Cell-free synthetic biology for in vitro prototype engineering
File(s)
Published version
Accepted version
Author(s)
Moore, SJ
macdonald, JT
freemont, PS
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Cell-free transcription
–
translation is an expanding
fi
eld in synthetic biology as a rapid
prototyping platform for blueprinting the design of synthetic biological devices. Exemplar
efforts include translation of prototype designs into medical test kits for on-site identi
fi
ca-
tion of viruses (Zika and Ebola), while gene circuit cascades can be tested, debugged
and re-designed within rapid turnover times. Coupled with mathematical modelling, this
discipline lends itself towards the precision engineering of new synthetic life. The next
stages of cell-free look set to unlock new microbial hosts that remain slow to engineer
and unsuited to rapid iterative design cycles. It is hoped that the development of such
systems will provide new tools to aid the transition from cell-free prototype designs to
functioning synthetic genetic circuits and engineered natural product pathways in living
cells.
–
translation is an expanding
fi
eld in synthetic biology as a rapid
prototyping platform for blueprinting the design of synthetic biological devices. Exemplar
efforts include translation of prototype designs into medical test kits for on-site identi
fi
ca-
tion of viruses (Zika and Ebola), while gene circuit cascades can be tested, debugged
and re-designed within rapid turnover times. Coupled with mathematical modelling, this
discipline lends itself towards the precision engineering of new synthetic life. The next
stages of cell-free look set to unlock new microbial hosts that remain slow to engineer
and unsuited to rapid iterative design cycles. It is hoped that the development of such
systems will provide new tools to aid the transition from cell-free prototype designs to
functioning synthetic genetic circuits and engineered natural product pathways in living
cells.
Date Issued
2017-06-15
Date Acceptance
2017-03-31
Citation
Biochemical Society Transactions, 2017, 45 (3), pp.785-791
ISSN
1470-8752
Publisher
Portland Press
Start Page
785
End Page
791
Journal / Book Title
Biochemical Society Transactions
Volume
45
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2017 The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY).
License URL
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (E
Grant Number
EP/J02175X/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
FREE PROTEIN-SYNTHESIS
TRANSCRIPTION-TRANSLATION SYSTEM
REGULATORY ELEMENTS
MEMBRANE-PROTEINS
RNA-POLYMERASE
GENE NETWORKS
MINIMAL CELL
E-COLI
EXPRESSION
COMPONENTS
cell free
gene expression
modelling
prototyping
synthetic biology
Biosynthetic Pathways
Cell-Free System
Gene Regulatory Networks
Synthetic Biology
0601 Biochemistry And Cell Biology
1101 Medical Biochemistry And Metabolomics
Publication Status
Published