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High-throughput cloning, in a nutshell, is the systematic combination of different genetic sequences into plasmid DNA. In high throughput cloning techniques, although the specific sequences of the genetic elements may differ (e.g., a set of various mammalian promoters), the same cloning procedure can be used to incorporate each element into the final construct. This strategy can be used to build vectors with diverse functions, and thus, is used in many biological fields. In synthetic biology for example, high-throughput cloning can be used to combine the functions of different genetic elements to generate non-natural tools such as novel biological circuits or sensors. Given the expanding palette of fluorescent proteins and the availability of powerful imaging technologies, the combination of multiple fluorescent protein sequences to develop diverse fluorescent reporters is a useful application of high-throughput cloning. MXS Chaining is one such technique and has been used to produce complex fluorescent reporter constructs. These fluorescent reporters can be used to detect structure and protein localization, as well as cellular processes like gene expression and cell migration (Sladitschek and Neveu, 2015).

Here at Addgene, we often refer to plasmids as lab or experimental tools. They certainly are very handy in research, but where did these tools come from and why do they exist in nature? Read on to learn more about environmental plasmids, and how they’ve helped us develop molecular biology tools for the lab.

We recently worked with YouTuber, Tom McFadden, to create a Plasmid Rap and introduce newcomers to the world of plasmids. As part of this process, we sent Tom a primer on plasmids and some of the ways that they can be used. We present this primer to you now with the hope that you can use it to introduce plasmids to any novice molecular biologist. You can find much more information about plasmids and their uses in our Plasmids 101 series. Happy reading!

When facing a cloning project, scientists are no longer limited to traditional restriction enzyme cloning. Instead, you can choose a molecular cloning technique that will work well with a given set of resources, time, and experimental needs. Since its invention in the late 1990s, Gateway cloning technology has become very popular as a rapid and highly efficient way to move DNA sequences into multiple vector systems. With the appropriate entry and destination vectors, one can use Gateway to clone a gene of interest into a variety of expression systems. Keep reading to learn more about the Gateway cloning method and its advantages.

2016 was an exciting year for genome engineering research. A variety of new tools came out including the single base editors, Casilio, CombiGEM, and a variety of pooled libraries. Not all of these technologies were without controversy, and it remains to be seen how popular any one of them will become. One thing is for sure, as is obvious from our most requested plasmid, SpCas9 is still going strong as the basis for many genome editing experiments. So, without further ado, the most request plasmid in 2016 was...