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: g16554.t1 (g16554.t1), 507 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 507 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 AGAAATCAACTGGCCAGCCA 137–156 20 59.887 50.000 AAGATGGTCCAACGTGGGTC 405–424 20 59.964 55.000 288 0.149
2 GCCAGCCAGAAGTTTGTGTC 149–168 20 59.688 55.000 AAGATGGTCCAACGTGGGTC 405–424 20 59.964 55.000 276 0.348
3 AGAAATCAACTGGCCAGCCA 137–156 20 59.887 50.000 GGGAAATGTCAGGGCAGCTA 332–351 20 59.744 55.000 215 0.369
4 CTGAGCTGCCTCAAGAGTGG 173–192 20 60.391 60.000 AAGATGGTCCAACGTGGGTC 405–424 20 59.964 55.000 252 0.428
5 CCTGAGCTGCCTCAAGAGTG 172–191 20 60.391 60.000 AAGATGGTCCAACGTGGGTC 405–424 20 59.964 55.000 253 0.428
Primer map pair 1 (lowest penalty) · product 288 bp at template position 137–424 · the two tracks are drawn at different scales

Left primer — binds the template strand as listed (5′→3′)Right primer — its reverse complement binds hereProduct

Template507 bpproduct 288 bp · template 137–424product 288 bpleft primer, template 137–156right primer anneals here, template 405–4241128254381507Amplicon288 bpleft primer AGAAATCAACTGGCCAGCCA · 5′→3′right primer AAGATGGTCCAACGTGGGTC · its reverse complement binds the template strandinterior 248 bp137209281352424
Left primer
AGAAATCAACTGGCCAGCCA
template 137–156 · 20 bp · Tm 59.887 °C · GC 50.000 %
Right primer
AAGATGGTCCAACGTGGGTC
template 405–424 · 20 bp · Tm 59.964 °C · GC 55.000 %

Amplicon sequence (5′→3′ on the template strand, 288 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.

AGAAATCAACTGGCCAGCCAGAAGTTTGTGTCACACCTGAGCTGCCTCAAGAGTGGCTGGCCACATTGATGTTTATGATTTTGGGTGTGATCACTTTGACCCTCACATGCTTTTTATTAGTCATGTCACCCTGGAAACCATTCATTGTCGATACAGCAAAATGGATTGTATTTACAGGAATGATTATGTTCTGTTTAGCTGCCCTGACATTTCCCATGGGATTTCAGATGCCAGAAATCGGAGGAAAACCATATAAGCTTCCACAAGGGACCCACGTTGGACCATCTT

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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