At the J. Craig Venter institute In La
Jolla, California scientist have created a “minimal cell” named
JCVI-syn3.0. This created cell, based on the Bacterium Mycoplasma
mycoides, has a synthetic genome with just 473 genes. While there was
worry that stripping down a cell to it's bare essentials would leave
it defenseless the JCVI-syn3.0 seems to be thriving in it's given
environment. The notion of this minimal cell was discussed at the
first international meeting on synthetic biology at Massachusetts.
They developed methods for chopping up
the bacterium's genome and removing segments piece by piece, allowing
them to get just the essentials of the cell. The starting point for
this minimal cell was an earlier synthetic cell, JCVI-syn1.0. With
techniques like this they hope to be able to redesign bacteria and
other relatively simple organisms so that they generate useful
chemicals and materials. For more information on the minimal cell
here and here.
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