METHOD FOR THE ASSEMBLY OF LARGE NUCLEIC ACIDS FROM SHORT FRAGMENTS

Herein a modular and efficient method for cloning multigene plasmids containing only a single cloning step without the use of preliminary single-gene vectors is reported. In the first step, PCR-produced DNAblocks carrying genes for different antibody chains are ligated with the respective adaptors, which serve as connectors of the different DNAblocks. In the second step, the PCR-produced fragments of the first step are assembled in the correct arrangement via the unique recombination sites located at one end of each backbone, DNAblock and adaptor fragment. This new strategy results in a modular and efficient method, which allows direct cloning of expression cassettes into the respective backbone without intermediate cloning steps and enable fast cloning of variable gene configurations of diverse antibody formats. This new cloning method according to the current invention provides considerable advantages in terms of time, work labor and costs.