Synthetic biology: A big step towards an artificial yeast genome

Print section Print Rubric:  An international consortium is trying to make an artificial yeast genome. Success would usher in true genetic engineering Print Headline:  Something’s brewing Print Fly Title:  Synthetic biology UK Only Article:  standard article Issue:  Quantum leaps Fly Title:  Synthetic biology Main image:  20170311_STD001_0.jpg BIOLOGY’S biggest division is not between plants and animals, nor even between multicellular and single-celled creatures. It is between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Prokaryotes—bacteria are the most familiar sort—are simple. Their DNA is an unadorned circular molecule between 500,000 and 10m genetic “letters” long. As such, it is fairly easy to replicate from off-the-shelf chemicals. The DNA of eukaryotes—animals, plants, fungi and so on—is both more abundant and more complex than that. It may have hundreds of millions, even ...
Source: Biotechnology - Category: Biotechnology Source Type: news