Picky is an oligo design program that alleviates long and monotonous calculations by identifying probes that are very unique and specific to sequence regions. These calculations are based on parameters inputted by the user including optimal probe length, ideal percentage of guanine and cytosine content, salt concentration and the maximum length to which a target sequence matches any non-target sequence. Picky has exceptional computational capability and is user friendly. Macintosh, Unix and PC versions are all available.

Introduction to Tutorial

This tutorial is designed to give users a basic understanding of the functions of Picky for oligo design. Users should be able to perform the following tasks upon completion of the tutorial:

• Load a target gene sequence
• Compute the sequence using parameters defined by the user
• Understand and identify meaning of the various highlighted colors, underlined sequences and text colored sequences
• Pick out a unique sequence based on the program's design

Guided Tour of Picky