Rewriting Life: The Race to Redesign Genomes in Higher Organisms

Friday - February 16 2024, 09:28 UTC - 9 months ago

While the Synthetic Yeast Project has successfully redesigned yeast chromosomes with artificial DNA, a new study has redesigned part of a chromosome in a moss plant. This is a crucial step towards completely redesigning genomes in higher organisms and has real-world applications in understanding evolution, disease, and creating new materials. Synthetic biology is a rapidly expanding field that has the potential to revolutionize industries and even create entirely synthetic organisms.

Synthetic biology is a rapidly expanding field that is changing the way we think about life. In late 2023, scientists made a groundbreaking discovery - yeast cells with half their genetic blueprint replaced by artificial DNA. This marked a major milestone in the Synthetic Yeast Project, an 18-year-long project to design alternate versions of every yeast chromosome. Despite having seven and a half synthetic chromosomes, the cells reproduced and thrived. This achievement opened up a whole new world of possibilities for synthetic biologists.

A new study takes us one step closer to our ultimate goal - designing genomes in higher organisms. The project, called SynMoss, involved redesigning part of a single chromosome in a type of moss. The resulting plant not only grew normally but also produced spores, making it one of the first multi-celled living organisms with a partially artificial chromosome. This was an important step towards completely redesigning the genomes of higher organisms.

The changes made to the plant’s chromosomes may seem small in comparison to those made in the synthetic yeast. However, this study shows that we are making significant progress towards completely redesigning genomes in higher organisms. In an interview with Science, synthetic biologist Dr. Tom Ellis of Imperial College London stated that this is a "wake-up call" for those who believe that synthetic genomes are only possible in microbes.

Rewriting life is not just a way to satisfy scientific curiosity; it has real-world applications. By tinkering with DNA, we can better understand evolution and identify critical stretches of DNA that are responsible for keeping chromosomes stable or causing diseases. Moreover, experiments in synthetic biology could also help us unlock the secrets of "dark matter" in the genome - mysterious sequences that do not code for proteins but have puzzled scientists for years.

Synthetic organisms also have the potential to revolutionize industries. Bacteria and yeast, for example, are already used in the production of beer and life-saving medications like insulin. By manipulating their genomes, we can give these cells new capabilities. In recent years, scientists have reprogrammed bacteria to synthesize proteins using non-natural building blocks and turned them into plastic-recycling machines.

However, bacteria and yeast are prokaryotic cells. Their genetic material is not enclosed within a nucleus, making them easier to redesign. The Synthetic Yeast Project proved that we can redesign the genome of a eukaryotic cell, which includes plants, animals, and humans, all of which have a complex genetic structure within a protective nucleus.

Out of all eukaryotic organisms, plants are the most challenging to manipulate because they have multiple cell types and functions that coordinate growth and reproduction. Any changes made to their chromosomes could have significant consequences for their health. This is why the SynMoss team’s achievement is so important; it shows that we are making steady progress towards genome synthesis in multicellular organisms, which is uncharted territory.