Field testing, gene flow assessment and pre-commercial studies on transgenic Solanum tuberosum spp. tuberosum (cv. Spunta) selected for PVY resistance in Argentina.

Solanum tuberosum ssp. tuberosum (cv. Spunta) was transformed with a chimeric transgene containing the Potato virus Y (PVY) coat protein (CP) sequence. Screening for PVY resistance under greenhouse conditions yielded over 100 independent candidate lines. Successive field testing of selected lines allowed the identification of two genetically stable PVY-resistant lines, SY230 and SY233, which were further evaluated in field trials at different potato-producing regions in Argentina. In total, more than 2,000 individuals from each line were tested along a 6-year period. While no or negligible PVY infection was observed in the transgenic lines, infection rates of control plants were consistently high and reached levels of up to 70-80%. Parallel field studies were performed in virus-free environments to assess the agronomical performance of the selected lines. Tubers collected from these assays exhibited agronomical traits and biochemical compositions indistinguishable from those of the non-transformed Spunta cultivar. In addition, an interspecific out-crossing trial to determine the magnitude of possible natural gene flow between transgenic line SY233 and its wild relative Solanum chacoense was performed. This trial yielded negative results, suggesting an extremely low probability for such an event to occur.

1H, 15N and 13C chemical shift assignments of the BA42 protein of the psychrophilic bacteria Bizionia argentinensis sp. nov.

BA42 is a protein belonging to the psychrophilic bacteria Bizionia argentinensis sp. nov. Bioinformatics analysis showed that it presents significant sequence identity with a Pfam A family, DUF 477, found both in eukarya and eubacteria but of unknown function in all these organisms. Here, we report the NMR spectra assignment of this 145 amino acid protein. These data will allow performing NMR structural studies with the aim of using the three-dimensional structure as relevant information in order to determine the function of this family of proteins.

Draft genome sequence of Bizionia argentinensis, isolated from Antarctic surface water.

A psychrotolerant marine bacterial strain, designated JUB59(T), was isolated from Antarctic surface seawater and classified as a new species of the genus Bizionia. Here, we present the first draft genome sequence for this genus, which suggests interesting features such as UV resistance, hydrolytic exoenzymes, and nitrogen metabolism.

Bizionia argentinensis sp. nov., isolated from surface marine water in Antarctica.

A marine bacterial strain, designated strain JUB59(T), was isolated from surface seawater in Antarctica and subsequently characterized. Cells were found to be Gram-negative, non-motile rods forming butyrous, shiny, yellowish orange colonies on marine agar. Growth occurred at 2-28 degrees C (optimally at 22-25 degrees C) but not at 30 degrees C; Na+ ions were required, but 9 % NaCl (w/v) was not tolerated. Phylogenetic analysis, based on comparisons of the complete 16S rRNA gene sequence of the novel isolate with the sequences of closely related strains, showed that strain JUB59(T) belonged to the family Flavobacteriaceae, representing a novel species of the genus Bizionia. The highest levels of sequence similarity were found with respect to Bizionia myxarmorum ADA-4(T) (97.4 %) and Bizionia algoritergicola APA-1(T) (97.1 %). However, the DNA-DNA relatedness of strain JUB59(T) with respect to these two strains was low (15.9-17.3 and 19.3-22.1 %, respectively). The predominant fatty acids of strain JUB59(T) were iso-15 : 1omega10c (18.1 %), iso-15 : 0 (17.3 %), anteiso-15 : 0 (13.9 %), iso-17 : 0 3-OH (9.2 %), 15 : 0 (6.0 %) and iso-16 : 0 3-OH (5.3 %). The main polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, an aminolipid, an amino-positive phospholipid and two unidentified lipids. MK-6 was the major respiratory quinone (>90 %) and the DNA G+C content was 34 mol%. On the basis of the data obtained, strain JUB59(T) represents a novel species of the genus Bizionia, for which the name Bizionia argentinensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JUB59(T) (=DSM 19628(T)=CCM-A-29 1259(T)).

High level expression of bioactive recombinant human growth hormone in the milk of a cloned transgenic cow.

Transgenic farm animals have been proposed as an alternative to current bioreactors for large scale production of biopharmaceuticals. However, the efficiency of both methods in the production of the same protein has not yet been established. Here we report the production of recombinant human growth hormone (hGH) in the milk of a cloned transgenic cow at levels of up to 5 g l(-1). The hormone is identical to that currently produced by expression in E. coli. In addition, the hematological and somatometric parameters of the cloned transgenic cow are within the normal range for the breed and it is fertile and capable of producing normal offspring. These results demonstrate that transgenic cattle can be used as a cost-effective alternative for the production of this hormone.