Synthetic genomes

SYNTHETIC GENOMES

The synthetic genome is a copy of the original except for 14 genes.

Some examples of synthetic genomes are:

Scientists from the J. Craig Venter Institute in the USA have succeeded in making a synthetic genome control the functions of a bacterial cell.

The genome of the bacterium Mycoplasma capricolum has been replaced by another synthetic one with the sequence of that of the species Mycoplasma mycoides, in such a way that the first has begun to act and self-replicate like the second. This advance can help solve energy and environmental problems.

The experiment consists of first synthesizing the genome of the microorganism Mycoplasma mycoides and then transplanting it into Mycoplasma capricolum, from which its own is extracted.

The new genome managed to "start" and activate the receptor cell to produce proteins and self-replicate as, so it cannot be considered a new species or subspecies because it is very similar to the natural one ”.

With the synthetic genome, the properties of the controlled cells are expected to be the same as they would be if the whole cell had been produced synthetically.

The synthetic genome is a copy of the original except in 14 genes, where two of them were deleted or altered, and 10 of them formed sequences that act as watermarks, to differentiate the synthetic genome from the natural one.

Actually, although the resulting cell is called 'synthetic', in reality only the genome is synthetic.

In conclusion, even though the cytoplasm of the recipient cell is not synthetic, after transplanting and replicating it on a plate to form a colony, the progeny will not contain any of the proteins that were present in the original recipient cell.

Energy and environmental applications

In the future, scientists plan to create bacteria capable of carrying out specific tasks to help solve problems such as energy problems, with the production of fuel, or environmental problems, by means of microorganisms that clean polluted environments.

As well as creating cells that can produce energy, pharmaceutical products, industrial compounds, or that allow carbon dioxide to be sequestered ”.

The researchers also hope that the developed method will help to better understand the basic mechanisms that govern all of life. "We have already begun to work with the ultimate goal of synthesizing a minimal cell, with only the machinery necessary to lead an independent life," the scientist highlights.

Scientists today are able to synthesize a cell from a synthetic genome, but in the future they want to test how each gene works in a cell and what DNA is required to support the simplest form of life.

When the design, synthesis, assembly and transplantation of synthetic chromosomes will no longer be a problem for the progress of synthetic biology, thus possibly production costs can be cheap and automatic.

Ethical implications

When these types of scientific advances arise, ethical discussions are raised regarding the moral quality of the advances.

There are currently different tendencies of thought. Science or technology can always be used for positive purposes (in the case of synthetic genomics: new biofuels, new vaccines and medicines, drinking water ...) or they can be used in a negative way ”.

Dialogues will have to be established between the scientific community and the various governments around the world.

Synthetic genomes capable of self-replication: