Long oligodeoxynucleotides: chemical synthesis, isolation via catching-by-polymerization, verification via sequencing, and gene expression demonstration

Long oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) are segments of DNAs having over one hundred nucleotides (nt). They are typically assembled using enzymatic methods such as PCR and ligation from shorter 20 to 60 nt ODNs produced by automated de novo chemical synthesis. While these methods have made many projects in areas such as synthetic biology and protein engineering possible, they have various drawbacks. For example, they cannot produce genes and genomes with long repeats and have difficulty to produce sequences containing stable secondary structures. Here, we report a direct de novo chemical synthesis of 400 nt ODNs, and their isolation from the complex reaction mixture using the catching-by-polymerization (CBP) method. To determine the authenticity of the ODNs, 399 and 401 nt ODNs were synthesized and purified with CBP. The two were joined together using Gibson assembly to give the 800 nt green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene construct. The sequence of the construct was verified via Sanger sequencing. To demonstrate the potential use of the long ODN synthesis method, the GFP gene was expressed in E. coli. The long ODN synthesis and isolation method presented here provides a pathway to the production of genes and genomes containing long repeats or stable secondary structures that cannot be produced or are highly challenging to produce using existing technologies.

Dim and Dmoc Protecting Groups for Oligodeoxynucleotide Synthesis

This protocol provides details for the preparation of nucleoside phosphoramidites with 1,3-dithian-2-yl-methyl (Dim) and 1,3-dithian-2-yl-methoxycarbonyl (Dmoc) as protecting groups, and a linker with Dmoc as the cleavable function, then using them for solid phase synthesis of sensitive oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs). Using these Dim-Dmoc phosphoramidites and Dmoc linker, ODN synthesis can be achieved under typical conditions using phosphoramidite chemistry with slight modifications, and ODN deprotection and cleavage can be achieved under mild conditions involving oxidation with sodium periodate at pH 4 followed by aniline at pH 8. Under the mild deprotection and cleavage conditions, many sensitive functional groups including but not limited to esters, thioesters, alkyl halides, N-aryl amides, and α-chloroamides-which cannot survive the basic and nucleophilic deprotection and cleavage conditions such as concentrated ammonium hydroxide and dilute potassium methoxide used in typical ODN synthesis technologies-can survive. Thus, it is expected that the Dim-Dmoc ODN synthesis technology will find applications in the synthesis of ODNs that contain a wide range of sensitive functional groups. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol: Synthesis, deprotection, cleavage, and purification of sensitive oligodeoxynucleotides Support Protocol 1: Synthesis of Dim-Dmoc nucleoside phosphoramidites Support Protocol 2: Preparation of CPG with a Dmoc linker Support Protocol 3: Synthesis of a phosphoramidite containing a sensitive alkyl ester group.

Parallel, Large-Scale, and Long Synthetic Oligodeoxynucleotide Purification Using the Catching Full-Length Sequence by Polymerization Technique

The catching by polymerization synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) purification technique was shown to be potentially suitable for high throughput purification by purifying 12 ODNs simultaneously, to be convenient for large-scale purification by purifying at 60 μmol synthesis scale, and to be highly powerful for long ODN purification by purifying ODNs as long as 303-mer. LC-MS analysis indicated that the ODNs purified with the technique have excellent purity.

A High-Throughput Process for the Solid-Phase Purification of Synthetic DNA Sequences

An efficient process for the purification of synthetic phosphorothioate and native DNA sequences is presented. The process is based on the use of an aminopropylated silica gel support functionalized with aminooxyalkyl functions to enable capture of DNA sequences through an oximation reaction with the keto function of a linker conjugated to the 5'-terminus of DNA sequences. Deoxyribonucleoside phosphoramidites carrying this linker, as a 5'-hydroxyl protecting group, have been synthesized for incorporation into DNA sequences during the last coupling step of a standard solid-phase synthesis protocol executed on a controlled pore glass (CPG) support. Solid-phase capture of the nucleobase- and phosphate-deprotected DNA sequences released from the CPG support is demonstrated to proceed near quantitatively. Shorter than full-length DNA sequences are first washed away from the capture support; the solid-phase purified DNA sequences are then released from this support upon reaction with tetra-n-butylammonium fluoride in dry dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and precipitated in tetrahydrofuran (THF). The purity of solid-phase-purified DNA sequences exceeds 98%. The simulated high-throughput and scalability features of the solid-phase purification process are demonstrated without sacrificing purity of the DNA sequences. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Solid-Phase Purification of Synthetic DNA Sequences

Although high-throughput methods for solid-phase synthesis of DNA sequences are currently available for synthetic biology applications and technologies for large-scale production of nucleic acid-based drugs have been exploited for various therapeutic indications, little has been done to develop high-throughput procedures for the purification of synthetic nucleic acid sequences. An efficient process for purification of phosphorothioate and native DNA sequences is described herein. This process consists of functionalizing commercial aminopropylated silica gel with aminooxyalkyl functions to enable capture of DNA sequences carrying a 5'-siloxyl ether linker with a "keto" function through an oximation reaction. Deoxyribonucleoside phosphoramidites functionalized with the 5'-siloxyl ether linker were prepared in yields of 75-83% and incorporated last into the solid-phase assembly of DNA sequences. Capture of nucleobase- and phosphate-deprotected DNA sequences released from the synthesis support is demonstrated to proceed near quantitatively. After shorter than full-length DNA sequences were washed from the capture support, the purified DNA sequences were released from this support upon treatment with tetra-n-butylammonium fluoride in dry DMSO. The purity of released DNA sequences exceeds 98%. The scalability and high-throughput features of the purification process are demonstrated without sacrificing purity of the DNA sequences.