Measurement of two-halo neutron transfer reaction p(11^{11}Li,9^{9}Li)t at 3AA MeV

The p(\nuc{11}{Li},\nuc{9}{Li})t reaction has been studied for the first time at an incident energy of 3$A$ MeV delivered by the new ISAC-2 facility at TRIUMF. An active target detector MAYA, build at GANIL, was used for the measurement. The differential cross sectionshave been determined for transitions to the \nuc{9}{Li} ground andthe first excited states in a wide range of scattering angles. Multistep transfer calculations using different \nuc{11}{Li} model wave functions, shows that wave functions with strong correlations between the halo neutrons are the most successful in reproducing the observation.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Study of the Hindrance Effect in Sub-barrier Fusion Reactions

We have measured the fusion cross sections of the 12C(13C, p)24Na reaction through off-line measurement of the beta-decay of 24Na using the beta-gamma coincidence method. Our new measurements in the energy range of Ec.m. = 2.6-3.0 MeV do not show an obvious S-factor maximum but a plateau. Comparison between this work and various models is presented.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, Talk at the "10th International Conference on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions", Beijing, 16-21 August 200

A new DNA-cloning vector for Haemophilus influenzae Rd

A new, high-efficiency, DNA-cloning vector pJ1-8 was derived in two steps from the chimeric plasmid pD7 consisting of RSF 0885(ampr) and Haemophilus influenzae chromosomal DNA. pJl-8 has only one EcoRI site and a molecular weight of only 2.5×106. No detectable ampr transformation was obtained with pJl-8 DNA. However, ampr transformation increases markedly if Haemophilus influenzae chromosomal DNA segments are spliced into it, providing a very facile assay for detecting inserts

The first direct measurement of ¹²C (¹²C,n) ²³Mg at stellar energies

Neutrons produced by the carbon fusion reaction ¹²C(¹²C,n)²³Mg play an important role in stellar nucleosynthesis. However, past studies have shown large discrepancies between experimental data and theory, leading to an uncertain cross section extrapolation at astrophysical energies. We present the first direct measurement that extends deep into the astrophysical energy range along with a new and improved extrapolation technique based on experimental data from the mirror reaction ¹²C(¹²C,p)²³Na. The new reaction rate has been determined with a well-defined uncertainty that exceeds the precision required by astrophysics models. Using our constrained rate, we find that ¹²C(¹²C,n)²³Mg is crucial to the production of Na and Al in Pop-III Pair Instability Supernovae. It also plays a non-negligible role in the production of weak s-process elements as well as in the production of the important galacti

Genetic transformation in bacteria

Certain species of bacteria can become competent to take up high molecular weight DNA from the surrounding medium. DNA homologous to resident chromosomal DNA is transported, processed and recombined with the resident DNA. There are some variations in steps leading to transformation between Gram-positive bacteria likebiplococcus pneumoniae and Gram-negative bacteria represented byHaemophilus influenzae but the integration is by single-strand displacement in both cases. Plasmid (RSF0885) transformation is low inHaemophilus influenzae but this is increased significantly if (homologous) chromosomal DNA is spliced to plasmid DNA. In Haemophilus influenzae, rec1 function is required for peak transformation with chimeric plasmids. Chimeric plasmid fixed presumably extrachromosomally undergoes frequent recombination between homologous segments contained in resident chromosome and the plasmid

An estimate of the physical distance between two linked markers in Haemophilus influenzae

Using DNA clones, the physical distance between the linked genesnov and str in Haemophilus influenzae was estimated. Although none of the cloned inserts contained both the markers, pJ1-8StrR 13 (insert of 18·7 kb) included str gene at one end and part of nov gene at the other end of the insert. By EcoRI restriction analysis and by Southern hybridization, the distance between the two EcoRI sites, cutting at which inactivates the two genes, was estimated to be 17·7 kb. A single continuous EcoRI fragment (containing 4EcoRI sites within it) carrying both the genes intact would need to be 20·4 kb in size. These estimates were confirmed independently using different clones of novr and strr alleles as probes for hybridization with BamHI-digested chromosomal DNA

N-terminal PDZ-like domain of chromatin organizer SATB1 contributes towards its function as transcription regulator

The special AT-rich DNA-binding protein 1 (SATB1) is a matrix attachment region (MAR)-binding protein that acts as a global repressor via recruitment of CtBP1:HDAC1-containing co-repressors to its binding targets. The N-terminal PSD95/Dlg-A/ZO-1 (PDZ)-like domain of SATB1 mediates interactions with several chromatin proteins. In the present study, we set out to address whether the PDZ-domain-mediated interactions of SATB1 are critical for its in vivo function as a global repressor. We reasoned that since the N-terminal PDZ-like domain (amino acid residues 1-204) lacks DNA binding activity, it would fail to recruit the interacting partners of SATB1 to its genomic binding sites and hence would not repress the SATB1-regulated genes. Indeed, in vivo MAR-linked luciferase reporter assay revealed that overexpression of the PDZ-like domain resulted in de-repression, indicating that the PDZ-like domain exerts a dominant negative effect on genes regulated by SATB1. Next, we developed a stable dominant negative model in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293T cells that conditionally expressed the N-terminal 1-204 region harbouring the PDZ-like domain of SATB1. To monitor the effect of sequestration of the interaction partners on the global gene regulation by SATB1, transcripts from the induced and uninduced clones were subjected to gene expression profiling. Clustering of expression data revealed that 600 out of 19000 genes analysed were significantly upregulated upon overexpression of the PDZ-like domain. Induced genes were found to be involved in important signalling cascades and cellular functions. These studies clearly demonstrated the role of PDZ domain of SATB1 in global gene regulation presumably through its interaction with other cellular proteins

A Loss of Function Screen of Identified Genome-Wide Association Study Loci Reveals New Genes Controlling Hematopoiesis

The formation of mature cells by blood stem cells is very well understood at the cellular level and we know many of the key transcription factors that control fate decisions. However, many upstream signalling and downstream effector processes are only partially understood. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have been particularly useful in providing new directions to dissect these pathways. A GWAS meta-analysis identified 68 genetic loci controlling platelet size and number. Only a quarter of those genes, however, are known regulators of hematopoiesis. To determine function of the remaining genes we performed a medium-throughput genetic screen in zebrafish using antisense morpholino oligonucleotides (MOs) to knock down protein expression, followed by histological analysis of selected genes using a wide panel of different hematopoietic markers. The information generated by the initial knockdown was used to profile phenotypes and to position candidate genes hierarchically in hematopoiesis. Further analysis of brd3a revealed its essential role in differentiation but not maintenance and survival of thrombocytes. Using the from-GWAS-to-function strategy we have not only identified a series of genes that represent novel regulators of thrombopoiesis and hematopoiesis, but this work also represents, to our knowledge, the first example of a functional genetic screening strategy that is a critical step toward obtaining biologically relevant functional data from GWA study for blood cell traits