scholarly journals MESA: automated assessment of synthetic DNA fragments and simulation of DNA synthesis, storage, sequencing and PCR errors

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 3322-3326
Author(s):  
Michael Schwarz ◽  
Marius Welzel ◽  
Tolganay Kabdullayeva ◽  
Anke Becker ◽  
Bernd Freisleben ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Synthesis ◽  
Web Application ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Dna Fragments ◽  
Synthetic Dna ◽  
Custom Made ◽  
Dna Fragment ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Error Probabilities

Abstract Summary The development of de novo DNA synthesis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA sequencing and molecular cloning gave researchers unprecedented control over DNA and DNA-mediated processes. To reduce the error probabilities of these techniques, DNA composition has to adhere to method-dependent restrictions. To comply with such restrictions, a synthetic DNA fragment is often adjusted manually or by using custom-made scripts. In this article, we present MESA (Mosla Error Simulator), a web application for the assessment of DNA fragments based on limitations of DNA synthesis, amplification, cloning, sequencing methods and biological restrictions of host organisms. Furthermore, MESA can be used to simulate errors during synthesis, PCR, storage and sequencing processes. Availability and implementation MESA is available at mesa.mosla.de, with the source code available at github.com/umr-ds/mesa_dna_sim. Contact [email protected] Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Plasma vs. serum in circulating tumor DNA measurement: characterization by DNA fragment sizing and digital droplet polymerase chain reaction

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 527-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jee-Soo Lee ◽  
Miyoung Kim ◽  
Moon-Woo Seong ◽  
Han-Sung Kim ◽  
Young Kyung Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Circulating Tumor Dna ◽  
Analytical Sensitivity ◽  
Dna Fragments ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Specimen Type ◽  
Dna Fragment ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Ctdna Analysis ◽  
Tumor Dna

AbstractBackgroundChoosing the specimen type is the first step of the pre-analytical process. Previous reports suggested plasma as the optimal specimen for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis. However, head-to-head comparisons between plasma and serum using platforms with high analytical sensitivity, such as droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR), are limited, and several recent studies have supported the clinical utility of serum-derived ctDNA. This study aimed to compare the DNA profiles isolated from plasma and serum, characterize the effects of the differences between specimens on ctDNA measurement, and determine the major contributors to these differences.MethodsWe isolated cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from 119 matched plasma/serum samples from cancer patients and analyzed the cfDNA profiles by DNA fragment sizing. We then assessed KRAS mutations in ctDNA from matched plasma/serum using ddPCR.ResultsThe amount of large DNA fragments was increased in serum, whereas that of cfDNA fragments (<800 bp) was similar in both specimens. ctDNA was less frequently detected in serum, and the KRAS-mutated fraction in serum was significantly lower than that in plasma. The differences in ctDNA fractions between the two specimen types correlated well with the amount of large DNA fragments and white blood cell and neutrophil counts.ConclusionsOur results provided detailed insights into the differences between plasma and serum using DNA fragment sizing and ddPCR, potentially contributing to ctDNA analysis standardization. Our study also suggested that using plasma minimizes the dilution of tumor-derived DNA and optimizes the sensitivity of ctDNA analysis. So, plasma should be the preferred specimen type.

scholarly journals A reassessment of several erstwhile methods for isolating DNA fragments from agarose gels

3 Biotech ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Gao ◽  
Keyin Zhang ◽  
Tianzhu Lu ◽  
Yan Zhao ◽  
Haiyan Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Filter Paper ◽  
Dna Fragments ◽  
Dialysis Tubing ◽  
Nested Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Agarose Gels ◽  
Dna Fragment ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Dna Precipitation ◽  
Commercial Kits ◽  
Biology Research

AbstractMolecular biology research often requires extraction of DNA fragments from agarose gels. In the past decades, there have been many methods developed for this purpose. Currently most researchers, especially novices, use commercial kits for this extraction, although these kits cost money and the procedures involved are not necessarily easier than some erstwhile methods. We herein reintroduce and reassess several simple and cost-free older methods. One method involves excising a slice of the gel containing the DNA fragment, followed by a thaw-and-freeze procedure to release the DNA from the gel slice into the gel-making buffer. The second method involves a dialysis tubing and requires electroelution of the DNA from the gel slice in the tubing. The third one is to centrifuge the gel slice to release the DNA. The fourth method requires electro-transfer of the DNA from the gel into a filter paper, while the fifth one includes either allowing the DNA in the slice to be dissolved into a buffer or dissolving the DNA-containing gel slice, followed by DNA precipitation with ethanol or isopropanol. The strengths and weaknesses of these methods are discussed to assist researchers in making their choice. We also point out that some of the end uses of the DNA fragment in the agarose gel may not actually require extraction of the DNA. For instance, a tiny DNA-containing gel block or filter paper can be directly used as the template in a nested or semi-nested polymerase chain reaction to preliminarily determine the identity of the DNA fragment.

