In what is being called a major step forward in genetic engineering, scientists have built a customized copy of an entire yeast chromosome. Experts say it may lead to a better understanding of how the thousands of genes contained in these packages of genetic material work together in everything from yeast to humans. And it may make it easier to make designer yeast, creating living factories that churn out everything from antibiotics to biofuels.

GeneticistJef Boeke says it started with a coffee shop conversation with a colleague.

I mentioned casually to him that, of course we could make the yeast chromosome if we wanted to, but why on Earth would we want to do that? And he practically literally started jumping up and down with excitement when I told him that, he said.

So Boeke, the colleague, Srinivasan Chandrasegaran and a third partner, Joel Bader, spent the next year discussing how they could engineer the chromosome to make it worth the enormous investment of time and money it would take.

Working at Johns Hopkins University, they decided to create an artificial version of chromosome III, one of the smallest of yeasts 16 chromosomes. It carries about 100 genes. Boeke says scientists have studied it for years, adding It is the sentimental favorite of yeast geneticists.

Block by block

Boeke and his colleagues recreated their favorite chromosome, gene by gene, with synthetic chemical building blocks. They included molecular seams, so they could cut the chromosome apart, take some genes out, add others, rearrange them and stitch it back together in ways that would help them understand how different combinations of genes work together.

Since yeast genes are a lot like ours, Boeke says the research could lead to a better understanding of human genetics.

And perhaps most interesting of all, we think it will be useful for actually improving the strain under certain conditions of growth or production of some useful product, he said.

Different strains of yeast are already used to produce antibiotics, antimalarial drugs, vaccines, biofuels and much more. The ability to custom-tailor chromosomes could give the biotech industry a boost.

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Scientists Build Artificial Chromosome