Resources

Below you can find links to useful tools, reagents and resources relevant to SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19.

Protocols

BioID and lentiviral protocols, as well as plasmid constructs, can be found at the Network Biology Collaborative Centre.

Tools

  • GIX is a browser extension that retrieves gene information on any website simply by double-clicking on a gene name. You may find it helpful for quickly retrieving information when browsing data on this website.

Databases

Definitions

BioID

BioID is a technique that identifies protein-protein interactions in living cells and represents a powerful complementary approach to standard affinity purification approaches (e.g. immunoprecipitation combined with mass spectrometry, IP-MS), with a notably improved ability to identify transient or weak interactors, as well as PPIs that take place in/at cellular membranes and on chromatin, where key steps in viral replication take place. In BioID a protein of interest is fused with an E. coli biotin conjugating enzyme mutant. The abortive mutant BirA* protein (R118G) can efficiently activate biotin but exhibits a reduced affinity for the activated molecule. Highly reactive biotinoyl-AMP thus simply diffuses away from BirA* and forms covalent bonds with nearby amine groups - including epsilon amines on lysine residues in neighbouring (within ~10nm) polypeptides. Following cell lysis, these biotinylated proteins can be affinity purified using streptavidin and identified with MS. Since interactors are covalently modified with biotin, highly robust lysis conditions can be used to solubilize polypeptides from less soluble cellular compartments. Finally, unlike IP-based approaches, BioID does not require that protein-protein interactions be maintained post-lysis. Weak and/or transient interactors can thus also be identified with this technique.

References