Patent Document ID: 20020068363
Application ID: 09431003
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method of enhancing competence of a cell, comprising: (1) recombining at least first and second DNA segments from at least one gene conferring DNA competence, the segments differing from each other in at least two nucleotides, to produce a library of recombinant genes; (2) screening at least one recombinant gene from the library that confers enhanced competence in the cell relative to a wildtype form of the gene; (3) recombining at least a segment from the at least one recombinant gene with a further DNA segment from the at least one gene, the same or different from the first and second segments, to produce a further library of recombinant genes; (4) screening at least one further recombinant gene from the further library of recombinant genes that confers enhanced competence in the cell relative to a previous recombinant gene; (5) repeating (3) and (4), as necessary, until the further recombinant gene confers a desired level of enhanced competence in the cell.