Genetic Array with Mixed Effects Regression (GAMER)

The GAMER software is an ideal tool for the acquisition and analysis of data from large-scale genetic screens, in particular the SGA (Synthetic Genetic Array) type of screen for synthetic genetic interactions. Developed in Dr. Jaclyn Vogel's lab, it measures colony growth over time and quantifies the comparative fitness of each strain. While GAMER was initially designed for a yeast genetic screen, it can be easily adapted to other samples and/or applications, such as directed evolution experiments or drug screens.

Details on GAMER are published in:

Interrogation of γ-tubulin alleles using high-resolution fitness measurements reveals a distinct cytoplasmic function in spindle alignment.

Kristian Shulist, Eric Yen, Susanne Kaitna, Allen Leary, Alexandra Decterov, Debarun Gupta & Jackie Vogel.
Scientific Reports; volume 7, Article number: 11398 (2017).
 

Figure 2. Identification of synthetic genetic interactions based on relative fitness using GAMER. (a) Overview of the GAMER method, which includes imaging every two hours over a 72-hour period. Images are processed computationally and fitness extracted and used to calculate the GAMER scores of the double mutants. (b,c) SGA growth curves (left panels) for six isolates of wild-type, γtub-Y445D (top) or γtub-Y362E (bottom), mad2Δ and the combined double mutant. Values of the observed and expected growth defects (dij) for the respective double mutants (right panels).