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“Currently, some of the methods used most widely for diagnosis and detection of plant viruses are ELISA, PCR, bioassays and electron microscopy. These methods only target one or a few species in each assay or they are time consuming and require expertise. Microarray-based approaches offer an alternative to these methods as microarrays with virus-specific probes could be capable of detecting an almost unlimited number of virus species in one assay. In the present study, the feasibility of this strategy was studied by constructing a microarray with 150 probes potentially capable

of detecting 52 viruses from a broad range of genera. The array was Selleckchem GDC-941 printed in 16 subarrays to allow testing of several samples on each slide. Hybridizations with cDNA from plants

infected with 52 different virus species showed that out of the 52 species tested, 49 were positive and identified correctly to species level. This array represents the largest published microarray for plant virus detection in terms of the number of targeted species and is thus an important milestone towards the construction of a generic microarray able to detect most, if not all, plant RNA viruses. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Acute exposure to an elevated stand has been used as an inescapable mild stressor for rats. The present study examined the effects of this stressor using a place conditioning behavioral test and neurochemical assays of dopamine and its metabolite, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), in the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus BIBW2992 mouse accumbens. The behavioral data showed that a conditioned

place preference was formed as an aftereffect of the elevated stand stressor. In a separate experiment, neurochemical assay showed an immediate increase of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens after 30 min exposure to the elevated stand stressor. In addition, the DOPAC content in the nucleus accumbens was significantly increased at 30 min after this stressor. No significant change in dopamine or DOPAC Thymidylate synthase levels in the medial prefrontal cortex was detected for up to 60 min after stressor manipulation. These results suggest that an increase in dopamine activity in the nucleus accumbens is involved in the development of conditioned place preference elicited by the aftereffects of the elevated stand stressor. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“A rapid diagnostic method based on the melting curve SYBR Green I real-time PCR analysis was developed to detect and differentiate Newcastle disease virus (NDV) strains. Degenerated primers based on the cleavage site sequence of the F0 gene were designed to detect specific sequences characteristic of virulent and avirulent strains of NDV.

Eighteen strains of NDV from four lineages were identified and grouped into virulent and avirulent strains. Peaks on the melting temperature graph with melting temperature values between 80.00 and 83.80 degrees C were observed for lentogenic (avirulent) strains.