Pelvic floor muscle function in a general female population in relation with age and parity and the relation between voluntary and involuntary contractions of the pelvic floor musculature

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Molecular diagnostics of intestinal parasites in returning travellers

A new diagnostic strategy was assessed for the routine diagnosis of intestinal parasites in returning travellers and immigrants. Over a period of 13 months, unpreserved stool samples, patient characteristics and clinical data were collected from those attending a travel clinic. Stool samples were analysed on a daily basis by microscopic examination and antigen detection (i.e. care as usual), and compared with a weekly performed multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis on Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidium and Strongyloides stercoralis. Microscopy and antigen assays of 2,591 stool samples showed E. histolytica, G. lamblia, Cryptosporidium and S. stercoralis in 0.3, 4.7, 0.5 and 0.1% of the cases, respectively. These detection rates were increased using real-time PCR to 0.5, 6.0, 1.3 and 0.8%, respectively. The prevalence of ten additional pathogenic parasite species identified with microscopy was, at most, 0.5%. A pre-selective decision tree based on travel history or gastro-intestinal complaints could not be made. With increased detection rates at a lower workload and the potential to extend with additional parasite targets combined with fully automated DNA isolation, molecular high-throughput screening could eventually replace microscopy to a large extent

Probing the roles of LRR RLK genes in Arabidopsis thaliana roots using a custom T-DNA insertion set

Leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein kinases (LRR RLKs) represent the largest group of Arabidopsis RLKs with approximately 235 members. A minority of these LRR RLKs have been assigned to diverse roles in development, pathogen resistance and hormone perception. Using a reverse genetics approach, a collection of homozygous T-DNA insertion lines for 69 root expressed LRR RLK genes was screened for root developmental defects and altered response after exposure to environmental, hormonal/chemical and abiotic stress. The obtained data demonstrate that LRR RLKs play a role in a wide variety of signal transduction pathways related to hormone and abiotic stress responses. The described collection of T-DNA insertion mutants provides a valuable tool for future research into the function of LRR RLK genes

Identification of factors required for meristem function in Arabidopsis using a novel next generation sequencing fast forward genetics approach

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Phenotype-driven forward genetic experiments are powerful approaches for linking phenotypes to genomic elements but they still involve a laborious positional cloning process. Although sequencing of complete genomes now becomes available, discriminating causal mutations from the enormous amounts of background variation remains a major challenge.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>To improve this, we developed a universal two-step approach, named 'fast forward genetics', which combines traditional bulk segregant techniques with targeted genomic enrichment and next-generation sequencing technology</p> <p>Results</p> <p>As a proof of principle we successfully applied this approach to two Arabidopsis mutants and identified a novel factor required for stem cell activity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We demonstrated that the 'fast forward genetics' procedure efficiently identifies a small number of testable candidate mutations. As the approach is independent of genome size, it can be applied to any model system of interest. Furthermore, we show that experiments can be multiplexed and easily scaled for the identification of multiple individual mutants in a single sequencing run.</p