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Setting the standard in synthetic biology

Nature Biotechnology volume 26, pages 771–774 (2008)Cite this article

Standards for characterization, manufacture and sharing of information about modular biological devices may lead to a more efficient, predictable and design-driven genetic engineering science.

Although genetic engineering—the technical ability to edit DNA—has led to impressive biotechnology applications, these generally require many years of work and trial-and-error experiments to implement1. A concerted effort among synthetic biologists and allied fields might increase efficiency by developing rigorous characterization and manufacturing protocols linked to formal sharing of information and material through registries of biological parts and standard 'datasheets' (Box 1). In this issue, Endy and colleagues2 present a case study demonstrating a possible datasheet for a biological part. Although they focus on a particular composite part—a genetically encoded cell-cell communication device—the authors' broader assertion is that there is a science to be developed concerned with the proper packaging and characterization of 'modular' biological activities so that these may be efficiently assembled into applications. If successful, this science would yield the profound benefits seen in other engineering sciences but not yet realized in the biological engineering community.

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Figure 1: Examples of synthetic biological devices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Adam Arkin is in the Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley and the Physical Bioscience Division and the Virtual Institute of Microbial Stress and Survival at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Bldg. 977-257, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.,

    Adam Arkin

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Arkin, A. Setting the standard in synthetic biology. Nat Biotechnol 26, 771–774 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0708-771

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0708-771

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