“Synthetic” Chromosome Permits Rapid, On-Demand “Evolution” of Yeast

Johns Hopkins Medicine
Released: 9/14/2011 8:00 AM EDT
Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine

Johns Hopkins researchers create man-made system with built-in diversity generator
Newswise — In the quest to understand genomes—how they’re built, how they’re organized and what makes them work—a team of Johns Hopkins researchers has engineered from scratch a computer-designed yeast chromosome and incorporated into their creation a new system that lets scientists intentionally rearrange the yeast’s genetic material. A report of their work appears September 14 as an Advance Online Publication in the journal Nature.

“We have created a research tool that not only lets us learn more about yeast biology and genome biology, but also holds out the possibility of someday designing genomes for specific purposes, like making new vaccines or medications,” says Jef D. Boeke, Ph.D., Sc.D., professor of molecular biology and genetics, and director of the High Throughput Biology Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

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