Submitted to: Dr.

Monica Garg

Submitted by: Mudaser Ahmed Lone

Roll no: RP7905

Section: P7905

Registration no: 10907230

Genomic Library

A genomic library is a collection of genes or DNA sequences in the entire genome

created using molecular cloning. These libraries are constructed using clones of
bacteria or yeast that contain vectors into which fragments of partially digested
DNA have been inserted. These bacteria and yeast are subsequently grown in
culture and when these microorganisms replicate their genome, they also
replicate the vector genome contained within them, that is, they replicate DNA
fragments that had been inserted in vectors producing clones of the original
DNA.
This collection of clones, in theory, contains all sequences found in the original
source, including the sequence of interest. This sequence of interest is identified
using screening methods that are very complex and capable of finding the
original clone among 10 million starting clones. Construction of Genomic Library
The idea of amplifying very large mixtures of DNA fragments and then trying to
find the single segment of interest was dramatic. Now it is almost common to use
this strategy. The process of subdividing genomic DNA into clonable elements
and inserting them into host cells is called creating a library. A complete library,
by definition, contains all of the genomic DNA of the source organism and is
called as genomic library. A genomic library is a set of cloned fragments of
genomic DNA.

The process of creating a genomic library includes four steps .

In the first step the high molecular weight genomic DNA is separated and
subjected to restriction enzyme digestion by using two compatible restriction
enzymes.

In the second step fragments are then fractionated or separated by using agarose
gel electrophoresis to obtain fragments of required size .These fragments are
then subjected to alkaline phosphatase treatment to remove the phosphate.

In the third step, the dephosphorylated insert is ligated into vector which could
be a plasmid, phage or cosmid, depending upon the interest of the researcher.

In the last step, the recombinant vector is introduced into the host by
electroporation and amplified in host
Genomic library is a source of genes and DNA sequences. A genomic library is a
set of cloned fragments of genomic DNA. In principle, the gDNA, after the
isolation, is subjected to Resriction enzyme for digestion to generate inserts.
Depending upon the vector type and genome size of the source, the size of insert
is selected .For example, if genome is 2.8 x 106 kb and if it is broken down into
fragments of size 4 kb then we require 7 x 105 recombinant clones for the work. If
the same genome is broken down into fragments of size 20 kb then we require 1.4
x 105 recombinants. Thus the fragment size will influence the number of clones to
be formed, so that there is 99% probability of success when a desired clone is
searched. In reality, the number of clones (f) required for 99% probability is not
calculated just by dividing the genome size by size of insert. The number of
independent recombinants required in the library must be greater than n. Clarke
and Carbon gave equation and is applied. This formula relates the probability (P)
of any DNA sequence in a random library of N independent recombinants.

N = In(I - P)/In(l -l/f) where,

N = number of clones required to represent an ideal library

P= probability

f= genome size/size of insert

Large insert vectors have the advantage that libraries containing fewer clones are
needed in order to cover an entire genome .But Larger inserts are prone to
deletions or rearrangements. Also, the vectors with large inserts are normally
maintained at low copy number even when the vector by itself has high copy
number. These vectors are purified by sucrose gradient or by gel
electrophoresis.Later these fragments are cloned into vector for amplification.
Before ligation to the vector, the digested genomic DNA is treated with alkaline
phosphatase to prevent the coligation of two inserts to a single vector molecule.
When a genomic library is constructed, the choice of vector should be carefully
considered. Normally phages are used for constructing the genomic library when
compared to cosmids and plasmids. Phages can be used for repeated
amplification, thus once a genomic library is constructed, it can be used for
generations or years together. Secondly, phage recombinants give better and
cleaner results when desired clones are identified by colony hybridization. An
important problem in genomic library is distortion. Not all recombinants in a
population will propagate equally well, as the insert size or sequence may affect
the replication of a recombinant phage. Hence when a library is put through an
amplification step, particular recombinants may be increased in frequency or
decreasing or totally lost. With the technological development in genomic library
construction methods, most of the researchers prefer to create a new library for
each screening rather than take the risk of using previously amplified ones.

Genomic libraries can be constructed using various hosts like plasmids (insert
size up to 15 kb), bacteriophage lambdas (insert size up to 20 kb), cosmids (insert
size up to 45 kb), YACs and (insert size up to 2,000 kb), and many more. Some
important ones are as follows:

Constructing Genomic Libraries Using Plasmids:

This is the process of cloning human DNA fragments by inserting them between
two EcoRI digested sites of a plasmid cloning vector. After the human DNA frag-
ments are inserted into the plasmid, the plasmids in turn are inserted into
bacterial cells. In the end, these host bacterial cells contain their own
chromosomal DNA together with plasmid DNA. As these bacteria replicate their
chromosomes, they also replicate with them the plasmid cloning vectors.
Plasmids are very convenient to work with because they contain one origin of
replication, one of more selectable markers (such as a gene that confers
resistance to antibiotics), and one or more restriction sites that can be cut and
used for ligation of foreign DNA molecules.

