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Editorial
. 2016 May 27;1(1):ysw001.
doi: 10.1093/synbio/ysw001. eCollection 2016.

Synthetic Biology: fostering the cyber-biological revolution

Jean Peccoud  1
Affiliations
Editorial

Synthetic Biology: fostering the cyber-biological revolution

Jean Peccoud. Synth Biol (Oxf). .

Abstract

Since the description, in 2000, of two artificial gene networks, synthetic biology has emerged as a new engineering discipline that catalyzes a change of culture in the life sciences. Recombinant DNA can now be fabricated rather than cloned. Instead of focusing on the development of ad-hoc assembly strategies, molecular biologists can outsource the fabrication of synthetic DNA molecules to a network of DNA foundries. Model-driven product development cycles that clearly identify design, build, and test phases are becoming as common in the life sciences as they have been in other engineering fields. A movement of citizen scientists with roots in community labs throughout the world is trying to democratize genetic engineering. It challenges the life science establishment just like visionaries in the 70s advocated that computing should be personal at a time when access to computers was mostly the privilege of government scientists. Synthetic biology is a cultural revolution that will have far reaching implications for the biotechnology industry. The work of synthetic biologists today prefigures a new generation of cyber-biological systems that may to lead to the 5th industrial revolution. By catering to the scientific publishing needs of all members of a diverse community, Synthetic Biology hopes to do its part to support the development of this new engineering discipline, catalyze the culture changes it calls for, and foster the development of a new industry far into the twenty first century.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Product development lifecycle: Like devices produced by other industries, synthetic biology products are developed through several iterations of a design-build-test cycle. In the design phase, computer models are used to generate DNA sequences and predict their properties. In the build phase, these DNA molecules are produced by manufacturing processes that assemble large DNA molecules out of chemically synthesized building blocks. Finally, in the testing phase, DNA is introduced in living cells and gene expression is measured. Experimental data is finally compared to simulation results to improve the design in the next iteration of this cycle.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Fifth industrial revolution: Synthetic biology is developing a new generation of cyber-biological systems that have the potential to catalyze the 5th industrial revolution in the second half of the 21st century.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Bibliometric analysis of synthetic biology (A) The number of synthetic biology papers published has been increasing at 6% per year between 2005 and 2014. It is expected that this trend will continue as the vast majority of these articles now cite one or more grants or contracts supporting the work. (B) The field of synthetic biology shows a strong citation patterns as 40% of papers receive more than 5 citations in the first two years after publication.
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