Scientists Built World’s First Artificial Chromosome

In a first-of-its-kind development, scientists have made a synthetic chromosome thus making a mark in the development of synthetic biology that assures to revolutionize industrial and medical biotechnology in the coming decades.“Our research moves the needle in synthetic biology from theory to reality. This work represents the biggest step yet in an international effort to construct the full genome of synthetic yeast.” According to Jef Boeke, the lead author of the study, at the New York University School of Medicine.The researchers created the artificial chromosome by assembling synthetic strands of DNA together, which were incorporated into the genome of a multi-celled organism, like yeast. The successful implantation is remarkable due to the yeast’s complex nature.”It is the most extensively altered chromosome ever built. But the milestone that really counts is integrating it into a living yeast cell. We have shown that yeast cells carrying this synthetic chromosome are remarkably normal,” he said.