Synthetic biology: From the first synthetic cell to see its current situation and future development

Zhang, LiuYan; Chang, SuHua; Wang, Jing

A representation of the design process of traditional genetic engineering (a) and synthetic biology (b). Both traditional genetic engineering and synthetic biology employ naturally occurring and modified biological components to construct an engineered system. However, because the building blocks and assembly methods of traditional genetic engineering methods are not well characterized, they often result in unanticipated interactions that can lead to suboptimal integration and pleiotropic effects when assembled into a larger system. This means that the output is frequently unpredictable and strongly dependent upon both the selection of specific parts and the methods for assembly. By contrast, synthetic biology begins with developing standardized biological components, with standardized interfaces that are fixed to promote optimal integration. The result should be highly predictable engineered systems with a single output for a single input [5] . and mathematics provide technical support on life design; while accumulated experiences on genetic and metabolic engineering etc. enable the process of life engineering. Synthetic biology can not only optimize life, but also can create new life. In this respect, we may regard synthetic biology as a revolutionarily new biotechnology.