Transposable elements of the P family in Drosophila are thought to transpose by a cut-and-paste process that leaves a double-strand gap. The repair of such gaps resulted in the transfer of up to several kilobase pairs of information from a homologous template sequence to the site of P element excision by a process similar to gene conversion. The template was an in vitro-modified sequence that was tested at various genomic positions. Characterization of 123 conversion tracts provided a detailed description of their length and distribution. Most events were continuous conversion tracts that overlapped the P insertion site without concomitant conversion of the template. The average conversion tract was 1379 base pairs, and the distribution of tract lengths fit a simple model of gap enlargement. The conversion events occurred at sufficiently high frequencies to form the basis of an efficient means of directed gene replacement.

The vaginal microbiome plays an important role in maternal and neonatal health. Imbalances in this microbiota (dysbiosis) during pregnancy are associated with negative reproductive outcomes, such as pregnancy loss and preterm birth, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Consequently a comprehensive understanding of the baseline microbiome in healthy pregnancy is needed. We characterized the vaginal microbiomes of healthy pregnant women at 11–16 weeks of gestational age (n = 182) and compared them to those of non-pregnant women (n = 310). Profiles were created by pyrosequencing of the cpn60 universal target region. Microbiome profiles of pregnant women clustered into six Community State Types: I, II, III, IVC, IVD and V. Overall microbiome profiles could not be distinguished based on pregnancy status. However, the vaginal microbiomes of women with healthy ongoing pregnancies had lower richness and diversity, lower prevalence of Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma and higher bacterial load when compared to non-pregnant women. Lactobacillus abundance was also greater in the microbiomes of pregnant women with Lactobacillus-dominated CSTs in comparison with non-pregnant women. This study provides further information regarding characteristics of the vaginal microbiome of low-risk pregnant women, providing a baseline for forthcoming studies investigating the diagnostic potential of the microbiome for prediction of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Background: A normally developed placenta is integral to a successful pregnancy. Preeclampsia (PE) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) are two common pregnancy related complications that maybe a result of abnormal placental development. Placental microRNAs (miRNAs) have been investigated as potential biomarkers for these complications, as they may play a role in placental development and pathophysiology by influencing gene expression. The purpose of this study is to utilize next-generation sequencing to determine miRNA and gene expression in human placental (chorionic villous) samples from three distinct patient groups with early-onset (EO) PE, IUGR, or PE + IUGR. Methods: Placental tissues were collected from four patient groups (control [N = 21], EO-PE [N = 20], EO-IUGR [N = 18], and EO-PE + IUGR [N = 20]), and total RNA was used for miRNA and RNA sequencing on the Illumina Hiseq2000 platform. For stringent differential expression analysis multiple analysis programs were used to analyze both expression datasets in each patient group compared to gestational age-matched controls.Results: Analysis revealed miRNAs and genes that are disease-specific, as well as others that were common between disease groups, which suggests common underlying placental pathologies in EO-PE and EO-IUGR. More specifically, 6 miRNAs and 22 genes were identified to be differentially expressed in all three patient groups. In addition, integrative analysis between the miRNA and gene expression datasets revealed candidate gene targets for miRNAs of interest. Conclusions: Integration of miRNA and RNA profiling in the same three subgroups of pregnancy complications, provides an alternate level of molecular information, in addition it can be used to better understand both unique and common molecular mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of these diseases.

BackgroundThe composition of the vaginal microbiota is known to be important for health. When infections occur, antimicrobial therapy is often poorly efficacious.Objective and designWe used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to characterize changes in the bacterial microbiota following oral antimicrobial and probiotic interventions.ResultsWhile the bacterial vaginal profiles of women with vulvovaginal candidiasis were dominated by lactobacilli as in healthy women, and unchanged by therapy, Gardnerella vaginalis, Prevotella, Atopobium, Sneathia, and Megasphaera dominated the vagina of women with bacterial vaginosis (BV), and treatment with tinidazole plus Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14+L. rhamnosus GR-1 resulted in an increased relative abundance of indigenous L. iners or L. crispatus.ConclusionsThe ability to restore homeostasis provides a rationale for conjoint use of probiotics with antibiotic treatment of BV.

A working group from across Canada comprised of clinician and basic scientists, epidemiologists, ethicists, Health Canada regulatory authorities and representatives of major funding agencies (Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada) met to review the current experience with fecal microbial therapy and to identify the key areas of study required to move this field forward. The report highlights the promise of fecal microbial therapy and related synthetic stool therapy (together called 'microbial ecosystems therapeutics') for the treatment of Clostridium difficile colitis and, possibly, other disorders. It identifies pressing clinical issues that need to be addressed as well as social, ethical and regulatory barriers to the use of these important therapies.