As with this painted representation of (surrealist!) DNA, to a certain extent, molecular cloning is an art.

Unfortunately for newcomers, or fortunately for experts, it’s required for many downstream applications including protein production and cell engineering to develop cell-based assays. ORF expression is also a major tool for understanding a protein function via overexpression study.

In short, to develop the potential of cell biology research, it’s often a question of adopting a “smart molecular biology” approach. Along the way though, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to avoid using cloning vectors and other related molecular cloning tools.

However… luckily, fast and simple cloning is possible! Mainly thanks to the smart kits and systems that I’ll explain more about in this post. And for your complete peace of mind, there are also ORF expression clones…

CRISPR-CAS9 is a powerful technology for gene editing. It allows targeted modifications into the genome of the cell lines, IPSCs and ESCs. Despite the principle being pretty simple, in practice its use requires some expertise, and it can even turn into a time consuming adventure… That’s why the best way to benefit from it is most certainly through affordable services.

RNAi offer >70% knock-down of the gene expression, and thanks to CRISPR-CAS9 gene editing, it’s possible make a complete knock-out. The TUNR system offers the possibility to obtain intermediates with high, medium and low reduction of the gene expression and with the same quality of targeting as for knock-out. Let’s take a closer look at the TUNR technique.

Exploring the small RNA transcriptome, a key challenge

Small RNA are involved in numerous biological process and linked to a wide range of conditions. For example miRNA can be used for detection of cancers from blood samples and are used for cancer classification. They are involved in the regulation of the messenger RNA translation.

The small RNA transcriptome is a vast world rich in information. There are not only miRNA but other small RNA that can also be used for diagnostics. For example, Repetto et al in 2015 (doi: 10.1186/s12916-015-0489-y) discovered novel small RNA in blood, s-RNY1-5p as a diagnostic biomarker for atherosclerosis-related diseases. The authors used small-RNA sequencing with the innovative CleanTag technology.