Construction of recombinant DNA by exonuclease recession.

We describe a new exonuclease-based method for joining and/or constructing two or more DNA molecules. DNA fragments containing ends complementary to those of a vector or another independent molecules were generated by the polymerase chain reaction. The 3' ends of these molecules as well as the vector DNA were then recessed by exonuclease activity and annealed in an orientation-determined manner via their complementary single-stranded regions. This recombinant DNA can be transformed directly into bacteria without a further ligase-dependent reaction. Using this approach, we have constructed recombinant DNA molecules rapidly, efficiently and directionally. This method can effectively replace conventional protocols for PCR cloning, PCR SOEing, DNA subcloning and site-directed mutagenesis.     

Gene splicing by overlap extension: tailor-made genes using the polymerase chain reaction

Gene Splicing by Overlap Extension or "gene SOEing" is a PCR-based method of recombining DNA sequences without reliance on restriction sites and of directly generating mutated DNA fragments in vitro. By modifying the sequences incorporated into the 5'-ends of the primers, any pair of polymerase chain reaction products can be made to share a common sequence at one end. Under polymerase chain reaction conditions, the common sequence allows strands from two different fragments to hybridize to one another, forming an overlap. Extension of this overlap by DNA polymerase yields a recombinant molecule. This powerful and technically simple approach offers many advantages over conventional approaches for manipulating gene sequences.     

利用套叠PCR技术进行基因突变和拼接

利用套叠PCR技术（又称重叠区扩增基因拼接法）对hGM-CSF基因内第28位氨基酸处的糖基化位点进行突变和进行人促性腺激素基因,腺苷酸激酶短肽与胰岛素样生长因子－基因三者之间的拼接,结果表明采用该技术能在体外实行有效的基因重组和定点突变,其成功率为100％,这一技术不需要内切酶消化和连接酶处理,技术操作员简单易行,在基因拼接,基因内部突变方面具有良好的应用价值。     

Inducible product gene expression technology tailored to bioprocess engineering

Bioprocess engineering has developed as a discipline to design optimal culture conditions and bioreactor operation protocols for production cell lines engineered for constitutive expression of desired protein pharmaceuticals. With the advent of heterologous gene regulation systems it has become possible to fine-tune expression of difficult-to-produce protein pharmaceuticals to optimal levels and to conditionally engineer cell metabolism for the best production performance. However, most of the small-molecules used to trigger expression of product or metabolic engineering product genes are incompatible with downstream processing regulations or process economics. Recent progress in product gene control design has resulted in the development of bioprocess-compatible regulation systems, which are responsive to physical parameters such as temperature or physiologic trigger molecules that are either an inherent part of host cell metabolism or intrinsic components of licensed protein-free cell culture media, such as redox status, vitamin H and gaseous acetaldehyde. While all of these systems have been shown to fine-tune product gene expression independent of the host cell metabolism some of them can be plugged into metabolic networks to capture critical physiologic parameters and convert them into an optimal production response. Assembly of individual product gene control modalities into synthetic networks has recently enabled construction of autonomously regulated time-delay or cell density-sensitive gene circuits, which trigger population-wide induction of product gene expression at a predefined time or culture density. We provide a comprehensive overview on the latest developments in the design of bioprocess-compatible product gene control systems.     

Quenching accumulation of toxic galactose-1-phosphate as a system to select disruption of protein-protein interactions in vivo

The reverse two-hybrid system has been developed to readily identify molecules or mutations that can disrupt protein-protein interactions in vivo. This system is generally based on the interaction-dependent activation of a reporter gene, whose product inhibits the growth of the engineered yeast cell. Thus, disruption of the interaction between the hybrid proteins can be positively selected because, by reducing the expression of the negative marker gene, it allows cell growth. Although several counter-selectable marker genes are currently available, their application in the reverse two-hybrid system is generally confronted with technical and practical problems such as low selectivity and relatively complex experimental procedures. Thus, the characterization of more reliable and simple counter-selection assays for the reverse two-hybrid system continues to be of interest. We have developed a novel counter-selection assay based on the toxicity of intracellular galactose-1-phosphate, which accumulates upon expression of a galactokinase-encoding GAL1 reporter gene in the absence of transferase activity. Decreased GAL1 gene expression upon dissociation of interacting proteins causes reduction of intracellular galactose-1-phosphate concentrations, thus allowing cell growth under selective conditions.     

