogenous sialic acids are released and derivatized with o-phenylenediamine to generate fluorogenic derivatives, which can be subsequently analyzed by HPLC. The presented protocol can be also applied for the analysis of milk and tissue samples from various other origins, and may be of use to investigate the nutritional and health effects of N-glycolylneuraminic acid.

Determination of Sialic Acids in Liver and Milk Samples of Wild-type and CMAH Knock-out Mice.

We describe a HPLC-based method for the determination of N-acetylneuraminic acid and N-glycolylenuraminic acid in mouse liver and milk.

CMAH (cytidine monophosphate-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase) is responsible for the oxidation of cytidine monophosphate-N-acetylneuraminic acids in ...

A Method to Assess Bacteriocin Effects on the Gut Microbiota of Mice

Very intriguing questions arise with our advancing knowledge on gut microbiota composition and the relationship with health, particularly relating to the factors that contribute to maintaining the population balance. However, there are limited available methodologies to evaluate these factors. Bacteriocins are antimicrobial peptides produced by many bacteria that may confer a competitive advantage for food acquisition and/or niche establishment. Many probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains have great potential to promote human and animal health by preventing the growth of pathogens. They can also be used for immuno-modulation, as they produce bacteriocins. However, the antagonistic activity of bacteriocins is normally determined by laboratory bioassays under well-defined but over-simplified conditions compared to the complex gut environment in humans and animals, where bacteria face multifactorial influences from the host and hundreds of microbial species sharing the same niche. This work describes a complete and efficient procedure to assess the effect of a variety of bacteriocins with different target specificities in a murine system. Changes in the microbiota composition during the bacteriocin treatment are monitored using compositional 16S rDNA sequencing. Our approach uses both the bacteriocin producers and their isogenic non-bacteriocin-producing mutants, the latter giving the ability to distinguish bacteriocin-related from non-bacteriocin-related modifications of the microbiota. The fecal DNA extraction and 16S rDNA sequencing methods are consistent and, together with the bioinformatics, constitute a powerful procedure to find faint changes in the bacterial profiles and to establish correlations, in terms of cholesterol and triglyceride concentration, between bacterial populations and health markers. Our protocol is generic and can thus be used to study other compounds or nutrients with the potential to alter the host microbiota composition, either when studying toxicity or beneficial effects.

Bacteriocins are believed to play a key role in defining microbial diversity in different ecological niches. Here, we describe an efficient procedure to assess how bacteriocins affect gut microbiota composition in an animal model.

Very intriguing questions arise with our advancing knowledge on gut microbiota composition and the relationship with health, particularly relating to the ...

Investigating the Detrimental Effects of Low Pressure Plasma Sterilization on the Survival of Bacillus subtilis Spores Using Live Cell Microscopy

Plasma sterilization is a promising alternative to conventional sterilization methods for industrial, clinical, and spaceflight purposes. Low pressure plasma (LPP) discharges contain a broad spectrum of active species, which lead to rapid microbial inactivation. To study the efficiency and mechanisms of sterilization by LPP, we use spores of the test organism Bacillus subtilis because of their extraordinary resistance against conventional sterilization procedures. We describe the production of B. subtilis spore monolayers, the sterilization process by low pressure plasma in a double inductively coupled plasma reactor, the characterization of spore morphology using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the analysis of germination and outgrowth of spores by live cell microscopy. A major target of plasma species is genomic material (DNA) and repair of plasma-induced DNA lesions upon spore revival is crucial for survival of the organism. Here, we study the germination capacity of spores and the role of DNA repair during spore germination and outgrowth after treatment with LPP by tracking fluorescently-labelled DNA repair proteins (RecA) with time-resolved confocal fluorescence microscopy. Treated and untreated spore monolayers are activated for germination and visualized with an inverted confocal live cell microscope over time to follow the reaction of individual spores. Our observations reveal that the fraction of germinating and outgrowing spores is dependent on the duration of LPP-treatment reaching a minimum after 120 s. RecA-YFP (yellow fluorescence protein) fluorescence was detected only in few spores and developed in all outgrowing cells with a slight elevation in LPP-treated spores. Moreover, some of the vegetative bacteria derived from LPP-treated spores showed an increase in cytoplasm and tended to lyse. The described methods for analysis of individual spores could be exemplary for the study of other aspects of spore germination and outgrowth.

Investigating the Detrimental Effects of Low Pressure Plasma Sterilization on the Survival of Bacillus subtilis Spores Using Live Cell Microscopy

This protocol illustrates the important consecutive steps required to assess the relevance of monitoring vitality parameter and DNA repair processes in reviving Bacillus subtilis spores after treatment with low pressure plasma by tracking fluorescence-labelled DNA repair proteins via time-resolved confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

Plasma sterilization is a promising alternative to conventional sterilization methods for industrial, clinical, and spaceflight purposes. Low pressure ...