Constructing Genomic Libraries Using Bacteriophage Vectors:

The human genome is partially digested with a restriction enzyme like Sau3A in a
specific way so that some of the sites are cleaved and others are not. By this way,
random cleavage of the sites occurs and a collection of overhanging fragments of
length suitable for cloning can be obtained, which are then ligated into
bacteriophage lambda “arms” prepared so that the Sau3A ends of human DNA
fragments can be ligated into the vector. The recombinant lambda chromosomes
are then packaged into the infectious bacteriophage, and then the library,
containing 1 million or more fragments of genomic DNA, can be stored for the
future isolation of many genes. A collection of several hundred thousand phages
would represent the entire DNA from the human genome.

Making a genomic library in bacteriophage lambda vector:

Phage lambda bind to receptors on the surface of E. coli and injects DNA.
Infection by lambda  is much more efficient than plasmid transformation can get ~
109 plaques per microgram of DNA, vs ~ 10 6 colonies per microgram of plasmid
DNA

As the bacterial cells lyse, a plaque forms, which spreads as more cells become
infected and lyse. The plaque contains the infectious viral particles or virions and
each one represents an individual lambda clone. The appearance is of a clear
circle in a 'cloud' of bacterial cells (the bacterial 'lawn'). If incubated for long
periods, these circles will continue to grow and spread until all bacterial cells are
wiped out. To pick a single lambda clone, the plaque is 'punched' out from the
agar plate and stored in a holding solution. This can then be used to infect more
bacterial cells and to replicate more of the recombinant lambda DNA.

Constructing Genomic Libraries with Yeast Artificial Chromosomes (YACs):

Large fragments of human DNA (over 500 kb) are generated by partial EcoRI
digestion of human genomic DNA. Individual vector arms contain telomeres at
one end and EcoRI compatible overhangs on at the other end. Individual vectors
also carry a different selectable marker, and one arm also contains a centromere
and selectable markers at each end and a yeast chromosome at the other end.
The YACs are transferred into yeast, and the selectable markers are used to
select only those yeasts that contain a properly constructed YAC.
YAC libraries are used for cloning very large DNA fragments (of more than 1 Mb),
and are useful for cloning large genes (such as the 250 kb cystic fibrosis gene)
and for creating libraries of large overlapping clones, such as for individual
chromosomes isolated from organisms (chromosomal libraries).

YACs are yeast artificial chromosomes and are hybrids of bacterial plasmid DNA
and yeast DNA. The components required for replication/segregation of natural
yeast chromosomes have been combined with E. coli plasmid DNA. YACs are
grown in the yeast Saccharomomyces cerevesiae and so contain selectable
markers which are suitable for the host system. Rather than antibiotic selection,
yeast selectable markers enable growth of the transformant on selective media
lacking specific nutrients. (Non-transformants are unable to grow). The yeast
strains that are used are auxotrophic - that is, they are unable to make a specific
compound.

YACs are not used as extensively anymore because of inherent problems. For
instance, YAC clones can contain non-contiguous segments of the genome. This
means that two or more DNA fragments from separate parts of the genome can
be integrated into an individual .A second problem is that YACs are unstable and
frequently lose parts of the DNA during propagation.

Construction genomic libraries with cosmid

Cosmid vectors are hybrids of plasmid and bacteriophage lambda DNA (a small
~5 kb plasmid containing the plasmid origin of replication (ori), an antibiotic
resistance gene such as ampr and a suitable restriction site for cloning along with
the COS sequence from phage  DNA). Because of the COS sequence, cosmid
recombinants can be packaged into viral particles (allowing high efficiency
transformation). Since most of the DNA has been discarded, it can be replaced by
the DNA of interest, so long as it doesn't exceed the 50 kb limit for packaging into
the viral head. The insert sizes are of the order of 35-45 kb. Since the recombinant
DNA does not encode any lambda proteins, cosmids do not form viral particles
(or plaques) but rather forms large circular plasmids and the colonies that arise
can be selected on antibiotic plates, like other plasmid DNA transformants.
Cosmid clones can be manipulated similarly, allowing ease of plasmid
isolation .Since many eukaryotic genes are on the order of 30 - 40 kb, the
likelihood of obtaining a DNA clone containing the entire gene sequence is
increased significantly when using a cosmid library.
BAC libraries are also used for cloning very large DNA fragments and have been
particularly useful for sequencing large genomes. BACs are bacterial artificial
chromosomes, and are based on a naturally occurring large bacterial plasmid, the
F-factor. BAC vectors can accommodate DNA inserts up to 300 kb, still fairly
respectable when needing to clone large genes or map and sequence complex
genomes.
BACs have several advantages over YACs, which means they are used more
extensively now. Most of the human genome has been sequenced using BAC
ather than YAC clones.

