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Frederick, MD: Syngene, a world-leading manufacturer of image analysis sol- utions is delighted to announce that one of its G:BOX Chemi imaging systems is being used at the Wageningen UR (University & Research center) in The Netherlands to visualize and analyze bacterial proteins as part of a research program to understand the molecular mechanisms behind bacterial immune systems.
Scientists in the Laboratory of Microbiology at Wageningen UR are using a G:BOX Chemi system to accurately image both chemiluminescent and fluorescently labelled Western blots of multi-functional protein complexes belonging to the CRISPR/Cas proteins. These proteins degrade foreign DNA, thus protecting bacteria from infection and by studying them, the scientists hope to unravel how bacterial immune systems function. Determining pathways of bacterial immunity could lead to a number of applications, such as being able to immunize industrially important bacteria used in food production and large-scale fermentations against phage infection.
Raymond Staals, a Researcher at Wageningen UR said: “We undertake RNAi studies and then assess protein expression on Western blots. However, performing chemi blots in our facility used to be such a hassle as we’d have to develop X-ray films and then take photos. We decided it needed to be simpler so tried using a laser-based scanner but this was limited to chemi blots and it was complicated to work with as we weren’t given any instruction on how to use it.”
Staals continued: “We want to work with fluorescent and chemi Westerns and need a system which can analyze a whole range of different dye types. We looked at two CCD-based imagers and decided on the G:BOX Chemi because the system is very user-friendly as the GeneSys software guides you through everything. We currently use the G:BOX Chemi regularly to image agarose and acrylamide DNA or RNA gels and sometimes to image plate-assays of bacteria expressing fluorescent luciferase. The system is very popular as many other researchers and students come to use the G:BOX Chemi to image DNA gels now instead of using our old gel doc as the quality of the images is so much better.”
Laura Sullivan, Syngene’s Divisional Manager concluded: “We are pleased to discover the Laboratory of Microbiology at Wageningen UR has chosen Syngene’s system to be part of their specialist microbial genetics programme. Their work demonstrates that a G:BOX Chemi multi-functional image analyser is ideally suited for use by students and experienced scientists alike and is versatile enough to be used with confidence to produce great results regardless of the blot or gel type used.”
For Further Information Contact:
Raymond Staals, Laboratory of Microbiology; Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences; Wageningen UR, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)6 50230148 Email: raymond.staals@wur.nl Web: www.wur.nl
Editor Contact:
Dr Sue Pearson, Director, International Science Writer, PO Box 170, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG5 3GD, UK.
Tel/Fax +44 (0) 1462- 635327 Email: sue.pearson@internationalsciencewriter.com
Web: www.internationalsciencewriter.com Twitter: @isciencewriter
About the Laboratory of Microbiology at Wageningen UR
The Laboratory of Microbiology at Wageningen UR in The Netherlands is engaged in research and education in biotransformations and interactions of microorganisms, as well as their control. The research is primarily molecule-driven and genomics-based while incorporating systems approaches at all levels.
The Laboratory of Microbiology was established close to 100 years ago and has developed a long-standing expertise on bacteria, archaea and viruses. There is a strong emphasis on anaerobic prokaryotes because of their novel and unique properties, their relevance for various industrial application areas, and the developed anaerobic expertise and infrastructure. Present members of the department include approximately 100 international scientists, students and supporting staff. There are active interactions with other Chairs, including that of Systems and Synthetic Biology, while many members participate in EU and other international networks via collaborations or joined appointments.
About Syngene
Syngene is a world-leading supplier of integrated imaging solutions for analysis and documentation of gel-based information. Syngene’s systems are used by more than 10,000 research organizations and over 50,000 individual scientists world-wide and include many of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies and major research institutes.
Syngene, founded in 1997, is a division of the Synoptics Group based in Cambridge, UK. The Group’s other divisions, Syncroscopy and Synbiosis, specialize in digital imaging solutions for microscopy and microbial applications respectively. Synoptics currently employs 40 people in its UK and subsidiary operation in Frederick, USA.
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