Standardized DNA assembly strategies facilitate the generation of multigene constructs from collections of building blocks in plant synthetic biology. A common syntax for hierarchical DNA assembly following the Golden Gate principle employing Type IIs restriction endonucleases was recently developed, and underlies the Modular Cloning and GoldenBraid systems. In these systems, transcriptional units and/or multigene constructs are assembled from libraries of standardized building blocks, also referred to as phytobricks, in several hierarchical levels and by iterative Golden Gate reactions. Here, a toolkit containing further modules for the novel DNA assembly standards was developed. Intended for use with Modular Cloning, most modules are also compatible with GoldenBraid. Firstly, a collection of approximately 80 additional phytobricks is provided, comprising e.g. modules for inducible expression systems, promoters or epitope tags. Furthermore, DNA modules were developed for connecting Modular Cloning and Gateway cloning, either for toggling between systems or for standardized Gateway destination vector assembly. Finally, first instances of a “peripheral infrastructure” around Modular Cloning are presented: While available toolkits are designed for the assembly of plant transformation constructs, vectors were created to also use coding sequence-containing phytobricks directly in yeast two hybrid interaction or bacterial infection assays. The presented material will further enhance versatility of hierarchical DNA assembly strategies.

Generation of customized DNA binding domains targeting unique sequences in complex genomes is crucial for many biotechnological applications. The recently described DNA binding domain of the transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) from Xanthomonas consists of a series of repeats arranged in tandem, each repeat binding a nucleotide of the target sequence. We present here a strategy for engineering of TALE proteins with novel DNA binding specificities based on the 17.5 repeat-containing AvrBs3 TALE as a scaffold. For each of the 17 full repeats, four module types were generated, each with a distinct base preference. Using this set of 68 repeat modules, recognition domains for any 17 nucleotide DNA target sequence of choice can be constructed by assembling selected modules in a defined linear order. Assembly is performed in two successive one-pot cloning steps using the Golden Gate cloning method that allows seamless fusion of multiple DNA fragments. Applying this strategy, we assembled designer TALEs with new target specificities and tested their function in vivo.

The field of synthetic biology promises to revolutionize biotechnology through the design of organisms with novel phenotypes useful for medicine, agriculture and industry. However, a limiting factor is the ability of current methods to assemble complex DNA molecules encoding multiple genetic elements in various predefined arrangements. We present here a hierarchical modular cloning system that allows the creation at will and with high efficiency of any eukaryotic multigene construct, starting from libraries of defined and validated basic modules containing regulatory and coding sequences. This system is based on the ability of type IIS restriction enzymes to assemble multiple DNA fragments in a defined linear order. We constructed a 33 kb DNA molecule containing 11 transcription units made from 44 individual basic modules in only three successive cloning steps. This modular cloning (MoClo) system can be readily automated and will be extremely useful for applications such as gene stacking and metabolic engineering.

We have developed an efficient strategy for cloning of PCR products that contain an unknown region flanked by a known sequence. As with ligation-independent cloning, the strategy is based on homology between sequences present in both the vector and the insert. However, in contrast to ligation-independent cloning, the cloning vector has homology with only one of the two primers used for amplification of the insert. The other side of the linearized cloning vector has homology with a sequence present in the insert, but nested and non-overlapping with the gene-specific primer used for amplification. Since only specific products contain this sequence, but none of the non-specific products, only specific products can be cloned. Cloning is performed using a one-step reaction that only requires incubation for 10 minutes at room temperature in the presence of T4 DNA polymerase to generate single-stranded extensions at the ends of the vector and insert. The reaction mix is then directly transformed into E. coli where the annealed vector-insert complex is repaired and ligated. We have tested this method, which we call quick and clean cloning (QC cloning), for cloning of the variable regions of immunoglobulins expressed in non-Hodgkin lymphoma tumor samples. This method can also be applied to identify the flanking sequence of DNA elements such as T-DNA or transposon insertions, or be used for cloning of any PCR product with high specificity.

We have developed a protocol to assemble in one step and one tube at least nine separate DNA fragments together into an acceptor vector, with 90% of recombinant clones obtained containing the desired construct. This protocol is based on the use of type IIs restriction enzymes and is performed by simply subjecting a mix of 10 undigested input plasmids (nine insert plasmids and the acceptor vector) to a restriction-ligation and transforming the resulting mix in competent cells. The efficiency of this protocol allows generating libraries of recombinant genes by combining in one reaction several fragment sets prepared from different parental templates. As an example, we have applied this strategy for shuffling of trypsinogen from three parental templates (bovine cationic trypsinogen, bovine anionic trypsinogen and human cationic trypsinogen) each divided in 9 separate modules. We show that one round of shuffling using the 27 trypsinogen entry plasmids can easily produce the 19,683 different possible combinations in one single restriction-ligation and that expression screening of a subset of the library allows identification of variants that can lead to higher expression levels of trypsin activity. This protocol, that we call ‘Golden Gate shuffling’, is robust, simple and efficient, can be performed with templates that have no homology, and can be combined with other shuffling protocols in order to introduce any variation in any part of a given gene.

Current cloning technologies based on site-specific recombination are efficient, simple to use, and flexible, but have the drawback of leaving recombination site sequences in the final construct, adding an extra 8 to 13 amino acids to the expressed protein. We have devised a simple and rapid subcloning strategy to transfer any DNA fragment of interest from an entry clone into an expression vector, without this shortcoming. The strategy is based on the use of type IIs restriction enzymes, which cut outside of their recognition sequence. With proper design of the cleavage sites, two fragments cut by type IIs restriction enzymes can be ligated into a product lacking the original restriction site. Based on this property, a cloning strategy called ‘Golden Gate’ cloning was devised that allows to obtain in one tube and one step close to one hundred percent correct recombinant plasmids after just a 5 minute restriction-ligation. This method is therefore as efficient as currently used recombination-based cloning technologies but yields recombinant plasmids that do not contain unwanted sequences in the final construct, thus providing precision for this fundamental process of genetic manipulation.