Liquid-based iterative recombineering method tolerant to counter-selection escapes

PLoS One. 2015 Mar 16;10(3):e0119818. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119818. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Selection-based recombineering is a flexible and proven technology to precisely modify bacterial genomes at single base resolution. It consists of two steps of homologous recombination followed by selection/counter-selection. However, the shortage of efficient counter-selectable markers limits the throughput of this method. Additionally, the emergence of 'selection escapees' can affect recombinant pools generated through this method, and they must be manually removed at each step of selection-based recombineering. Here, we report a series of efforts to improve the throughput and robustness of selection-based recombineering and to achieve seamless and automatable genome engineering. Using the nucleoside kinase activity of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (hsvTK) on the non-natural nucleoside dP, a highly efficient, rapid, and liquid-based counter-selection system was established. By duplicating hsvtk gene, combined with careful control of the population size for the subsequent round, we effectively eliminated selection escapes, enabling seamless and multiple insertions/replacement of gene-size fragments in the chromosome. Four rounds of recombineering could thus be completed in 10 days, requiring only liquid handling and without any need for colony isolation or genotype confirmation. The simplicity and robustness of our method make it broadly accessible for multi-locus chromosomal modifications.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cloning, Molecular / methods*
  • Escherichia coli / genetics*
  • Metabolic Engineering / methods*
  • Simplexvirus / enzymology
  • Simplexvirus / genetics*
  • Thymidine Kinase / genetics*
  • Thymidine Kinase / metabolism

Substances

  • Thymidine Kinase

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Commission for Development of Artificial Gene Synthesis Technology for Creating Innovative Biomaterial from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI, Japan), the Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology (PRESTO) program of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), and Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (23108507) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)/Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.