Trimming the genomic fat: minimising and re-functionalising genomes using synthetic biology

Xin Xu; Felix Meier; Benjamin A. Blount; Isak S. Pretorius; Tom Ellis; Ian T. Paulsen; Thomas C. Williams

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-37748-7

Trimming the genomic fat: minimising and re-functionalising genomes using synthetic biology

Xin Xu, Felix Meier, Benjamin A. Blount, Isak S. Pretorius, Tom Ellis, Ian T. Paulsen, Thomas C. Williams

School of Natural Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

35 Citations (Scopus)

305 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Naturally evolved organisms typically have large genomes that enable their survival and growth under various conditions. However, the complexity of genomes often precludes our complete understanding of them, and limits the success of biotechnological designs. In contrast, minimal genomes have reduced complexity and therefore improved engineerability, increased biosynthetic capacity through the removal of unnecessary genetic elements, and less recalcitrance to complete characterisation. Here, we review the past and current genome minimisation and re-functionalisation efforts, with an emphasis on the latest advances facilitated by synthetic genomics, and provide a critical appraisal of their potential for industrial applications.

Original language	English
Article number	1984
Pages (from-to)	1-11
Number of pages	11
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	14
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37748-7
Publication status	Published - 8 Apr 2023

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2023. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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10.1038/s41467-023-37748-7

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Cite this

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Trimming the genomic fat: minimising and re-functionalising genomes using synthetic biology

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