Aug 17, 2011 08:44 GMT  ·  By
Timothy Ham, Joanna Chen, Rafael Rosengarten and Nathan Hillson (from left to right) make up the team that developed the j5 DNA construction software
   Timothy Ham, Joanna Chen, Rafael Rosengarten and Nathan Hillson (from left to right) make up the team that developed the j5 DNA construction software

A group of researchers at the US Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), led by biochemist Nathan Hillson, announces the development of a new software for DNA construction that is also capable of identifying the most cost-effective solutions.

Hillson has been paying attention to the economics behind scientific discoveries for many years. This is why the new computer program is not only able to determine which strategy for improving recombinant DNA technology is best, but also which is the most efficient in terms of costs.

DNA construction,a process also known as DNA cloning or recombinant DNA technology, is currently widely used in science. In fact, it represents one of the most advanced tool in biotechnology today. It is use for medical research and developing new biofuels, as well as for genetic studies.

“Our j5 is the only software package today that both standardizes and cost-optimizes the DNA construction process,” says Hillson, who is the director of the JBEI Synthetic Biology program.

He is also based at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's (Berkeley Lab) Physical Biosciences Division, in California.

“Through the design of short DNA sequences that can be used to join longer sequences together in recombinant DNA assemblies, the j5 software improves the accuracy, scalability, and cost-effectiveness of DNA construction,” the expert adds.

Using the biotechnological method, experts can easily piece together various fragments of DNA or gene, creating constructs that normally do not appear in nature. This is very useful for the creation of genetically-engineered microbes for drug delivery and other advanced applications.

However, the more complex the project at hand, the more likely the method is to fail. The sheer intricacy of current projects – as well as the fact that DNA construction is very labor-intensive and time-consuming – is what made Hillson and his team attempt to improve the method.

“The j5 software package is a Web-based computer application that automatically designs and optimizes state-of-the-art DNA construction protocols,” Hillson explains.

“Within minutes it can determine the optimal flanking sequences that should be attached to each DNA part to produce the desired recombinant DNA at the least expense, in a manner that is executable by hand or robotics,” he goes on to say.

As a testimony to the efficiency of the program, Hillson says that more than110 research institutions around the world have already become registered users of the DNA construction program.