The article, “Second Genesis: Making of new life” from New Scientist 12-03-09 discusses the advancement in the ultimate goal in biosynthetic genetics; creating a living being from non-living chemicals. Geneticist teams around the world are approaching this goal from different angles. These advancements are significant and the article states that, “Producing synthetic life would be an achievement comparable to finding alien life on earth.” To be classed as living, the synthetic cell must be able to perform metabolic processes and arrange itself into some kind of package.
There are many attempts being made to make synthetic life, with variations of techniques. In Rockville, Maryland, Craig Venter and his team is planning on removing a genome from a bacterial cell and replacing it with their own design. At the Los Almos National Laboratory, Steen Rasmussen developed a system which consists of biomolecules studded into the surface of an oil droplet. After four years the team has managed to get their minimal DNA genome to direct the production of fatty acids, allowing the oil droplet to grow and divide like the genome.
Other teams are trying to make synthetic life from scratch and are not likely do to so soon. People have started to realise that the best chance they have of reaching the goal is by using the familiar molecular tool kit of existing cells. Anthony Forster of Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and George Church of Harvard Medical School are doing just that. They intend on starting with non-living molecules and then assemble them in the correct way into a living, replicating system. The found that the essential components consisted of 151 biomolecules, the proteins and RNA needed to replicate DNA, make RNA copies and translate RNA into protein molecules. The cell is being planned on supplied with ready-to-go ATP and no membrane, just a loose soup in a test tube.
Today, biotechnology companies sell kits to synthesise DNA, RNA or proteins to order. These kits only work for a few hours or days, because they run out of reactants needed to maintain the reactions. Foster and Church plan on having a cell with DNA molecule that encodes all 151 biomolecules, thus should be able to run indefinitely by replicating, evolving and essentially living.
October last year, Church and his collaborator Michael Jewett stated that they were able to assemble a ribosome, which was one of the biggest hurdles. This was a very big breakthrough and it gave hope that geneticists would be able to assemble any molecular machine. Now they have succeeded in assembling the ribosome from a synthesised version of the biggest RNA component.
There are many attempts happening and being planned on making life from inanimate objects. There have been breakthrough in recent years, but the ultimate goal is a period of time into the future, but still within sight.
Brianna Clark BIOL1020 P10
To view the article http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126990.200-second-genesis-making-new-life.html?full=true
