{"title":"Targeted Forward Genetics: Saturating Mutational Analyses of Specific Target Loci Within the Genome.","authors":"Reine U Protacio, Wayne P Wahls","doi":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4168-2_16","DOIUrl":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4168-2_16","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Precise allele replacement by homologous recombination (also known as \"gene targeting\" or \"genome editing\") allows scientists to engineer altered DNA sequences, insertions, or deletions at specific locations in the genome. Such reverse genetics provides powerful tools to elucidate the structure and function of regulatory DNA elements, genes, RNAs, and proteins within their natural, endogenous context. Here, we describe in detail the methodology for Targeted Forward Genetics (TFG), which supports population-scale, saturating screens of allele replacements spanning thousands of base pairs at a specific target locus in the genome. The overall approach and detailed protocols, developed for the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, are extensible to other organisms in which gene targeting is feasible.</p>","PeriodicalId":18490,"journal":{"name":"Methods in molecular biology","volume":"2862 ","pages":"223-239"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11694354/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142623468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alicia Maciá Valero, Rianne C Prins, Thijs de Vroet, Sonja Billerbeck
{"title":"Combining Oligo Pools and Golden Gate Cloning to Create Protein Variant Libraries or Guide RNA Libraries for CRISPR Applications.","authors":"Alicia Maciá Valero, Rianne C Prins, Thijs de Vroet, Sonja Billerbeck","doi":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4220-7_15","DOIUrl":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4220-7_15","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Oligo pools are array-synthesized, user-defined mixtures of single-stranded oligonucleotides that can be used as a source of synthetic DNA for library cloning. While currently offering the most affordable source of synthetic DNA, oligo pools also come with limitations such as a maximum synthesis length (approximately 350 bases), a higher error rate compared to alternative synthesis methods, and the presence of truncated molecules in the pool due to incomplete synthesis. Here, we provide users with a comprehensive protocol that details how oligo pools can be used in combination with Golden Gate cloning to create user-defined protein mutant libraries, as well as single-guide RNA libraries for CRISPR applications. Our methods are optimized to work within the Yeast Toolkit Golden Gate scheme, but are in principle compatible with any other Golden Gate-based modular cloning toolkit and extendable to other restriction enzyme-based cloning methods beyond Golden Gate. Our methods yield high-quality, affordable, in-house variant libraries.</p>","PeriodicalId":18490,"journal":{"name":"Methods in molecular biology","volume":"2850 ","pages":"265-295"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142372269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Golden Gate-Assisted Gene Doctoring for Streamlined and Efficient Recombineering in Bacteria.","authors":"Nicholas M Thomson","doi":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4220-7_19","DOIUrl":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4220-7_19","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gene Doctoring is a genetic modification technique for E. coli and related bacteria, in which the Red-recombinase from bacteriophage λ mediates chromosomal integration of a fragment of DNA by homologous recombination (known as recombineering). In contrast to the traditional recombineering method, the integrated fragment for Gene Doctoring is supplied on a donor plasmid rather than as a linear DNA. This protects the DNA from degradation, facilitates transformation, and ensures multiple copies are present per cell, increasing the efficiency and making the technique particularly suitable for strains that are difficult to modify. Production of the donor plasmid has, until recently, relied on traditional cloning techniques that are inflexible, tedious, and inefficient. This protocol describes a procedure for Gene Doctoring combined with Golden Gate assembly of a donor plasmid, using a custom-designed plasmid backbone, for rapid and simple production of complex, multi-part assemblies. Insertion of a gene for superfolder green fluorescent protein, with selection by tetracycline resistance, into E. coli strain MG1655 is used as an example but in principle the method can be tailored for virtually any modification in a wide range of bacteria.</p>","PeriodicalId":18490,"journal":{"name":"Methods in molecular biology","volume":"2850 ","pages":"345-363"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142372292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Peter Vegh, Elliott Chapman, Craig Gilmour, Rennos Fragkoudis
