DRSC announces launch of FlyPrimerBank online resource

The DRSC is pleased to announce the launch of FlyPrimerBank.

FlyPrimerBank is built around a database of three precomputed qPCR primer pairs per Drosophila gene. Online search output includes information about the primer pairs and when available, validation test results from our group or the community at large.

For details please see our paper, just out in the journal G3. You can also check out the documentation page.

Important for RNAi studies, FlyPrimerBank can report overlap between the primers and RNAi reagents in public collections. This helps you avoid choosing primers that could amplify the reagent.

As always, your feedback on the online resource is welcome.

FlyPrimerBank also makes it possible for you to indicate which qPCR primers in FlyPrimerBank have or have not worked for them, or to upload the sequences of good primer pairs not already in the database.

With your help, the utility of the resource will further increase over time.

EDRC Deadlines Approaching

The 23rd European Drosophila Research Conference will be held in Barcelona this October. Deadlines are approaching for authors registration and early-bird participants.

CRISPRs in flies. Two breaking reports.

Bassett AR, Tibbit C, Ponting CP, Liu JL. Highly Efficient Targeted Mutagenesis of Drosophila with the CRISPR/Cas9 System. Cell Rep. 2013 Jun 27. PMID: 23827738.

Yu Z, Ren M, Wang Z, Zhang B, Rong YS, Jiao R, Gao G. Highly Efficient Genome Modifications Mediated by CRISPR/Cas9 in Drosophila. Genetics. 2013 Jul 5. PMID: 23833182.

See also this post on an earlier CRISPR paper.

Genome-wide screen--Viral replication. Breaking report.

Hopkins KC, McLane LM, Maqbool T, Panda D, Gordesky-Gold B, Cherry S. A genome-wide RNAi screen reveals that mRNA decapping restricts bunyaviral replication by limiting the pools of Dcp2-accessible targets for cap-snatching. Genes Dev. 2013 PMID: 23824541.

TAL-based repression and activation in Drosophila

Crocker J, Stern DL. TALE-mediated modulation of transcriptional enhancers in vivo. Nat Methods. 2013 Jun 30. PMID: 23817068.

Synaptic development & maintenance. Recent report.

On my desk to read today? This report of fly RNAi interrogation of about 2000 genes.

Valakh V, Naylor SA, Berns DS, DiAntonio A. A large-scale RNAi screen identifies functional classes of genes shaping synaptic development and maintenance. Dev Biol. 2012 Jun 15;366(2):163-71. PMID: 22542760; PMCID: PMC3358632.

From the abstract:  "... genes with essential roles in non-neural tissues may be missed in traditional loss-of-function screens. In an effort to circumvent this limitation, we used neuron-specific RNAi knock down in Drosophila and assayed the formation, growth, and maintenance of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). We examined 1970 Drosophila genes, each of which has a conserved ortholog in mammalian genomes. Knock down of 158 genes in post-mitotic neurons led to abnormalities in the neuromuscular system ..."