Synthetic biology

Article By:

Heinemann, Ilka U. Department of Biochemistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.

O’Donoghue, Patrick Department of Biochemistry and Department of Chemistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.

Last reviewed:July 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.675430

Show previous versions

• Synthetic biology, published March 2014:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

A biological discipline that relies on the tools of molecular biology, genomics, and directed evolution to engineer genomes, metabolic pathways, enzymes, and cells. Synthetic biology is a new and emerging biological field of science in which the foundational disciplines of molecular biology, genomics, and directed evolution are utilized for engineering purposes, including protein and nucleic acid engineering (see illustration). In particular, synthetic biology technologies are designed to generate reproducible cellular factories for the synthesis of designer polymers, chemicals, and medicines. Key technological methods in synthetic biology include genome editing, genome synthesis, and genetic code expansion. Overall, synthetic biology approaches are leading to a number of novel applications in medicine. Three important applications are (1) the design of synthetic molecules and cells to probe and expand biological function, (2) metabolic engineering to produce chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and (3) biomedical applications in therapeutic antibodies and gene-edited cell therapy. See also: Biotechnology; Cell (biology); Cell biology; Evolution; Genetic engineering; Genetics; Genomics; Molecular biology

The content above is only an excerpt.