Many different strategies are available for library screening

The various techniques used for screening to any type of library, genomic or
cDNA, and can involve either Nucleic acid hybridization or the PCR. In each case,
the design of the probe or primers can be used to home in on one specific clone
or a group of structurally related .Both genomic and cDNA libraries can be
screened by hybridization Nucleic acid hybridization is the most commonly used
method of library screening because it is rapid ,it can be applied to very large
numbers of clones, and in the case of cDNA libraries, can be used to identify
clones that are not full length .Grunstein & Hogness (1975) developed a screening
procedure to detect DNA sequences in transformed colonies by hybridization in
situ with radioactive RNA probes. Their procedure can rapidly determine which
colony among thousands contains the target sequence.A modification of the
method low screening of colonies plated at a very high density. The colonies to
be screened are first replica plated onto a nitro cellulose filter disk that has been
placed on the surface of an agar plate prior to inoculation A reference set of
these colonies on the master plate is retained. The filter bearing the colonies is
removed and treated with alkali so that the bacterial colonies are lysed and the
DNA they contain is denatured. The filter is then treated with proteinase K to
remove protein and leave denatured DNA bound to the nitro cellulose, for which it
has a high affinity, in the form of a “DNA-print” of the colonies. The DNA is fixed
firmly by baking the filter at 80°C. The defining , labeled RNA is hybridized to this
DNA and the result of this hybridization is monitored by autoradiography .
The PCR can be used as an alternative to hybridization for the screening of
genomic and cDNA libraries

The PCR is widely used to isolate specific DNA sequences from uncloned
genomic DNA or cDNA, but it is also a useful technique for library screening. As a
screening method, the PCR has the same versatility as hybridization, and the
same limitations. It is possible to identify any clone by the PCR but only if there is
sufficient information about its sequence to make suitable primers. To isolate a
specific clone, the PCR is carried out with gene-specific primers that flank a
unique sequence in the target. A typical strategy for library screening by the PCR
is demonstrated by Takumi &Lodish (1994). Each well is screened by the PCR and
positive wells are identified. The clones in each positive well are then diluted into
a series in a secondary set of plates and screened again. The process is repeated
until wells carrying homogeneous clones corresponding to the gene of interest
have been identified. There are also several applications where the use of
degenerate primers is favorable. A degenerate primer is a mixture of primers, all
of similar sequence but with variations at one or more positions. This is
analogous to the use of degenerate oligonucleotides as hybridization probes, and
the primers are synthesized in the same way. A common circumstance requiring
the use of degenerate primers is when the primer sequences have to be deduced
from aminoacid sequences As with oligonucleotides probes, the selection of
amino acids with low codon degeneracy is desirable. However, a 128-fold
degeneracy in each primer can be successful in amplifying a single copy target
from the human genome

