Overview of working with baits

 

Baits are oligonucleotides that retrieve specific RNA species or genomic DNA fragments of interest for sequencing. The desired DNA or RNA molecules hybridize with the baits, and others do not. This forms the basis of a powerful selection method that lets you focus your sequencing efforts. The baits manufactured by Agilent are biotinylated RNA oligonucleotides. Currently, eArray supports a bait length of 120 nucleotides.

In eArray, a single bait is a nucleotide sequence that is associated with a unique Bait ID and species. Although the final product supplied by Agilent is a kit of biotinylated RNA oligonucleotides, Agilent first creates DNA oligonucleotides, and later transcribes these into RNA. Thus, bait sequences in eArray are specified in terms of DNA bases (A, C, G, T). Additional annotation can also be included with baits, such as the associated genomic interval, chromosomal location, gene symbols, and accession numbers. For the SureSelect Target Enrichment application type, bait sequences can be in either sense (+) or antisense (–) orientation, and libraries can contain baits in either or both orientations.

You can work with baits in several ways:

See also

Learn about SureSelect enrichment libraries

Overview of working with bait groups