Note: This is a bloggification of these IWBDA 2019 slides on how path-finding tricks used in Google Maps and strategy games can also help build long DNA molecules. Story time! The Edinburgh Genome Foundry, where I worked a few years, is a platform that sells custom synthetic DNA. Customers email long sequences (ATGCTAC..., typically 10,000 nucleotides or longer) which are then synthesized on the robotic setup below, by progressively assembling smaller DNA fragments into bigger ones....
Note: I simplified technical terms and details whenever possible to keep this post focused on the design problems and accessible to a larger audience. If you want to stitch more than 2 bits of DNA together, the most popular method these days is probably Golden Gate Assembly. In a nutshell, you mix DNA fragments in a tube where enzymes will cut their flanks to create overhangs (also called sticky ends), then fuse the overhangs together to form the desired DNA construct:...