Designer Genomes
Over the last few decades, thanks to the contributions of the scientific community, the meaning of life has changed dramatically and is not the same as we used to know it. Synthetic genomics is an emerging science topic. Scientists use methods of genetic modification or artificial gene synthesis to create new DNA or entire lifeforms. In 2010, they created the first synthetic living cell and just a few months ago in March 2017, they designed six chromosomes of a far more complex organism. It was Saccharomyces Cerevisiae or the baker’s yeast.
These Sc2.0 chromosomes were substantially different from their natural or wild-type counterparts since they had new features. As the article describes, this highly modified version of Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome was reduced in size by 8%, with 1.1 megabases of the synthetic genome altered. The design was done using an open-source framework called BioStudio that enables coordinatization from the nucleotide level to the genomic scale which allows scientists to systematically track their edits (Richardson et al., 2017).
Such studies may raise many ethical issues and concerns regarding designing and enhancing human genomes. “Unlike curing disease, genetic enhancement would be morally reprehensible”, said Marcy Darnovsky, the head of the nonprofit Center for Genetics and Society. She is worried that parents may feel the pressure of improving their kids while the wealthy families can easily access designer genomes (Weintraub, 2015). Another issue is that changes to the human genetic blueprint could easily become permanent. In an interview with CBS, Eric Schadt, director of the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology at Mount Sinai Hospital stated “As long as that lineage exists, those changes are going to be propagated to their children, their children’s children, and so on. We don’t really understand enough of the genome to be making these types of changes.” (Welch, 2015)
However, we are far from having the ability to produce designer babies. Even the smallest chromosome of us can have four times the genome of the baker’s yeast. What we could achieve on the other hand is to employ such techniques to find cures for non-treatable genetic conditions or improve the already existing gene therapy methods. Gene therapy is currently being used to treat a rare eye disease called choroidermia (Scholl et al., 2014). Also as Fyodor Urnov of Sangamo BioSciences mentions, “Early trials suggest that gene therapy may be able to treat the blood disorders beta thalassemia and sickle cell anemia.” Designer genomes can take gene therapy methods towards an exciting path of post-gene editing procedures that instead of modifying chromosomes, generates new ones (Weintraub, 2015).
Once we know how simple organisms can be designed all the way from their smallest molecules, bioengineers can breed organism that are more receptive to the changes; This would help bioengineers that are building chemical synthesis platforms, or provide research fields to study the pathways of different genomic functions. Andrew Endy, a professor of bioengineering at Stanford University states “By rebuilding chromosomes, these teams are showing that biology can be remade such that it is easier to measure, model and manipulate.”(Kaplan, 2017)
Finally, we can have a better understanding of why genome works or how it evolved through the time. Designing complete genomes for complex organisms like humans extend far beyond the current capabilities of scientists and they are figuring out how to make genes ten times longer than the ones they created the first time. This will eventually lead to a better understanding of complex genomes and it is never too late to add more and more knowledge to the vast data of findings we have from whole genome studies.
References:
1. Richardson, S. M., Mitchell, L. A., Stracquadanio, G., Yang, K., Dymond, J. S., DiCarlo, J. E., … Bader, J. S. (2017). Design of a synthetic yeast genome. Science, 355(6329). Retrieved from http://science.sciencemag.org/content/355/6329/1040.full
2. Weintraub, K. (2015). 5 Reasons Gene Editing Is Both Terrific and Terrifying — National Geographic — Retrieved June 30, 2017, from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/12/151203-gene-editing-terrific-terrifying-science/
3. Welch, A. (2015) — Designer baby controversy: Scientists edit genome of human embryo — CBSNews — Retrieved June 30, 2017, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/designer-babycontroversy-scientists-edit-genome-of-human-embryo/
4. Scholl, H. P. N., Sahel, J. A., Tao, W., al., et, Wilke, R., & Scholl, H. (2014). Gene therapy arrives at the macula. Lancet (London, England), 383(9923), 1105–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/S01406736(14)60033-7
5. Kaplan, S. (2017). Scientists create “designer yeast” in major step toward synthetic life — The Washington Post. Retrieved June 30, 2017, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/03/09/scientists-createdesigner-yeast-in-major-step-toward-synthetic-life/?utm_term=.4bc1c3d24402
