Abstract
Genome editing tools have simplified the generation of knock-in gene fusions, yet the prevalent use of gene-specific homology directed repair (HDR) templates still hinders scalability. Consequently, realization of large-scale gene tagging requires further development of approaches to generate knock-in protein fusions via generic donors that do not require locus- specific homology sequences. Here, we combine intron-based protein trapping with homology independent repair-based integration of a generic donor and demonstrate precise, scalable and efficient gene tagging. As editing is done in introns using a synthetic exon, this approach tolerates mutations in the unedited allele, indels at the integration site and the addition of resistance genes that do not disrupt the target gene coding sequence resulting in easy and flexible gene tagging.