Chapter 22 - Automatic Eukaryotic Artificial Chromosomes: Possible Creation of Bacterial Organelles in Yeast

Abstract

This chapter discusses the automatic eukaryotic artificial chromosomes (AEAC). Evolutionary theory proposes that mitochondria, plastids, and chloroplasts originated by the engulfment or cell fusion of prokaryotes by eukaryotes. As this endo-symbiotic relationship evolved, the size of the bacterial DNA genome decreased and the functions of genes lost from the bacterial genome were assumed by the eukaryotic chromosome. These experiments demonstrate a new technology that could be used for transferring an entire prokaryotic genome or other large DNA molecules, in circular form, into a eukaryotic cell, where the circular DNA is automatically converted into an artificial linear chromosome in vivo. The production of AEAC-bacterial genomes for animals, human cells (AHACs), and plants preferably require different telomeres, centromeres, and selectable markers that function in these cells to make automatic chromosomes. AHACs carrying genomic or cDNAs for the necessary genes to be transferred would be ideal because of their formation of automatic functional chromosomes upon reaching the nuclei of the human cells.