pENTR™/TEV/D-TOPO™ Cloning Kit, with One Shot™ Mach1™-T1^R Chemically Competent E. coli

The sequence of the control template is proprietary.

We suggest starting with a molar ratio of 1:1 (insert:vector), with a range of 0.5:1 to 2:1. The quantity used in a TOPO cloning reaction is typically 5-10 ng of a 2 kb PCR product.

Equation:

length of insert (bp)/length of vector (bp) x ng of vector = ng of insert needed for 1:1 (insert:vector ratio)

The optimal ratio is 1:1 insert to vector. Optimization can be done using a ratio of 0.5-2 molecules of insert for every molecule of the vector.

Equation:

length of insert (bp)/length of vector (bp) x ng of vector = ng of insert needed for 1:1 insert:vector ratio

There is no theoretical limit to insert size for a BP reaction with a pDONR vector. Maximum size tested in-house is 12 kb. TOPO vectors are more sensitive to insert size and 3-5 kb is the upper limit for decent cloning efficiency.

After generating your attB-PCR product, we recommend purifying it to remove PCR buffer, unincorporated dNTPs, attB primers, and any attB primer-dimers. Primers and primer-dimers can recombine efficiently with the Donor vector in the BP reaction and may increase background after transformation into E. coli, whereas leftover PCR buffer may inhibit the BP reaction. Standard PCR product purification protocols using phenol/chloroform extraction followed by ammonium acetate and ethanol or isopropanol precipitation are not recommended for purification of the attB-PCR product as these protocols generally have exclusion limits of less than 100 bp and do not efficiently remove large primer-dimer products. We recommend a PEG purification protocol (see page 17 of the Gateway Technology with Clonase II manual). If you use the above protocol and your attB-PCR product is still not suitably purified, you may further gel-purify the product. We recommend using the PureLink Quick Gel Extraction kit.