Branco Weiss Fellow Since
2024
Research Category
Plant Biology, Synthetic Genomics, Molecular Biology
Research Location
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam-Golm, Germany
Background
The genetic code is nearly universal among all living organisms. In this code, 64 codons encode 20 amino acids, as well as start and stop functions. Multiple synonymous codons encode the same function, resulting in a high degree of redundancy.
Rapid advancements in DNA reading and writing technologies have enabled synthetic biologists to generate new life forms with genomes written in reinvented genetic codes. These genomes are designed by streamlining the genetic code through codon compression, encoding the 20 amino acids with fewer than 64 codons and freeing up codons for novel functions. By reassigning these free codons to different amino acids, the synthetic codes can be made incompatible with the original code, thereby preventing the transfer of genetic information between natural and engineered organisms.
To date, only a single-celled organism has been created with an isolated genetic code. Given the central role plants play in our food system and as natural carbon fixation sinks, genetically modified plants are a particularly important target for bio-contained, genome-scale engineering.
Details of Research
The chloroplast is the photosynthetic center of the plant. Chloroplasts have their own small genomes and have emerged as a testbed for synthetic biology in plants. By developing methods to design and implement artificial chloroplast genomes, written in a genetic code incompatible with the natural one, the benefits of highly engineered plants may be aligned with the goal of conserving the natural world.
