Synthetic Biology: Molecular Tools for Engineering Organisms

Ducat, Daniel C.

doi:10.1002/9780470015902.a0020883

Synthetic Biology: Molecular Tools for Engineering Organisms

Other · Thu Feb 15 23:00:00 EST 2018 · eLS

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470015902.a0020883· OSTI ID:1607760

Ducat, Daniel C. ^[1]

Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States); MSU DOE Plant Research Laboratory

Synthetic biology is a biological engineering discipline based on abstracting living systems through the lens of physical engineering concepts. In particular, synthetic biology places an emphasis on the characterisation of simple parts that can be modularly assembled into configurations that give rise to complex, higher-order behaviours. Within the past two decades, this approach has enabled the development number of new molecular biology tools for modifying living systems in order to investigate fundamental processes or imbuing functions into cells that do not exist in nature. While specific synthetic biology applications span a huge range of seemingly unrelated disciplines (from biofuel producing microbes, to malaria-resistant mosquitoes, to living medical therapies), these distinct examples derive from reuse and rearrangement of relatively limited set of cell engineering technologies. The continuing development of these core molecular biology tools for controlling gene expression, protein activity and signalling networks can promote evermore ambitious biological engineering projects.

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Research Organization:: Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

DOE Contract Number:: FG02-91ER20021

OSTI ID:: 1607760

Journal Information:: eLS, Journal Name: eLS

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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