Virus Production & Molecular Biology Core

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Virus Production & Molecular Biology Core Project Summary The Virus Production & Molecular Biology Core module will provide the means to incorporate modern molecular and genetic techniques into the programs of vision research investigators at Yale. First, the Core module will supply virus preparation assistance and related services for laboratories working with transgenic animals and/or viral techniques. Second, the Core module will train new investigators and students in basic molecular biology techniques, including DNA modification to generate new viral vectors, as well as histological techniques, such as immunostaining. Third, it provides and maintains a range of molecular biology equipment to be shared among vision researchers who lack such equipment in their own laboratories. Viral vectors are powerful tools for gene delivery in terminally differentiated cells. For example, adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) have enjoyed increasingly wide application in vision research based on their many favorable features that include the lack of pathogenicity, low immunogenicity, and the ability to maintain long-term transgene expression in neurons. The Virus Production & Molecular Biology Core module will be capable of providing both AAV vector design and production to meet a variety of research needs among vision researchers at Yale. An in-house capability for virus design and production will significantly enhance vision research by producing custom, high-titer AAV products not available from commercial sources. Consultation and training in molecular, genetic and histological techniques will expand the research capabilities of vision researchers that lack sufficient background in these areas with the convenience of in-person consultation for specific research needs.