The construction and manipulation of plasmids and of cloned DMA sequences is a central activity ofevery laboratory involved in the molecular analysis of cancer. Some manipulations are more challengingand some plasmids refractory to common procedures. The Molecular Biology Shared Resource wasinitiated to assist Cancer Center investigators with plasmid manipulations and cloning projects that proveproblematic to individual laboratories or that prove refractory to manipulation by laboratory technicians,students, and post-docs. In addition, the Molecular Biology Shared Resource provides a cost-effectivealternative to a variety of basic services to the investigators of the Massey Cancer Center (MCC). Thesebasic services include endotoxin-free plasmid purification, insert purification, plasmid management andmaintaining an inventory of plasmid vectors and clones. Other projects are designed upon the specificneeds of client laboratories including custom subcloning, library screening, generation and optimization ofprotein expression vectors, design, construction, and analysis of gene targeting vectors, and proteinproduction in bacterial, insect and mammalian cells. The MBSR works in synch with the Transgenic andKnockout Core Facility and facilitates access of Cancer Center members to such animals through vectordesign and construction. A large part of the activity of the Core involves plasmid manipulations that haveproven difficult for the requesting laboratory, so each job tends to have unique characteristics and usuallyinvolves trouble-shooting and redesign of procedures. Thus, the expertise of Facility personnel has provento be one of the most valuable services offered by the Core. MSBR personnel offer training seminars andpreviews of newer technologies as they are developed, and often train laboratory personnel in routine (andnot so routine) molecular procedures. The Core Director offers a formal course in all phases of moleculartechnique that can be taken for credit or audited.New directions for the Molecular Biology Shared Resource are continuously being sought, inconsultation with Cancer Center investigators and the MBSR oversight committee. The recent hire of newfaculty in Chemical Biology into the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry (members of the MolecularCancer Therapeutics program) has promoted a move towards the support of protein production for structuralstudies. The Shared Resource has been increasingly active during the past 2 years assisting investigatorswith their protein production needs, generating expression vectors and optimizing protein expressionsystems for scaled-up production.
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