Before it's too late

Abstract

For almost a decade, synthetic biologists have bet their future on the idea that new organisms can be designed by combining short snippets of DNA—so‐called standard biological parts—into complex genetic blueprints in the same manner that LINUX modules are now combined to make software. Scientists and their governments are further betting on this vision to create a multi‐billion dollar industry; and they seem to be right. Consider, for example, the apparent success of the industry's leading company, Amyris (Emeryville, CA, USA). Four years ago, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supported the company with US$50 million to design a new organism that can secrete the precursor of the anti‐malarial compound artemisin. Amyris will reportedly achieve this goal on time and under budget, yet this is only the beginning. Although Amyris agreed to do the work at cost, it gained something much more valuable than profit: experience. Having assembled 30 or more parts into a working organism, the company's next project will proceed at a faster pace and cost less money. It has already decided to chase the biggest market of the twenty‐first century: biofuels. Amyris claims that its organisms will be turning sugar cane into diesel by 2010, into jet fuel by 2011 and into gasoline by 2013. Technologically, then, the idea of assembling standard biological parts into increasingly complex DNA blueprints has worked beautifully. But the standard parts strategy is about more than technology. It also has powerful economic implications. Twenty years ago, the need for standardized software gave us the Microsoft monopoly. Will something similar happen in synthetic biology, or can the community push the analogy in a more hopeful direction; for example, by launching a LINUX‐like initiative for standard DNA parts? > Technologically, then, the idea of assembling standard biological parts into increasingly complex DNA blueprints has worked …