What can MacVector do for my lab?

MacVector 18.7 is the latest release of the best sequence analysis application for the Mac. MacVector 18.7 is a Universal Binary application and will run natively on both Apple Silicon Macs and Intel Macs.

We think there is no better tool for designing primers, preparing beautiful plasmid maps, comparing sequences, CRISPR INDEL analysis, Gibson Assembly, LIC and restriction enzyme cloning workflows, comparing genomes, sequence assembly and much more on the Mac.

A desktop with a forest background and a number of open windows showing DNA sequences

MacVector 18.7 is fully supported on macOS High Sierra to macOS Sequoia.

Design Cloning workflows
As simple as dragging a fragment to a cloning vector.

Cloning history: Track the history of your sequence in the History tab.

The Cloning Clipboard stores all cut fragments for ligation into vectors

Cloning Clipboard: Store your digested fragments ready for cloning.


One step codon usage optimization: for enhanced expression in different organisms.
Custom Codon Usage Tables: Generate your own codon usage tables or import new ones.

Simulated Agarose Gel: identify restriction sites to screen minipreps.

Restriction Enzyme Picker: easy identification of useful enzyme cut sites.

Gibson/Ligase-Independent Assemblies: project based design of workflows inc. primer design.

Primer Design

QuickTest Primer makes primer design easy! Slide your primer along the template until it aligns perfectly!

Add tails to your primers with silent restriction sites/mismatches and view reading frame changes.

Scan For… Missing Primers: automatically display binding sites from your lab’s primer collection

Display binding sites from your own primer database

Sequence annotation

Easily create beautiful plasmid maps

Automatically annotate missing features, primer binding sites CRISPR PAM sites and putative ORFs.

InterProScan: Scan proteins for functional domains.

Comparing sequences

Compare Genomes: identify identical, similar and weakly similar genes.

Compare a pair of genomes to list common genes, similar genes and genes missing from one genome

CRISPR Indel Analysis: following CRISPR editing of a target.

de novo sequence assembly using Phrap, Velvet and SPAdes with Flye for PacBio and Oxford Nanopore.

Reference sequence assembly using Bowtie2 and Minimap2 for PacBio/ONT long reads.

Directly import Sequencher assemblies into MacVector’s Assembly Projects.

Sub-project assemblies: Assemble reads into sub-projects in a single assembly.

Automatically trim read ends and display read quality

Sequence confirmation: quickly verify sequenced constructs.

Heterozygote analysis: report on possible heterozygotes and represent with IUPAC ambiguity codes.


Coverage Tab: compare expression level across assemblies.

RNA-Seq analysis: Read depth visualization with per gene coverage data (RPKM & TPM).

Circularize genomes: toolkit for finishing assemblies and circularizing bacterial ones.

Outline shared aligned domains: Multiple sequence alignments display shared domains.

An alignment of DNA sequences showing shared functional domains on them
An alignment of DNA sequences showing shared functional domains on them