High-resolution profiling and discovery of planarian small RNAs.

Freshwater planarian flatworms possess uncanny regenerative capacities mediated by abundant and collectively totipotent adult stem cells. Key functions of these cells during regeneration and tissue homeostasis have been shown to depend on PIWI, a molecule required for Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) expression in planarians. Nevertheless, the full complement of piRNAs and microRNAs (miRNAs) in this organism has yet to be defined. Here we report on the large-scale cloning and sequencing of small RNAs from the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea, yielding altogether millions of sequenced, unique small RNAs. We show that piRNAs are in part organized in genomic clusters and that they share characteristic features with mammalian and fly piRNAs. We further identify 61 novel miRNA genes and thus double the number of known planarian miRNAs. Sequencing, as well as quantitative PCR of small RNAs, uncovered 10 miRNAs enriched in planarian stem cells. These miRNAs are down-regulated in animals in which stem cells have been abrogated by irradiation, and thus constitute miRNAs likely associated with specific stem-cell functions. Altogether, we present the first comprehensive small RNA analysis in animals belonging to the third animal superphylum, the Lophotrochozoa, and single out a number of miRNAs that may function in regeneration. Several of these miRNAs are deeply conserved in animals.

Factors associated with total restrictions on smoking at work and at home: a study among populations in multiple US states and the US Virgin Islands.

This study investigated factors associated with smoking restrictions in the workplace and at home in order to better understand the effects of workplace smoking restrictions. Data from the 2006 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine independent risk factors for potential smoking exposure at work and at home. The population potentially exposed at work were more likely to be young, male, low-income, Latino adults without college degrees or health insurance; they were also more likely to be a current or former smoker and be at risk for heavy drinking. Our study also investigated self-reported restrictions at home and found significant disparities between populations. We conclude that men, Latinos, and young adults are more likely to live in a home with a smoking ban, but are disproportionately exposed to risks at work, presumably against their preferences. Workplace smoking restrictions in 2006 offered unequal protection.

Quality scores and SNP detection in sequencing-by-synthesis systems.

Promising new sequencing technologies, based on sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS), are starting to deliver large amounts of DNA sequence at very low cost. Polymorphism detection is a key application. We describe general methods for improved quality scores and accurate automated polymorphism detection, and apply them to data from the Roche (454) Genome Sequencer 20. We assess our methods using known-truth data sets, which is critical to the validity of the assessments. We developed informative, base-by-base error predictors for this sequencer and used a variant of the phred binning algorithm to combine them into a single empirically derived quality score. These quality scores are more useful than those produced by the system software: They both better predict actual error rates and identify many more high-quality bases. We developed a SNP detection method, with variants for low coverage, high coverage, and PCR amplicon applications, and evaluated it on known-truth data sets. We demonstrate good specificity in single reads, and excellent specificity (no false positives in 215 kb of genome) in high-coverage data.

Chromosome Conformation Capture Carbon Copy (5C): a massively parallel solution for mapping interactions between genomic elements.

Physical interactions between genetic elements located throughout the genome play important roles in gene regulation and can be identified with the Chromosome Conformation Capture (3C) methodology. 3C converts physical chromatin interactions into specific ligation products, which are quantified individually by PCR. Here we present a high-throughput 3C approach, 3C-Carbon Copy (5C), that employs microarrays or quantitative DNA sequencing using 454-technology as detection methods. We applied 5C to analyze a 400-kb region containing the human beta-globin locus and a 100-kb conserved gene desert region. We validated 5C by detection of several previously identified looping interactions in the beta-globin locus. We also identified a new looping interaction in K562 cells between the beta-globin Locus Control Region and the gamma-beta-globin intergenic region. Interestingly, this region has been implicated in the control of developmental globin gene switching. 5C should be widely applicable for large-scale mapping of cis- and trans- interaction networks of genomic elements and for the study of higher-order chromosome structure.

A massively parallel PicoTiterPlate based platform for discrete picoliter-scale polymerase chain reactions.

We demonstrate successful, simultaneous polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of up to 300 000 discrete reactions in a novel platform, the PicoTiterPlate. In addition to elevated throughput, the PicoTiterPlate based amplifications (PTPCR) can be performed in extremely small volumes: individual reactions volumes are as low as 39.5 pL, with a total 15.3 microL reaction volume for the entire PicoTiterPlate. The bulk PTPCR product can be recovered and assayed with real-time PCR, or discrete PTPCR products can be driven to solid supports, enabling downstream applications such as translation/transcription or sequencing.