Immunological screening uses specific antibodies to detect expressed gene

products
Immunological screening involves the use of antibodies that specifically
recognize antigenic determinants on the polypeptide synthesized by a target
clone. This is one of the most versatile expression cloning strategies because it
can be applied to any protein for which an antibody is available. Unlike the
screening strategies discussed below, there is also no need for that protein to be
functional. The molecular target for recognition is generally an epitope, a short
sequence of amino acids that folds into a particular three-dimensional
conformation on the surface of the protein. Epitopes can fold independently of
the rest of the protein and therefore often form even when the polypeptide chain
is incomplete, or when expressed as a fusion with another protein. Importantly,
many epitopes can form under denaturing conditions when the overall
conformation of the protein is abnormal. The first immunological screening
techniques were developed in the late 1970s, when expression libraries were
generally constructed using plasmid vectorsThis method exploited the facts that
antibodies adsorb very strongly to certain types of plastic, such as polyvinyl, and
that IgG antibodies. As usual, transformed cells were platedout on Petri dishes
and allowed to form colonies. In order to release the antigen from positive clones,
the colonies were lysed, e.g. using chloroform vapor or by spraying with an
aerosol of virulent phage .A sheet of polyvinyl that had been coated with the
appropriate ntibody was the applied to the surface of the plate, allowing antigen–
antibody complexes to form. The sheet was then removed and exposed to 125I-
labeled IgG specific to a different determinant on the surface of the antigen(i.e. a
determinant not involved in the initial bindingof the antigen to the antibody-
coated sheet; The sheet was then washed and exposed to X-rayfilm. The clones
identified by this procedure could then be isolated from the replica plate. Note
that this“sandwich” technique is applicable only where two antibodies
recognizing different determinants of the same protein are available. However, if
the proteinis expressed as a fusion, antibodies that bind to each component of
the fusion can be used, efficiently selecting for recombinant molecules.While
plasmid libraries have been useful for expression screening (Helfman et al. 1983,
Helfman use bacteriophage λ insertion vectors because these have a higher
capacity and the efficiency of in vitro packaging allows large numbers of
recombinants to be prepared and screened. Immunological screening with phage
λ cDNA libraries was introduced by Young & Davies (1983) using the expression
vector λgt11 which generates fusion proteins with β-galactosidase under the
control of the lac promoter. In the original technique, screening was carried out
using colonies of induced lysogenic bacteria, which required the production of
replica plates as above. A simplification ofthe method is possible by directly
screening plaques of recombinant phage. In this procedure the library is plated
out at moderately high density(up to 5 × 104 plaques per 9 cm2 plate), with E. coli
strain Y1090 as the host. This E. coli strain over produces the lac repressor and
ensures that no expression of cloned sequences (which may be deleterious to the
host) takes place until the inducer IPTG is presented to the infected cells. Y1090
is also deficient in the lon protease, hence increasing the stabilityof recombinant
fusion proteins. Fusion proteins expressed in plaques are absorbed onto a
nitrocellulose membrane overlay and this membrane is processed for antibody
screening. When a positive signal is identified on the membrane, the positive
plaque can be picked from the original agar plate (a replica is not necessary) and
the recombinant phage can be isolated. The original detection method using
iodinated antibodies has been superseded by more convenient methods using
non-isotopic labels, which are also more sensitive and have a lower background
of nonspecific signal. Generally, these involve the use of unlabeled primary
antibodies directed against the polypeptide of interest, which are in turn
recognized by secondary antibodies carrying an enzymatic label. As well as
eliminating the need for isotopes, such methods also incorporate an amplification
step, since two or more secondary antibodies bind to the primary antibody.
Typically, the secondary antibody recognizes the species-specific constant
region of the primary antibody, and is conjugated to alkaline phosphatase
(Mierendorf et al. 1987), each of which canin turn be detected using a simple
colorimetric assay carried out directly on the nitrocellulose filter. Polyclonal
antibodies, which recognize many different epitopes, provide a very sensitive
probe for immunological screening, although they may also cross react
antibodies and cloned antibody fragments can alsobe used, although the
sensitivity of such reagents is reduced because only a single epitope is
recognized
South western and north western screening are used to detect clones encoding
nucleicacid binding proteins
However, the screening is carried out not using an antibody, by incubating the
membranes with a radio labeled double-stranded DNA oligonucleotide probe,
containing the recognition sequence for the target DNA-binding protein. This
technique is called southwestern screening because it combines the principles of
Southern and western blots. It has been particularly successful inthe isolation of
clones expressing cDNA sequences corresponding to certain mammalian
transcription factors .A limitation of this techniqueis that, since individual
plaques contain only single cDNA clones, transcription factors that function only
in the form of heterodimers or as part of a multimeric complex do not recognize
the DNA probe, and the corresponding cDNAs cannot be isolated. Clearly the
procedure can also be successful only in cases where the transcription factor
remains functional when expressed as a fusion polypeptide. It is also clear that
the affinity of the polypeptide for the specific DNA sequence must be high, and
this has led to the preferential isolation of certain types of transcription factor
.More recently, a similar technique has been used to isolate sequence-specific
RNA-binding proteins, in this case using a single-stranded RNA probe. By
analogy to the above, this is termed north western screening and has been
successful in a number of cases. Both southwestern and north western screening
are most efficient when the oligonucleotide contains the binding sequence in
multimeric form.This may mean that several fusion polypeptides on the filter bind
to each probe, hence greatly increasing the average dissociation time. To
minimize non-specific binding, a large excess of unlabeled double-stranded DNA
(or single-stranded RNA) is mixed with the specific probe. However, it is usually
necessary to confirm the specificity of binding in a second round of screening
using the specific oligonucleotide probe and one or more alternative probes
containing similar sequences that are not expected to be recognized.As well as
DNA and RNA, a whole range of alternative“ligands” can be used to identify
polypeptides that specifically bind certain molecules. Such techniques are not
widely used because they generally have a low sensitivity and their success
depends on the preservation of the appropriate interacting domain of the protein
when exposed on the surface of a nitrocellulose filter . The yeast two-hybrid
system and its derivatives now provide versatile assay formats for many specific
types of protein–protein interaction, with the advantage that such interactions are
tested in living cells so the proteins involved are more likely to retain their
functional interacting domains.

Applications of Genomic Library -

1. Genomic library construction is the first step in any DNA sequencing projects.

2. Genomic library helps in identification of the novel pharmaceutically important

genes.

3. Genomic library helps in identification of new genes which were silent in the
host.

4. It helps us in understanding the complexity of genomes.

References

Books Prescibed :

 Gene Manpulation By Primose and Twyan and Genomics by T A Brown