Synthetic Biology provides a framework to examine key enabling components in the emerging area of synthetic biology. Chapters contributed by leaders in the field address tools and methodologies developed for engineering biological systems at many levels, including molecular, pathway, network, whole cell, and multi-cell levels. The book highlights exciting practical applications of synthetic biology such as microbial production of biofuels and drugs, artificial cells, synthetic viruses, and artificial photosynthesis. The roles of computers and computational design are discussed, as well as future prospects in the field, including cell-free synthetic biology and engineering synthetic ecosystems.
Synthetic biology is the design and construction of new biological entities, such as enzymes, genetic circuits, and cells, or the redesign of existing biological systems. It builds on the advances in molecular, cell, and systems biology and seeks to transform biology in the same way that synthesis transformed chemistry and integrated circuit design transformed computing. The element that distinguishes synthetic biology from traditional molecular and cellular biology is the focus on the design and construction of core components that can be modeled, understood, and tuned to meet specific performance criteria and the assembly of these smaller parts and devices into larger integrated systems that solve specific biotechnology problems.
1. Introduction 2. Section I: Synthesis and Engineering Tools in Synthetic Biology 3. Chapter 1. New Tools for Cost-Effective DNA Synthesis 4. Chapter 2. Protein Engineering as an Enabling Tool for Synthetic Biology 5. Chapter 3. Pathway Engineering as an Enabling Synthetic Biology Tool 6. Chapter 4. From Biological Parts to Circuit Design 7. Section II: Computational and Theoretical Tools in Synthetic Biology 8. Chapter 5. Theoretical Considerations for Reprogramming Multicellular Systems 9. Chapter 6. Computational Protein Design for Synthetic Biology 10. Chapter 7. Computer-Aided Design of Synthetic Biological Constructs with the Synthetic Biology Software Suite 11. Chapter 8. Computational Methods for Strain Design 12. Section III: Applications in Synthetic Biology 13. Chapter 9. Design and Application of Synthetic Biology Devices for Therapy 14. Chapter 10. Drug Discovery and Development via Synthetic Biology 15. Chapter 11. Synthetic Biology of Microbial Biofuel Production: From Enzymes to Pathways to Organisms 16. Chapter 12. Tools for Genome Synthesis 17. Chapter 13. Synthetic Microbial Consortia and their Applications 18. Section IV: Future Prospects 19. Chapter 14. Semi-Synthetic Minimal Cells: Biochemical, Physical, and Technological Aspects 20. Chapter 15. Transforming Synthetic Biology with Cell-Free Systems 21. Chapter 16. Towards Engineered Light–Energy Conversion in Nonphotosynthetic Microorganisms 22. Chapter 17. Applications of Engineered Synthetic Ecosystems 23. Index
Synthetic Biology provides a framework to examine key enabling components in the emerging area of synthetic biology. Chapters contributed by leaders in the field address tools and methodologies developed for engineering biological systems at many levels, including molecular, pathway, network, whole cell, and multi-cell levels. The book highlights exciting practical applications of synthetic biology such as microbial production of biofuels and drugs, artificial cells, synthetic viruses, and artificial photosynthesis. The roles of computers and computational design are discussed, as well as future prospects in the field, including cell-free synthetic biology and engineering synthetic ecosystems.
Synthetic biology is the design and construction of new biological entities, such as enzymes, genetic circuits, and cells, or the redesign of existing biological systems. It builds on the advances in molecular, cell, and systems biology and seeks to transform biology in the same way that synthesis transformed chemistry and integrated circuit design transformed computing. The element that distinguishes synthetic biology from traditional molecular and cellular biology is the focus on the design and construction of core components that can be modeled, understood, and tuned to meet specific performance criteria and the assembly of these smaller parts and devices into larger integrated systems that solve specific biotechnology problems.
1. Introduction 2. Section I: Synthesis and Engineering Tools in Synthetic Biology 3. Chapter 1. New Tools for Cost-Effective DNA Synthesis 4. Chapter 2. Protein Engineering as an Enabling Tool for Synthetic Biology 5. Chapter 3. Pathway Engineering as an Enabling Synthetic Biology Tool 6. Chapter 4. From Biological Parts to Circuit Design 7. Section II: Computational and Theoretical Tools in Synthetic Biology 8. Chapter 5. Theoretical Considerations for Reprogramming Multicellular Systems 9. Chapter 6. Computational Protein Design for Synthetic Biology 10. Chapter 7. Computer-Aided Design of Synthetic Biological Constructs with the Synthetic Biology Software Suite 11. Chapter 8. Computational Methods for Strain Design 12. Section III: Applications in Synthetic Biology 13. Chapter 9. Design and Application of Synthetic Biology Devices for Therapy 14. Chapter 10. Drug Discovery and Development via Synthetic Biology 15. Chapter 11. Synthetic Biology of Microbial Biofuel Production: From Enzymes to Pathways to Organisms 16. Chapter 12. Tools for Genome Synthesis 17. Chapter 13. Synthetic Microbial Consortia and their Applications 18. Section IV: Future Prospects 19. Chapter 14. Semi-Synthetic Minimal Cells: Biochemical, Physical, and Technological Aspects 20. Chapter 15. Transforming Synthetic Biology with Cell-Free Systems 21. Chapter 16. Towards Engineered Light–Energy Conversion in Nonphotosynthetic Microorganisms 22. Chapter 17. Applications of Engineered Synthetic Ecosystems 23. Index
