Before we get started, you need to be aware of a few things:
All the bioinformatics here is based on information in the public domain (the scientific literature). We have simply brought all the necessary information and automation together in one place under a single interface, with the aim of making intron design much faster, more cost-effective, and more convenient. However, some of the steps may be subject to intellectual property protection mechanisms including patents. Therefore, you must agree to the terms and conditions below before you can use the intron design tool.
The intron design tool allows you to use either of the two publically-available computational methods for identifying possible target sites for Ll.LtrB-derived introns. The first of these is published (Perutka et al., 2004) but requires some specialist knowledge to implement. We have automated the Perutka method here, making it much more accessible. The second method (the TargeTron Design Site) was already easy to use, but is unpublished and not free-of-charge, and the details of how it differs from the published method are not clear. The intron design tool here can use the output from the TargeTron Design Site to determine the sequence of your re-targeted intron.
When using the design tool, please follow the instructions carefully. At each step you must enter the requested information, often using the results of the previous step, which will be shown further down the page. During the design process, do not navigate to other pages on ClosTron.com or elsewhere, and do not press the back or forward buttons on your web browser, or your design may be lost or contain errors. To remind you of this, the menu bar is not displayed while you are using the design tool.
If you wish, please cite this tool as: Heap et al 2009, in preparation.
The availability of the content of this site including the intron design tool does not imply whether or not you have the right to view or use the content for any purpose. You agree to determine what rights and responsibilities you have before using any information obtained from this site and/or any intron-encoding or related materials obtained from The University of Nottingham, ATUM Inc. or elsewhere.
You agree to obtain intron-encoding or related materials only subject to an agreed Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) between yourself/your employer and The University of Nottingham.
The University of Nottingham hopes this site is useful, but all the content including the intron design tool is provided as-is, without any express or implied warranty of fitness for any purpose.
The University of Nottingham is not responsible for the content of any external sites.