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DNA Ligases

The largest selection of DNA Ligases for your ligation needs

With over 45 years of experience in the development and production of enzymes for molecular biology, NEB offers the most extensive selection of high-quality and performance-optimized DNA ligases and master mixes to streamline your experiments.

A few of our more popular standalone ligases and ligase kits available are:

T4 DNA Ligase (NEB #M0202)
Quick Ligation^™ Kit (NEB #M2200)
T7 DNA Ligase (NEB #M0318)
Taq DNA Ligase (NEB #M0208)
Electroligase^® (NEB #M0369)
HiFi Taq DNA Ligase (NEB #M0647)
Hi-T4^™ DNA Ligase (NEB #M2622)
Salt-T4^® DNA Ligase (NEB #M0467)
SplintR^® Ligase (NEB #M0375)

For added convenience and accuracy in your ligation reaction setup, try our DNA Ligase Master Mixes. These pre-mixed, ready-to-use formulations include a proprietary ligation reaction enhancement agent for improved performance. For your convenience, master mixes are available for every end type: Instant Sticky-end Ligase Master Mix (NEB #M0370) for sticky ends, and Blunt/TA Ligase Master Mix (NEB #M0367) for blunt or single-base overhang ends.

Learn more about NEB's quality controls for DNA ligases.

For help with selecting or using a DNA ligase, visit our supporting materials:

NEBcloner, an interactive tool for selecting appropriate products and viewing protocols for steps in the cloning workflow
DNA Ligase Selection Chart
Substrate-based Ligase Selection Chart
Properties of DNA and RNA Ligases Chart
Ligase Troubleshooting Guide
App note: Joining Difficult to Ligate dsDNA Fragments
App note: Efficient Adaptor Ligation for the Preparation of dsDNA Libraries using Blunt/TA Ligase Master Mix

Ligase Fidelity

Extensive research has been conducted at NEB regarding the end-joining ligase fidelity (discrimination against ligating mismatched overhangs) and bias (sequence preference) for short, cohesive ends. This information can be used to optimize design of Golden Gate Assembly and achieve high efficiency and high fidelity assemblies of 35+ fragments.

NEB has compiled this information into the following tools:

NEBridge Ligase Fidelity Viewer^®
Visualize overhang ligation preferences

NEBridge GetSet^®
Predict high-fidelity junction sets

NEBridge SplitSet^®
Split DNA sequence for scarless high-fidelity assembly

For more information on ligase fidelity and Golden Gate assembly, watch this webinar or visit neb.com/goldengate.

SilverXpress^™ is a trademark of Life Technologies, Inc.

NEB offers a variety of ligases for DNA research. Many of these enzymes are recombinant, and all offer the quality and value you have come to expect from our products.

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DNA Ligases

DNA Ligases

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Protocols for DNA Ligases

Application Notes for DNA Ligases

Tools & Resources

Selection Tools

Properties of DNA and RNA Ligases

DNA Ligase Selection Chart

Troubleshooting Guides

Troubleshooting Guide for Cloning

Troubleshooting Tips for Ligation Reactions

Troubleshooting Guide for Ligases

Usage Guidelines

Traditional Cloning Quick Guide

Tips for Maximizing Ligation Efficiencies

Reported Activities and Applications for T4 Ligases

Relative Efficiency of T4 Ligases on Nicked Substrates

Legal Information

Products and content are covered by one or more patents, trademarks and/or copyrights owned or controlled by New England Biolabs, Inc (NEB). The use of trademark symbols does not necessarily indicate that the name is trademarked in the country where it is being read; it indicates where the content was originally developed. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The use of this product may require the buyer to obtain additional third-party intellectual property rights for certain applications. For more information, please email busdev@neb.com.

This product is intended for research purposes only. This product is not intended to be used for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes in humans or animals.

Videos

Ligase Fidelity and Bias in End-Joining Ligation: Enabling complex, multi-fragment Golden Gate DNA Assembly

In this webinar, you will learn about our recently developed a single-molecule sequencing method to characterize end-joining ligase fidelity (discrimination against ligating mismatched overhangs) and bias (sequence preferences) for short cohesive ends in a high throughput manner. This method allows determination of the relative frequency of all ligation products with or without mismatches, the position-dependent frequency of each mismatch, and sequence-dependent biases in ligation efficiency. We have applied the fidelity and bias data to optimize design of Golden Gate-type assemblies, allowing selection of overhang sets with minimized mismatch potential and high efficiency.
DNA Ligation

Ligation, the process of joining DNA fragments with a DNA ligase, proceeds in three steps. Learn more about the function of ligation with our quick tutorial animation.
Are some ligations more difficult than others?

Ligation of blunt ends and single-base overhangs require optimized reaction conditions.
Why do I need to add PEG to my DNA ligation?

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is an important reagent in ligation reactions, find out why.
What are the best conditions for DNA ligation?

Find out how the downstream application dictates the best reaction conditions for ligation.
What molar ratios should I use for DNA Ligation?

The optimal reactant ratio is contingent upon the downstream application.

DNA Ligases