A great breakthrough in synthetic biology! A panoramic review of the birth process, design ideas, and future potential of the artificial Escherichia coli Syn61!
Redesigning DNA: A New Chapter in Synthetic Biology
The genetic code of Syn61 has undergone a significant redesign, which is likened to searching for all "C" and "Q" in the Bible and replacing them with "K", thus transforming "quick" into "kwikk".
Scientists have achieved a thorough modification of genes by removing duplicate parts from natural code, making DNA code more efficient, and reducing the number of codons that mark the end of genes.
Exquisite Engineering in the Laboratory
This study was conducted by a small team from a renowned molecular biology laboratory in Cambridge, demonstrating how to synthesize 4 million genetic letters in segments and assemble them through natural cellular mechanisms in yeast cells.
Each synthesized DNA segment underwent rigorous testing to ensure there were no errors, ultimately resulting in the synthesis of Syn61.
The unique properties of resisting viruses
The uniqueness of Syn61 lies in its distinct genetic language from all other forms of life, providing a new strategy for preventing virus invasion. Due to the inability of the virus to find a tool to translate its own DNA in Syn61, it cannot successfully infect.
This characteristic has been hailed as the "cliff edge" by George Church, a genetic engineer at Harvard University, indicating the possibility of recoding organisms to become resistant to all viruses.
Endless imagination of the future
Although Syn61's growth rate is about 60% slower than natural E. coli, scientists believe this is just a small issue that can be quickly corrected.
More importantly, the creation of Syn61 has opened up new possibilities for synthetic biology, including introducing non natural amino acids into cells and thus introducing novel chemical properties.
This not only brings new tools for scientific research, but also has the potential to create new materials and drugs that we have never seen before.
The synthesis process of Syn61 is a complex and intricate engineering that involves multiple advanced technologies.
Firstly, scientists utilized the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool to create the Syn61 E. coli strain.
Subsequently, they extensively rewrote the bacterial genome by replacing over 18000 serine codons, replacing UCG, UCA, and stop codon UAG with their synonymous codons AGC, AGU, and UAA, respectively.
This process requires detailed design on a computer, followed by chemical synthesis of a redesigned genetic code, which is then added segment by segment to Escherichia coli, gradually replacing its natural genome.
During the synthesis process, researchers used homologous recombination methods in yeast to connect DNA fragments to different lengths, and used REXER4 technology to recombine and replace the corresponding parts of the E.
coli genome with these fragments. By iteratively using REXER4 technology, different sections were gradually replaced into the genome, ultimately forming a fully synthesized Syn61 strain.
In addition, in order to integrate the synthesized sections into a complete genome, the researchers used bacterial conjugation to ligate the donor section to the downstream region of the recipient section, and used screening markers for screening, ultimately obtaining the artificially synthesized E. coli Syn61 with all 18000 target codons replaced.
This synthesis process not only proves that life can exist within a limited genetic code, but also provides possibilities for the biosynthesis of new properties such as drugs, materials, or the addition of virus resistance.
The potential applications of the synthesized Syn61 strain in the biosynthesis of drugs are very extensive, mainly including the following aspects:
1. Production of new antibiotics: By introducing new non natural amino acids into Syn61, scientists can design compounds with novel antibacterial properties that may become the next generation of antibiotics.
2. Developing antiviral drugs: Due to the genetic code of Syn61 being different from that of natural organisms, it has a natural antiviral ability. This feature can be used to develop new antiviral strategies, such as by modifying the virus's genome to rely on non natural amino acids, thereby limiting virus replication.
3. Manufacturing specific proteins and enzymes: By re encoding the genetic code, Syn61 can be designed to produce proteins and enzymes with specific functions that may have unique effects in treating certain diseases.
4. Production of therapeutic proteins: By utilizing the synthetic biological properties of Syn61, biopharmaceuticals can be produced for the treatment of diseases such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, and heart disease.
5. Development of biomaterials: Syn61 can be used to synthesize biomaterials with specific physical and chemical properties, which may play a role in regenerative medicine and drug delivery systems.
