The present invention provides improved DNA polymerases, in particular, type A DNA polymerases, that may be better suited for applications in recombinant DNA technologies. Among other things, the present invention provides modified DNA polymerases derived from directed evolution experiments designed to select mutations that confer advantageous phenotypes under conditions used in industrial or research applications.

The invention provides a novel class of cyanine dyes that are functionalized with sulfonic acid groups and a linker moiety that facilitates their conjugation to other species and substituent groups which increase the water-solubility, and optimize the optical properties of the dyes. Also provided are conjugates of the dyes, methods of using the dyes and their conjugates and kits including the dyes and their conjugates.

Methods of determining polymerase fidelity are provided. In one embodiment, the method comprises filling a gapped plasmid with a polymerase to form a gap-filled plasmid, wherein the gap-filled plasmid comprises a gene encoding an protein that is functional or non-functional depending on the polymerase fidelity; forming a plurality of partitions from a solution comprising the gap-filled plasmid and a label for detecting the presence of the plasmid; detecting the presence of the gap-filled plasmid in one or more of the partitions; and determining the fidelity of the polymerase by determining a ratio of partitions containing the gene encoding a functional protein to partitions containing a gene encoding a non-functional protein.

The invention relates to a method for in vitro investigating mitochondrial replication dysfunction in a biological sample removed from a subject susceptible of suffering from physiological ageing or physiopathological conditions related to physiological ageing, or physiopathological ageing or associated symptoms or conditions, in particular premature ageing or accelerated ageing, or of a progeroid syndrome, such as Cockayne syndrome (CS), or neurodegenerative disorders or symptoms thereof, in which the levels of at least one species selected in the group of: POLG1 protein, POLG1 RNA, POLG2 protein, protease(s) which have POLG as a target, in particular serine protease(s) such as HTRA3 protein, HTRA2 protein and, HTRA3 RNA or HTRA2 RNA, or any combination of these species, are investigated. The invention also relates to kits and uses thereof, therapeutic methods against progeroid-like syndromes or symptoms and screening method for identifying particular protease inhibitor(s) and/or nitroso-redox stress scavenger compound(s) having relevance for the symptoms discussed herein.

The disclosure addresses methods, compositions, and kits used to detect or quantify polymerase inhibitors in biological samples. The polymerase inhibitors can be therapeutic agents, or metabolites thereof, that have been administered to a subject as part of, for example, antiretroviral therapy (ART) or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to address potential infections by, e.g., retroviruses such as HIV and other viruses reliant on reverse transcription. These methods, compositions, and kits can be applied to monitor a subject's compliance with the indicated therapies and can inform potential adjustments to the therapies.

In various embodiments a molecular circuit is disclosed. The circuit comprises a negative electrode, a positive electrode spaced apart from the negative electrode, and an enzyme molecule conductively attached to both the positive and negative electrodes to form a circuit having a conduction pathway through the enzyme. In various examples, the enzyme is a polymerase. The circuit may further comprise molecular arms used to wire the enzyme to the electrodes. In various embodiments, the circuit functions as a sensor, wherein electrical signals, such as changes to voltage, current, impedance, conductance, or resistance in the circuit, are measured as substrates interact with the enzyme.

Protein and mRNA expression based methods for classification of gastric cancer, and methods of treatment based thereon.

In various embodiments a molecular circuit is disclosed. The circuit comprises a negative electrode, a positive electrode spaced apart from the negative electrode, and an enzyme molecule conductively attached to both the positive and negative electrodes to form a circuit having a conduction pathway through the enzyme. In various examples, the enzyme is a polymerase. The circuit may further comprise molecular arms used to wire the enzyme to the electrodes. In various embodiments, the circuit functions as a sensor, wherein electrical signals, such as changes to voltage, current, impedance, conductance, or resistance in the circuit, are measured as substrates interact with the enzyme.

Methods for identifying one or more Pol θ inhibitors and methods of use thereof are disclosed.

Provided herein are methods of identifying a location of an RNA in a sample that include: (a) contacting the sample with an array comprising capture probes, where a capture probe comprises a capture domain and a spatial barcode; (b) releasing the RNA from the sample; (c) extending a 3′ end of the capture probe using the capture domain-bound RNA as a template; (d) generating nick(s) in the extended capture probe-hybridized RNA and performing random-primed DNA synthesis; (e) performing end repair on the second strand DNA molecule; (f) adding a single adenosine nucleotide to the 3′ end of the extended capture probe; (g) ligating a double-stranded sequencing adaptor to the double-stranded DNA product; and (h) determining all or a part of the sequence of the RNA, and the sequence of the spatial barcode, or complements thereof, and using the determined sequences to identify the location of the RNA in the sample.