PromoterCAD

Synthetic promoters can be used to control when, where, and how much of an arbitrary gene is expressed in an organism. The regulation of a promoter is specified by its pattern of cis-regulatory motifs; several methods have been developed for identifying and predicting the functions of natural motifs. Synthetic promoters with novel regulation functions can be designed by rational motif arrangement. PromoterCAD is a simple web-based UI for data-driven regulatory DNA design. Plugin tools are used to mine regulatory motifs from public databases, with an iterative design workflow for the accumulation of many motifs within a synthetic promoter design. The UI arbitrates when different introduced motifs overlap in position. Currently, PromoterCAD uses data collected from Arabidopsis thaliana to aid synthetic plant promoter design.

合成启动子（synthetic promoter）可用于调控任意基因在生物体中的表达时机、表达部位与表达水平。启动子的调控特性由其顺式调控基序（cis-regulatory motif）的排布模式决定；目前已开发出多种方法，用于识别并预测天然调控基序的功能。通过合理排布调控基序，可设计具备全新调控功能的合成启动子。PromoterCAD是一款基于网页的简易用户界面（UI），用于数据驱动型调控DNA设计。其借助插件工具从公共数据库中挖掘调控基序，并通过迭代式设计工作流，在合成启动子的设计过程中逐步整合多种调控基序。该用户界面可协调不同导入的调控基序间的位置重叠问题。目前，PromoterCAD依托拟南芥（Arabidopsis thaliana）的采集数据，辅助植物合成启动子的设计工作。