[p2p-research] Ginkgo BioWorks aims to push synthetic biology to the factory level automation

[Ryan]

Small scale production of biological parts...limbs maybe?

Sent to you by Ryan via Google Reader: Ginkgo BioWorks aims to push
synthetic biology to the factory level automation via Next Big Future
by noreply at blogger.com (bw) on 10/2/09

Biological parts: Ginkgo BioWorks, a synthetic-biology startup, is
automating the process of building biological machines. Shown here is a
liquid-handling robot that can prepare hundreds of reactions. Credit:
Ginkgo BioWorks

MIT Technology Review reports that startup Ginkgo BioWorks aims to push
synthetic biology to the factory level.

Ginkgo BioWorks, a new synthetic-biology startup that aims to make
biological engineering easier than baking bread. Founded by five MIT
scientists, the company offers to assemble biological parts--such as
strings of specific genes--for industry and academic scientists.

"Think of it as rapid prototyping in biology--we make the part, test
it, and then expand on it," says Reshma Shetty, one of the company's
cofounders. "You can spend more time thinking about the design, rather
than doing the grunt work of making DNA." A very simple project, such
as assembling two pieces of DNA, might cost $100, with prices
increasing from there.



MIT's Tom Knight developed a standardized way of putting together
pieces of DNA, called the BioBricks standard, in which each piece of
DNA is tagged on both sides with DNA connectors that allow pieces to be
easily interchanged.

"If your part obeys those rules, we can use identical reactions every
time to assemble those fragments into larger constructs," says
Knight. "That allows us to standardize and automate the process of
assembly. If we want to put 100 different versions of a system
together, we can do that straightforwardly, whereas it would be a
tedious job to do with manual techniques." The most complicated part
that Ginkgo has built to date is a piece of DNA with 15 genes and a
total of 30,000 DNA letters. The part was made for a private partner,
and its function has not been divulged.

Assembling parts is only part of the challenge in building biological
machines. Different genes can have unanticipated effects on each other,
interfering with the ultimate function. "One of the things we'll be
able to do is to assemble hundreds or thousands of versions of a
specific pathway with slight variations," says Knight. Scientists can
then determine which version works best.

So far, Knight says, the greatest interest has come from manufacturing
companies making chemicals for cosmetics, perfumes, and
flavorings. "Many of them are trying to replace a dirty chemical
process with an environmentally friendly, biologically based process,"
he says.

Ginkgo is one of just a handful of synthetic-biology companies. Codon
Devices, a well-funded startup that synthesized DNA, ceased operations
earlier this year. "The challenge now is not to synthesize genes; there
are a few companies that do that," says Shetty. "It's to build pathways
that can make specific chemicals, such as fuels." And unlike Codon,
Ginkgo is starting small. The company is funded by seed money and a
$150,000 loan from Lifetech Boston, a program to attract biotech to
Boston. Its lab space is populated with banks of PCR machines, which
amplify DNA, and liquid-handling robots, mostly bought on eBay or from
other biotech firms that have gone out of business. And the company
already has a commercial product--a kit sold through New England
Biolabs that allows scientists to put together parts on their own.

FURTHER READING
Gingo Bioworks BioBrick Assembly Kit: The BioBrick Assembly Kit
includes all the reagents needed to assemble BioBrick standard
biological parts.

BrickLayer Assembly Service: Our Ginkgo-bots assemble BioBrick parts so
you don't have to.






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