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Biodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology (2018) / Chapter Skim
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2 Biotechnology in the Age of Synthetic Biology
Pages 15-22

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From page 15...
... In 1974, for example, the molecular biologist Walter Szybalski set the stage for some key synthetic biology concepts and presaged activities that have now been demonstrated.1 An inflection point for the field occurred around the year 2000, after which synthetic biology gained significant attention and momentum. Two publications often identified with the field's acceleration are by Elowitz and Leibler (2000)
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From page 16...
... Developments such as enhanced computing power, laboratory automation, cost-effective DNA synthesis and sequencing technologies, and other powerful techniques to manipulate DNA have made it possible for biological engineers to rapidly repeat the DBT cycle to refine designs and products for a desired purpose. Key developments exemplifying these approaches include the establishment of standardized genetic parts registries, intensive use of models and other quantitative tools to simulate biological designs before building them, the availability of open-source DNA assembly methods, and the ability to create rationally designed genetic "circuits" -- systems of DNA-encoded biological components designed to perform specific functions (Elowitz and Leibler, 2000; Gardner et al., 2000; Knight, 2003; iGEM, 2017a)
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From page 17...
... What has changed is the increased power of particular technologies that enable engineering paradigms to be applied to biological materials. Assessing new technologies and platforms that may enable the creative or destructive manipulation of biological materials, systems, and organisms will be important for identifying potential security opportunities and vulnerabilities.
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From page 18...
... Enabling Technologies for Synthetic Biology Synthetic biology is enabled by numerous technologies that enhance success rates and facilitate experimentation, particularly in the DBT cycle. The development of these technologies to some extent defines the transition to the current age of synthetic biology.
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From page 19...
... Examples of such advances include models of ribosome binding site strength (Salis Lab, 2017) and protein folding (Baker Lab, 2017)
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From page 20...
... Engineering Paradigms for Synthetic Biology Enabling technologies have allowed synthetic biologists to make genetic changes in organisms with greater ease, precision, and scale. As a maturing engineering discipline, synthetic biology is also being advanced by engineering paradigms that allow these tools to be used with greater predictability of result.
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From page 21...
... They are not all unique to synthetic biology, nor are they all routinely used to explore synthetic biology designs. For example, all synthetic biologists use software to store and analyze DNA sequences and use some form of computation in specifying designs (e.g., using biophysical models or algorithms to design ribosome binding sites, to check folding energies of DNA primers used for amplification and assembly, or to refactor the DNA sequence encoding a protein to increase protein production, a technique known as "codon optimization")
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From page 22...
... Appendix A describes a core set of current synthetic biology concepts, approaches, and tools that enable each step of the DBT cycle, focusing particularly on areas in which advances in biotechnology may raise the potential for malicious acts that were less feasible before the age of synthetic biology. Although the examples presented are intentionally quite broad and somewhat arbitrary -- and do not represent an exhaustive list of all technologies or all possible applications of synthetic biology -- they provide useful context for understanding how specific tools or approaches might enable the potential capabilities analyzed in Chapters 4–6 and can be adapted to assess new areas of concern as the biotechnology landscape continues to evolve.
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Key Terms

  • dbt cycle
  • directed evolution
  • engineering paradigms
  • biological design
  • enabling technologies

  • biology concepts
  • synthetic biologists
  • genetic engineering
  • design tools
  • build technologies

  • biology synthetic
  • specific synthetic
  • key synthetic
  • biological engineering
  • biology technologies

  • biological materials
  • biological organisms
  • biological designs
  • biological components
  • dna synthesis

  • design spaces
  • genetic logic
  • future developments
  • ribosome binding
  • potential security

  • evolution methods
  • modeling approaches
  • assembly methods
  • logic circuits
  • machine learning


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