Synthetic Biology Tools To Design Build And Optimize Cellular Processes

Synthetic Biology

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• The synthetic bacterial cell JCVI-Syn3.0, reported in 2016, is the first real minimal cell. Because its genome encodes essential genes and little else, it will help us to understand basic principles of cellular life.

• New approaches to the DNA-based manipulation of plants (e.g., CRISPR-Cas9) and the use of simple plant models (e.g., Marchantia) are helping us to better understand and engineer plants.

• Engineering biological systems is a complex undertaking and requires computational approaches. Bio-design automation tools in five areas—specification, design, building, testing, and learning—will accelerate progress.

• Methods for precisely engineering genomes and for producing organ structures from composite cells and matrices have rapidly advanced, allowing the rational engineering of more effective transplantation solutions.

• DNA oligonucleotides are typically synthesized using phosphoramidite chemistry methods and then assembled into larger constructs by a variety of methods. Recent advances have sought to reduce cost and increase sequence fidelity.

• Three technologies—CRISPR-Cas9, TALE nucleases, and zinc-finger nucleases—have facilitated a genome-editing revolution. But several challenges (e.g., effectively treating human diseases) remain.

• Recombinant proteins can be produced inexpensively and rapidly using cell-free protein synthesis platforms. This technology will have many applications in the synthetic biology field (e.g., construction of genetic circuits).

• One challenge in synthetic biology is to recreate certain properties of life (e.g., evolution) using unnatural genetic and catalytic biopolymers. Many efforts have centered on artificial genetic systems (e.g., AEGIS).

• Microbial "molecular factories" can produce value-added compounds (e.g., pharmaceuticals). But their development requires the optimization of multiple systems—those of the transcriptome, translatome, proteome, and reactome.

• The threat posed by antibiotic-resistant bacteria has triggered interest in the development of phage therapies. But several challenges (e.g., narrow host range and unique pharmacokinetics of phage therapies) must be addressed.

• Engineering microbial systems for the production of natural products (e.g., "natural" vanillin) is an attractive goal for synthetic biology. Despite recent advances in tools and concepts, several challenges remain.

• Molecular mechanisms that determine the higher-level structures of biological systems are being elucidated. These mechanisms may be harnessed to engineer systems with complex structures (e.g., synthetic tissues and organs).

• Methods are being developed to site-specifically incorporate noncanonical amino acids with unique features (e.g., novel functional groups or posttranslational modifications) into the proteins of living organisms.

• Cells are highly structured, spatially separating incompatible and functionally distinct processes. Various engineering strategies (e.g., heterologous expression of compartments) can be used to modify cellular organization.

• Engineered mammalian cells have many potential uses (e.g., disease diagnosis and treatment). Customized gene switches are key components of engineered cells; they enable the cells to sense and respond to specific signal inputs.

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Synthetic Biology Tools To Design Build And Optimize Cellular Processes

Source: https://cshperspectives.cshlp.org/cgi/collection/synthetic_biology

Posted by: craneacursent.blogspot.com

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