Mutation Maker, An Open Source Oligo Design Software for Mutagenesis and De Novo Gene Synthesis Experiments

Founded on principles of natural selection, directed evolution techniques harness high-throughput gene diversification methodologies to generate proteins with optimized properties for applications in research, therapeutic and industrial processes. However, design of gene libraries is typically hampered by scale and complexity, necessitating development of advanced automation and optimization tools that can improve efficiency and accuracy. At present, automated library design tools are obsolete, functionally limited or not freely available for commercial use. To address these issues, we developed Mutation Maker, an open source mutagenic oligo design software for large-scale protein engineering experiments. Mutation Maker is not only specifically tailored to multi-site random and directed mutagenesis protocols, but also pioneers bespoke mutagenic oligo design for gene synthesis workflows. Enabled by a novel bundle of orchestrated heuristics, optimization, constraint-satisfaction and backtracking algorithms, Mutation Maker offers a versatile toolbox for gene diversification design at industrial scale. Supported by simulations and compelling experimental validation data, Mutation Maker oligos produce diverse gene libraries at high success rates irrespective of genes or vectors used. Finally, Mutation Maker was created as an extensible platform on the notion that directed evolution techniques will continue to evolve and revolutionize current and future-oriented applications.