Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary science that applies engineering principles to biology. It builds on the advances in molecular, cell, and systems biology.

Synthetic biology aims  to construct novel biological components or systems such as enzymes, cells, genetic circuits, and metabolic pathways that do not exist in nature. This can be done by redesigning the genomes of existing organisms or synthesizing completely new genomes.

Two techniques that are crucial to synthetic biology are DNA sequencing and the chemical synthesis of DNA. Sequencing helps to study the genetic material of organisms found in nature, while chemical DNA synthesis helps build newly designed sequences for testing.

Synthetic biology differs from recombinant DNA technology because it involves the use of chemically synthesized DNA sequences rather than just recombining DNA found in other organisms. The synthesized sequence could be based on sequences found in nature, or it could be completely novel.

It is also different from genetic engineering, which involves transferring individual genes from one organism or cell to another, or genome editing, which involves small changes made to the organism’s own DNA.

In genome redesign, large stretches of artificially synthesized sequences coding for multiple genes are inserted into an organism’s genome. Redesigning is usually carried out with the aim of solving specific problems.

For example, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was redesigned using bacterial and plant genes to produce a precursor to an inexpensive anti-malarial drug, artemisinin.

Synthetic biology also includes designing and artificially constructing entire genomes. For example, the bacterial genome of Mycoplasma genitalium was artificially constructed, making it the largest synthetic DNA structure.

This was done by chemically synthesizing and joining small cassettes of DNA, which were put together into subassemblies and ultimately linked to form a single genome, using homologous recombination—a DNA repair mechanism found in nature.

Additionally, scientists have also created a synthetic life form—a single-celled organism that was created using an artificially synthesized genome, the sequence of which was sourced from an organism, Mycoplasma mycoides, found in nature.