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Synthetic biology

Automated design of RNA devices

Nature Chemical Biology volume 8, pages 413–415 (2012)Cite this article

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RNA molecules have diverse functional roles, including silencing genes, catalyzing biochemical reactions and sensing chemicals that control gene expression. Biologists have drawn from nature's toolbox to construct engineered RNA molecules with versatile capabilities and can now begin to automate the design of libraries of regulatory RNAs.

Computer-aided design (CAD) had a disruptive impact on electronic chips by shifting the paradigm from a manual handcrafted art to an automated industry with design specification standards, large-scale fabrication pipelines and increasingly sophisticated microchips. Biological systems are intrinsically complex, and automating the design and synthesis of genetic and biomolecular components to drive programmable function remains a defining challenge. RNA, a versatile and programmable biomolecule1, is an ideal substrate to engineer tailored biological function. Prior studies have primarily used manual approaches to rationally design RNA molecules that impart diverse functions2, including regulators of gene expression3,4, sensors that respond to target ligands5,6 and molecular scaffolds that spatially organize enzymes7. However, these engineered RNA systems have been limited to small numbers of handcrafted functional RNA components. In this issue, Mutalik et al.8 take an exciting step forward by creating a CAD-based tool that enables the design of a large library of regulatory RNAs with predictable function.

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Figure 1: Automating the design of RNA devices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Farren J. Isaacs is at the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Systems Biology Institute, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,

    Farren J Isaacs

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  1. Farren J Isaacs
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Correspondence to Farren J Isaacs.

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Isaacs, F. Automated design of RNA devices. Nat Chem Biol 8, 413–415 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.942

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