Two novel frameshift mutations in BRCA2 gene detected by next generation sequencing in a survey of Spanish patients of breast cancer.

PURPOSE: To analyze BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes using a cost-effective and rapid approach based on next generation sequencing (NGS) technology. METHODS: A population of Spanish cancer patients with a personal or familial history of breast and/or ovarian cancer was analyzed for germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The methodology relies on a 5 multiplex PCR assay coupled to NGS. RESULTS: Ten pathogenic mutations (four in BRCA1 and six in BRCA2 gene) were identified in a Spanish population. The deletion c.1792delA, in exon 10, and the duplication c.5869dupA, in exon 11 of BRCA2 gene were not previously reported and should be considered as pathogenic due to its frameshift nature. CONCLUSION: Two novel frameshift mutations in BRCA2 gene were detected using the multiplex PCR-based assay following by NGS.

Detection of novel genetic variation in autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa.

We explored an approach to detect disease-causing sequence variants in 448 candidate genes from five index cases of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP) by sequence DNA capture and next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS). Detection of sequence variants was carried out by sequence capture NimbleGen and NGS in a SOLiD platform. After filtering out variants previously reported in genomic databases, novel potential adRP-causing variants were validated by dideoxy capillary electrophoresis (Sanger) sequencing and co-segregation in the families. A total of 55 novel sequence variants in the coding or splicing regions of adRP candidate genes were detected, 49 of which were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Segregation of these variants in the corresponding adRP families showed three variants present in all the RP-affected members of the family. A novel mutation, p.L270R in IMPDH1, was found to be disease causing in one family. In another family a variant, p.M96T in the NRL gene was detected; this variant was previously reported as probably causing adRP. However, the previously reported p.A76V mutation in NRL as a cause of RP was excluded by co-segregation in the family. We discuss the benefits and limitations of our approach in the context of mutation detection in adRP patients.

High production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) from a wild Bacillus megaterium Bolivian strain.

AIM: Taking into account that a novel strain of Bacillus megaterium was isolated from Uyuni salt lake (Bolivia) in a previous work, the objectives of this new study were to determine the maximal Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate production potential of B. megaterium strain uyuni S29 in an industrial conventional media, the possibility that the strain accumulates different types of polyhydroxyalkanoates, the cellular morphology during the biosynthesis process and the characterization of the produced biopolymers. METHODS AND RESULTS: The micro-organism was first tested in a 3-L bioreactor obtaining a high specific growth rate of 1·64 h(-1). A second fed-batch experiment was carried out in shaking flasks, reaching up to 70% PHB of cell dry mass. The biosynthesized polymers were extracted by two different extraction procedures and characterized. The results showed that all of them were PHB with thermal properties different to the conventional PHB. The micrographs taken by TEM show the different cell morphology during the fermentation process. CONCLUSIONS: In this previous study, the strain not only grew properly in the industrial conditions proposed without spore formation, but also produced and accumulated a large content of PHB, never reached before for its genus. Therefore, if the culture conditions can be optimized, the biopolymer production could be increased. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The impact of the study has related to the area of the biomaterials and their production. The study provides new data related to the high production of PHB from the wild novel strain B. megaterium uyuni S29, the highest polymer accumulation for the genus Bacillus without spores formation.