Enzymatic formation of biparental figure-eight molecules from plasmid DNA and their resolution in E. coli

A key intermediate in general genetic recombination is a structure in which two double-stranded DNA molecules are covalently linked by a single-strand crossover characteristic of a Holliday junction. When the DNA molecules are circular, the recombinant structures take the form of a figure eight. We have used purified E. coli enzymes to construct biparental figure-eight DNA molecules in vitro from the DNA of two partially homologous plasmids. When purified figure-eight structures are transfected into recA- E. coli cells, they are resolved to produce monomeric or dimeric plasmid progeny, apparently by the cutting and joining of the Holliday crossover. The maturation of figure-eight molecules in bacteria is characterized by the formation and recovery of both parental and recombinant types, cross-over at a frequency of up to 50% and the capability for mismatch repair at regions of hybrid DNA. In these three regards, the products of figure-eight maturation resemble recombinant chromosomes formed at meiosis. These observations show that biparental figure eights behave as recombination intermediates that can be resolved into mature recombinants without need for a functional recA+ gene product.     

Direct adenylation from 5′-OH-terminated oligonucleotides by a fusion enzyme containing Pfu RNA ligase and T4 polynucleotide kinase

5′-Adenylated oligonucleotides (AppOligos) are widely used for single-stranded DNA/RNA ligation in next-generation sequencing (NGS) applications such as microRNA (miRNA) profiling. The ligation between an AppOligo adapter and target molecules (such as miRNA) no longer requires ATP, thereby minimizing potential self-ligations and simplifying library preparation procedures. AppOligos can be produced by chemical synthesis or enzymatic modification. However, adenylation via chemical synthesis is inefficient and expensive, while enzymatic modification requires pre-phosphorylated substrate and additional purification. Here we cloned and characterized the Pfu RNA ligase encoded by the PF0353 gene in the hyperthermophilic archaea Pyrococcus furiosus. We further engineered fusion enzymes containing both Pfu RNA ligase and T4 polynucleotide kinase. One fusion enzyme, 8H-AP, was thermostable and can directly catalyze 5′-OH-terminated DNA substrates to adenylated products. The newly discovered Pfu RNA ligase and the engineered fusion enzyme may be useful tools for applications using AppOligos.     

Seamless gene engineering using RNA- and DNA-overhang cloning

Here we describe two methods for generating DNA fragments with single-stranded overhangs, like those generated by the activity of many restriction enzymes, by simple methods that do not involve DNA digestion. The methods, RNA-overhang cloning (ROC) and DNA-overhang cloning (DOC), generate polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products composed of double-stranded (ds) DNA flanked by single-stranded (ss) RNA or DNA overhangs. The overhangs can be used to recombine DNA fragments at any sequence location, creating "perfect" chimeric genes composed of DNA fragments that have been joined without the insertion, deletion, or alteration of even a single base pair. The ROC method entails using PCR primers that contain regions of RNA sequence that cannot be copied by certain thermostable DNA polymerases. Using such a chimeric primer in PCR would yield a product with a 5' overhang identical to the sequence of the RNA component of the primer, which can be used for directional ligation of the amplified product to other preselected DNA molecules. This method provides complete control over both the length and sequence of the overhangs, and eliminates the need for restriction enzymes as tools for gene engineering.     

