A scientific program aimed at creating a yeast with an artificial genome has been successful, University of Nottingham colleagues report in Cell Columns.
The result, which is considered a scientific achievement, was reached by researchers
Artificial copies of 16 chromosomes were produced and then integrated into a living organism.
Until now, science has only been able to create viruses and bacteria based on artificial genetics. Animal or plant cells are much more complex than these, so making yeast has been a very difficult theoretical and technical challenge. He stated that the problem is that the intervention is often toxic and lethal to the cell Axios News portal.
Researchers achieved three main goals with synthetic yeast: increasing genome stability, repurposing some genetic instructions, and building a system that would make it easier to endow cells with different abilities in the future. They can be well suited, for example, to consume methane to produce medicines, fuel or any desired material.
One potential risk of this technique is that this biochemical activity may be released and persisted in nature.
The researchers pointed out the need to determine the legal rules and technical requirements governing the use of artificial cells.
The researcher leading the production of artificial yeast, Benjamin Blount, pointed out that the organism they created could not transmit its genes and could not survive under natural conditions.
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