Make beautiful figures and videos of DNA replication.
RepliCanvas is a free, browser-based studio for drawing, exploring, and animating DNA replication. Shape origins, bubbles, and forks directly on the canvas, customise their molecular presentation, and export publication-ready figures or complete S-phase animations. No installation is required to use the live app.
DNA replication in a two-origin system.
- Choose a molecule. Start with linear or circular DNA, or paint an arbitrary free-form path.
- Build and style the model. Add origins, move bubbles and individual forks, then adjust strands, base pairs, colours, labels, geometry, and replication timing.
- Animate or export. Run the S phase, save the configuration for later, or download the result as a figure, GIF, or video.
- Edit replication directly. Add origins, drag forks and bubbles, split replicated regions, create strand breaks, and step through replication continuously or one base pair at a time.
- Support several visual languages. Switch between Standard, Straight, and Minimal representations and tune spacing, dimensions, handedness, transitions, contours, colours, and layers.
- Draw free-form DNA. Paint smooth open or periodic molecules, connect paths, reshape them, erase sections, and keep several independent DNA pieces on the same canvas.
- Save reusable projects. Download a complete configuration and load it later to continue editing every relevant parameter and replication event.
Three ways to shape a replicating molecule: linear, circular, or entirely free-form.
| Format | Best for |
|---|---|
| PNG | High-resolution raster figures |
| SVG | Editable vector artwork |
| Print-ready figures | |
| GIF | Lightweight, easily shared animations |
| MP4 | High-quality S-phase videos |
GIF and MP4 frame rate and dimensions are configured independently under Settings. GIF also offers palette and looping controls; MP4 offers video-quality controls. A current Chromium-based browser is recommended for the most reliable animation export.
If RepliCanvas supports your work, please cite the software using the metadata in CITATION.cff. GitHub also exposes this through Cite this repository.
Bug reports, feature ideas, and scientific suggestions are welcome through the GitHub issue tracker.
Francisco Berkemeier
fp409@cam.ac.uk · github.com/fberkemeier
RepliCanvas is released under the MIT License. The bundled Mediabunny library is distributed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0.