Clony color assay coupled with 5FOA negative selection greatly improves yeast three-hybrid library screening efficiency

The recently developed yeast three-hybrid system is a powerful tool for analyzing RNA-protein interactions in vivo. However, large numbers of false positives are frequently met due to bait RNA-independent activation of the reporter gene in the library screening using this system. In this report, we coupled the colony color assay with the 5FOA (5-fluoroorotic acid) negative selection in the library screening, and found that this coupled method effectively eliminated bait RNA-independent false positives and hence greatly improved library screening efficiency. We used this method successfully in isolation of cDNA of an RNA-binding protein that might play important roles in certain cellular process. This improvement will facilitate the use of the yeast three-hybrid system in analyzing RNA-protein interaction.

高效PiggyBac转座酶的构建与筛选

【目的】构建能够定点转座的高效PiggyBac转座酶系统。【方法】以野生型PiggyBac转座酶为模板,通过易错PCR方法随机突变转座酶基因,构建转座酶突变库,并将其与能够靶向识别并结合DNA序列的锌指蛋白(ZFP)融合表达,构建ZFP-PiggyBac转座酶突变库系统。将转座酶载体突变库、转座子载体和报告载体共转到酿酒酵母JMY1中,通过Ura-5FOA酵母筛选系统筛选高效定点作用的转座酶。【结果】成功构建ZFP-PiggyBac转座酶突变库系统,经过3轮系统筛选获得5个高效作用的突变转座酶。【结论】新构建的ZFP-PiggyBac转座酶突变库系统具有在锌指蛋白ZFP靶向识别域Rosa26BS位点处进行高效转座的能力。