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DNA parts are functional DNA pieces used to create designs that will be assembled. Unlike DNA sequences, Parts can be linked to your physical inventory and used to optimize your research workflows.
DNA Parts Library
Your registered parts can be found on the Molecules menu from the Molecular Biology Toolkit, and will show you the typical Library view:
Even though some information is repeated with your DNA Sequences library, not all DNA sequences are identified as functional Biological Parts. In addition, the DNA Parts library allows you to see different information such as the linked designs. It also indicates to which DNA sequence it corresponds, in the “Source Sequence” column. When opening an entry, you will obtain the following information:
TeselaGen’s software allows you to create a well-documented register of your part. Since it is a functional piece, you can see linked sequences, designs, assembly reports, and import collections. Also, this example DNA part can’t be edited anymore, because it is already linked to a physical material (that means it already exists on TeselaGen’s Lab Inventory Management System and understands this is the theoretical info of your DNA material, which can’t be manually changed).
Right-click a part to open the available options to work with it.
Some of the options displayed allow you to view or edit the basic information of the part: view, open in a new tab, rename, delete, edit extended properties, etc.
Registering New DNA Parts
One of the main differences between the DNA Parts library and a typical molecules library is that you can’t directly create a DNA part by submitting a sequence. Indeed, there’s no option to submit or create them in the library. There are several ways to create a DNA part
Import parts from external databases
Creating a part from the DNA sequences library: When right-clicking an entry on your DNA sequences library, you will get the option to create a part from the sequence, the sequence features, or a digest.
Tags
Tags are used to organize and categorize your data. Click on the “Tag” option to tag your part or add a new tag, which will be shown in the library.
On the library you will see that instead of the option to add a new entry, you have the “upload tags on DNA parts” option, that can be used to upload a .csv or .xlsx file to automatically tag your parts. Remember that you can always download the example files available by clicking on the format you want to use. More information about tags can be found on User Settings.