Synthetic bacterial genome upgraded for viral defence and biocontainment

Blount, Benjamin A.

doi:10.1038/d41586-023-00702-0

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15 March 2023

Synthetic bacterial genome upgraded for viral defence and biocontainment

Bacteria with a synthetic genome were engineered to alter the way that the DNA code instructs cells to make proteins. This ‘language barrier’ serves to isolate the cells genetically, and makes them immune to viral infection.

Benjamin A. Blount ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3910-4782⁰

Benjamin A. Blount
1. Benjamin A. Blount is at the Biodiscovery Institute, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK.
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As scientists gain an increasing ability to build synthetic genomes to specific design criteria, this is enabling the production of cells that have beneficial properties not found in the natural world. Writing in Nature, Nyerges et al.¹ report that they have engineered bacteria to be immune to viral infections and to acquire properties that could be useful for microbial biocontainment. The work has implications for the development of safe and efficient applications in biotechnology, and is a compelling demonstration of the possibilities that are opened up by the use of synthetic genomes.

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Nature 615, 592-594 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00702-0

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