This invention relates to methods and compositions for assessing risk by measuring total and specific cell-free nucleic acids (such as DNA) in a subject. The methods and compositions provided herein can be used to determine risk of a condition, such as transplant rejection.

The present invention relates to novel tomato plants having improved resistance to lesion-forming pathogens caused by a reduced level, activity, or expression of Pub17 protein. The level, activity, or expression of a Pub17 protein can be reduced by modification of the Pub17 allele to contain an SNP identified to associate with increased resistance to lesion-forming pathogens. The present invention further relates to plant parts and seeds derived from said tomato plants, and to methods of making said tomato plants or increasing resistance to lesion-forming pathogens in a tomato plant, as well as use of the SNP as a marker and associated kits.

The present invention relates to methods for isolating nucleic acids present in a sample, in particular cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from a blood sample and polymers, substrates and kits for the method. Polymers with characteristics suitable to bind such nucleic acids are provided.