The team, who published some of their first studies as early as 1999, culminated their efforts with
the first synthetic cell, Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI - syn 1.0 in 2010, and in March 2016 published result of the successful construction of the first minimal synthetic cell, JCVI - syn 3.0.
The man who first sequenced the human genome and designed
the first synthetic cell explains why simple algae — and some genetic engineering — may hold the key to our future
So what exactly is the science behind
the first synthetic cell, and what is its broader significance?
«We've created
the first synthetic cell,» he says.
And before that, the creation of
the first synthetic cell.
Unlike
the first synthetic cells made in 2010, in which Venter's team at the J. Craig Venter Institute in La Jolla, California, copied an existing bacterial genome and transplanted it into another cell, the genome of the minimal cells is like nothing in nature.
If they succeed, Joyce says, such a molecule could then become the basis for
the first synthetic cells that use RNA as the sole genetic information molecule.
Not exact matches
Venter, who created the
first synthetic human
cell back in 2010, feels the FDA hasn't found a way to serve the public in regard to genome data regulation — it barred 23andMe from offering genetic - risk assessments in 2013 before later reinstating the right to offer limited genetic reports.
The company debuted its
first synthetic meatball in 2016 and followed up with the world's
first cell - cultured chicken and duck earlier this year.
One of the consequences of their work is stated in their press release: «With this
first synthetic bacterial
cell and the new tools and technologies we developed to successfully complete this project, we now have the means to dissect the genetic instruction set of a bacterial
cell to see and understand how it really works.»
While previous vectors have only been able to penetrate the cochlea's inner hair
cells, the
first Nature Biotechnology study showed that a new
synthetic vector, Anc80, safely transferred genes to the hard - to - reach outer hair
cells when introduced into the cochlea (see images).
It is the
first synthetic chromosome ever assembled from a eukaryotic organism, the type in which
cells store DNA in nuclei.
Engineers developed the
first tiny,
synthetic machines that can swim by themselves, powered by beating heart
cells.
On - demand replacement body parts inched closer to reality with the announcement from San Diego biotech company Organovo that its organ «printer» had created the
first artificial blood vessel made entirely from human
cells, with no
synthetic scaffolding.
«
Synthetic biology is a new area that's really exciting to young scientists — to have things begin to work in this way is a sort of validation of the field,» says Pamela Silver, a professor of systems biology at Harvard University Medical School and co-author of a study demonstrating one of the first synthetic restructurings of a eukaryotic cell that is described in the journal Genes & Dev
Synthetic biology is a new area that's really exciting to young scientists — to have things begin to work in this way is a sort of validation of the field,» says Pamela Silver, a professor of systems biology at Harvard University Medical School and co-author of a study demonstrating one of the
first synthetic restructurings of a eukaryotic cell that is described in the journal Genes & Dev
synthetic restructurings of a eukaryotic
cell that is described in the journal Genes & Development.
Transplant it into an emptied
cell to create the world's
first synthetic life form — check.
After constructing the
first synthetic bacterial
cell and the
first minimal bacterial
cell, JCVI scientists are using the groundbreaking techniques used in these milestones to construct
synthetic flu vaccines, develop unique new sources of insulin, and more efficient means to produce algae - based biofuels.
In the
first type, which was conducted at Rice, the team used confocal microscopy to film «giant unilamellar vesicles» (GUVs),
synthetic membrane - enclosed structures that are about the same size as a living
cell.
The authors report that genes encoding heme
synthetic enzymes (that generate porphyrin intermediates) are expressed in pigment
cells, and the
first three enzymes in the heme
synthetic pathway are also required for proper pigmentation.
Daniel Speiser, Pedro Romero, and colleauges report the
first demonstration in humans that a
synthetic vaccine can rapidly elicit strong specific CD8 + T
cell responses in a majority of patients.
In May 2010, the J. Craig Venter Institute announced that its lab had built the
first synthetic, self - replicating bacterial
cell — that is, researchers inserted a
synthetic genome, which did not exactly match the DNA sequence of any natural genome, into an existing working
cell; the
cell accepted the
synthetic genome and reproduced.
This
cell line was generated by co-transfection of HeLa
cells with pSV2neo and with pL3tat, which contains the HIV - 1 LTR promoter,
synthetic first tat exo
A seventh paper provides a
first look at the three - dimensional structures of
synthetic chromosomes in the
cell nucleus.
Sc2.0 is the
first step towards a future that undoubtedly includes
cells powered by
synthetic chromosomes and / or genomes.
According to Craig Venter, especially famous for his
first «
synthetic» bacterial
cell, the production of seed stocks for flu vaccines could be the
first field of application for
synthetic genome biology.
«Using
synthetic biology, we were able to effectively decouple the virus and the
cell for the
first time.