In vivo based DNA engineering

BacStitch DNA^TM is developing a new platform technology to streamline the process of assembling and engineering long and complex DNA. We have made thousands of high fidelity, sequence-verified assemblies, ranging in length from less than 10 to greater than 50kb.

Unlike current methods such as Gibson and Golden Gate assembly, which rely on complex in vitro workflows, the BacStitch platform utilizes a much simpler in vivo process. By reducing the reliance on enzymatic reactions and PCR, BacStitch’s platform can build complex DNA that can be very challenging for in vitro methods, such as those that contain high GC content, difficult DNA structure, and repeats.

Engineering with the BacStitch platform is simple, reliable, and easy-to-automate where bacteria, instead of people, do most of the work. Arrays of bacteria are mated and genetic programs within the cells scarlessly and iteratively stitch DNA blocks together.

DNA blocks can be reused without using PCR offering significant advantages for cost effectively building directed arrayed or pooled combinatorial libraries with multiple user-defined variable regions, and shuffling the order of features within a construct.

Potential applications include:

AAV and Lentivirus vector engineering
T-binary vector engineering
Metabolic pathway optimization
Synthetic gene network and circuit creation and optimization
Genome engineering

We are pre-commercial and interested in discussing collaborations that validate use of the platform in viral, cellular, metabolic and agricultural engineering applications. Please reach out to us here.

Here’s a recent bioRxiv preprint that describes use of the platform for building DNA assemblies up to 23kb, combinatorial libraries in arrays and pools, and reusing blocks without PCR.

Here's a Nucleic Acids Research publication that describes use of the platform for plasmid sequencing and library demultiplexing.