Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 14, 2026

07:04
Site-Directed Mutagenesis for In Vitro and In Vivo Experiments Exemplified with RNA Interactions in Escherichia Coli
Published on: February 5, 2019
Protein engineering: single or multiple site-directed mutagenesis.
Pei-Chung Hsieh1, Romualdas Vaisvila
1New England Biolabs, Inc., Ipswich, MA, USA. hsieh@neb.com
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|February 21, 2013
Summary
We present two streamlined protocols for site-directed mutagenesis to study protein structure and function. These methods, using inverse PCR and Gibson Assembly, efficiently introduce single or multiple mutations, saving time and reagents.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Protein Engineering
Background:
- Site-directed mutagenesis is crucial for understanding protein structure-function relationships.
- Traditional methods can be time-consuming and reagent-intensive.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide simplified and expedited protocols for site-directed mutagenesis.
- To enable efficient introduction of single and multiple mutations in genes of interest.
Main Methods:
- Single mutations: Inverse PCR with mutagenic primers and Phusion(®) DNA Polymerase.
- Multiple mutations: One-step PCR with mutagenic primers followed by Gibson Assembly™ Master Mix.
Main Results:
- The inverse PCR method efficiently introduces point mutations, insertions, or deletions.
- The Gibson Assembly method allows simultaneous multiple nucleotide changes, saving time and reagents.
Conclusions:
- These optimized protocols simplify and accelerate the process of protein mutagenesis.
- The methods offer efficient and cost-effective alternatives for molecular biology research.
Related Concept Videos
Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation
Because the DNA segments are cut and reorganized in a direction-specific manner, site-specific recombination has emerged as an efficient genetic engineering technique. Flippase and Cyclization recombinases or Flp and Cre, respectively, are two members of the tyrosine recombinase family derived from bacteriophages, that are used to mediate site-specific DNA insertions, deletions, and targeted expression of proteins in mammalian cell lines.
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
In vitro Mutagenesis
To learn more about the function of a gene, researchers can observe what happens when the gene is inactivated or “knocked out,” by creating genetically engineered knockout animals. Knockout mice have been particularly useful as models for human diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes.
In-vitro Mutagenesis
To learn more about the function of a gene, researchers can observe what happens when the gene is inactivated or “knocked out,” by creating genetically engineered knockout animals. Knockout mice have been particularly useful as models for human diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes.
Mismatch Repair
Organisms are capable of detecting and fixing nucleotide mismatches that occur during DNA replication. This sophisticated process requires identifying the new strand and replacing the erroneous bases with correct nucleotides. Mismatch repair is coordinated by many proteins in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
Mismatch Repair
Overview
Mutations in Microorganisms
Mutations are heritable changes in an organism’s genome involving alterations in the base sequence of DNA or RNA. These changes can influence cellular processes and phenotypic traits, potentially transforming the unaltered wild type into a mutant form. Such changes, termed forward mutations, are pivotal in shaping the genetic diversity of organisms.RNA viruses exhibit the highest mutation rates due to the absence of robust proofreading mechanisms during genome replication. In contrast,...

