Synthetic Biology: what lies ahead?

The term "Synthetic Biology" has recently become more familiar by covering, at least partially, the field of

under a much wider umbrella. The characteristic that the approaches of synthetic biology have in common is the exploitation of the properties and the

of

through a logic and applications that can lead away from natural biological systems to the point of becoming orthogonal. This concept is inseparable from that of

and considers the properties of the living as a simple assembly of functional or structural modules that can be redefined at will to create interesting

that will also inherit the unique properties of the living, such as its possibilities of self-replication, adaptation or self-repair.

Synthetic Biology (SB) covers a large number of approaches that are distinguished both by their

and

(from the molecule to the organism) and by degrees of

to the living ranging from the ad hoc modification of existing organisms to the creation of totally synthetic "structures" with no natural equivalent. As such, some of these approaches, such as the genetic and metabolic engineering of micro-organisms, have long been used in industrial biotechnology for the production of diverse molecules. However, the approaches of

currently constitute the most promising aspects of SB. This disruptive aspect is demonstrated, for example, by the development of

qualified as

when they involve DNA that exploits nucleotide bases with no natural equivalent, either with the concern of preventing the uncontrolled transfer of synthetic genes to natural organisms, or, even more ambitiously, to extend the genetic code to new types of amino acids to create biocatalysts with totally original functions. Disruptive innovation may also be conceptual, for example through approaches that consist in reproducing, using only

, the properties of calculation or logical processing of data traditionally performed with

. The interest of these systems lies in their properties for integration within biological systems (including man) to create synthetic regulations or interface functions, for example in the context of medical diagnosis or biosafety. One example of this in the field of chemistry is the biological generation by genetic engineering of

of interesting new chemical molecules, including drugs, phytosanitary products, surfactants or polymers. This combinatorial approach has traditionally been conducted by relatively heavy and costly associations of robotics and chemistry, for which SB offers an alternative that is both richer in molecular diversity and much more economic and ecological. Another important aspect is that of

where the bricks of the living are not only used for their

but also and especially for their structural properties that are

at will, from the nanometric to the macroscopic. A host of applications are emerging, whether at the level of micro- or nano-compartmentalisation, from the coating of active materials, new composite materials or properties combining structure and physico-chemistry, such as for energy capture (photo-active materials). Here too, the advantage of the biological approach lies in its ability to integrate with other natural components. Nevertheless, the most promising emerging field of SB is probably that of the creation of

through technologies for the synthesis of

. It is no longer a case of modifying or introducing new biochemical reactions into an existing organism, but one of designing, if possible ab initio, new living organisms specifically designed for a wide range of applications (production of proteins, synthons, polymers, ecosystem role, energy or CO2 capture, etc.). Two approaches complement each other:

starts from existing organisms and removes any non-essential functions to optimise the targeted functions; the other approach, which is still in its infancy, aims to

the essential properties of a living organism without the necessity of any existing biological skeleton. These approaches are based on the synthetic genomes that will be the subject of a specific article in a future newsletter. Synthetic Biology is a multi-faceted domain that is still emerging, and one for which it is difficult to predict the limits both in terms of its potentials and its associated risks, hence the need to associate it with ethical reflection. The engineering of man himself is not excluded. As for any new technology, a good balance must be found.

To find out more:

• A history of Synthetic Biology: Nature Reviews| Microbiology (2014) Vol.12 pp381-390.
• Simple review: Innovations Agronomiques (2013) 26, 51-66.
• Synthetic chemical diversity: Nature Reviews| Microbiology (2016) 14-135-149
• Genetic circuits: Nature Methods (2014) 11-508-520
• Synthetic organisms: Nature Methods (2014) 11,495-498
• Synthetic genomes: Nature Methods (2014) 11,499-507
• Ethics: http://www.synbioproject.org/process/assets/files/6334/synbio3.pdf