First Synthetic Lifeform is Nigh

Exciting scientific developments descend upon us, as scientists at the J Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Maryland, have successfully managed to transfer an entire genome of one species into another — which grew and multiplied into the first species. Why is this significant? Because the next experiment involves creating and implanting a synthetic genome — the success of which could mark the creation of the first artificial lifeform and enable greater possibilities for biological engineering.

The achievement was made today by Dr. Craig Venter and his team using the following method as described in their press release:

The JCVI team devised several key steps to enable the genome transplantation. First, an antibiotic selectable marker gene was added to the M. mycoides LC chromosome to allow for selection of living cells containing the transplanted chromosome. Then the team purified the DNA or chromosome from M. mycoides LC so that it was free from proteins (called naked DNA). This M. mycoides LC chromosome was then transplanted into the M. capricolum cells. After several rounds of cell division, the recipient M. capricolum chromosome disappeared having been replaced by the donor M. mycoides LC chromosome, and the M. capricolum cells took on all the phenotypic characteristics of M. mycoides LC cells.

The image above shows colonies of the transformed Mycoplasma mycoides bacterium. Dr. Venter says that in light of this advance — the team plans to do the same using a genome produced from scratch in a laboratory within months. As reported by the UK Telegraph:

The scientists want to create new kinds of bacterium to make new types of bugs which can be used as green fuels to replace oil and coal, digest toxic waste or absorb carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

[…]

Since the 1970s, scientists have moved genes - instructions to make proteins - between different organisms.

But this marks the first time that the entire instruction set, consisting of more than a million “letters” of DNA, has been transplanted, transforming one species of bacterium into another.

They are attempting to build a microbe with the minimal set of genes needed for life, with the goal of then adding other useful genes, such as ones for making biofuels.

Seems my simulated artificial lifeforms don’t seem as significant for the time being! But of course, there are still things that we need to overcome. According to the Telegraph, only one in every 150,000 transfers worked. There are also concerns regarding safety — unexpected side effects can abruptly become evident when evolution is superseded. Venter mentions in addition that the project was on pause for some time while under review for ethical concerns, as these advances can lead to new kinds of biological warfare.

Nevertheless it’s an exciting development and I look forward to hearing the results of their consequent experiments.

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