scholarly journals DNA Scanner: a web application for comparing DNA synthesis feasibility, price and turnaround time across vendors

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gledon Doçi ◽  
Lukas Fuchs ◽  
Yash Kharbanda ◽  
Paul Schickling ◽  
Valentin Zulkower ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Synthesis ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Web Application ◽  
Turnaround Time ◽  
Design Tools ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Synthetic Dna ◽  
Computer Aided ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
High Degree

Abstract DNA synthesis has become a major enabler of modern bioengineering, allowing scientists to simply order online in silico-designed DNA molecules. Rapidly decreasing DNA synthesis service prices and the concomitant increase of research and development scales bolstered by computer-aided DNA design tools and laboratory automation has driven up the demand for synthetic DNA. While vendors provide user-friendly online portals for purchasing synthetic DNA, customers still face the time-consuming task of checking each vendor of choice for their ability and pricing to synthesize the desired sequences. As a result, ordering large batches of DNA sequences can be a laborious manual procedure in an otherwise increasingly automatable workflow. Even when they are available, there is a high degree of technical knowledge and effort required to integrate vendors’ application programming interfaces (APIs) into computer-aided DNA design tools or automated lab processes. Here, we introduce DNA Scanner, a software package comprising (i) a web-based user interface enabling users to compare the feasibility, price and turnaround time of synthetic DNA sequences across selected vendors and (ii) a Python API enabling integration of these functionalities into computer-aided DNA design tools and automated lab processes. We have developed DNA Scanner to uniformly streamline interactions between synthetic DNA vendors, members of the Global Biofoundry Alliance and the scientific community at large.

Blueprints for green biotech: development and application of standards for plant synthetic biology

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 702-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola J. Patron
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Dna Synthesis ◽  
Genome Editing ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Plant Science ◽  
Custom Made ◽  
Science Community ◽  
Plant Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology aims to apply engineering principles to the design and modification of biological systems and to the construction of biological parts and devices. The ability to programme cells by providing new instructions written in DNA is a foundational technology of the field. Large-scale de novo DNA synthesis has accelerated synthetic biology by offering custom-made molecules at ever decreasing costs. However, for large fragments and for experiments in which libraries of DNA sequences are assembled in different combinations, assembly in the laboratory is still desirable. Biological assembly standards allow DNA parts, even those from multiple laboratories and experiments, to be assembled together using the same reagents and protocols. The adoption of such standards for plant synthetic biology has been cohesive for the plant science community, facilitating the application of genome editing technologies to plant systems and streamlining progress in large-scale, multi-laboratory bioengineering projects.

scholarly journals SurfaceGenie: a web-based application for prioritizing cell-type-specific marker candidates

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 3447-3456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Waas ◽  
Shana T Snarrenberg ◽  
Jack Littrell ◽  
Rachel A Jones Lipinski ◽  
Polly A Hansen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Specific Surface ◽  
Web Application ◽  
Rank Order ◽  
Surface Proteins ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Live Cells ◽  
Specific Marker ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Cell Type Specific

Abstract Motivation Cell-type-specific surface proteins can be exploited as valuable markers for a range of applications including immunophenotyping live cells, targeted drug delivery and in vivo imaging. Despite their utility and relevance, the unique combination of molecules present at the cell surface are not yet described for most cell types. A significant challenge in analyzing ‘omic’ discovery datasets is the selection of candidate markers that are most applicable for downstream applications. Results Here, we developed GenieScore, a prioritization metric that integrates a consensus-based prediction of cell surface localization with user-input data to rank-order candidate cell-type-specific surface markers. In this report, we demonstrate the utility of GenieScore for analyzing human and rodent data from proteomic and transcriptomic experiments in the areas of cancer, stem cell and islet biology. We also demonstrate that permutations of GenieScore, termed IsoGenieScore and OmniGenieScore, can efficiently prioritize co-expressed and intracellular cell-type-specific markers, respectively. Availability and implementation Calculation of GenieScores and lookup of SPC scores is made freely accessible via the SurfaceGenie web application: www.cellsurfer.net/surfacegenie. Contact [email protected] Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

scholarly journals A PCR-based Assay for Distinguishing between A1 and A2 Mating Types of Phytophthora capsici

