Automated Genetic Engineering in the Laboratory

In today's rapidly evolving research landscape, improving experimental throughput and reproducibility are essential. Furthermore, given that biological systems are dependent on many variables, stepwise optimization is not an efficient or effective method for exploring the multidimensional biological design space. Laboratory automation enables increased throughput, reproducibility, and combinatorial optimization of biological designs by integrating hardware and software platforms with synthetic biology tools. Here, we describe an automated DNA assembly protocol that may be used for the construction of large, diverse libraries of genetic designs. This combination of laboratory infrastructure, software, and expertise in molecular biology and genetic engineering is foundational for the "biofoundry" concept and can support a wide range of research thrusts in biological engineering.