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Raphidophyceae [Chadefaud Ex Silva] Systematics And Rapid Identification: Sequence Analyses And Real–Time Pcr Assays, Torstein Tengs Dec 2006

Raphidophyceae [Chadefaud Ex Silva] Systematics And Rapid Identification: Sequence Analyses And Real–Time Pcr Assays, Torstein Tengs

Dr. Torstein Tengs

Species within the class Raphidophyceae were associated with fish kill events in Japanese, European, Canadian, and U.S. coastal waters. Fish mortality was attributable to gill damage with exposure to reactive oxygen species (peroxide, superoxide, and hydroxide radicals), neurotoxins, physical clogging, and hemolytic substances. Morphological identification of these organisms in environmental water samples is difficult, particularly when fixatives are used. Because of this difficulty and the continued global emergence of these species in coastal estuarine waters, we initiated the development and validation of a suite of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. Sequencing was used to generate complete data sets for …


Equal Performance Of Taqman, Mgb, Molecular Beacon, And Sybr Green-Based Detection Assays In Detection And Quantification Of Roundup Ready Soybean, Torstein Tengs Dec 2006

Equal Performance Of Taqman, Mgb, Molecular Beacon, And Sybr Green-Based Detection Assays In Detection And Quantification Of Roundup Ready Soybean, Torstein Tengs

Dr. Torstein Tengs

We have tested and compared the performance of 12 different assays representing four different real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) chemistries in the context of genetically modified organism detection. Several different molecular beacon, SYBR Green, TaqMan, and MGB assays were designed for the event specific detection and quantification of the 3' integration junction of GTS 40-3-2 (Roundup Ready) soybean. Sensitivity as well as robustness in the presence of background DNA were tested. None of the PCR-based approaches appeared to be significantly better than any of the other, but the molecular beacon assays had the lowest efficiency and also seemed more sensitive …


Heterotachy Processes In Rhodophyte-Derived Secondhand Plastid Genes: Implications For Addressing The Origin And Evolution Of Dinoflagellate Plastids, Torstein Tengs Aug 2006

Heterotachy Processes In Rhodophyte-Derived Secondhand Plastid Genes: Implications For Addressing The Origin And Evolution Of Dinoflagellate Plastids, Torstein Tengs

Dr. Torstein Tengs

Serial transfer of plastids from one eukaryotic host to another is the key process involved in evolution of secondhand plastids. Such transfers drastically change the environment of the plastids and hence the selection regimes, presumably leading to changes over time in the characteristics of plastid gene evolution and to misleading phylogenetic inferences. About half of the dinoflagellate protists species are photosynthetic and unique in harboring a diversity of plastids acquired from a wide range of eukaryotic algae. They are therefore ideal for studying evolutionary processes of plastids gained through secondary and tertiary endosymbioses. In the light of these processes, we …


A Transforming Met Mutation Discovered In Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Using Microarray-Based Resequencing, Torstein Tengs Aug 2006

A Transforming Met Mutation Discovered In Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Using Microarray-Based Resequencing, Torstein Tengs

Dr. Torstein Tengs

We have designed resequencing microarrays to test the performance of this platform when interrogating a large number of exons (164 total) from genes associated with cancer. To evaluate false positive and negative rates, dideoxy sequencing was done for 335,420 bases interrogated by the arrays. From the array data, calls could be made forw97.5% of the bases, and false positive rates were very low with only a single mutation reported from the array dataset for which the corresponding dideoxy trace had a clean wildtype sequence. For the nucleotide positions where array calls were made, false negative rates were 1.41% for heterozygous …


Sensitive Mutation Detection In Heterogeneous Cancer Specimens By Massively Parallel Picoliter Reactor Sequencing, Torstein Tengs Jul 2006

Sensitive Mutation Detection In Heterogeneous Cancer Specimens By Massively Parallel Picoliter Reactor Sequencing, Torstein Tengs

Dr. Torstein Tengs

The sensitivity of conventional DNA sequencing in tumor biopsies is limited by stromal contamination and by genetic heterogeneity within the cancer. Here, we show that microreactor-based pyrosequencing can detect rare cancer-associated sequence variations by independent and parallel sampling of multiple representatives of a given DNA fragment. This technology can thereby facilitate accurate molecular diagnosis of heterogeneous cancer specimens and enable patient selection for targeted cancer therapies.


A Group Of Dinoflagellates Similar To Pfiesteria As Defined By Morphology And Genetic Analysis, Torstein Tengs Jan 2006

A Group Of Dinoflagellates Similar To Pfiesteria As Defined By Morphology And Genetic Analysis, Torstein Tengs

Dr. Torstein Tengs

Eight novel pfiesteria-similar dinoflagellates are described that form a genetically well-defined group with distinct morphological features, and are capable of feeding myzocytotically on cryptophytes and other algae. Taxonomically, there was concordance between the genetic analysis and plate tabulation features among these taxa. It is suggested that these dinoflagellates are important grazers of other phytoplankton in the environment, and their total ecological significance has been underestimated.