Primer Design

Primers can be designed directly against the sequences annotated in CnidoSite, or against a sequence you paste in. Design is performed by primer3 (version 2.6.1) running on this server — your sequence is not sent to any third-party website. For reference, the primers released with this database were designed with an optimal melting temperature of 60°C (58–62 °C), an optimal primer length of 20 bp (18–24 bp), and a GC content between 40% and 60%, with self-complementarity restricted to limit primer-dimer formation; that parameter set is the CnidoSite published protocol preset below.

Template taken from CnidoSite: OS493_025070-T1 (OS493_025070-T1), 2,046 bp.
Template

Two ways to supply a template: pick a species and a gene / transcript ID, or paste your own sequence. If the gene ID is found it is used; the pasted sequence is used otherwise. A template must be at least 30 bp.

Load example sequence
Primer parameters
Advanced parameters (any field left empty keeps the preset value)

A value that is not a number is ignored. The product size range is applied only when both of its fields are filled in and the maximum is at least the minimum.

Melting temperature
Primer length and GC content
Product and output
Self-complementarity and probe
Download TSV
Design results sorted by primer3 penalty, lowest first

Template 2,046 bp · parameter preset CnidoSite published protocol (Tm 60 [58-62] °C, 20 [18-24] bp, GC 40-60%) · 5 primer pairs returned.

Pair Left primer (5'→3') Position Len Tm (°C) GC (%) Right primer (5'→3') Position Len Tm (°C) GC (%) Product (bp) Penalty
1 TCGACGCAGCACAGAAAGAT 380–399 20 60.038 50.000 GAAAGTGGTCGTTTGCGGAC 655–674 20 60.042 55.000 295 0.080
2 GTCCGCAAACGACCACTTTC 655–674 20 60.042 55.000 GTCGACAAGTGGCTTTGCTG 851–870 20 60.041 55.000 216 0.083
3 GGACGCAAAGGAGCTCATCT 1483–1502 20 60.108 55.000 GCGTGGCTTTCTTCTTTGCA 1671–1690 20 59.969 50.000 208 0.139
4 CGTCTGCCAACCAAAACTCG 1250–1269 20 60.041 55.000 GCTCCTCTCTCATTCCCTGC 1372–1391 20 59.893 60.000 142 0.148
5 GTGCAGGTCTGTGAACTGGA 1153–1172 20 59.893 55.000 CGAGTTTTGGTTGGCAGACG 1250–1269 20 60.041 55.000 117 0.148
Primer map pair 1 (lowest penalty) · product 295 bp at template position 380–674 · the template track shows a 1,500 bp window of the 2,046 bp template — the blue segment on the top bar is where that window sits, and every scale is in template coordinates · the two tracks are drawn at different scales

Left primer — binds the template strand as listed (5′→3′)Right primer — its reverse complement binds hereProductWindow drawn in the template track

whole templatethe 1,500 bp drawn in the track below · template 1–1,500 of 2,046Template1,500 bp windowproduct 295 bp · template 380–674product 295 bpleft primer, template 380–399right primer anneals here, template 655–67413767511,1251,500Amplicon295 bpleft primer TCGACGCAGCACAGAAAGAT · 5′→3′right primer GAAAGTGGTCGTTTGCGGAC · its reverse complement binds the template strandinterior 255 bp380454527601674
Left primer
TCGACGCAGCACAGAAAGAT
template 380–399 · 20 bp · Tm 60.038 °C · GC 50.000 %
Right primer
GAAAGTGGTCGTTTGCGGAC
template 655–674 · 20 bp · Tm 60.042 °C · GC 55.000 %

Amplicon sequence (5′→3′ on the template strand, 295 bp) — blue is the left primer, red is where the right primer anneals. Copy from here to order or to check a base by eye.

TCGACGCAGCACAGAAAGATAACGCCGACTCTTATCCAGTGAACAGGAGACGCTCCAACTGTGTAAAGGAGATTGAGCGATTAAAAAAGAATAGAGAGGAAAGAAGAGCTCAACAGCTAGAACAAAAAGAAATGAGACTTAAACTTCAACAGGAAGTGGATCCTGGAAATCCCAGCTGGGAATTTATACAAATGATAAGGGAATTCCAAGCGGCTTTAGATTTTCAAGGATTAACAATGTCAGATCCAGTTACAGACCACCAGATTTCTGTGTGTGTCCGCAAACGACCACTTTC

The right primer is listed as its own 5'→3' sequence; what anneals to the template strand shown here is its reverse complement, so the highlighted stretch is complementary to the listed sequence. That is expected.

How to read this table. Position is a 1-based interval on the template, and both primers use the same convention: it is the stretch the primer occupies on the template strand (for the left primer, starting at its 5’ end; for the right primer, the region it anneals to, i.e. where the reverse complement of the listed sequence sits on the template). The two coordinates in a row can therefore be subtracted directly, and the amplicon view above marks both of them so you can check them by eye. Penalty is primer3’s weighted sum of the deviations from your constraints — lower is better, and the pairs are returned in that order. Tm is computed by primer3 from the SantaLucia thermodynamic parameters at the salt and primer concentrations in effect. The primer sequences themselves are 5’→3′ and can be ordered as they stand; the right primer anneals to the template as its reverse complement.

Specificity has not been assessed. This page only designs primers; it does not check whether they also anneal elsewhere in the genome or transcriptome. Once you have candidates, confirm each primer sequence with this site’s BLAST. The Tm and GC settings above are the design targets, and the annealing temperature still has to be optimised at the bench.

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