2017 ◽  
Vol 142 (4) ◽  
pp. 260-264
Author(s):  
Ping Li ◽  
Dong Liu ◽  
Min Guo ◽  
Yuemin Pan ◽  
Fangxin Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Phytophthora Capsici ◽  
Mating Types ◽  
Sequence Repeat ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Plant Parasite ◽  
Dna Fragment ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Microsatellite Diversity

Sexual reproduction in the plant parasite Phytophthora capsici Leonian requires the interaction of two distinct mating types, A1 and A2. Co-occurrence of these mating types can enhance the genetic diversity of P. capsici and alter its virulence or resistance characteristics. Using an intersimple sequence repeat (ISSR) screen of microsatellite diversity, we identified, cloned, and sequenced a novel 1121-base pair (bp) fragment specific to the A1 mating type of P. capsici. Primers Pcap-1 and Pcap-2 were designed from this DNA fragment to specifically detect the A1 mating type. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using these primers amplified an expected 997-bp fragment from known A1 mating types, but yielded a 508-bp fragment from known A2 mating types. This PCR-based assay could be adapted to accurately and rapidly detect the co-occurrence of A1 and A2 P. capsici mating types from field material.

scholarly journals Synthetic DNA fragments bearing ICR cis elements become differentially methylated and recapitulate genomic imprinting in transgenic mice

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hitomi Matsuzaki ◽  
Eiichi Okamura ◽  
Daichi Kuramochi ◽  
Aki Ushiki ◽  
Katsuhiko Hirakawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transgenic Mice ◽  
Genomic Imprinting ◽  
Dna Fragments ◽  
Cis Elements ◽  
Synthetic Dna

Abstract 396: Regulation of Cardiomyocyte Proliferation by the Hippo Pathway and Dystrophin Complex

2016 ◽  
Vol 119 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuka Morikawa ◽  
John Leach ◽  
Todd Heallen ◽  
Ge Tao ◽  
James F Martin
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Dna Synthesis ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Hippo Pathway ◽  
Myocardial Damage ◽  
Heart Regeneration ◽  
Cardiomyocyte Proliferation ◽  
Heart Repair ◽  
The Hippo Pathway

Regeneration in mammalian hearts is limited due to the extremely low renewal rate of cardiomyocytes and their inability to reenter the cell cycle. In rodent hearts, endogenous regenerative capacity exists during development but is rapidly repressed after birth, at which time growth is by hypertrophy. During the developmental and neonatal periods, heart regeneration occurs through proliferation of pre-existing cardiomyocytes. Our approach of activating heart regeneration is to uncover the mechanisms responsible for repression of cardiomyocyte proliferation. The Hippo pathway controls heart size by repressing cardiomyocyte proliferation during development. By deleting Salv , a modulator of the Hippo pathway, we found that myocardial damage in postnatal and adult hearts was repaired both anatomically and functionally. This heart repair occurred primary through proliferation of preexisting cardiomyocytes. During repair, cardiomyocytes reenter the cell cycle; de novo DNA synthesis, karyokinesis, and cytokinesis all take place. The dystrophin glycoprotein complex (DGC) is essential for muscle maintenance by anchoring the cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix. Disruption of the DGC results in muscular dystrophies, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, resulting in both skeletal and cardiac myopathies. Recently the DGC was shown to regulate cardiomyocyte proliferation and we found that the DGC and the Hippo pathway components directly interact. To address if the DGC and the Hippo pathway coordinately regulate cardiomyocyte proliferation, we conditionally deleted Salv in the mouse model of muscular dystrophy, the mdx line. We found that simultaneous disruption of both the DGC and Hippo pathway leads an increased de novo DNA synthesis and cytokinesis in cardiomyocytes after heart damage. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanisms leading to heart repair through proliferation of endogenous cardiomyocytes.

Efficient de novo assembly and modification of large DNA fragments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuangying Jiang ◽  
Yuanwei Tang ◽  
Liang Xiang ◽  
Xinlu Zhu ◽  
Zelin Cai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
De Novo Assembly ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Dna Fragments
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