Full-length Rac prophage protein RecE and its partner RecT mediate highly efficient linear-to-linear homologous recombination mechanistically distinct from conventional recombineering mediated by Red-alpha-beta from lambda phage. E. coli strain GB05-dir enables direct cloning of DNA fragments without the necessity to maintain an expression plasmid in the cells since the necessary genes are located on the chromosome. Applications include the cloning of PCR products and cloning of linear DNA fragments from digested genomic DNA (see Fu et al. 2012).