Mycoplasma laboratorium, the first synthetic organism
Update: The end of the world? Dr Franken-Venter? Nope
Craig Venter has built a synthetic genome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first artificial life form. A team of 20 scientists led by Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith has constructed a synthetic chromosome which is 381 genes long and contains 580,000 base pairs of DNA. The nucleotide sequence is based on the bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium which the team pared down to the bare essentials needed to support life, removing a fifth of its genetic make-up. The wholly synthetically reconstructed chromosome, which the team have called Mycoplasma laboratorium, has been tagged with watermarks for easy recognition and transplanted into a living bacterial cell to become a new life form. Venter has further heightened the controversy surrounding his potential breakthrough by applying for a patent for the synthetic bacterium.
Good idea, or not?
Tags: artificial life form, bacterium, Biology, chromosome, Craig Venter, DNA, genome, Hamilton Smith, microbiology life science, Mycoplasma genitalium, Mycoplasma laboratorium, Nobel Prize, synthetic
Scenario #1 (of 100,000): M. pneumoniae shares genes with M. laboratorium to become an antibiotic-resistant pathogen. Mr. V becomes very rich after designing an expensive, specific antibiotic against it. Unfortunately, the drug also kills a high percentage of the pathogen’s victims. It is only after a world-wide pandemic caused by this new microorganism that countries finally pass laws against the creation of synthetic microorganisms.
In that scenario, since “M. laboratorium” is a cut-down version of M. pneumoniae, how would the resulting organism be any worse than the original?
Good idea or not, only time can tell. Also it depends on our judicious application of this technology. Interestingly, I also wrote an article on this, in my blog.
Looks like a revolution in the offing.
[...] bequem machen und sagen, das neue Leben, was da entsteht, das Leben das durch uns entsteht, Mycoplasma laboratorium, ist böse, gefährlich, unvollkommen, gotteslästerlich, oder was auch immer. Aber wäre das nicht [...]
[...] Good idea, or not? [...]
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[...] Mycoplasma laboratorium, the first synthetic organism [...]
Great break through in science but how good /worse can the consequences be?
Great Idea. I will post it my blog.
[...] Mycoplasma laboratorium, the first synthetic organism [...]
I think this is a great creation. It conceptualizes the idea of Biotechnologists being greater scientists than those scientists that do just scientific applications. They are creators and formulators and should be respected. At least the world will give the Microbiology/Biotechnology discipline its deserved respect. This really pertains seriously to us down here (Africans)