| Summary: | Construction of complex biological systems can require assembling many
modules together. However, existing assembly schemes are lacking in
generality, ease of use, or power to perform some desirable
operations. Currently, biological modules are most easily specified
and manipulated as DNA sequences. A general system, called
BioBricks++, for assembling and manipulating DNA modules is proposed.
BioBricks++ was inspired by the BioBricks assembly scheme but provides
for more possible module operations.
BioBricks++ uses commercially available restriction enzymes and
standard biological techniques for assembling modules. The key to the
method is in the specification of the standard DNA module. Modules are
packaged with a standard prefix and suffix DNA sequence containing
several restriction enzyme sites, which are used for different module
operations.
The following operations can be performed on all BioBricks++
modules. The most fundamental operation is the arbitrary assembly of
any two modules. In addition, the assembly of the two modules can be
made seamless, with no extra intervening sequence inserted between the
modules. Modules can also be easily reversed with no extra bases added
during the operation. Another useful capability is being able to
remove bases from either end of a module, allowing for operations such
as protein fusions or addition of tags.
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