Baylor College of Medicine Developed a Novel Approach to Select Subjects for Gene Experiments More Convenient and Faster than Fruit Fly Screening Method

Genetics are among the base of the biology field as well as disease studies. Numerous genetic research is gradually culminating every year, and more medical and technological advancements are surfacing because of our gene knowledge developments. In a new study, Baylor College of Medicine scientists has developed a new approach to observe and gather data from genetic manipulations that occur in a selected organism without even going through every variant of the same subject. The novel approach was conducted with the help of a drug-based genetic platform which the experts also constructed.

Drug-Based Platform for Subject Selection

The new study enumerated the functions biologists can utilize through gene equipment. In addition, the authors of the study included several of the main functions the new technology can be applied with. The paper also showed other additional configurations for the drug-based gene platform to work at its best, including setting it up, processing specimens, and analyzing information from the examination. Moreover, the technology is revealed to have the capacity to work with other traditional methods used in biological studies.

The new genetic platform is composed of several devices and resources that could help any gene-related investigation be convenient, more efficient, and faster than its predecessors. Among the most important part of gene technology is the plasmid library that could be a reference for scientists in numerous experiments and prevent them from going through a separate and complex experiment to find specifics needed for the main research.

Baylor's Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology expert and lead author of the study Nick Matinyan said in a PhyOrg report that they selected the Drosophila or fruit fly as a subject for the study as it is the most well-observed specimen in most genetic researches and gives comprehensive results in biological processes such as genetic mutations. In addition, the fruit flies are an effective subject that expresses notable results that helped many studies on health and disease.

Importance of Fruit Flies in Genetic Studies

The usual study that involves the help of fruit flies requires plenty of variants of the insect. Through the process, the fruit flies are reintroduced to a community before undergoing examinations. From there, a specific subject expresses the most precise genes preferred by the research. During the selection, there are tags added to the genes of the selected subjects for the experts to precisely differentiate the specimens from the rest of the group.

The genetic tags being normally present in the fruit flies have been concluded in the previous studies, which eases the painstaking process. While the process has effectively proven its advantage and has worked for many years in genetic ventures, the co-author of the study Koen Venken said that the fruit fly method is a downside. To procure specific subjects, researchers must screen thousands of flies manually before even selecting the best specimen. The normal process is truly time-consuming and somewhat frustrating.

With the novel technology, experts can now run experiments with the help of a subject that has not been selected from a vast number of potential candidates. The approach uses a drug-resistance tag that will allow experts to easily determine the right specimen once it survives the specialized exposure, eliminating unfit candidates and leaving out the best ones for genetic investigations. The study was published in the journal Cell Reports, titled "Multiplexed drug-based selection and counterselection genetic manipulations in Drosophila."

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