Studying and Improving Lambda Red Recombination for Genome Engineering in Escherichia coli

Abstract

The phage-derived Lambda Red recombination system utilizes exogenous DNA in order to generate precise insertion, deletion, and point mutations in Escherichia coli and other bacteria. Due to its convenience, it is a frequently-used tool in genetics and molecular biology, as well as in larger-scale genome engineering projects. However, limited recombination frequency constrains the usefulness of Lambda Red for several important applications. In this work, I utilize a mechanism-guided approach in order to improve the power and utility of Lambda Red recombination.