About SeqStudio · how to use, FAQ
Unlike this site's other plasmid tools, which only display a sequence you paste in, SeqStudio is genuinely editable: type directly into the sequence, and every feature's coordinates update live as bases are inserted, deleted, or replaced — including a feature that wraps a circular plasmid's origin. An edit that would partially delete a feature is never applied silently; you're asked to trim the feature to what survives or delete it outright. A bounded undo/redo history coalesces rapid typing into single steps, auto-annotation reuses the same signature library as the Plasmid Annotator, and you can import or export both real GenBank files and SnapGene .dna files.
How to use SeqStudio
- 1Load the example or paste/type a DNA sequence, and check "Circular" if it's a plasmid.
- 2Edit directly in the textarea — features re-annotate live as you type, or click "Re-scan now", and you can add your own — and watch the map update as you type.
- 3If an edit partially overlaps a feature, choose "trim" or "delete" for it in the banner that appears before the edit is applied.
- 4Export the result as a GenBank or SnapGene .dna file, print a detailed map (locus, plasmid map, feature table, position-numbered sequence) as a PDF, or copy a share link that restores the exact sequence and features.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from the Plasmid Annotator or Plasmid Viewer?
Those two tools render a sequence you paste in — read-only. SeqStudio is a real editor: the sequence itself is a live textarea, and every keystroke (insert, delete, or a selection typed over) recomputes each feature's coordinates against that specific edit, including features that wrap a circular plasmid's origin.
What happens if my edit would partially delete a feature?
It's never applied silently. If a deletion would consume only one boundary of a feature (its start or its end, not both), the edit is held and a banner asks you to choose, per affected feature: "trim to remaining sequence" (keep whatever part of the feature survives) or "delete" it outright. A deletion that consumes a feature ENTIRELY is auto-removed with a toast — undo brings it straight back.
How does undo/redo work?
A bounded history (up to 150 steps) of full sequence+feature snapshots, not a diff log — rapid typing is coalesced into one undo step after a short pause, the same way most text editors group keystrokes. The browser's own native text-undo isn't wired to this editor's undo/redo buttons.
Does it show restriction sites and a virtual gel?
Yes — the Restriction sites panel searches all 566 enzymes in the catalog and scans the ones you tick live as you edit (correctly detecting sites that span a circular plasmid's origin), defaulting to unique (single-cut) sites. Check any enzyme to mark its cut site directly on the map and add it to an embedded virtual gel, which can run a lane per enzyme beside the combined digest and draw the partial-digest series.
Can I have more than one construct open at once?
Yes — the tab bar above the editor supports multiple documents at once, each with its own independent sequence, features, undo history, and live restriction digest. Every open tab stays live in the background when you switch away, so nothing is lost; use "+ New" to open another, and the ✕ on a tab to close it (always at least one stays open).
Can I print or export a detailed map as a PDF?
Yes — "Print / export PDF" uses your browser's own print dialog (choose "Save as PDF" as the destination), producing a detailed map: the locus name, length and topology, the plasmid map, the full feature table, and a position-numbered sequence listing — with all the editing controls (buttons, inputs, the enzyme picker) omitted from the printed page.
Can I exchange files with SnapGene?
Both directions. SeqStudio reads SnapGene .dna files on import (via a reverse-engineered parser, since the format has never been publicly specified) and can write them back out with the "Export .dna" button — so you can open a colleague's SnapGene file, edit it here, and hand back a .dna. GenBank import/export (including Benchling's GenBank exports) round-trips fully too, including features that wrap a circular plasmid's origin.
Does SeqStudio replace an ELN like Benchling?
Different job. SeqStudio is the bench you design and check on: an editable sequence with live feature remapping, plasmid maps, restriction and primer panels, cloning simulation, CRISPR design and Sanger verification — in a browser tab, on any machine, with nothing to install and no license to renew. An electronic lab notebook is where the record of what you did lives, with the team permissions and shared workspaces that go with it; bring the construct here to work on it, and keep the write-up there.