The Bac-to-Bac® Vector Kit contains a pFastBac™ 1 vector, as well an expression control vector, intended for use as part of the Bac-to-Bac® Baculovirus Expression System (Cat. No. 10359-016), which enables the efficent production of recombinant baculovirus for expression testing in insect cells. The Bac-to-Bac® System relies on generation of recombinant baculovirus by site-specific transposition in E. coli rather than homologous recombination in insect cells (Figure 1). This system features:

• Time-saving expression bacmid. With Bac-to-Bac®, the expression cassette of the pFastBac™ vector recombines with the parent bacmid in DH10Bac™ E. coli Competent Cells (not included with this vector kit) to form an expression bacmid. The bacmid is then transfected into insect cells for production of recombinant baculovirus particles.
• Easy colony screening. The parent bacmid in DH10Bac™ E. coli contains a segment of the lacZα gene. The lacZα gene is disrupted upon transposition of the expression cassette into the bacmid allowing for blue/white selection of recombinants. This makes identification of recombinant colonies easy.

The Bac-to-Bac® Baculovirus Expression System is designed for fast, small-scale production of recombinant baculovirus. The pFastBac™ 1 vector provided by this kit offers the strong polyhedrin promoter for protein expression and a large multiple cloning site for simplified cloning.