Synthetic Genomics | Annex
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termed synthetic genomics. The implications of synthetic genomics extend beyond the limited pathway and
gene engineering of the past to include the engineering or whole metabolisms, regulatory networks, and even
ecosystems.
2. Synthetic genomics is defined and distinct from genetic engineering as the engineering and manipulation of
the genetic material of an organism on the scale of the whole genome either in terms of number of base-pairs,
or number of loci engineered. Most synthetic biology efforts might only have the scope of engineering an
individual biosynthetic pathway.
Synthetic Biology
Anderson et al. (2012)
Synthetic biology is a truly interdisciplinary field that engages biologists, mathematicians, physicists and
engineers; its research focus is applied; and it has enormous potential to harness the power of biology to
provide scientific and engineering solutions to a wide range of problems and challenges that plague humanity.
For the purposes of this paper, we define synthetic biology as ‘the endeavour to design new, or modify
existing, organisms to produce biological systems with new or enhanced functionality according to quantifiable
design criteria’, because it explicitly requires that the synthetic system can be evaluated against a quantifiable
design objective as is done in traditional engineering.
Blount et al. (2012)
Synthetic biology aims to use modular, well-characterised biological parts to predictably construct novel
genetic devices and complex cell-based systems following engineering principles.
Callura et al. (2012)
Synthetic biology has a history of providing components for metabolic engineering, such as biosynthetic
pathways and enzyme scaffolds. Adding to this toolbox, the genetic switchboard is a well-defined, biological
module that possesses the flexibility to aid different metabolic engineering strategies.
Cardinale and Arkin (2012)
One of the common goals of synthetic biology is to make the design of new function vastly more efficient, safe,
understandable, and predictable. This field is likely to have a profound impact on chemical, pharmaceutical
and material manufacturing, environmental
and agricultural engineering, and health.
Chandran et al. (2012)
From a synthetic biology perspective, we are building novel biochemical systems to emulate useful, well-
known natural biological systems and providing alternatives to enzymes. From an engineering perspective, our
work is a minimalise approach to designing biochemical systems from simple, predictable yet powerful
modules.
A major goal of synthetic biology is the construction of evolving replicating systems.
Chang et al. (2012)
Recently, synthetic biology has been recognized as a powerful approach for the design and construction of
new biological systems.
Chen et al. (2012)