A cover story in the journal Science describes the assembly of five synthetic chromosomes for a species of Baker鈥檚 yeast. This single-celled organism is a key model for understanding human genetics, and a platform used to manufacture medicines.
Led by 嘿嘿视频 geneticist , director of 嘿嘿视频鈥檚 , the publications are the latest from the Synthetic Yeast Project. By the end of 2017, this international consortium hopes to have designed and built synthetic versions of all 16 chromosomes鈥攖he structures that contain DNA鈥攆or Baker鈥檚 yeast.
Dr. Jef Boeke, director of 嘿嘿视频鈥檚 Institute for Systems Genetics.
Photo: 嘿嘿视频 Staff
Scientists add swaths of synthetic DNA to, or remove stretches of it from, human, plant, bacterial, or yeast chromosomes in hopes of averting disease.
鈥淭his work sets the stage for completion of designer, synthetic genomes to address unmet needs in medicine and industry,鈥 Dr. Boeke tells The Wall Street Journal. 鈥淏eyond any one application, the papers confirm that newly created systems and software can answer basic questions about the nature of genetic machinery by reprogramming chromosomes in living cells.鈥
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