The Core Laboratory Facility at VBI now offers custom gene synthesis services. Gene synthesis is the new cutting edge in the art of molecular cloning and is ideal for several applications such as:

• Industrial biotechnologies (biofuel, plants, microorganisms, proteins)
• Pharmaceuticals therapeutics (medication, vaccine, antibodies)
• Transgenic animal models
• Synthetic biology (parts, devices, networks)
• Metabolic engineering
• And much more

Gene synthesis offers several advantages over traditional cloning regarding:
Convenience

• Build genes or regulatory sequences to your specifications
• Independence from restriction enzyme limitations
• Avoid scars or unwanted leftover sequences between genes retrieved from several plasmids
• Eliminate the needs to extract DNA or RNA from specific organisms to get the gene of interest

Save time and money

• Produce codon optimization, directed evolution and mutagenesis without several rounds of PCR, transformation and screening
• Streamline the assembly of complex constructs that would otherwise require successive additions of sequences through several steps of cloning
• Save money on reagents, primers, vectors and clone libraries
• Save time on labor and avoid searching for sequences of interest through clone libraries

Creativity

• Independence from existing genetic material
• Mix and match promoters, regulatory sequences, genes, terminators
• Assemble gene networks
• Create new genomes or redesign existing ones

Our pipeline comprises 3 main steps:

Gene Synthesis Review

• Sequence submission

Researchers can simply submit their created sequences directly on the CLF LIMS system and specify if the sequence is ready for synthesis or requires additional modifications such as restriction enzymes sites addition, codon optimization, mutagenesis sites or other genetic variations as well as if it implies the synthesis of several variants of the same sequence so as to create a library. The sequence must also have a biohazard disclosure statement. At the same time, the researchers will specify the cloning vector they wish to have their sequence cloned in and be ready to provide an aliquot if it is not commercially available.

• Sequence review
• Biosecurity

The submitted sequence will be reviewed for the general design and for parameters which may interfere with synthesis, assembly, or sequencing performance such as hairpins, GC content, repeats and homo-polymeric runs and restriction sites duplication. This will help to determine the best way to perform the synthesis and assembly. The sequence will also be analyzed to ensure safety and regulatory conformance through systematic screening to identify regulated and other potentially dangerous pathogen sequences, and to verify that the CLF’s gene customers are legitimate scientists engaged in beneficial research. The CLF reserves the right to refuse any sequence which doesn’t pass this analysis. The CLF at VBI abides to the Screening Framework Guidance for Providers of Synthetic Double-Stranded DNA published by The United States Government. http://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/legal/guidance/syndna/Documents/syndna-guidance.pdf

Gene Synthesis Fabrication

• Synthesis
• Assembly
• Cloning

In the fabrication process, the sequence of interest is synthesized, assembled and cloned in your vector of choice. Our assembly process is seamless to avoid introducing unwanted sequences.

• Sequencing
• Quality controls

The sequencing service is included as part of the fabrication step at no additional cost. The synthesized sequences are sequenced prior to assembly, and also as the higher assembly process progresses to deliver faultless constructs. In addition, point specific quality controls are performed during each step of the fabrication.

Gene Synthesis Delivery

• Synthetic construct
• Sequencing results
• Quality control results
• Construct map

The deliverables include the synthetic construct(s) on the form of plasmid preparation, the sequencing and quality control results and a map of each construct. In the case where a gene would be to toxic, it will be shipped as a synthesized fragment.