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Creators/Authors contains: "Zhao, Chengsong"

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  1. Summary DNA assembly systems based on the Golden Gate method are popular in synthetic biology but have several limitations: small insert size, incompatibility with other cloning platforms, DNA domestication requirement, generation of fusion scars, and lack of post‐assembly modification. To address these obstacles, we present the DASH assembly toolset, which combines features of Golden Gate‐based cloning, recombineering, and site‐specific recombinase systems. We developed (1) a set of donor vectors based on the GoldenBraid platform, (2) an acceptor vector derived from the plant transformation‐competent artificial chromosome (TAC) vector, pYLTAC17, and (3) a re‐engineered recombineering‐readyE. colistrain, CZ105, based on SW105. The initial assembly steps are carried out using the donor vectors following standard GoldenBraid assembly procedures. Importantly, existing parts and transcriptional units created using compatible Golden Gate‐based systems can be transferred to the DASH donor vectors using standard single‐tube restriction/ligation reactions. The cargo DNA from a DASH donor vector is then efficiently transferredin vivoinE. coliinto the acceptor vector by the sequential action of a rhamnose‐inducible phage‐derived PhiC31 integrase and arabinose‐inducible yeast‐derived Flippase (FLP) recombinase using CZ105. Furthermore, recombineering‐based post‐assembly modification, including the removal of undesirable scars, is greatly simplified. To demonstrate the utility of the DASH system, a 116 kilobase (kb) DNA construct harbouring a 97 kb cargo consisting of 35 transcriptional units was generated. One of the coding DNA sequences (CDSs) in the final assembly was replaced through recombineering, and thein plantafunctionality of the entire construct was tested in both transient and stable transformants. 
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  2. Summary Advancement of DNA‐synthesis technologies has greatly facilitated the development of synthetic biology tools. However, high‐complexity DNA sequences containing tandems of short repeats are still notoriously difficult to produce synthetically, with commercial DNA synthesis companies usually rejecting orders that exceed specific sequence complexity thresholds. To overcome this limitation, we developed a simple, single‐tube reaction method that enables the generation of DNA sequences containing multiple repetitive elements. Our strategy involves commercial synthesis and PCR amplification of padded sequences that contain the repeats of interest, along with random intervening sequence stuffers that include type IIS restriction enzyme sites. GoldenBraid molecular cloning technology is then employed to remove the stuffers, rejoin the repeats together in a predefined order, and subclone the tandem(s) in a vector using a single‐tube digestion–ligation reaction. In our hands, this new approach is much simpler, more versatile and efficient than previously developed solutions to this problem. As a proof of concept, two different phytohormone‐responsive, synthetic, repetitive proximal promoters were generated and testedin plantain the context of transcriptional reporters. Analysis of transgenic lines carrying the synthetic ethylene‐responsive promoter10x2EBS‐S10fused to theGUSreporter gene uncovered several developmentally regulated ethylene response maxima, indicating the utility of this reporter for monitoring the involvement of ethylene in a variety of physiologically relevant processes. These encouraging results suggest that this reporter system can be leveraged to investigate the ethylene response to biotic and abiotic factors with high spatial and temporal resolution. 
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  3. null (Ed.)