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Breeding a better vector

DNA shuffling (also called molecular breeding) generates variation by random fragmentation of a cloned gene followed by reassembly of the fragments in a self-priming polymerase reaction. The result is a recombination of overlapping fragments that have different mutations or come from different, naturally occurring homologous genes. In the August Nature Genetics Soong et al. apply this technique to a pool of six different murine leukemia virus envelope sequences to derive a new virus that can, unlike its parents, infect Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHOK1) cells (Nat. Gen. 2000, 25:436-439). Similar selections on clinically relevant cell types may yield improved vectors for gene therapy.

References

  1. Rapid evolution of a protein in vitro by DNA shuffling.

  2. DNA shuffling of a family of genes from diverse species accelerates directed evolution.

  3. Nature genetics, [http://0-www-nature-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/ng/]

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Wells, W. Breeding a better vector. Genome Biol 1, spotlight-20000807-01 (2000). https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1186/gb-spotlight-20000807-01

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  • DOI: https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1186/gb-spotlight-20000807-01

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