Synthetic genome recoding: new genetic codes for new features.

James Kuo, Finn Stirling, Yu Heng Lau, Yekaterina Shulgina, Jeffrey C Way, Pamela A Silver

Journal: Current genetics 2018;64(2):327-333

PMID: 28983660

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Abstract

Full genome recoding, or rewriting codon meaning, through chemical synthesis of entire bacterial chromosomes has become feasible in the past several years. Recoding an organism can impart new properties including non-natural amino acid incorporation, virus resistance, and biocontainment. The estimated cost of construction that includes DNA synthesis, assembly by recombination, and troubleshooting, is now comparable to costs of early stage development of drugs or other high-tech products. Here, we discuss several recently published assembly methods and provide some thoughts on the future, including how synthetic efforts might benefit from the analysis of natural recoding processes and organisms that use alternative genetic codes.

Address: Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.; Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. [email protected].; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. [email protected].

DOI: 10.1007/s00294-017-0754-z

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MeSH Terms: Codon, DNA, Escherichia coli, Evolution, Molecular, Genes, Synthetic, Genetic Code, Genetic Engineering, Genome, Bacterial