MERCURIUS Drug-seq kits

Why standard RNA-seq becomes a bottleneck at screening scale

Transcriptomics can add real value in early discovery, but conventional RNA-seq is often too slow and labor-intensive for screening-scale studies. Once experiments expand to hundreds or thousands of conditions, RNA extraction, individual library prep, and longer turnaround can quickly become limiting.

MERCURIUS™ DRUG-seq is designed to make gene expression profiling more practical at scale. Its extraction-free 3′ mRNA-seq workflow converts cell lysates directly into sequencing-ready libraries and enables early sample pooling, helping streamline transcriptomic profiling across 96-, 384-, and 1,536-well screening formats.

Transcriptomic signatures for mechanism-of-action profiling

Phenotypic assays can show that a compound changes cell state, but they do not always explain how. Likewise, functional genomics screens can identify active genes without fully resolving downstream pathway effects. DRUG-seq adds that missing layer by capturing gene expression responses, giving researchers a way to compare perturbations by biology as well as phenotype.

Figure 1. DRUG-seq transcriptomic signatures support clustering of compounds and compound combinations by biological response.

These gene expression signatures can help group compounds with similar mechanisms, differentiate genetic perturbations with shared or distinct transcriptional consequences, and support mechanism-of-action studies earlier in discovery. For teams looking to move beyond surface-level phenotypes, transcriptomic profiling can provide a more informative view of underlying biology.

Better hit triage with molecular context

Hit triage is stronger when it is based on more than visible phenotype alone. Morphology, viability, and other screening readouts can identify active compounds or genetic hits, but they do not always reveal whether those effects reflect the intended biology or a broader, less desirable response.

DRUG-seq helps add that context by generating gene-level signatures across many perturbations in a screening-friendly format. Researchers can use those signatures to compare compound responses, investigate pathway activity, prioritize genes or targets for follow-up, and prioritize hits with greater confidence before moving into more resource-intensive follow-up studies.

A natural fit for Revvity screening workflows

MERCURIUS™ DRUG-seq complements Revvity screening workflows by adding transcriptomic context to phenotypic data and perturbation-driven screening readouts. High-content imaging and Cell Painting can reveal how cells respond to perturbation, while DRUG-seq shows the gene expression changes associated with those phenotypes. In functional genomics workflows, it can also help characterize the biological consequences of genetic perturbations across many conditions and complements Dharmacon™ RNAi & CRISPR screening by adding transcriptional context to genetic perturbation data.

Figure 2: Revvity solutions for drug discovery, including Dharmacon™ genetic perturbation tools, Opera™ and Operetta™ high-content imaging with PhenoVue™, and MERCURIUS™ Total DRUG-seq with Fontus™ for transcriptional profiling. Together, these help researchers address questions related to genes, pathways, and phenotypes at screening scale.

Together, these approaches provide a more complete view of compound, target, or gene-driven biology and support more informed hit prioritization and mechanism-of-action studies.