Chemical synthesis and enzymatic assembly of fragments of the DNA coding immunodominant epitopes of human immunodeficiency virus

More than twenty 13- to 55-membered oligo(poly)nucleotides have been synthesized by the H-phosphonate solid-phase method in the manual variant using an original procedure. From the oligonucleotides obtained, seven DNA duplexes coding immunodominant epitopes of HIV-1 proteins have been formed: 598–609 and 737–748 gp41, 91–115 and 105–115 gag, and 940–951 pol and a number of its mutants. The ligase assembly and polymerization of the DNA duplexes obtained has been carried out. The efficiency of ligation amounted to from 60 to 90%. The possibility of their directed polymerization was determined by the flanking of the duplexes by partially completed half-sites of restrictases BamHI and XhoI.