Mycoplasma laboratorium, the first synthetic organism
Sunday, October 7th, 2007
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?