{"title":"Modular DNA Construct Design for High-Throughput Golden Gate Assembly.","authors":"Peter Vegh, Elliott Chapman, Craig Gilmour, Rennos Fragkoudis","doi":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4220-7_4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4220-7_4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Golden Gate cloning enables the modular assembly of DNA parts into desired synthetic genetic constructs. The \"one-pot\" nature of Golden Gate reactions makes them particularly amenable to high-throughput automation, facilitating the generation of thousands of constructs in a massively parallel manner. One potential bottleneck in this process is the design of these constructs. There are multiple parameters that must be considered during the design of an assembly process, and the final design should also be checked and verified before implementation. Doing this by hand for large numbers of constructs is neither practical nor feasible and increases the likelihood of introducing potentially costly errors. In this chapter we describe a design workflow that utilizes bespoke computational tools to automate the key phases of the construct design process and perform sequence editing in batches.</p>","PeriodicalId":18490,"journal":{"name":"Methods in molecular biology","volume":"2850 ","pages":"61-77"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142372293","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Standardized Golden Gate Assembly Metadata Representation Using SBOL.","authors":"Gonzalo Vidal, Carolus Vitalis, Johan Guillén","doi":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4220-7_6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4220-7_6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Synthetic biology, also known as engineering biology, is an interdisciplinary field that applies engineering principles to biological systems. One way to engineer biological systems is by modifying their DNA. A common workflow involves creating new DNA parts through synthesis and then using them in combination with other parts through assembly. Assembly standards such as MoClo, Phytobricks, and Loop are based on Golden Gate, and provide a framework for combining parts. The Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL) has implemented a best practice for representing build plans to communicate them to other practitioners through whiteboard designs and in a machine-readable format for communication with lab automation tools. Here we present a software tool for creating SBOL representations of build plans to simulate type IIS-mediated assembly reactions and store relevant metadata.</p>","PeriodicalId":18490,"journal":{"name":"Methods in molecular biology","volume":"2850 ","pages":"89-104"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142372298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jorge D Calderin, Chi Zhang, Timothy J C Tan, Nicholas C Wu, Rutilio Fratti
{"title":"Use of Bio-Layer Interferometry (BLI) to Measure Binding Affinities of SNAREs and Phosphoinositides.","authors":"Jorge D Calderin, Chi Zhang, Timothy J C Tan, Nicholas C Wu, Rutilio Fratti","doi":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4314-3_7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-4314-3_7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bio-Layer Interferometry (BLI) is a technique that uses optical biosensing to analyze interactions between molecules. The analysis of molecular interactions is measured in real-time and does not require fluorescent tags. BLI uses disposable biosensors that come in a variety of formats to bind different ligands including biotin, hexahistidine, GST, and the Fc portion of antibodies. Unlike surface plasmon resonance (SPR), BLI is an open system that does not require microfluidics, which eliminates issues that result from clogging and changes in viscosity. Importantly, BLI readings can be completed in minutes and can be formatted for high throughput screening. Here we use biotinylated short chain phosphoinositides and phosphatidic acid bound to streptavidin BLI biosensors to measure the binding of the soluble Qc SNARE Vam7 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Unlike most SNAREs, Vam7 lacks a transmembrane domain or lipid anchor to associate with membranes. Instead Vam7 associates to yeast vacuolar membranes using its N-terminal PX domain that binds to phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P) and phosphatidic acid (PA). Using full length Vam7, Vam7<sup>Y42A</sup>, and PX domain alone, we determined and compared the dissociation constants (K<sub>D</sub>) of each to biotinylated PI3P and PA biosensors.</p>","PeriodicalId":18490,"journal":{"name":"Methods in molecular biology","volume":"2887 ","pages":"103-117"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142979108","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bio- and Chemoinformatic Approaches for Metabolomics Data Analysis.","authors":"Michael Witting, Johannes Rainer","doi":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4334-1_4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-4334-1_4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Metabolomics data analysis includes, next to the preprocessing, several additional repetitive tasks that can however be heavily dataset dependent or experiment setup specific due to the vast heterogeneity in instrumentation, protocols, or also compounds/samples that are being measured. To address this, various toolboxes and software packages in Python or R have been and are being developed providing researchers and analysts with bioinformatic/chemoinformatic tools to create their own workflows tailored toward their specific needs. This chapter presents tools and example workflows for common tasks focusing on the functionality provided by R packages developed as part of the RforMassSpectrometry initiative. These tasks include, among others, examples to work with chemical formulae, handle and process mass spectrometry data, or calculate similarities between fragment spectra.</p>","PeriodicalId":18490,"journal":{"name":"Methods in molecular biology","volume":"2891 ","pages":"67-89"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142984017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rachel B Gandee, Susanna M Reigner, Christopher P Arnold
