PCR and Synthetic Biology

When asked about the origins of synthetic biology, the most primitive, and first commercially expoited, example that comes to my mind is the construction of oligonucleotides for PCR. Oligo means short or small, and short-chains of nucleotides (DNA or RNA fragments) have become important tools in biotechnology and genetic research, ever since our ability to sequence DNA. In PCR, small pieces of DNA, usually about 15-20 base pairs long, are needed as primers. Oligonucleotides are also used for gene probing, a process for detecting certain specific sequences, and for enzyme optimization techniques like DNA shuffling and site-directed mutagenesis. We now have the ability to make much longer oligonucleotides, and technology is improving to make the process faster. According to a summary paper prepared by BIO for the 2008 World Congress, one of the most significant synthetic biotechnology breakthroughs this decade has been the in vitro construction of an entire chromosome, called PhiX174, in just 14 days. This achievement was reported in the journal PNAS by the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) and team of scientists lead by Drs. Smith, Hutchinson and Venter, in 2003.