Transfection-based Homologous Recombination (HR) and Non-homologous End Joining (NHEJ) kits use transient transfections to make a pool of cells containing the DNA reporters to allow the investigator to interrogate the 2 major DNA repair pathways. The advantages are:
- It uses GFP readout to measure the efficiency of repair.
- There is zero background when repair is blocked or inhibited
- The reporters for HR or NHEJ can be installed in virtually any cell line that can be transiently transfect
- It is rapid and robust
- It is ideal for drug screens to find novel inhibitors of HR/NHEJ
- The kits are highly specific and can only report HR or NHEJ
- Readout GFP can be done by FACS or Imaging
- Entire pathway can be followed by live imaging in viable cells
- Ideal to track repair kinetics at the single cell level