First artificial life created
pharmafile | May 24, 2010 | News story | Research and Development | Cell biology, Venter, cell, genome
Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first living cell to be controlled entirely by synthetic DNA.
The breakthrough has been achieved by Dr Craig Venter of the J Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in Maryland and California, who has been at the working on the project for 15 years.
The researchers constructed a bacterium’s DNA and transplanted it into a host cell, which then looked and behaved like the species ‘dictated’ by the synthetic DNA.
Published in the journal Science, the announcement has been hailed as a scientific landmark, although critics say creating synthetic organisms could carry significant risks.
The researchers are nevertheless confident that by designing bacterial cells, medicines and fuels can be produced cheaply and cleanly, and microbes could be developed to help absorb greenhouse gases.
Dr Venter and his colleagues had previously made a synthetic bacterial genome, and transplanted the genome of one bacterium into another. The team has now combined these techniques to create the so-called ‘synthetic cell’, although only its genome is truly synthetic.
Dr Venter says the advance is similar to making new software for the cell. The research involved copying an existing bacterial genome, sequencing its code and then used ‘synthesis machines’ to chemically construct a copy.
The scientists “decoded” the chromosome of an existing bacterial cell – using a computer to read each of the letters of genetic code.
They then copied this code and chemically constructed a new synthetic chromosome, piecing together blocks of DNA.
The new bacteria successfully replicated more than a billion times, producing copies that contained and were controlled by the constructed, synthetic DNA.
The JCVI scientists say they believe this breakthrough can be combined with other genetic techniques to develop revolutionary technologies.
“This will undoubtedly lead to the development of many important applications and products including biofuels, vaccines, pharmaceuticals, clean water and food products,” the group said, adding that it would lead and support ethical discussions and safety reviews of any such technology.
Dr Venter and his colleagues are already working with pharmaceutical and fuel companies to design and develop chromosomes for bacteria that would produce useful fuels and new vaccines.
But critics say that the potential benefits of synthetic organisms have been overstated, and that more research needs to be done on the safety risks posed by creating artificial life.
JCVI is a not-for-profit research organisation, but Synthetic Genomics Inc (SGI), privately owned by Venter, is set up to commercialise some of the technology produced in applications in energy and the environment.
SGI has provided $30 million of funding for synthetic genomics research at the JCVI over the last five years. The company has exclusive intellectual property rights on this work and has filed approximately 13 patent application families to date.
Andrew McConaghie
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