Chain reaction cloning: a one-step method for directional ligation of multiple DNA fragments

A novel DNA assembly method, chain reaction cloning (CRC), is described. CR C enables the ordered assembly of multiple DNA fragments in a single step. The power of the technique was demonstrated by the directed in vitro assemb ly of a plasmid comprised of six DNA fragments from a pool of 12 available fragments. The odds of obtaining the correct plasmid clone in a single step , using conventional techniques, is less than 1 in 191 000 000. Using CRC, the desired plasmid was recovered at a frequency of one in two. Ligation is no longer the rate limiting step in cloning, and limitless possibilities e xist for the reconstruction of complex genomes. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B .V. All rights reserved.