一种新型抗菌肽Cecropin B真核表达载体的构建

通过重叠区扩增法人工设计和合成一种新型抗菌肽Cecropin B基因,按正确的阅读框架定向克隆至巴斯德毕赤酵母的高效表达载体pPIC9K上。经PCR鉴定及序列分析,所转化的大肠杆菌DH5ct菌落中含有插入Cecropin B基因的重组质粒pPIC9K—CB,表明成功构建了新型抗菌肽Cecropin B表达载体pPIC9K—CB。     

Regulatory mechanism of simian virus 40 gene expression in permissive and in nonpermissive cells.

Primary or continuous lines of mouse cells (3T3) are nonpermissive for simian virus 40 (SV40). Abortively infected cells synthesize tumor antigen (T antigen but not viral DNA and virus capsid protein (V antigen). V antigen, however, was obtained when SV40 DNA was injected into 3T3 cells. This late gene expression also appears to be correlated with the quantity of injected DNA molecules per 3T3 cell. T antigen formation can be detected after microinjection of only 1 to 2 DNA molecules, but the intensity of intranuclear T antigen fluorescence is significantly brighter with injection of higher concentrations of viral DNA. In permissive cells (TC7), early and late SV40 gene expression is directly related to the number of injected molecules. Microinjection of 1DNA molecule induced T and V antigen formation with the same efficiency as microinjection of 2,000 to 4,000 molecules. The question of weather late SV40 gene expression is directly related to the quantity of an early virus-specific product was approached by microinjection of early SV40 complementary RNA together with small amounts of viral DNA. V antigen was obtained in a high proportion of recipient 3T3 cells at conditions where microinjection of viral DNA alone induced T but not V antigen synthesis.     

Chimeric DNA methyltransferases target DNA methylation to specific DNA sequences and repress expression of target genes

Gene silencing by targeted DNA methylation has potential applications in basic research and therapy. To establish targeted methylation in human cell lines, the catalytic domains (CDs) of mouse Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b DNA methyltransferases (MTases) were fused to different DNA binding domains (DBD) of GAL4 and an engineered Cys2His2 zinc finger domain. We demonstrated that (i) Dense DNA methylation can be targeted to specific regions in gene promoters using chimeric DNA MTases. (ii) Site-specific methylation leads to repression of genes controlled by various cellular or viral promoters. (iii) Mutations affecting any of the DBD, MTase or target DNA sequences reduce targeted methylation and gene silencing. (iv) Targeted DNA methylation is effective in repressing Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection in cell culture with the viral titer reduced by at least 18-fold in the presence of an MTase fused to an engineered zinc finger DBD, which binds a single site in the promoter of HSV-1 gene IE175k. In short, we show here that it is possible to direct DNA MTase activity to predetermined sites in DNA, achieve targeted gene silencing in mammalian cell lines and interfere with HSV-1 propagation.     

Rescue of abortive T7 gene 2 mutant phage infection by rifampin.

Infection of Escherichia coli with T7 gene 2 mutant phage was abortive; concatemeric phage DNA was synthesized but was not packaged into the phage head, resulting in an accumulation of DNA species shorter in size than the phage genome, concomitant with an accumulation of phage head-related structures. Appearance of concatemeric T7 DNA in gene 2 mutant phage infection during onset of T7 DNA replication indicates that the product of gene 2 was required for proper processing or packaging of concatemer DNA rather than for the synthesis of T7 progeny DNA or concatemer formation. This abortive infection by gene 2 mutant phage could be rescued by rifampin. If rifampin was added at the onset of T7 DNA replication, concatemeric DNA molecules were properly packaged into phage heads, as evidenced by the production of infectious progeny phage. Since the gene 2 product acts as a specific inhibitor of E. coli RNA polymerase by preventing the enzyme from binding T7 DNA, uninhibited E. coli RNA polymerase in gene 2 mutant phage-infected cells interacts with concatemeric T7 DNA and perturbs proper DNA processing unless another inhibitor of the enzyme (rifampin) was added. Therefore, the involvement of gene 2 protein in T7 DNA processing may be due to its single function as the specific inhibitor of the host E. coli RNA polymerase.