In A Nutshell: What Is Synthetic Biology?

Since the COVID-19 lock-down, I have tried to invest in myself morally, academically and skill wise. As a student of microbiology and a biotechnology enthusiast, I have read news, scholarly and blog articles and watched videos about my field of study, especially about the novel coronavirus disease.

One of the things that caught my attention were claims that the virus had been engineered in a lab by scientists, which one might choose to believe but whether that was the case or not, I was curious to know about how a whole new organism can be synthesized in a lab (I mean, how do you get to create a whole new organism from scratch?) or as the case may be, modification of existing ones. I wanted to know which aspect of biotechnology or genetic engineering that could be involved.

Recently, I came across for the first time the term 'synthetic biology' (a.k.a Synbio) which is a multidisciplinary area of research that could make possible the creation of viruses from scratch as well as for other purposes through enabling technologies.

I found it worthwhile to share with you few things about this field of science especially if you have not heard or read about it before or if this is just a reminder and nevertheless, forgive me for any mumbo-jumbo you might encounter while reading.

In a nutshell: what is synthetic biology and how does it work?

It is a field of research that seek to create new life forms or redesign organisms already found in nature to have new abilities (therefore, the term synthetic).

The advent of this field was made possible by advances in genome sequencing technology and oligonucleotide synthesis as well as improvements in the speed and cost of DNA synthesis.

Synthetic biology is distinct from genetic engineering which usually involves the transfer of individual genes from one cell to another; synthetic biology envisions the assembly of new cell genomes or in other words, stitching together long stretches of DNA which are then inserted into an organisms genome. These synthesized pieces of DNA could also be found in other organisms or they could be entirely novel.

How can it be used to create a virus?

If you are still wondering whether the entire genome of an organism can be synthesized, the answer to your wondering is simply a YES and it has been already done.

From my research, the first man-made virus was the synthetic polio virus which was generated using the polio virus' widely known genetic sequence to synthesize it from the building blocks of DNA and a broth of other chemicals. The constructed virus appeared to be identical to its natural counterpart.

An artificial virus called Phi X-174 virus, which is a bacteriophage ( virus that infects bacteria) was the first virus ever sequenced and was created in 14 days by piecing together synthetic DNA using a technique called polymerase cycle assembly ( PCA ) to link the strands of DNA together. The sequence and assembly of the synthetic one as matched up with the sequenced genome of the natural virus.

What can synthetic biology do?

                                  

Common goals of synthetic biology projects are making or redesigning organisms so that they produce substances such as medicine or fuel, or gain new abilities such as sensing something in the environment.

Some examples of what synthetic biologists produce include: natural products such as enzymes, polymers, vitamins and fuels using microbes that are engineered to have all necessary enzymes and biological functions to perform the complex multistep involved. Microorganisms can also be harnessed for bio-remediation to get rid of water, soil and air pollutants. This technology is also now being used to investigate novel vaccine strategies.

Dark side and ethical implications of synthetic biology.

A Tedx presentation by Rob Reid I saw a week ago which I would highly recommend ( link ), branded synthetic biology as the weapon that could 'wipe out humanity'.

Such proposal would undoubtedly lead to ethical concerns and should not be a surprise as synthetic biology is also vulnerable to being utilized by bad scientists and governments that have access to it to create or redesign organisms such as viruses and bacteria for bio-terrorism or for researches that could be misapplied to pose significant threats to public health, agricultural crops and plants, other animals or the environment.

Synthetic biology has raised many ethical questions concerning its applications and some of the common questions include whether it is morally right to tamper with nature; what happens if a synthetic organism accidentally escapes? and who will have control of and access to the products of synthetic biology?

In conclusion, synthetic biology is a very vast field with huge prospects; showing great potentials for engineering complex biological systems for the improved production of food, fuels, drugs and polymers. It would go a long way only if proper measures and human interests are considered.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have learnt something. Let me know what you think in the comment section.

PS: don't hesitate to click those links for unfamiliar terms or use google preferably to understand better.

VIVA! 😍