Synthetic Biology | Annex
86
• Tweak natural regulatory mechanisms or switches in order to achieve the
desired function
• Reducing unwanted (side-) products
• Create functional devices, systems and organisms with novel and useful functions
• Biochemical reconstitution approach
• Improve understanding of and ability to control living organisms
• New function more efficient, safe, understandable and predictable
• Combined use of genome-wide genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics
• Reduce research and development time and to increase speed to market
• Provide useful drugs,
green fuels, other high value biomaterials
• Synthesis – validation of a scientific hypothesis
BioBricks™/building blocks/modules/basic components/biological parts
• Development of “BioBricks™”, search for a minimal cell, delivery of customised genes
•
De novo design of new or the redesign of existing biological systems (single enzymes, whole biosynthetic
pathways)
• The key elements of these modular parts are molecular switches that are based on protein-protein,
protein-DNA
or protein-RNA interactions
• Genetic components
• Create novel organisms containing designed genetic circuits from standard biological parts
(“BioBricks™”) that in most cases are provided by nature
• Individual parts are synthesised and combined in different biological arrangements to make useful
products such as biopharmaceuticals and biofuels
• Design and generation of new biological parts from natural existing components (including genetic
circuits, synthetic metabolic pathways and signalling systems)
• Use, modify, and improve natural systems to design useful devices
• Aim is to program cells to perform desirable functions in a predictable manner
• Predict the behaviour of biological systems
• Key “parts” are nucleic acids,
metabolites and proteins
• Conception of parts, devices and systems
• Toolbox of biological building blocks
• Use of biological or biologically inspired modules for the directed self-assembly of functional synthetic
systems
• Small DNA pieces are assembled in a series of steps into whole genomes
• Combination of synthetic with nature-derived materials and architectural concepts
• Synthetic biology is concerned with the design and synthesis of chemical structures (enzymes, proteins,
genetic circuits and cells), which do not exist in nature as such
• Metabolite biosynthetic pathway from its organism of origin into more amenable heterologous hosts
• Hierarchy of biological structures – from individual molecules to whole cells, tissues and organisms
• Unnatural molecules to reproduce emergent behaviours in natural biology (goal of creating artificial life)
or interchangeable parts from natural biology to assemble systems
that function unnaturally
Novelty
• Build novel biochemical systems to emulate useful, well-known natural biological systems
• Novel synthetic networks in living systems
• Biological assemblies with novel functions
Synthetic Biology | Annex
87
• Design and fabrication of novel biologically-based components as well as the redesign of existing
biological systems
• Create novel functional
devices and systems
• Produce novel devices, networks and pathways
• Creating novel functional parts, modules, systems, ultimately novel organism
• Novel biological circuits for desired applications, implemented through the assembly of biological parts
(natural components of cells and artificial molecules)
Design
• Standardisation, modularisation, characterisation, coupled to systematic design
• Large-scale gene networks to control and manipulate cells
• Design unique biological circuits (synthetic networks)
• System-wide manipulation of
host genomes
• Biosynthetic pathways and enzyme scaffolds
• Synthesis of complex, biologically based systems
• Rational-design approach, redesign existing biological systems or create artificial life
• Design and synthesise biological networks or devices that perform a desired function in a predictable
manner
• Redesign metabolic pathways from scratch to create entirely new biosynthetic pathways
de novo
• Principles and tools to design and assemble precisely controllable elements and modules for
reprogramming cellular metabolism and its control circuits
• Tools and methods to increase control over interactions, resulting in an integrative synthetic biology
that will allow ground-up cellular optimisation
• Manipulate existing systems and create entirely new systems with unique functionality
• Biological transformation of one organic compound to another (enzymatic reaction), sophisticated
logical systems; design of sophisticated cellular programs for beneficial applications spanning health,
energy, agriculture and the environment. Technological and scientific barriers limit the complexity of the
programs that can be reliably designed, be stable and safe.
• Disassembly, redesign and standardisation of existing biological components; creating novel genetic
circuits, biosynthetic pathways and living system from abiotic components
• Endeavour to design new or modify existing organisms to produce biological systems with new or
enhanced functionality according to quantifiable design criteria
• Biological blueprints but ideally independent of standard biological building blocks and constraints
• Design, synthesise and characterise new biological elements
• Design of new biological machines and systems
• Uncover the design principles of natural biologic systems and to explore novel biologic functions and
systems not found in nature
Knowledge/behaviour of systems
• Understand and harness the emergent properties of complex biological systems
• Prediction of the behaviour of the system
• Controlling complexity, using biological processes like directed evolution to optimise the function of new
designed circuits
• Redesign of complex natural living systems in a rational and systematic way
• Behaviour
of new combinations
• Accumulated knowledge on biological systems
• Optimising biological systems including refactoring existing genomes
• Synthetic biology could be used to create novel “customised” pathways.