Notes: A 50µl long-range polymerase chain reaction (LRPCR) used 1.25U of GoTaq® Hot Start Polymerase to amplify 250ng of genomic DNA and generate amplicons with multiplex identifier (MID) tags. Reflex extension reactions (25µl) included 1.25U of GoTaq® Hot Start DNA Polymerase in 1X Herculase II Reaction Buffer, 0.5µl of Herculase II Fusion DNA Polymerase) and 0.3pM LRPCR products. (4550)

Notes: DNA templates are often amplified by PCR during library generation prior to next-generation sequencing, but amplification can introduce biases and duplications that are not easily corrected. In this paper, the authors developed a simple method to count the number of input template molecules to reduce these PCR-related problems: The ligation of a degenerate base region to all fragments during library creation. To evaluate their approach to correct for biases and duplications, the authors created a library using Human Genomic DNA, amplified the library by inverse PCR using the GoTaq^® Hot Start Polymerase and 1X Colorless GoTaq^® Flexi Buffer, sequenced the resulting DNA fragments and assessed the quality of the next-generation sequencing data. (4160)

Notes: The authors developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay to distinguish between virulent and nonvirulent strains of Vibrio vulnificus by targeting the virulence-correlated gene (vcg). The authors performed PCR using vcg-specific primers and GoTaq^® Hot Start Polymerase in parallel to confirm the LAMP results. (4163)

Notes: The authors investigated starch synthesis in barley (Hordeum vulgare) by examining mutations in class I, class II and class III starch synthases (ssI, ssII and ssIII, respectively). Mutations of ssIIa and ssIIIa were detected by PCR using the GoTaq^® Hot Start Polymerase. (4162)

Notes: The authors investigated genetic diversity in a Florida population of Illicium parviflorum, an endangered evergreen shrub, by amplifying intersimple sequence repeats (ISSRs). Amplifications were performed using GoTaq^® Hot Start Polymerase. (4161)

Notes: The authors examined whether HMGB1 and HMGB2 proteins could affect promoter activity of the topoisomerase IIα gene. Portions of the topoisomerase IIα gene promoter were cloned into the pGL3 Basic Vector, and Saos-2 cells were cotransfected with the resulting constructs, an HMGB1- or HMGB2-expressing plasmid and the pRL-tk Vector as a control for normalization. Firefly and Renilla luciferase activities were determined using the Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay. To determine whether HMGB1 and HMGB2 promoted binding of the transcription factor nuclear factor-Y (NF-Y) to the topoisomerase IIα promoter, the authors used a chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay. Two populations of Saos-2 cells, one of which expressed HMGB1 or HMGB2 and one that had expression inhibited, were fixed with formaldehyde, then treated to shear chromatin. Immunoprecipitation was performed using an anti-NF-Y antibody, and the amount of DNA bound to the NF-Y was quantified by semi-quantitative PCR using GoTaq^® Hot Start DNA Polymerase and Green GoTaq^® Flexi Reaction Buffer. (4037)