Credit: Calin Plesa & Sriram Kosuri

Have you ever wondered if DNA can be cloned? Well due to gene synthesis, DNA can not only be cloned but also created! According to Wikipedia artificial gene synthesis, or gene synthesis, refers to a group of methods that are used in synthetic biology to construct and assemble genes from nucleotides de novo. The uses and applications of Gene Synthesis are wide and wondrous and should be appreciated more often.

Applications of Gene Synthesis

• Artificial gene synthesis represents an amazing and revolutionary engineering tool for creating and designing new DNA sequences and protein functions. DNA printing and DNA assembly becoming more affordable allowing for greater scientific advancements. The methods used for DNA printing and assembly have even enabled the use of DNA as an information storage medium. DNA storage is the process of encoding and decoding binary data onto and from synthesized strands of DNA.

• It enables the generation of revenue and job creation as it is also a source of a great many businesses based on scientists trying to earn a name for themselves with the use of their knowledge in gene synthesis. With companies like The Shooting Star: Twist Biosciences, The DNA Printer: Codex, The Pioneer: Integrated DNA Technologies, NextGen Synthesis, The Generalists: Eurofins and GenScript and others.

• It leads to breakthroughs in synthesizing bacteria as seen with Mycoplasma laboratorium or Synthia, which is the first species to have computer parents. The success of the synthesized genome of the bacterium Mycoplasma mycoides from a computer record is proof of the advancements in gene synthesis. The technology of gene synthesis which integrates on a single microchip the synthesis of DNA oligonucleotides using inkjet printing, isothermal oligonucleotide amplification and parallel gene allows for the combination of biology and technology to enable creations such as the Mycoplasma laboratorium.

• Optimization of genes in biotechnology. Jef Boeke of the Langone Medical Centre at New York University, revealed that his team had synthesized chromosome III of S. cerevisiae as part of research conducted for the yeast 2.0 project in 2014. The project was created to optimise the genome of the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The procedure involved replacing the genes in the original chromosome with synthetic versions and the finished synthetic chromosome was then integrated into a yeast cell. It required designing and creating 273,871 base pairs. Research and experiments are still being carried on.

• Numerous research areas like those involving heterologous gene expression, vaccine development, gene therapy, molecular engineering and many others would benefit greatly from having more convenient means to synthesise DNA to code for proteins and peptides.

Conclusion

Low-cost, high-throughput gene synthesis and precise control of protein expression are the basis of gene synthesis technology. This means that it is currently the most efficient means of genetic engineering and other scientific and medical research. The value of gene synthesis lies in its ability to improve, there’s no denying that we have not seen all the capabilities of genetic synthesis yet. We look forward to a future made easier and healthier by gene synthesis.

Further Research

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_genomes

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_construct

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_Cloning

References from Wikipedia and the J. Craig Venter Institute published article in Science Express.