Tag: weeklytip

  • Calculating the PCR annealing temperature for a pair of primers

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    Chris
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    MacVector not only calculates the melting temperature (Tm) for any primers you design, but also displays the recommended annealing temperature (Ta) that you should use in PCR experiments using those primers. You can access the main MacVector interface for designing pairs of primers using Analyze | Primer Design (Primer3). From here you can ask MacVector…

  • Use dot plots to quickly confirm similarity between two sequences

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    Chris
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    We occasionally get e-mails from users who think that two sequences should align using ClustalW or the Align To Reference function, but the algorithms cannot find any meaningful matches. In these cases, the first thing I do is open both sequences and then create a dot-plot between them using the Analyze | Create Dotplot |…

  • Downloading BLAST Hits from the NCBI direct to your desktop

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    Chris
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    When you use MacVector to run a BLAST search, did you know that you can download any matching sequences directly from the BLAST Description List window? Simply select text on any part of the line(s) representing the sequence you want to download and choose Database | Retrieve To Desktop or Database | Retrieve To Disk…

  • Troubleshooting problems with MacVector

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    Chris
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    MacVector generally just works. However, it’s a very rare piece of software that does not have occasional technical faults. Every now and again we do get reports to MacVector Support about such technical issues. Whenever we come across such issues we document them and also try to fix it so they never happen again in…

  • Save trace files as images

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    Chris
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    You can open ABI chromatogram (“Trace”) files directly in MacVector and analyze them like any other sequence. You can also use them in the Align To Reference and Assembler interfaces, where the actual trace data will be displayed, or in any other function that accepts external sequence files. Sometimes you just want to print out,…

  • Annotating the sequence in the Editor tab

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    Chris
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    You can very quickly annotate a region of interest in your sequence in the Editor tab. For example showing introns in lower case or highlighting CDS features with a colored background. To enter sequences as mixed case. Enable Edit | Transformations | Enable Mixed Case Entry Type your sequence using SHIFT or CAPS LOCK To…

  • Displaying features in the Editor tab

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    Chris
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    The Map tab shows a richly detailed graphical representation of your sequence. However, sometimes you just need a overview of annotation along with sequence. MacVector makes it easy to display features directly on the sequence in the Editor tab. Only a subset of a sequence’s features are displayed due to limited room. You can choose…

  • Create constructs using the Cloning Clipboard

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    Chris
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    You can create new constructs in MacVector by selecting two restriction enzyme sites, choosing Edit -> Copy, selecting a target restriction site in a different molecule and then choosing Edit -> Paste. It works great and fully understands compatible overhanging sticky ends preventing you from accidentally creating biologically impossible molecules. However, a far more flexible…

  • Using the Primer Database to store your lab’s collection of primers

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    Chris
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    MacVector 14 saw the introduction of the new Primer Database tool. This allows you to save and retrieve primers from the Primer Database from the Primer3 and Quicktest Primer tools. You can also scan sequences for potential primer binding sites. The tool comes with a starter database of primers, but you can use existing subsequence…

  • Editing the appearance of your sequence maps

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    by

    Chris
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    Although we think that the default appearance of sequence maps in MacVector is very pretty, sometimes the defaults are not to everybody’s taste! If you think this way, then changing how maps look is very easy. As usual with MacVector, there are many ways to quickly edit the appearance of a feature or multiple features.…