PATENT ABSTRACTS 299

protein encoded by the sequence is useful for stimulating the production of granulocytes and macrophages from their respective progenitor cells.

8504418

V E C T O R S F O R T H E E X P R E S S I O N O F H I R U D I N E , T R A N S F O R M E D C E L L S A N D P R O C E S S F O R T H E

P R E P A R A T I O N O F H I R U D I N E

tide containing human immunointerferon and a DNA fraction having a structural gene which codes human interleukin 2 peptide are linked to each other. This novel DNA makes it possible to produce a polypeptide in which the two peptides arelinked to each other by transforming host microorganism with the DNA and culturing the transformed microorganism.

8504663

Paul TOLSTOSHEV, Richard HARVEY, Michael COURTNEY, Jean-Pierre LECOCQ, 5, rue Gounod, F-67450 Mundelsheim, France assigned to TRANSGENE S A;

Vector for the cloning and expression in a host cell of hirudine or an analogue of hirudine, characterized in that it comprises the gene coding for hirudine or an analogue of hirudine, and the elements for the expression of this gene in said host cell, said coding gene beginning, af- ter the starting sequence, by an ile codon and a thr codon.

8504419

H I G H C O P Y N U M B E R E X P R E S S I O N V E C T O R S

Nikos PANAYOTATOS, 17 Pre-Jerome, CH- 1205 Geneva, Switzerland assigned to BIOGEN N V;

High copy number expression vectors and methods for increasing the copy number of such vectors in an appropriate host and for expressing cloned genes using them. The vectors and methods of the invention may be used to im- prove the production of polypeptides, proteins and amino acids in host cells transformed with DNA sequences coding for those products.

M E T H O D O F D E T E C T I N G N U C L E I C A C I D S E Q U E N C E S

James L HARTLEY, Mark S BERNINGER as- signed to LIFE TECHNOLOGIES 1NC;

A process for detecting specific nucleotide sequences, called targets, in which a special DNA probe molecule, called a probe-vector, is capable of transforming bacteria if and only if it is held in a circular configuration by base pairing to a target nucleic acid, said transformation resulting in the detection of a phenotype specified by the probe-vector, said detection establishing the presence, absence, or quantity of the target; and a probe-vector molecule for per- forming the process.

8504898

A N I M P R O V E D M E T H O D O F C L O N I N G D O U B L E - S T R A N D E D

R N A , A N D I T S U S E I N T H E P R O D U C T I O N O F V I R A L G E N E

C L O N E S

Mary Louise SKOTNICKI, Antek Henryk SKOTNICK1, Adrian John GIBBS, 54 A'Beckett Street, Watson, A C T 2600, Australia assigned to THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

8504420

N O V E L D N A A N D I T S U S E

Masaharu SENOO, Haruo ONDA, Koichi IGARASHI, D73-106, t8 Tsukumodai 5- chome, Suita-shi, Osaka 565, Japan assigned to TAKEDA CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES LTD;

A novel DNA is prepared in which a DNA frac- tion having a structural gene which codes a pep-

A method of direct insertion of double-stranded RNA into a cloning vector consisting of double- stranded DNA, the method comprising: a) isolating the dsRNA from a source of interest; b) if required, decapping the dsRNA; and c) directly ligating the dsRna to the dsDNA of the appropriate cloning vector. This method allows dsRNA to be cloned directly, thus eliminating the traditional step of first making a comple- mentary DNA copy of the RNA molecule. Using this method, it is possible to construct probes for the detection of virus diseases in