{"title":"Investigating the Functions of Hox Genes Using Planarian Asexual Reproduction.","authors":"Rachel B Gandee, Susanna M Reigner, Christopher P Arnold","doi":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4322-8_7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-4322-8_7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hox genes are highly conserved developmental regulators instrumental to the formation of a wide range of diverse body plans across metazoans. While significant progress in the field of Hox gene research has been made, persistent challenges in unraveling their mechanisms of action and full repertoire of functions remain. To date, investigations of Hox gene function have been primarily conducted in research models belonging to ecdysozoa and vertebrata. Herein we summarize recent findings on Hox genes' roles in the asexual reproduction of the regenerative flatworm planaria, a member of the understudied superphylum Spiralia. We detail our optimized methods for planarian culture, gene perturbation, and induction of asexual reproduction. We aim to provide an experimentally tractable means to dissect Hox gene adult tissue functions underlying planarian asexual reproduction with broader relevance to Hox genes' established and emerging roles in regulating cellular behaviors, developmental patterning, animal behavior, and tissue regeneration.</p>","PeriodicalId":18490,"journal":{"name":"Methods in molecular biology","volume":"2889 ","pages":"91-106"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142914970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bayesian Phylogenetic Lineage Reconstruction with Loss of Heterozygosity Mutations Derived from Single-Cell RNA Sequencing.","authors":"Donovan J Anderson, Marshall S Horwitz","doi":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4310-5_1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-4310-5_1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mutations are acquired frequently, such t`hat each cell's genome inscribes its history of cell divisions. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) accumulates throughout the genome, offering large encoding capacity for phylogenetic inference of cell lineage.In this chapter, we demonstrate a method, using single-cell RNA sequencing, for reconstructing cell lineages from inferred LOH events in a Bayesian manner, annotating the lineage with cell phenotypes, and marking developmental time points based on X-chromosome inactivation. This type of retrospective analysis could be incorporated into scRNA-seq pipelines and was initially developed to investigate Emx1+ cortical projection neuron and glia lineages from C57Bl/6J (B6) and CAST/EiJ (CA) interstrain F1 mice, describing progenitor cells giving rise to multiple cortical cell types through stereotyped expansion and distinct waves of neurogenesis.</p>","PeriodicalId":18490,"journal":{"name":"Methods in molecular biology","volume":"2886 ","pages":"1-22"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142915328","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"GEMLI: Gene Expression Memory-Based Lineage Inference from Single-Cell RNA-Sequencing Datasets.","authors":"A S Eisele, D M Suter","doi":"10.1007/978-1-0716-4310-5_19","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-4310-5_19","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gene expression memory-based lineage inference (GEMLI) is a computational tool allowing to predict cell lineages solely from single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) datasets and is publicly available as an R package on GitHub. GEMLI is based on the occurrence of gene expression memory, i.e., the gene-specific maintenance of expression levels through cell divisions. This represents a shift away from experimental lineage tracing techniques based on genetic marks or physical cell lineage separation and greatly eases and expands lineage annotation. GEMLI allows to study cell lineages during differentiation in development, homeostasis, and regeneration, as well as disease onset and progression in various physiological and pathological contexts. This makes it possible to dissect cell type-specific gene expression memory, to discriminate symmetric and asymmetric cell fate decisions, and to reconstruct individual multicellular structures from pooled scRNA-seq datasets. GEMLI is particularly promising for its ability to identify small lineages in human samples, a context in which no other lineage tracing methods are applicable. In this chapter, we provide a detailed protocol of the GEMLI R package usage on gene expression matrices derived from standard scRNA-seq on various platforms. We cover the use of the main function to predict cell lineages and how to adjust its parameters to different tasks. We also show how lineage information is extracted, visualized, and fine-tuned. Finally, we describe the use of the package's functions for the detailed analysis of the predicted cell lineages. This includes the analysis of gene expression memory, cell type composition of individual large lineages, and identification of lineages at the transition point between two cell types.</p>","PeriodicalId":18490,"journal":{"name":"Methods in molecular biology","volume":"2886 ","pages":"375-400"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142915347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}