Iterative SCRaMbLE for engineering synthetic genome modules and chromosomes
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Author(s)
Lu, Xinyu
Ciurkot, Klaudia
Gowers, Glen-Oliver F
Shaw, William M
Ellis, Thomas
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is closing-in on the first synthetic eukaryotic genome with genome-wide redesigns, including LoxPsym site insertions that enable inducible genomic rearrangements in vivo via Cre recombinase through SCRaMbLE (Synthetic Chromosome Recombination and Modification by LoxPsym-mediated Evolution). Combined with selection, SCRaMbLE quickly generates phenotype-enhanced strains by diversifying gene arrangement and content. Here, we demonstrate how iterative cycles of SCRaMbLE reorganises synthetic genome modules and chromosomes to improve functions. We introduce SCOUT (SCRaMbLE Continuous Output and Universal Tracker), a reporter system that allows sorting of SCRaMbLEd cells into high-diversity pools. Paired with long-read sequencing, SCOUT enables high-throughput mapping of genotype abundance and genotype-phenotype relationships. Iterative SCRaMbLE is applied here to yeast strains with a full synthetic chromosome and histidine biosynthesis modules. Five HIS module designs are tested, and SCRaMbLE is used to optimise the poorest performer. Our results highlight iterative SCRaMbLE as a powerful tool for data driven modular genome design.
Date Issued
2025-08-07
Date Acceptance
2025-07-21
Citation
Nature Communications, 2025, 16
ISSN
2041-1723
Publisher
Nature Portfolio
Journal / Book Title
Nature Communications
Volume
16
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2025 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
7278
Date Publish Online
2025-08-07