PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Peccoud, Samuel J.
AU  - Hernandez, Sarah I.
AU  - Kar, Diptendu M.
AU  - Berezin, Casey-Tyler
AU  - Peccoud, Jean
TI  - Self-Documenting Plasmids
AID  - 10.1101/2024.10.29.620927
DP  - 2024 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2024.10.29.620927
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2024/10/30/2024.10.29.620927.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2024/10/30/2024.10.29.620927.full
AB  - Biological products produced by plasmids underscore the bioeconomy, thus ensuring the sequences of physical DNA constructs match their expected designs is critical. Yet, the veriWication of plasmids remains a difWicult and overlooked step in the production process. We developed a web application to generate certiWicates that embed information about a plasmid and its designer within the sequence itself. Plasmids can be sequenced de novo and upon sequencing and assembly upload, plasmid sequences can be veriWied with a Winite number of errors corrected. Users can also encode GenBank or plain text Wiles in certiWicate sequences to store additional data or documentation associated with a plasmid within the sequence. CertiWicate insertion does not adversely affect bacterial DNA yields nor functional protein expression in mammalian cells. This technology accelerates and simpliWies plasmid veriWication and has the potential to transform bioproduction, biosurveillance, and the protection of intellectual property in the life sciences.Competing Interest StatementJ.P. and S.P. have a financial interest in GenoFAB, Inc., a company that may benefit or be perceived to benefit from this publication.