The present invention discloses a method for assessing the capacity of a substance to treat or prevent hepadnavirus infection. A reporter virus carrying genetic information for a first fragment of a recombinase and a reporter cell expressing a second fragment of the recombinase are used. When the reporter virus infects the reporter cell, the two fragments of the recombinase associate and excise a stop cassette that is flanked by two recombination sites and blocks the expression of a reporter gene. Accordingly, the present invention relates to a method of assessing the capacity of a substance to treat or prevent hepadnavirus infection, a hepadnavirus comprising a nucleic acid encoding a first fragment of a recombinase and a mammalian hepatocyte or hepatoma cell comprising a nucleic acid encoding a second fragment of a recombinase and a nucleic acid comprising a stop cassette flanked by two recombination sites fused to a reporter gene.

The present invention provides an isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising, or consisting of, the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a nucleic acid sequence of at least 400 bp having at least 80% identity to said sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, wherein said isolated nucleic acid molecule specifically leads to the expression in direction selective retinal ganglion cells of a gene when operatively linked to a nucleic acid sequence coding for said gene.

Methods and constructs for engineering circular RNA are disclosed. In some embodiments, the methods and constructs comprise a vector for making circular RNA, the vector comprising the following elements operably connected to each other and arranged in the following sequence: a.) a 5′ homology arm, b.) a 3′ group I intron fragment containing a 3′ splice site dinucleotide, c.) optionally, a 5′ spacer sequence, d.) a protein coding or noncoding region, e.) optionally, a 3′ spacer sequence, f) a 5′ Group I intron fragment containing a 5′ splice site dinucleotide, and g.) a 3′ homology arm, the vector allowing production of a circular RNA that is translatable or biologically active inside eukaryotic cells. Methods for purifying the circular RNA produced by the vector and the use of nucleoside modifications in circular RNA produced by the vector are also disclosed.

Described are DNA molecules which can be transcribed into an mRNA harbouring novel UTR sequences combining the advantages of being extremely short and at the same time allowing for high translation efficiencies of RNA molecules containing them. Further, described are vectors comprising such a DNA molecule and to host cells comprising such a vector. Moreover, described are corresponding RNA molecules containing such UTRs. Further, described is a pharmaceutical composition comprising the described RNA molecule and optionally a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier as well as to the use of the described UTRs for translating a coding region of an RNA molecule into a polypeptide or a protein encoded by said coding region.

The present disclosure provides transgenic nematode systems for assessing function of heterologous genes, their variants and drug discovery. The transgenic nematodes contain a heterologous gene that is inserted via homologous recombination at the native locus replacing and removing the nematode ortholog, wherein expression of the heterologous gene rescues function of the removed nematode ortholog and a transgenic control animal is provided. The heterologous gene may be further modified to provide a variant, such as a human clinical variant, whereby a transgenic test animal is provided. Those transgenic test animals are used in methods to assess function of the heterologous variant and drug screens to find therapeutic candidates reversing deviant activity back to wildtype.

Provided herein are systems and methods for performing repair of mutant chromosomes in cells by using the homologous chromosome as a template for homology directed repair. Also provided herein are CopyCatcher systems, methods, and organisms for the study and measurement of homologous chromosome template repair and related mechanisms in cells and organisms.

The present disclosure provides transgenic non-human animal (e.g., nematode) systems for assessing heterologous polygenic or monogenic phenotypes, their variants and drug discovery. The transgenic non-human animals (e.g., nematodes) contain a first heterologous polypeptide coding sequence and a second heterologous polypeptide coding sequence (a plurality of heterologous polypeptide coding sequences), wherein the first and second heterologous polypeptide coding sequences are integrated into the host animal genome, and wherein expression of the first and second heterologous polypeptide coding sequence contribute to the heterologous phenotype. The plurality of heterologous polypeptide coding sequences are interrelated wherein their expression products, directly or indirectly, contribute or lead to an observable phenotype.

The invention provides methods and compositions for enhancing the efficacy of cancer therapies through modulation of BAL1 and/or BBAP. Also provided are methods for predicting the efficacy of cancer therapies or treating cancer in a subject through modulation of BAL1 and/or BBAP. Further provided are methods for identifying compounds that are capable of modulating BAL1-BBAP complexes.

This invention is intended to develop a promoter that can strongly induce marker gene expression throughout an embryo, so as to simply, efficiently, and accurately identify a transgenic insect at an early developmental stage, and to provide a gene expression vector into which such promoter has been incorporated as a transformant discrimination marker. Such exogenous gene expression vector comprises a polynucleotide comprising the nucleotide sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 as a promoter.

A transgenic animal model that is suitable for the cell or tissue specific assessing of thyroid hormone (TH) action in vivo is described. The recombinant DNA construct and methods suitable to generate such an animal are also provided. The assessment of TH action is based on a reporter that is dependent on an endogenously expressed thyroid hormone receptor (TR) and coregulators of said receptor.