Endophytic bacteria have been found in virtually every plant studied, where they colonize the internal tissues of their host plant and can form a range of different relationships including symbiotic, mutualistic, commensalistic and trophobiotic. Most endophytes appear to originate from the rhizosphere or phyllosphere; however, some may be transmitted through the seed. Endophytic bacteria can promote plant growth and yield and can act as biocontrol agents. Endophytes can also be beneficial to their host by producing a range of natural products that could be harnessed for potential use in medicine, agriculture or industry. In addition, it has been shown that they have the potential to remove soil contaminants by enhancing phytoremediation and may play a role in soil fertility through phosphate solubilization and nitrogen fixation. There is increasing interest in developing the potential biotechnological applications of endophytes for improving phytoremediation and the sustainable production of nonfood crops for biomass and biofuel production.

Hyperacute rejection of porcine organs by old world primate recipients is mediated through preformed antibodies against galactosyl-␣-1,3-galactose (Gal␣-1,3-Gal) epitopes expressed on the pig cell surface. Previously, we generated inbred miniature swine with a null allele of the ␣-1,3-galactosyltransferase locus (GGTA1) by nuclear transfer (NT) with gene-targeted fibroblasts. To expedite the generation of GGTA1 null pigs, we selected spontaneous null mutant cells from fibroblast cultures of heterozygous animals for use in another round of NT. An unexpectedly high rate of spontaneous loss of GGTA1 function was observed, with the vast majority of null cells resulting from loss of the WT allele. Healthy piglets, hemizygous and homozygous for the genetargeted allele, were produced by NT by using fibroblasts that had undergone deletional and crossover͞gene conversion events, respectively. Aside from loss of Gal␣-1,3-Gal epitopes, there were no obvious phenotypic differences between these null piglets and WT piglets from the same inbred lines. In fact, congenital abnormalities observed in the heterozygous NT animals did not reappear in the serially produced null animals.A ntibodies against galactosyl-␣-1,3-galactose (Gal␣-1,3-Gal) residues on cell surface glycoproteins of pig cells mediate hyperacute rejection of porcine organs in primate model recipients and are the most immediate barrier to successful clinical xenotransplantation (1, 2). High levels of preformed ''natural'' antibodies against the Gal␣-1,3-Gal epitope are found in humans and old world primates, following evolutionary loss of the corresponding galactosyltransferase activity (encoded by GGTA1) (3). The presence of these antibodies, along with the high density of Gal␣-1,3-Gal residues on most pig cells (4), suggests that elimination of GGTA1 function would provide a practical means of overcoming both hyperacute rejection and subsequent acute or chronic tissue damage associated with antibody binding to this epitope.The lack of GGTA1 function in humans and old world primates, along with the viability of GGTA1 knockout mice produced with embryonic stem cell technology (5, 6), suggested that a knockout strategy might be biologically feasible in pigs. The cloning of sheep (7) and subsequently pigs (8-10) by nuclear transfer with somatic cells has made attempts to knockout the GGTA1 locus in pigs technically feasible.We have previously reported the generation of GGTA1 heterozygous inbred miniature swine using nuclear transfer with gene-targeted fibroblasts (11). Starting with heterozygous fibroblasts from such animals, we now report the isolation of GGTA1 null cells with spontaneous loss of the WT allele. The rate of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) was several orders of magnitude greater than typically expected, an observation that may be related to the inbred background of the heterozygous animals. LOH resulted in some cases from deletion of the WT allele and in others from either somatic crossing over or gene conversion. Similarly high rates of somatic recombi...

The use of plant growth promoting bacterial inoculants as live microbial biofertilizers provides a promising alternative to chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Inorganic phosphate solubilization is one of the major mechanisms of plant growth promotion by plant associated bacteria. This involves bacteria releasing organic acids into the soil which solubilize the phosphate complexes converting them into ortho-phosphate which is available for plant up-take and utilization. The study presented here describes the ability of endophytic bacteria to produce gluconic acid (GA), solubilize insoluble phosphate, and stimulate the growth of Pisum sativum L. plants. This study also describes the genetic systems within three of these endophyte strains thought to be responsible for their effective phosphate solubilizing abilities. The results showed that many of the endophytic strains produced GA (14–169 mM) and have moderate to high phosphate solubilization capacities (~400–1300 mg L−1). When inoculated into P. sativum L. plants grown in soil under soluble phosphate limiting conditions, the endophytes that produced medium-high levels of GA displayed beneficial plant growth promotion effects.

Protein quality, as determined by the PDCAAS method, is a measure of a protein's ability to provide adequate levels of essential amino acids for human needs. PDCAAS is calculated using an amino acid profile and true digestibility of a food protein. Soy protein is recognized as a high quality plant protein, but published PDCAAS values may vary based on the soy protein ingredient as well as the reproducibility and accuracy of the testing methods. Comparison of PDCAAS values for four differently processed soy ingredients, including three isolated soy proteins (ISP) and one soy protein concentrate (SPC), was made using two different laboratories with evaluation of the impact of the reproducibility and accuracy of amino acid profiles. PDCAAS calculations, using amino acid values from one laboratory, yielded a truncated PDCAAS of 1.00 for all four ingredients, while a second laboratory provided statistically significantly lower scores (0.95-1.00). We conclude that analytical method error can be a significant contributor to PDCAAS differences and can be mitigated by the application of amino acid nitrogen recovery correction factors.