DNA Gap Repair-Mediated Site-Directed Mutagenesis is Different from Mandecki and Recombineering Approaches

Site-directed mutagenesis allows the generation of mutant DNA sequences for downstream functional analysis of genetic variants involved in human health and disease. Understanding the mechanisms of different mutagenesis methods can help select the best approach for specific needs. We compared three different approaches for in vivo site-directed DNA mutagenesis that utilize a mutant single-stranded DNA oligonucleotide (ssODN) to target a wild type DNA sequence in the host Escherichia coli ( E. coli ). The first method, Mandecki, uses restriction nucleases to introduce a double stranded break (DSB) into a DNA sequence which needs to be denatured prior to co-transformation. The second method, recombineering (recombination-mediated genetic engineering), requires lambda red gene products and a mutant ssODN with homology arms of at least 20 nucleotides. In a third method described here for the first time, DNA gap repair, a mutant ssODN targets a DNA sequence containing a gap introduced by PCR. Unlike recombineering, both DNA gap repair and Mandecki can utilize homology arms as short as 10 nucleotides. DNA gap repair requires neither red gene products as recombineering nor DNA denaturation or nucleases as Mandecki, and unlike other methods is background-free. We conclude that Mandecki, recombineering, and DNA gap repair have at least partly different mechanisms, and that DNA gap repair provides a new, straightforward approach for effective site-directed mutagenesis.