DNA-BOT: a low-cost, automated DNA assembly platform for synthetic biology
File(s)Storch Baldwin SynBio 2020 DNABOT.pdf (572.56 KB)
Published version
Author(s)
Storch, Marko
Haines, Matthew C
Baldwin, Geoff S
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Multi-part DNA assembly is the physical starting point for many projects in Synthetic and Molecular Biology. The ability to explore a genetic design space by building extensive libraries of DNA constructs is essential for creating programmed biological systems. With multiple DNA assembly methods and standards adopted in the Synthetic Biology community, automation of the DNA assembly process is now receiving serious attention. Automation will enable larger builds using less researcher time, while increasing the accessible design space. However, these benefits currently incur high costs for both equipment and consumables. Here, we address this limitation by introducing low-cost DNA assembly with BASIC on OpenTrons (DNA-BOT). For this purpose, we developed an open-source software package and demonstrated the performance of DNA-BOT by simultaneously assembling 88 constructs composed of 10 genetic parts, evaluating the promoter, ribosome binding site and gene order design space for a three-gene operon. All 88 constructs were assembled with high accuracy, at a consumables cost of $1.50-$5.50 per construct. This illustrates the efficiency, accuracy and affordability of DNA-BOT, making it accessible for most labs and democratizing automated DNA assembly.
Date Issued
2020-07-09
Date Acceptance
2020-06-26
Citation
Synthetic Biology, 2020, 5 (1), pp.ysaa010-ysaa010
ISSN
2397-7000
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Start Page
ysaa010
End Page
ysaa010
Journal / Book Title
Synthetic Biology
Volume
5
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
Copyright The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/),
which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/),
which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32995552
PII: ysaa010
Grant Number
EP/R034915/1
Subjects
DNA assembly
automation
biofoundry
synthetic biology
Publication Status
Published online
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2020-07-09