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In addition to single plasmids, Addgene also distributes pooled plasmid libraries containing hundreds, thousands, or even a million plasmids. These libraries are some of Addgene’s most exciting and versatile offerings! We recently re-amplified our distribution stock of the Brunello Human gRNA library, and we thought it would be a good time to talk about the amplification and verification processes we use to ensure high-quality library distribution. You can also use these tips as a starting point when you need to amplify a library for your own experiments.

In complex metazoans, rapid cell division and large scale cell mobility are essential processes during embryonic development. These are required for a growing organism to make the complicated transition from a clump of cells to a fully differentiated body. In contrast, these dynamic processes are largely absent in adult organisms, where tissues structures are more stable and local movements predominate (e.g. a basal progenitor cell migrating to the epithelium). At this stage, only cells from the immune system show wide scale mobility with movement from the bone marrow and other lymphoid organs to specific tissues where they can scan for any signs of danger. In this post we’ll focus on how fluorescent proteins can and have been used to monitor cellular movements in the immune system. The techniques used here could be adapted to studying other systems in which there is large scale cellular movement throughout an organism.

All plasmids coming through Addgene’s doors are now verified by next-generation sequencing (NGS) to provide you with more data. For most plasmids, we are now able to confirm the full insert and backbone sequence. In order to manage and interpret these data, we’ve updated our quality control workflow.  Here’s a peek at how our process has improved now that we’re backed by the power of NGS!

Imagine being able to determine whether two proteins are within 10 nanometers of each other, or measure the tension in the helical structure of spider silk, or the activity of a protein in a synapse. What kinds of tools enable us to measure these properties, and what fascinating experiments could push these tools even further? All of these things can be done using FRET! Read on to find out more about this amazing imaging technique and find further tips for using FRET in your experiments here.